“Oh yeahesss” - the past week at work

Monday

Up so early I was able to have tea and toast for breakfast – it has been a long time since I have been able to do this. At 5am the morning was cold and still dark. The reason I was up so early was that I had to get down to London and then out from Waterloo to Sunningdale where Terry was holding a planning meeting in his house.

Terry collected me from Sunningdale station in his Jag. At his home (big stockbroker-Tudor mansion covered in some kind of creeper) I met Andrea and Matthew Miller. We sat at the table in the dining room (a room festooned with silk flowers) while we listened to Terry bickering with his wife in the distance.

The meeting went on for four hours, with sandwiches and coffee for lunch. Mainly we considered possible new clients, and reviewed the existing clients Andrea has been able to bring in. Matthew has not so far brought in any work.

We finished about 3pm. Terry suggested it would be easier for me to get a train back from Windsor and drove me there through Windsor Great Park (herds of deer, knarled old oak trees, horses being led in groups of three or four). Long journey home.

Tuesday

Very cold weather.

Carol (one of the two admin staff) has worked in an agency before and was able to help with media research.

Matthew just sat in his office all day (a room even smaller than mine!). Because the partition walls are so thin I could hear everything he said on the ’phone – mostly he was calling friends. Later I could hear him talking to Andrea about how he was about to bring in a big new client.

At lunchtime I went with Terry to a meeting of marketing managers to do some “networking” – it was incredibly boring.

I spent the afternoon copywriting, although I was very lazy about this. As usual Andrea was appreciative (“It’s not something I can do”). Talking to Rachel, the clients upstairs have gone very quiet.

Wednesday

Both Matthew Miller and Andrea were out most of the day. Carol was away so I sat at her desk in the other room and talked to Julie (Julie complaining at how “pushy” Andrea was). A sudden ad came in and Julie got in a bit of a state as she had never done a rush job before.

Midday I went upstairs to have my lunch in the Board Room. Ian, my former boss, came in to chat (I was wary, as he always has an ulterior motive when he “just drops in”). He told me that Terry would probably build up Andrea’s little sub-agency and then suddenly sell it.

Thursday

Andrea away.

Terry came several times to the offices, addressing his remarks to Matthew and myself, and ignoring the female staff.

Lunchtime Patricia (Terry’s PA, middle-aged and divorced, rather plain except for long black hair in luxuriant curls) put two chocolate meringues on my desk to celebrate her birthday (everyone else got one, which led to unwarranted comments about why I was so favoured).

In the evening I went with Terry to another “networking” meeting hosted at the offices of a company in the City. We had a buffet meal in a spacious boardroom followed by a talk (about thirty people attending). I met a very large woman said “Oh yeahesss” to everything I said.

Friday

No Julie today (a day off). Mid-morning Matthew Miller went out to visit a potential client. It seemed as if the day would be quiet.

I talked to Andrea about last night’s meeting and she was intrigued as the company is supposed to be very secretive and difficult to get into.

While we were talking Matthew came back and went into his office. We could hear him next door moving about mysteriously (drawers opening and closing, rustling of papers, things thrown into the waste-bin). Suddenly Matthew appeared in the doorway, handed Andrea his keys, and told her things were not working out and he was leaving.

When he had gone (no effort by Andrea to stop him) we had a crisis meeting with Terry. Andrea was very thin-lipped and silent, which indicated to me that she had provoked Matthew’s departure in some way. Terry was avuncular and reassuring.

In the other room Carol was told about Matthew’s departure. She seemed worried and unsettled at the news. Later she told me “I should have gone to Biss Lancaster”.