‘Someone able to calm the flames?’ I throw out there quite casually.
‘I like that,’ he replies. ‘Most certainly.’
We have a mountain to climb, it’s true, but as they head off, I can see that both Carolina and Antero are equally as excited as I am to roll up their sleeves and get started.
When my phone kicks into life, it makes me jump and, snatching it up, I see it’s a text from Judi.
I start the new job in two weeks’ time. You’re right. I’m being ridiculous. It’s all about the work and no one is going to rob me of the glory!
That succeeds in raising a smile as my fingers tap away.
Well done, lady!
I attach a GIF of a woman flexing her muscles before I press send. Seconds later she replies.
I was being a bit of a wimp, wasn’t I? Any news at your end?
It’s a go… eek!
Celebrations all round – nothing can stop us now!
‘Good morning. You are through to Seren Maddison. How can I help?’
I glance across at Carolina, who is sitting the other side of my desk. Her fingers are tapping away wildly on her laptop as she massages the Gantt chart we’ve spent the best part of the last week poring over. We are on the verge of finalising the overall timeline, tweaking each operational strand as if it’s a musical score.
‘It’s Reid Henderson, Seren. I thought it was time I made direct contact to express my sincere apologies for being so elusive. I’ve been travelling and bogged down with meetings in between, but I wanted to assure you that my assistant, Leonor, has been keeping me fully updated.’
The relief I feel at finally hearing his voice stops me in my tracks for a brief second or two. Three conference calls have already been held without him and the pressure is beginning to mount. Despite constant reassurances from his team, I was beginning to have my doubts over whether he was as invested in this project as I need him to be. To the extent that the last two nights I’ve woken up around three in the morning in a cold sweat, wondering if it’s too late to find another artist to step in.
‘Oh, no apology needed and thank you so much for the call, Mr Henderson. We’re in the process of finalising the timetable for the various stages of the project as we speak and I’m hoping to get a copy emailed to you later today.’
‘Great, and please call me Reid, if you have no objection to me calling you Seren. I’ve made a start on selecting which pieces I think will work best when it comes to the artwork for Bernadette Brodeur. I don’t know her, of course, but my assistant has shown me examples of her work. This is going to be a most interesting collaboration indeed.’
His voice is smooth, like a voice-over artist. In fact, that velvety tone is something we should take advantage of if I can talk him into it. What if we could record him introducing the fashion show? Thoughts are whirling around inside my head and I realise he’s waiting for a response.
‘We are gearing up to begin moving things forward very quickly now. If your assistant can let me know when you are available, perhaps we could arrange a video call so we can run through any questions you might have?’
A mellow ‘hmm’ echoes down the line. ‘I will most certainly make a list and if you can bear with me another day, two at most, it will allow me to tie up the last few loose ends. Then I’ll make myself freely available to you. How does that sound?’
More than reasonable.
‘Perfect. And if there’s anything either I, or my staff, can do to assist you, then please don’t hesitate to let me know.’
‘Thank you, Seren, I will bear that in mind. It’s been a pleasure talking to you and we’ll speak again very soon, I promise.’
The blood is pounding in my ears as the line disconnects and I see that Carolina has stopped typing.
‘That sounded positive.’
I let out a huge sigh, bowing my head and closing my eyes while I offer up a silent prayer of thanks to the universe. ‘He hasn’t been avoiding us, he’s been travelling. You can go ahead with the press release.’
‘At last! I will admit, no disrespect to you, Seren, but I was beginning to have my doubts about him.’