Glass Ceilings (40 page)
Authors: Alicia Hope
‘C’mon now, put it outta ya
min
d, we’ve got other fish to fry.’
Verity star
ed at her reflection in the
mirror
. A
fter all that had happened that morning,
al
l she’d had to deal with in such a
short space of time,
she now had to get her head around performing at the meeting
.
And not
simply
performing, she had to excel
.
Si
ghing, she
checked her hair
and makeup
on
c
e more
before leaving the ladies’ room
,
to make her
way to
the boardroom.
Her next big test was about to start.
Guy
had
join
ed
the growing
assembly
of delegates
outside the boardroom
,
and
was standing
chatting
with
the chairman,
Travis Hunter
.
Both men
looked over and nodde
d at Verity
as she went past
, and s
he
dipped her head at
them
.
Pushing
open the
boardroom
door, s
he
hesit
ated
briefly on the threshold,
sternly admonish
ing
herself
to
leave all
di
stractions there until
after
the meeting. Then she
stepped inside.
The room
was
in readiness
, awaiting only
inhabitants
.
I
ts impressive size and
layout
conveyed an
imposing formality, which
didn’t help settle her
nerves, but Verity
took comfort from
seeing all was
ready
and waiting
for
the meeting
to
commence
.
She
walked
to the presenter’s table and
ran a critical eye over the audiovisual equipment, which
she’d
need to function p
erfectly
for
her presentation
. Satisfied
all was in order
, she
stood at the polished timber lectern and took a minute to familiarise herself with
the room
from that vantage point.
Jugs of iced water and bowls of mints had been set out on the tables, and the translucent fabric blinds on the full length windows were raised to let in some air and natural light, giving the room a fresh, open feel.
A
lush
garden
of thick shrubs,
delicate
ferns,
and occasional
stone figures
in graceful poses
,
was visible through the windows, giving
a sense of
quiet privacy
.
Verity
glanced at her watch.
She had
time for a cup of tea before the me
eting opened, so she headed
to the refresh
ments table
. From the stack laid out on the linen
tablecloth,
she
took
a fine white porcelain cup and saucer
. She
paused to
sniff the
blooms on a
generous bunch of yellow an
d white roses in
a tall vase
on the table
, j
ust
as
the function coordinator
materialis
ed,
carrying
a tray
.
The smartly-dressed young woman had
been hovering, anxious to cater for any other of her high profile client’s ne
eds. S
et
ting
the tray
on the table, and placing
a steaming
teapot beside a
matching creamer and sugar bow
l, she
proceeded to wrap the teapot
in
what appeared, comforting
ly, to be a home-made tea
cosy
.
‘Thank you, you read my mind.’
Verity smiled her appreciation.
‘You’re welcome, Madam.’ With that, the
coordinator
disappeared again.
Verity poured
the hot amber liquid
into her cup
and helped h
erself to milk
.
As she stood stirring her tea, the
boardroom door was thrust open
again. This time Royce strode in, followed closely by Guy.
As soon as he saw Verity, Royce headed
towards her, only
to be waylaid by Guy’s hand on his arm
.
‘
Been meaning to ask h
ow yo
u
’re
feel
in’
now
,
Royce?’
Roy
ce barely glanced at him before answerin
g offhandedly, ‘Fine ... thanks
.
’
Guy
chuckled
.
I
t took more
than that
to dissuade a seasoned campaigner like himself.
‘Quite recovered from your ordeal then?’
‘Y
es,
I’m fine,’ Royce repeated,
with a trace
of
irritab
ilit
y
in his deep voice
. ‘
Look, Guy, would you excuse me for a moment?’
H
e made to move away, but Guy gripped his
arm
more firmly
and led him off to the side.
‘Now
,
I know ya
wanna
speak to the young
lady over there
, and rather
badly by the look of ya
,’ he grinned, ‘
but she’s got a
lot on her mind right now.
S
he might appreciate a l
ittle bit of space
,
to get her thoughts in order
before the meeting. Know what I mean
,
son?’
Royce
stood
straight
er
and
stared into Guy’s face
, taking in the
friendly concern and
trace
s
of amusement
he saw there
.
Was there no hidin
g anything from this bloke? H
e
frowned and
sighed resignedly,
‘Yes
, you’re right
, Guy
.
I shouldn’t bother Verity while
she’s preparing for the meeting. I’ll catch up with her later.’
‘Atta boy. A
nd if
it ai
n’t work
ya
wanna
talk
to her
about,’ and Guy
wink
ed
, ‘y
ou’re sure to have every chance
for a chat
at the dinner tonight. Now
that
should be a swish affair.
’
At Royce’s
solemn
face, Guy dug him
playfully in the ribs, adding, ‘
I hear
there’s crayfish on the menu,
’
and both men gave wry chuckles
.
T
he remaining delegates
filed
into the room
, and Travis made his way
to the lectern
.
Guy whispere
d conspiratorially to Royce, ‘Y’
know, there might be on
e or two surprises in store
at this meeting
.’
Royce looked
disconcerted
and
murmured
dryly,
‘Think
I’ve h
ad my
fair
share of surprises for one
day
.
’
He and Guy made their way over t
o a table towards the front
, where Brenda and
Verity joined them.
Verity
took a seat between
Brenda
and
Guy,
and
directly opposite Royce. He
studied
her closely as
, carefully keeping her eyes downcast,
she arranged
the
meeting
papers in front of her. A
lthough he
saw
only
calm concentration on her face, he
wondered if she was feeling more anxious than she
look
ed.
Once
again,
he found himself mentally con
gratulating Verity
on her
grace and
poise
. Her
smart midnight-blue suit was
both professional and very attractive, particularly as the fitted skirt revealed an eye-
catching length of slim,
silk-
stockinged
leg
.
When she glanced
up
and her eyes swept the room
,
he admired the naturalness of her ma
keup, but noticed
faint sh
adows under her eyes
—evidence the morning had ta
ken its toll. Royce
gave a
troubled
frown
.
When
Travis
called the meeting
to order and proclaimed it
open, Verity
felt
her nerves tighten
and
her insides quiver
. She
applied
the techniques sh
e’d learned
to help control nervous tension
, but
found it d
ifficult to concentrate. She could feel
Royce
’s eyes on
her
. His gaze was like a cattle prod
,
zapping her
wherever it fell
.
Glanc
ing across
at him with what she hoped was a casual expression, she
pointedly
arched one eyebrow
and h
e looked away, as she’d hoped he w
ould,
but not before
she saw
the
warm
th and
encouragement in his eyes.
That to
ok her by surprise
,
but she
pushed it from her mind when,
shortly
afterwards
,
she was
called to make her presentation.
Her time had come.
A rush of nervousness swelled like a rising tide insi
de her
, accompanied by an
overwhelming desire to run. She recognised it as the old ‘fight or flight’ reflex, and
took a deep breath to
compos
e herself.
Brenda gave her an encouraging nod and Verity
rose to her feet,
carefully gather
ing
her
papers
as she did so
,
and
mad
e her
way
with dignity
to
the lectern.
As Verity
launched into
her presentation, Royce felt a stirring of what he suspected was pride.
And who wouldn’t be proud of her elegance, self-assurance
,
and composure under pressure?
When he glanced
discreetly a
round the room a
t the other delegates, he saw that they too wer
e focusing on her with increasing
interest.
Her soft yet compelling voice carried an air of confidence and authority, and the combination of visual aids and spoken delivery kept her listeners interested.
He suddenly
realise
d she’d moved onto the subject of
his project, so he made an
effort to focus
on what she was saying.