Lost and Found

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Monday 23rd October 2007

Work! Amelia groaned at the thought. She’d barely slept all weekend and the fatigue of travelling was still having an effect. She’d tried in vain to contact Sol the previous day, but again was unsuccessful. So that was on her list of things to do that day. She needed Sol to know that she believed him, and that she was sorry for judging him so harshly.

Martin had emailed her and it was the first thing she saw once she’d booted up her work computer. Becky the assistant to her and the other junior executives brought her a coffee, and she was sipping the dark liquid when the email finally opened.

                “Well done Parkin, I hear you suitably wooed the Italian! Great things will come, as promised. Book lunch meeting at the Brasserie for one pm, we’re celebrating!”

Amelia gasped, in the almost five years she’d worked there Martin had never so much as taken her for a drink, and other than the odd sandwich or a Christmas party, he’d never really bought her anything. So this was a good sign, a big move. She smiled to herself before setting to work; this was going to be a good day.

It was mid morning before she got the chance to call Sol, so trying the number she’d been calling all weekend, she got through to reception, who passed her to his PA, who point blank refused to disturb his ‘ambient office’ with trivialities. She really needed to speak to him about his choice of staff. Just because they were publishers, flirting with the Art world didn’t excuse incompetency! She was so used to the efficiency of the financial world. Instead she left a brief message; she’d called, wanted to speak to him, and left her work number, anticipating a rapid call back.

All too soon it was one o’clock and she was making her way to the Brasserie, a rather exclusive restaurant a few blocks away from their riverfront offices. Martin was already there, along with another man she’d not met before.

                “Amelia!” they both stood to greet her, shaking hands as he introduced Clay Brinkworth, an ‘acquaintance’. She hid her inquisitive side at the presence of this stranger and accepted the accolades that rained on her after the acquisition of the Italian model, and indirectly through him another dozen clients, a portfolio worth millions.

Champagne was opened and luxurious food ordered. Amelia became a little anxious, champagne usually went straight to her head, and the last thing she needed was to become drunk in this soiree, she knew that this afternoon was ultra important.

                “So,” Clay finally joined the conversation with a soft lilting American accent. “You’re probably wondering why I’m here?”

Amelia was, though she had to admit he was easy on the eye and it was hardly difficult to engage him in conversation, he was witty and amenable. Martin was older and far too serious for her to fully relax in his company, but she’d put Clay at maybe thirty with blonde hair, which was wild, and struggling to be groomed into some sort of sombre style. He had humorous blue eyes and a genuine smile; nope he definitely wasn’t a negative aspect of this lunch. In fact she was more relaxed than usual.

When she didn’t answer he started to explain, he was here from New York, he was a director in a similar company across the Atlantic, he and Martin had been talking about merging for years, it would give a bigger more stable company, they’d been waiting for the right opportunity, and they felt that she was it. They wanted her to join the New York office, as part of that she’d keep her existing clients, but would broaden her own portfolio across the Atlantic.

Amelia was stunned, this sounded like a dream come true. She’d always wanted to work on Wall Street, and that went back to watching Gordon Gekko as a young girl growing up in the early nineties, she swore she watched the film dozens of times due to the content and the story, not any crush on the young Charlie Sheen or even the suave Michael Douglas. This was her chance to break the Big Apple!