Page 41 of The Dicktionary Club

‘Zola, I really can’t. Cancel the Spanish guy or rearrange. Jesus Christ, I need to keep my job!’

Zola blew a raspberry from her mouth in frustration. ‘Fine!’

Katy smiled; she was nearly as hyped as me. ‘Do you need any help, Ella?’

I was already emailing Andrea with details of my meeting with Philip. ‘No, no, I think I got this. Thanks, though.’

Chapter Fourteen

Ella

It was approaching six, and most of the staff had left, but Zola and Katy stayed behind, helping me set up the conference room. Andrea was still lurking around her office while I prepped my pitch, hoping to secure a venue for the exhibition in one of Philip’s grand hotels. All of the while praying that Andrea would leave me to take the lead and stay far away; the idea of her coming through and calling meEllaor asking too many questions about how we met, or just her intimidating, strident presence gave me crippling anxiety. I was completely caught up in a web of lies, but I had no way out, other than continuing to roll with it all. The only thing I cared about right now was keeping my job, which meant landing a venue – and, realistically, Philip Khan was my only solution.

*

Katy rearranged the plate of salted caramel cookies for the fourth time while Zola loaded up my PowerPoint, ensuring no technical issues – like my recent Japanese bondage search – would appear on the screen. I didn’t have time to change, so I remained in my black pencil skirt with a white shirt. My hair was waving loosely down my back, and I opted to wear my black-framed glasses, even though I only require them forlong distances and driving, but I thought they added a more professional sophisticated element to my appearance.

A few minutes before six, the elevator door pinged open, and my friends stood up straight.

‘That’ll be him.’ Zola grinned widely, showing all her teeth, then grabbed her coat and bag from one of the chairs. ‘Message us as soon as you get out, yeah?’ she whispered, although unless he had ears like Isa, there was no need to speak so quietly.

‘I will,’ I said, gulping down my nerves.

Katy waved excitedly. ‘Good luck, Ella! Will we go greet him and send him in?’ she asked, swerving towards the door.

‘Yes, please. Thanks. Try to be quiet, though. I don’t want Andrea storming in mid-pitch.’

‘OK, we will!’ Katy whispered back.

My two friends left the conference room to greet Philip and bring him to me. I repositioned my laptop, making sure it was completely symmetrical, then inhaled a long, deep breath.I’ve got this.

Suddenly I could hear the high-pitched hyena laughter of both my friends coming closer as they approached the conference room, followed by a deep familiar voice.

So much for keeping the noise down, girls!

I stood up and straightened my skirt as Philip entered the room. He was wearing a light grey suit with a black shirt underneath, open at the collar. His dark eyes fell on mine, and a smile appeared on his face.

‘Good evening,’ he said brightly.

‘Hi, Mr Khan.’ I reached out to greet him. ‘Or do you prefer Philip?’

He turned to Katy and winked. ‘I do like it when you call me Mr Khan, but Carol here can address me as Philip.’

Wow, his ego was even bigger than I remembered. I watched Katy’s face contort as she quickly remembered our littleespionage game.

‘Very well. Please, take a seat,’ I replied, keeping my tone as professional as possible. There was no way I was contemplating being taken in by the easy flattery of this man.

‘We should go, was so great to meet you, Philip!’ Zola said, raising a brow to me.

‘Yes, totally. It was lovely seeing you again, Philip.’ Katy blushed hard as she headed out the door, mouthingOMGto me as she shut it.

‘You too, Carol! See you, Zola,’ he said, oh so smoothly.

The boardroom felt small, with a large-screen projector on one wall and a huge table taking up the majority of the space. Philip walked past a few seats, then plonked himself down in the middle chair of the row, ensuring he was sitting right next to me.

‘OK then.’ I cleared my throat, feeling extremely claustrophobic at how close he was all of a sudden. ‘So, I’ll get right to it,’ I began. ‘Firstly, thank you for taking the time, Mr Khan, especially at such short notice. I am one of the senior marketing and PR associates here at Smart Reputations. We’re one of the fastest growing companies in the UK. My job is to primarily—’

‘I know what a marketing company does,’ Philip interrupted, crossing his arms. ‘Oh, please tell me you haven’t prepared a huge speech about how I should do something and partner up – ala-di-datype thing. Can we cut to the chase?’ His voice was so relaxed and matter-of-fact that I was taken aback.

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