LIZZIE'S WORLD: New twist to the first meeting

Liz is smitten by a handsome, young-looking man in the boardroom. ILLUSTRATION| JOSEPH NGARI

What you need to know:

  • I nod and give her the thumbs up absently as I focus on finishing a report I am writing for the Board in London.
  • I am so absorbed in my task that I don’t notice the hour rush past; in what feels like only a few minutes later, Louise calls me on my desk extension.

It’s been a couple of days since my last acrimonious conversations with both Fatma and Louise, and the day is finally here for her to host her first meeting with the ad agency that Fatma works for.

It is a lovely Friday morning and everything is great… until Louise bursts into my office in a flurry of nervous energy.

“I don’t know what I will do if Fatma comes,” she says as she plonks herself into my guest chair, looking as frazzled as a woman who worked for 24 hours without sleep, even though it is only 9am.

“You will handle yourself like an adult,” I tell her firmly, and then shoo her out of my office before she has any more time to complain a little more.

MEETING

She turns to me just before she reaches the door. “Oh, the meeting is at 10 in your boardroom.”

I nod and give her the thumbs up absently as I focus on finishing a report I am writing for the Board in London.

I am so absorbed in my task that I don’t notice the hour rush past; in what feels like only a few minutes later, Louise calls me on my desk extension.

“They are here; they are on their way up to your office,” she says.

“Ok, I’ll have Ciku receive them and then I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“But… But…” she starts to protest. I know she is about to protest being left alone with Fatma – well, alone with Fatma and her team – and I am not about to have it.

“You’ll be fine,” I insist. “Now I need to finish this report. I’ll speak to you in a few minutes in the boardroom,” I say curtly and then I hang up.

About 20 minutes later, and almost 10 minutes after Ciku walks in to tell me about the guests, I finally surface from my report and make my way into the boardroom, where I find three people – including Louise... and no sign of Fatma.

“Where’s Fatma?” I ask no one in general as I walk in.

“She sends her apologies,” says a handsome, young-looking man who stands up, smiles widely and extends his hand for a firm shake. His dazzling white teeth could carry a toothpaste commercial all the way to success. “Fatma was held up in a meeting today and she asked that I represent her.”

As his hand makes its way towards me, his jacket sleeve falls back to reveal a Panerai chronograph.

“Nice watch,” I gawp as I shake his hand. “That must have set you back at least half a million.”

“Well, you know…” he laughs.

And now I am curious to know who he is and how much he earns to be able to afford such a masterpiece. “And who are you?” I ask as I look up at him. His palm shows no sign of letting go of mine.

“Oh, I am sorry. I just sort of ambushed you. I didn’t mean to. My name is Victor. I am Fatma’s deputy head of client service.”

“I see,” I say as I take note of the flirtatious glint in his eye.

“And you must be the lovely Miz-,” he stresses that ‘zz’ sound, “Lundi. It’s entirely my pleasure to finally meet you.” For a second there, our eyes meet and… it is hard to describe how I am feeling.

“Right,” I say, feeling rather disarmed, hot and flustered. We stand there, hands intertwined, eyes interlocked, as I temporarily forget that there are other people in the room. And then Louise clears her throat, bringing me back into the room.

“And this is Brenda, from the art direction department,” she says, as the fourth person in the room – a pretty young lady dressed casually in jeans and sneakers and liberal servings of huge statement jewellery – stands up to say hello. I tear my hand away from Victor’s tight grip and focus on Brenda. “Lovely to meet you two,” I say. “As you know, this was supposed to be a familiarisation meeting to introduce your organisation to Louise, who will be handling you from now on. I feel very sad to hear that Fatma couldn’t make it for this initial meeting.”

“Yes, well, she asked us to let you know that you are in the best, brightest hands in the entire company, if I do say so myself,” Brian smiles coyly.

Oh, boy. This young man is going to be a basket full of trouble, I think to myself as I settle in and commence our meeting.