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Authors: Sarah Morgan
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the document on the screen but all he saw was golden hair and long nails.
Forcing himself to focus, he concentrated on the first slide.One glance told him that it had been prepared by someone computer literate and numerate. In fact it was the first sign of professionalism he’d seen since he walked through the doors of Prince Advertising.
He stopped thinking about Analisa and analysed the data in front of him.
‘Wait—’ He stopped her as she reached the door. ‘Who did this?’ His rough demand was met by a long, pulsing silence and then she turned to face him.
‘I did.’
‘You mean Mr Anderson gave you the information and you collated it.’
‘No, I mean I put together the information I thought you’d need to be able to make an informed decision about the future of the company.’
Damon glanced at the complexity of the data on the screen and then back at her. ‘I consider it a serious offence to take credit for someone else’s work.’
A wry smile tilted the corners of her mouth. ‘Really? It makes a refreshing change to hear that from someone in authority. Maybe we’ll work well together after all.’
Damon stared at the spreadsheet, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. ‘What exactly was your official role in the company?’
‘I was my father’s executive assistant, which basically means I did a bit of everything.’
A bit of everything. ‘So this isn’t Mr Anderson’s spreadsheet?’
‘Mr Anderson couldn’t switch the laptop on, let alone create a spreadsheet.’
Damon leaned back in his chair. ‘So you’re good with computers?’
‘I’m good with a lot of things, Mr Doukakis. Just because I wear pink tights and have fun with my nails it doesn’t makeme stupid any more than wearing jeans would make you approachable.’ She still had her hand on the door handle, as if she was ready to run at a moment’s notice. ‘I need to get back downstairs. Having your future in someone else’s hands is very traumatic for everyone. It would mean a lot if next time you go down there you could maybe smile or say an encouraging word.’
‘They should be grateful I’ve taken control. Without me your business would have been bankrupt within three months.’ And in an attempt to protect his sister he’d landed himself with still more responsibility for jobs and lives. He felt like Atlas, holding the heavens on his shoulders.
‘We’ve had problems with our cash flow, but—’
‘Is there any part of the business you
haven’t
had problems with?’
‘The clients love us because we’re very creative.’ She looked him in the eye. ‘All I want is your assurance that there will be no redundancies.’
‘I can’t make that assurance until I’ve unravelled the mess your father has created.’
‘I
know
parts of the business have problems. I’m not going to pretend they don’t. But I’m asking you to look deeper and learn about how we work before you make an irrational decision.’
‘Irrational?’ Brows raised with incredulity, Damon leaned forwards in his chair. ‘You think I make irrational decisions?’
‘Normally, no. But in this case—’ she breathed slowly ‘—yes. I think you’re so angry with my father, and you feel so helpless about your sister, you were willing to do anything that might give you back some element of control. And as for the way you feel about me—you haven’t forgotten I’m the reason your sister was permanently excluded from school at fourteen. I really messed that up, I admit it, but don’t use something
I
did ten years ago to punish the staff. That wouldn’t be fair.’
Damon sat still, forced to acknowledge that there was at least a partial truth in her accusation. Had he been unfair to judge her on something that had happened when she was still young? ‘Go and settle the staff in downstairs.’ His tone was rougher than he’d intended. ‘I’ll call you if I have any questions.’
An hour later he had more questions than he had
Forcing himself to focus, he concentrated on the first slide.One glance told him that it had been prepared by someone computer literate and numerate. In fact it was the first sign of professionalism he’d seen since he walked through the doors of Prince Advertising.
He stopped thinking about Analisa and analysed the data in front of him.
‘Wait—’ He stopped her as she reached the door. ‘Who did this?’ His rough demand was met by a long, pulsing silence and then she turned to face him.
‘I did.’
‘You mean Mr Anderson gave you the information and you collated it.’
‘No, I mean I put together the information I thought you’d need to be able to make an informed decision about the future of the company.’
Damon glanced at the complexity of the data on the screen and then back at her. ‘I consider it a serious offence to take credit for someone else’s work.’
A wry smile tilted the corners of her mouth. ‘Really? It makes a refreshing change to hear that from someone in authority. Maybe we’ll work well together after all.’
Damon stared at the spreadsheet, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. ‘What exactly was your official role in the company?’
‘I was my father’s executive assistant, which basically means I did a bit of everything.’
A bit of everything. ‘So this isn’t Mr Anderson’s spreadsheet?’
‘Mr Anderson couldn’t switch the laptop on, let alone create a spreadsheet.’
Damon leaned back in his chair. ‘So you’re good with computers?’
‘I’m good with a lot of things, Mr Doukakis. Just because I wear pink tights and have fun with my nails it doesn’t makeme stupid any more than wearing jeans would make you approachable.’ She still had her hand on the door handle, as if she was ready to run at a moment’s notice. ‘I need to get back downstairs. Having your future in someone else’s hands is very traumatic for everyone. It would mean a lot if next time you go down there you could maybe smile or say an encouraging word.’
‘They should be grateful I’ve taken control. Without me your business would have been bankrupt within three months.’ And in an attempt to protect his sister he’d landed himself with still more responsibility for jobs and lives. He felt like Atlas, holding the heavens on his shoulders.
‘We’ve had problems with our cash flow, but—’
‘Is there any part of the business you
haven’t
had problems with?’
‘The clients love us because we’re very creative.’ She looked him in the eye. ‘All I want is your assurance that there will be no redundancies.’
‘I can’t make that assurance until I’ve unravelled the mess your father has created.’
‘I
know
parts of the business have problems. I’m not going to pretend they don’t. But I’m asking you to look deeper and learn about how we work before you make an irrational decision.’
‘Irrational?’ Brows raised with incredulity, Damon leaned forwards in his chair. ‘You think I make irrational decisions?’
‘Normally, no. But in this case—’ she breathed slowly ‘—yes. I think you’re so angry with my father, and you feel so helpless about your sister, you were willing to do anything that might give you back some element of control. And as for the way you feel about me—you haven’t forgotten I’m the reason your sister was permanently excluded from school at fourteen. I really messed that up, I admit it, but don’t use something
I
did ten years ago to punish the staff. That wouldn’t be fair.’
Damon sat still, forced to acknowledge that there was at least a partial truth in her accusation. Had he been unfair to judge her on something that had happened when she was still young? ‘Go and settle the staff in downstairs.’ His tone was rougher than he’d intended. ‘I’ll call you if I have any questions.’
An hour later he had more questions than he had
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