The Pitch: City Love 2 (28 page)

Later that week I sat in a pleasant waiting area with Christa and Scarlett. There was a large bookshelf filled with an array of books and a wooden coffee table piled high with magazines. A collection of colorful toddler toys sat in the corner.

“Jordan?” Scarlett asked.

Christa shook her head. “No way. Too overused. Besides, you should really stay away from boys’ names starting with ‘J’.”

I gave Christa a curious look. “Why is that?”

“Ask any teacher. Boys starting with ‘J’ are troublemakers. Steer clear.”

I had no idea where she’d acquired this knowledge, or when she’d become such an expert on naming children. “I’m having a girl anyway.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Christa asked.

“Mother’s intuition,” Scarlett answered for me. The corner of her mouth twitched as she looked at the book currently open in front of her. “Here you go. How about Skylar?”

Christa made a face reminiscent of a bad smell. “She’d have to have a lisp.”

Scarlett chuckled. “How about Autumn?”

“I’m not naming my child after a season,” I informed them. “Besides, I’ve already decided what I’m going to call her.”

Scarlett rolled her eyes and muttered ‘typical’ under her breath.

“What is it?” asked Christa eagerly.

“Ava.”

Christa’s expression turned thoughtful. Scarlett grunted.

I looked at Scarlett. “What? You have a problem with that Aunty Scarlett?”

She shrugged. “No. It’s very Madeleine of you, that’s all.”

“I like it,” Christa announced.

“You can call your daughter Autumn when you have one,” I told Scarlett.

She closed the book with a loud thud, clearly giving up on trying to convince me to choose a more creative name.

“Madeleine Spencer?”

A middle-aged woman dressed neatly in a navy skirt and pale blue shirt stood in the doorway of the waiting room.

I stood and smiled. Christa and Scarlett stood too.

“They’ll be joining me,” I told the woman.

She nodded. If she was curious as to why two women were accompanying me to my ultrasound she didn’t say it. Then again, she’d probably seen it all.

We followed her down the hallway.

*

Later, the three of us sat in a small coffee shop not far from my office. The morning sun was already blistering and I was thankful for the low awnings protecting us from the February glare.

“It’s a shame you have to wait until your nineteen week scan to find out the gender,” Christa commented.

“Yeah, I want to see your face when they tell you it’s going to be a boy,” Scarlett said.

I hid a grin. “It’s going to be a girl.”

“We’ll see,” said Scarlett.

“Is that a bet, then? What are the terms?”

“Laughing myself senseless when you discover you’re having a boy called Ava.”

“Deal.”

The mood was celebratory. The ultrasound imaging had been amazing and even though my baby was barely thirteen weeks, we’d been able to see her tiny body in great detail. Minute arms and legs were already moving and kicking inside me, and it had left me speechless.

“You could have warned me part of the ultrasound was going to be internal,” Scarlett added.

I waved a hand at her. “When you’ve experienced a decade of my issues, that’s nothing.”

“God, imagine that’s what you did all day,” Scarlett mused. “Sticking a giant plastic – ”

Christa cleared her throat. “I’m so happy for you. And it’s wonderful that everything is perfectly okay.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Despite the week I’d had, I couldn’t hide my bright smile. “It’s such a relief.”

“I can’t wait to meet little Ava.” Christa beamed back at me.

“I know what you mean, although I’m thankful I’ve still got a lot of time to get ready,” I replied.

“Will you tell your parents now?” Scarlett asked.

I took a sip of my tea. It didn’t taste as good as coffee, but after seeing the little person moving inside me, I didn’t care. “Yeah, I’ll tell them tonight.”

“They’re going to be elated. Especially your mother,” Christa said. “Do you think she’ll put pressure on you about Paul?”

I stiffened. “Probably.”

The three of us went silent for a minute. Paul had been calling me all week, ever since I’d left him standing in the city on Monday night.

“You’re really going to leave him?” Christa asked me softly.

“I already have. He’s just got to come to terms with it.”

Scarlett swore, surprising both of us. “You’re being an idiot.”

“Oh?” I set my cup down and observed Scarlett’s dark expression with as much distance as I could manage.

“Yes! You could at least try to make things work. Then if they don’t, you leave him.”

I frowned. “Interesting advice coming from someone who doesn’t believe in relationships.”

“The difference is you were in a relationship to start with. Come on, Christa, back me up here.”

Christa looked uncomfortably at me, but remained silent.

“Alright then,” I said. “What do you think?”

“I think for as long as he loves you, you need to give it a chance.”

“He loves
me
, not the baby.”

“That’s some killer mother instinct you’ve got there, tiger,” Scarlett commented.

I ignored her and took another sip of my tea.

“Why aren’t you prepared to give him a chance?” Christa asked.

I sighed and put my cup down. “Paul spent weeks avoiding me when we first met, despite the fact he was interested in me.”

“That was because he thought he was too old for you,” Christa said.

“And because he thought a younger woman would want a family. Once I convinced him the age gap wasn’t an issue, it was only when he discovered I
couldn’t
have children that he really allowed himself to commit to me.”

Christa twisted a napkin distractedly. “People can change their minds.”

“He’d be changing his mind because he loves me, not this child,” I said softly.

“Isn’t that enough to start with?” Christa asked.

“Not for me.”

“But you still love him!”

I felt like the conversation was going around in circles. “Yes, I do. But how long will that love last if he can’t give me what this child needs?”

Christa’s face fell. “I just wish you’d try.”

We fell silent again, watching the city traffic breeze past us. To my surprise, Scarlett reached over and placed a hand on my arm.

“We’ll stand by you,” she said.

Christa nodded. “Yes. Just because I don’t agree with you, doesn’t change that. I’m here for you.”

*

As expected, my mother and father were elated by the news of my pregnancy. Unfortunately it only took my mother about two seconds to get over the shock before she started in on me about Paul. In the end it actually hadn’t been my mother I’d had to convince. My father had practically thrown himself at the phone, threatening to get Paul on the line and demand that he “man up.”

It had taken some explaining to make him see that I’d been the one who had decided to end things. He took that about as well as my mother. I’d had to beg them to respect my wishes and to stay out of it. My father’s tight grimace was all I’d gotten in response.

Despite their lack of understanding about my perspective on things, they’d immediately offered to help me financially when it came to the baby. It meant I’d be able to afford a nanny from early on, and I could attempt to juggle my responsibilities at Grounded Marketing with Ava.

By Friday, I’d also held a meeting with my team to announce the news. They’d responded with genuine joy and pleasure. I’d informed them that I’d be looking to appoint an Operations Manager to help me manage the agency, as well as a Senior Account Director. To my surprise, I’d already had two staff come to me personally to express their interest, which was secretly a huge relief.

When I walked into the office the following Monday I was finally starting to feel on top of things. Coping with a business and a baby wasn’t just a pipe dream, it was a potential reality. All I could do now was prepare as best I could in the coming months.

My mother glanced up at me as I came in. “Morning. You’re looking well.”

“Thanks.” I stopped in front of her desk. “I feel well.”

“I’m glad.”

She went back to whatever was on her computer screen. Mild pleasantries and informal discussion were my mother’s way of expressing her dissatisfaction with me.

I shrugged and walked into my office.

The next two hours passed quickly while I went through emails and met with my team. Just before eleven o’clock, when I was walking back to my desk again, my mother caught my attention.

“Don’t forget. ACB strategy meeting in half an hour.”

I hid a grimace. I hadn’t. My mindset on the ACB account still hadn’t fully recovered after their last minute changes in January, but that wasn’t the only issue I had with the meeting – Paul and his team would be joining us as well. At least our contact would be in a work setting and it would remain professional. I hoped.

Twenty-five minutes later I made my way to the boardroom and hesitated in the doorway. Christa sat opposite Paul and Greg, but where was everyone else? And why was Greg here? He’d never had any involvement in the account before. Perhaps Paul was stepping away from the account and handing it over to Greg. That would certainly make things easier.

“Any idea where the rest of our team is?” I asked Christa.

She shrugged and I huffed. The ACB team were due to arrive any minute and I didn’t need the rest of my staff turning up late. I turned to go and round them up and bumped straight into my mother.

“I’ll get them.” She nodded in the direction of the boardroom.

I glared at her. “I can do it.”

“You can go and sit down,” she instructed.

I blinked at her tone. It was decidedly motherly. I rarely heard her take that tone with me at work.

She raised her eyebrows at me.

“Alright!”

I swung back around and resisted stomping into the boardroom. I managed to take my seat next to Christa with relative professionalism.

I nodded at the men. “Hi Paul. Hi Greg.”

Paul didn’t look at me. Greg offered me a tight smile.

Fabulous. The sooner this meeting was over, the better.

I gave Christa a sideways look. She glanced at me, and gave me a reassuring smile.

Paul stood and walked over to the door, then closed it firmly.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“The ACB meeting isn’t today. It’s on Thursday. I scheduled this meeting for another reason.”

I jumped up, shock and anger racing through my system. “Excuse me?”

Paul’s eyes were hard. “Sit down, Madeleine.”

“I will not.” I stormed toward the door, every muscle in my body intent on leaving the boardroom.

Paul stepped in front of me.

I went to shove past him, but something in his posture and the challenge in his eyes made me hesitate.

“Please sit down.”

“What is this? An ambush?”

“No. It’s a pitch.” He turned and walked back to his seat. He sat down and reclined in the chair, looking every bit the relaxed gentleman, but I could see the way he was gripping the armrests. “You’re free to leave.”

Curiosity eclipsed my anger for a moment. “A pitch?”

“Yes.”

I looked at Christa, then back to the closed door beside me. “Did you know about this?”

She nodded. “I wouldn’t bother leaving. Your mother is probably standing outside.”

I glanced at the door. She was most likely right. With a long exhale, I made my way back to my seat.

“Alright. What is this about?”

“We’re here to express a proposal,” Paul said.

I eyed him warily, but he ignored me and fired up a presentation I hadn’t realized was open on his laptop. The boardroom projector lit up the whiteboard with the words, “NTRtain Media and Grounded Marketing.”

Paul pushed his chair back and stood. “As you know, NTRtain Media is well established in the industry.” He clicked a button and the screen changed to reveal a series of bullet point statistics about NTRtain. Client base, revenue, profit margins.

My eyes widened. It was highly confidential information. As I scanned the stats, I realized just how successful NTRtain was.

Paul clicked again and another page appeared on the whiteboard. “Some figures on Grounded Marketing,” he stated. “Julia was kind enough to assist us with these.”

I bet she was, I thought darkly.

“For all appearances, Grounded Marketing is experiencing a growth phase while you continue to establish yourselves. Cash flow is stable and that’s a pretty good indicator of a firm’s success.”

I felt a surge of pride.

“But Grounded Marketing is about to experience a change in leadership,” Paul continued. “The director of the company will be stepping away from the business while she pursues motherhood.”

My pulse spiked and I gave Paul a look of warning. He ignored me and turned toward the whiteboard, nodding at the next slide. “The gaps will be filled by internal career progression, which is an effective solution. However, this option still carries risk. The director’s full-time presence has ensured solid growth and without the constant, firm vision of the director, the growth phase could wane.”

The bastard. It was like he’d read my mind and identified my fears.

I cleared my throat. “You don’t know that.”

“Just like you can’t guarantee the business won’t be affected by the Director stepping away from the business.”

“I’m not stepping away from the business!”

Paul leveled his gaze at me. “You’re having a baby.”

“Exactly. I’m not leaving the country. It’s how I manage the change that will determine the impact.”

“Exactly,” Paul continued smoothly, mirroring my words. “That’s why Greg and I would like to offer an alternative change management solution.”

I glared at Paul. I’d just been played. “I’m all ears.”

Paul turned back toward the screen, focusing on a new slide titled, ‘Opportunities.’

“NTRtain has reached the maturity phase. After ten years, we’re a very solid business, but we now face a choice: to continue on as we are or to look for new opportunities for growth.” Paul nodded at Greg. “He’s been on at me for the last couple of years to expand the business, constantly suggesting mergers and acquisitions. It’s all part of his plan for world domination.”