Read Online The Crunch Campaign by Kate Hunter - Free Book Online Page B

small. So he bought the wharf on Sydney Harbour, put a truckload of money in her bank account and told her to hire whoever she wanted.
    One department of Viper Advertising was dedicated to doing the creative work for Paw Print, but the rest of the clients were big national manufacturers and retailers. The biggest was MyFries. The second biggest was the Australian Party – they didn’t advertise much between elections, but when an election was coming, the money rolled into Viper like a tsunami. Some people who didn’t like Tania Mentelle said she only held the Australian Party account because her godfather Caesar Maxwell made big donations, but she didn’t care. She was having fun and making money. Anyway, most of those rumours came from people she’d sacked at some point.
    â€˜Uncle C!’ Tania finally emerged from behind the red wall. She was wearing leather pants that made her long legs look like black pencils, a black top and a red scarf. Her hair was jet black and cropped short. The makeup had failed to cover the freckles across her nose and forehead.
    â€˜Tania, my love, wonderful to see you.’
    She had to bend so she could kiss him on both cheeks. ‘You’re looking well, sir!’
    He laughed and patted his big belly. ‘You mean I’m looking rich!’
    â€˜Well, that too!’ She grinned. She put her arm around his shoulders. ‘Now, come into the boardroom and stop wasting my time with small talk. Have you eaten? I’ll have Cheryl here get us some food.’ She indicated the receptionist. ‘Cheryl, can you call The Knife and get them to send over a roasted eye fillet of beef and a bottle of Mr Maxwell’s favourite wine?’
    Caesar grinned. He always ate well when he came to Viper.
    â€˜I’m sorry, Ms Mentelle,’ said Cheryl nervously, ‘but The Knife will have finished lunch service. It’s past two o’clock. You have to place delivery orders before twelve. I can get something in from Raymond’s, though. They deliver anytime and their lobster’s supposed to be great.’
    Tania Mantelle pivoted on one stiletto and took three steps. She leant across the reception desk and spoke in warm, low voice. ‘Cheryl. I had high hopes for you. You seemed to be one of the brighter girls I interviewed. But it must have been one of my rare off days, because you are clearly a fool. Please collect your things and leave. But before you do, kindly tell Annalise in accounts that I would like roasted eye fillet and a bottle of ’96 Grange Hermitage from The Knife served in the boardroom within the hour. And then tell her that you are leaving – and why. Thank you.’ She turned back to Caesar, ‘Come on, Uncle C. We can talk before we eat. Sorry about that.’
    Together they walked down the corridor, arm in arm.
    The boardroom table was a five-metre slab of stainless steel. It reminded Caesar of those benches he’d seen on TV shows like ‘CSI’, where they laid out the dead.
    â€˜I wouldn’t have minded something from Raymond’s,’ he said.
    â€˜I know, but how else will these people learn? She’s been annoying me for a week, that one. It was time she went.’
    â€˜Of course, of course. Brilliantly handled. Want to come and work for me? I’m sick to death of namby-pamby executives.’
    â€˜I do work for you, Uncle C. But I might write a book on my management style. I think there’s a market for it.’
    â€˜I’ll buy the prime minister a copy. That’s what that woman needs. A few lessons in getting tough.’
    â€˜Oh, she’ll learn soon enough. Wait until you see the ads my crack new team have come up with.’
    â€˜New team? I thought you’d be doing this anti-ad ban campaign yourself.’
    â€˜You know I’m across everything that happens in this agency. Same with this. I’ve just got a couple of extra heads thinking about it