Page 25 of The Holiday Cottage

“It’s not fine. It’s unbelievable. Of all the—”

“Facts, Sophie. Give me the problem in five words or less.”

“My keynote speaker for tonight is stuck in Edinburgh. There has been an incident at the airport. All flights canceled until further notice. She’s panicking, the client is panicking and I’m panicking. I mean, the whole thing revolves around this woman. We’ve been planning this event for so long! We booked her eighteen months ago. It’s not like anyone else can give her speech.” Sophie’s voice wobbled. “Alan Marsh is going bananas and blaming me, although why it’s my fault I have no idea because I don’t control the airports. But he doesn’t care about that. He told me I’m useless and that he’s going to fire us unless you get here in the next ten minutes.”

Imogen felt a ripple of annoyance. Exacting clients she could cope with, but she had a visceral loathing of bullies. “He had no right to say that. You’re very good at your job, Sophie.”

“No, I’m not. He’s right. I get a problem like this and I just panic. I’m not like you. We’re going to lose the client and I’m going to be fired and—”

“Stop!” Imogen cut her off in mid flow. “I need you to listen to me, Sophie.”

There was a sniff. “I’m listening.”

“Alan Marsh can be a difficult client, but try and look at it as a learning experience. Stay calm and handle him.”

“Handle him how? Can I just tell him you’re coming? That will calm him down.”

“No, because if you do that you’re basically telling him that you don’t have the confidence to do the job.”

“I don’t have the confidence to do the job.”

Imogen’s heart softened. “Yes, you do. He’s just shredded it, that’s all. But we’re going to put it back together.”

“We are?”

“Yes. And you’re going to start by stating the problem as briefly as possible.”

“I thought I already did.”

“No, you are so flustered by the fact the client shouted at you and distracted by imagined consequences that you’re not focusing on the actual problem. Your mind is all over the place and your panic explosion is stopping you focusing on what needs to be fixed. Tell me the problem. The thing that started all this.”

“I don’t have a speaker!”

“You do have a speaker.”

“Not in the right place!”

“Right. Your speaker is in the wrong place.That’sthe problem that needs solving. So what you have here is a transport issue.”

“Sure, but I don’t see how—”

“So instead of worrying about losing clients and losing jobs, you need to think about how to solve this transport issue.”

“I don’t see what else I can do. I’ve already called the airport, but no one can tell me anything.”

“The problem that needs fixing is not the airline’s schedule, it’s the fact that your client is in the wrong place. Forget the airline. Figure out how to get your speaker from A to B in the time frame available. Find a solution to that, and everything will be sorted.” It was how she handled her life. Outline the options. Pick one. “Possible modes of transport—plane, train, car. Car would take too long, so that leaves planes and trains.”

“But the airport has delayed all flights from Edinburgh—”

“So now the problem is that there are no flights from the airport. One solution is to consider another airport.” Imogen checked the time and did some calculations. “Have you checked flights from Glasgow?”

“Glasgow?”

“Yes. Check availability. If it’s an option, then arrange for a car to pick her up and take her there.” She gave Sophie the name of an executive car company she’d used before and knew to be reliable. “What are you going to do when she lands?”

“I’m—er—I’m going to arrange for a car to pick her up from Heathrow. And I’m going to have one of the team meet her at Arrivals so she can relax and focus on her keynote and not logistics. That way she won’t be standing at that podium flustered and stressed.”

“Brilliant. You’ve got it.” Imogen showered her with praise, trying to build up the confidence that client had shattered.

---