The Game (18 page)

“
I’m an analyst Edmund, I’m not sure anyone would hire me to take on a project like that.  And I don’t have any experience in energy.”

“
Pish, infrastructure is infrastructure, no matter what one does with it.  You have some good experience and some meaty projects behind you.  You know what to do.  This is a natural next step for you.” he said, dismissing her concerns.  It was a next step, a big one.  “Why don’t you come to the presentation on Friday?  You don’t need to make your mind up until after you see what the project is.  It would be a great little project though, and it would look fantastic on your CV.  You shouldn’t let opportunities like this pass.”

It did s
ound exciting, and it would be a great project that would spring board her career to the next level.  She’d sworn she was out of that game, but this was such a fantastic opportunity and she knew Edmund would push to get her the job.  It wasn’t a sedate and tame environment to work in and it required a lot from her, but it was exciting and it was rewarding.  She really should have spent more time thinking about what to do next, because the only other options before her seemed pale in comparison.  Edmund’s support and mentorship would do more for her career than anything she could do on her own.  She knew this was one of those crossroads where she decided her own future.  She had been pretty happy in the job until things had changed.  The stress was there, it always would be, but so was the excitement too, and it had all been tolerable until she decided to sleep with the ridiculously attractive account manager.  This opportunity was too good to pass up.  This was the path to becoming Damon D’Arth, to run the kind of projects he did.  If she passed on it, she would be passing on that kind of career because she wasn’t going to get this opportunity again.  Maybe she should just harden up and not be scared away by the one mistake she made.

“Maybe I could check out the presentation,” she said tentatively.

“You’re making the right decision, Jane.”  It was nice to hear it, but she wasn’t entirely certain.  This was a game with high stakes and high reward, and there were unscrupulous people in it, she just had to learn to deal with it and to protect her own interests.

From there it happened rather smoothly, there wasn’t a big offer which she needed to accept, she just ended up being absorbed in the job starting with an offer after the presentation to come review the plan at the office, then material just started being sent to her.  Before she knew it, it was her project and she was being introduced to Samantha Keets, who was a bit of a consents and legislative guru.

They met one morning and they were about the same age.  Samantha had come from the consulting world and she was smart, ambitious and dedicated.  They both knew they had met someone for who
m this project would make or break their reputation in the industry. Sam had a wicked sense of humor and even though they were different they got on really well and they were both there to get the job done.  Before long they worked well together as a team with both of them pulling the project forward at a good pace.

Jane was
surprised by how much she had actually learnt at Contil-Symax.  She had observed others and apparently she had stored away all that information in her brain.  She knew what to do.  She knew the stages they needed to go through and what they needed to deliver.  She also knew what kind of people needed to be involved where and the decisions that they needed to make.  Sam knew her way around the laws, the councils and the approvals processes.

While the job was fantastic, there was one big draw back to being back in Auckland, the constant reminders of her previous illustrious former
account leader were everywhere.  His photos were in the media all the time, he was the way he always was, looking fantastic as some exclusive event with a model or a society girl beside him.  There was even an article on him for one of the regional architecture magazines including photos taken by a professional photographer, someone who apparently knew how to bring out his raw sex appeal in an image.  Jane groaned when she saw the photos.

“He’s just
friggin hot, isn’t he?” Sam said as she came and sat down next to her.  “You worked with him, didn’t you?  Does he always look like that?”

“Pretty much,” Jane replied.  She didn’t want to talk about him because she didn’t want to think about him.  It was bad enough that she would occasionally see his car driving past as she walked to the train in the commuter crowd.  “What’s up?”  Jane knew Sam was seeking her out for something and she wasn’t wrong.  Sam wanted to discuss
a bylaw issue.

Jane loved working with Sam, there was no politics,
they just got on with the job.  They both needed each other to pull this off and Jane went home every night feeling good because she knew she had done what she could that day, and usually they were making good progress.

She still met Edmund every Tuesday, and he advised her on what she should watch out for and sometimes people she should talk to.  She wasn’t entirely sure how Edmund was involved with the projects, but he was.  She suspected he was one of the main investors.
  He was pleased with the progress they were making.  He even told her that he knew his faith in her would be rewarded. 

His approval did mean a lot to her, probably more than it should, but she’d been a bit
short on older male guidance growing up.  Her father had only intermittently been in the picture and when he was, he was too distracted to engage more than superficially.  She had worked on herself to ensure that she wasn’t out seeking a father figure, but when Edmund Carmichael had taken her under his wing, she had got it anyway.

“Jack’s here, he wants to see us,” Sam said one morning.

“What for?”
Jane asked.  It was outside the scheduled times when Jack checked in on them and the progress of the project.  Something was up.  Sam shrugged.

“Nothing’s gone wrong as far as I can tell,” Sam said and picked up her tablet.

Jane was curious, but she also knew that things were coming to a head in the project.  It was evolving and things were getting harder.  It was actually keeping her up at night trying to think through the increasingly difficult tasks ahead.  

They walked over to the meeting room Jack tended to use.

“I hope he’s quick,” Sam said.  “I have a meeting at the Council in twenty minutes.  Do you think I have to cancel?  I hope not, it would take me another week to schedule another meeting and I can’t afford to lose a week.”  Jane had no idea.

“Girls, take a seat,” Jack said as they walked in.  Jack secretly loved having ambitious girls running his project
, Jane suspected.  He wasn’t sleazy or crude about it, but he loved it.  He also respected them and their abilities, which made for a nice working relationship between them all.  “You have both done a fantastic job so far and you have every right to be proud of what you have achieved, but as you know, we are getting to a stage where things are getting really tricky and we need some political buy in.  We really need to schmooze some of the politicians down in Wellington if we’re going to get central Government buy-in.” 

Sam and Jane looked at each other, this was an area that was out of their collective experience and skill set.  Jane had seen this coming and she had tried to get her head around it.  As Jack was talking, Jane knew what he was getting at, they needed someone with experience on that level,
they needed someone like Damon D’Arth.  As much as she hated it, it was true.  As smart and ambitious as both she and Sam were, this was just something you couldn’t feel your way through.

“We need to bring someone in at this point, someone who can get us through this tricky part,” Jack continued.
  Jane had conflicting emotions, one the one hand, she knew it was true, on the other, she hated the idea of someone coming in and potentially messing up the lovely dynamic they had going.  “Let’s discuss it more at lunch.  I have a reservation at the Grasshopper at one, come by then and we’ll talk more.”  There were being dismissed and a Jack’s incoming phone call meant the meeting was over.

“I have
to run,” Sam said when they got out.  “Let’s talk about this when I get back.”  Jane knew that Sam was concerned as well.  Sam was not a fan of unknown entities in their project, while Jane just had a bad feeling.  The Grasshopper was one of Edmund’s restaurants, it was where he liked doing business.  She would bet money that Edmund was across this, he might even be there at lunch.  Jane’s uncomfortable feeling stuck with her for the rest of the morning.

She and Sam walked over to the Grasshopper in time to be there at one.  Jane just knew this was going to be bad, and she knew she was right as she walked through the door.  Edmund was at his usual table with Jack, and Damon D’Arth.  Jane swore under her breath.  She had known in her gut that they were bringing him onto the project.  She felt a surge of dread as she looked over at them.  He was sitting with his back to her, relaxed and confident.  She didn’t have to see his face to know it was him.  His dark blond hair had been neatly trimmed, and the broad shoulders and expensive suit was enough to tell her who it was.

“Is that..?” Sam asked.

“Yep,” Jane responded.  Sam gave her an impressed look like they were having lunch with a rock star.  Edmund had spotted them and he was waving them over.  Jane felt like she was walking in slow motion.  Her heart was racing and she felt nervous energy race through her insides.  Her hands were suddenly clammy and she wiped them on the back of her suit jacket.  She also wanted to murder Edmund, while at the same time knowing that Edmund didn’t care about personal mistakes and embarrassment, this was business and he did what was best for business.

The men all stood up when they got there.  It reminded her a bit of old time values when men stood up as women entered the room, but it was really part of the handshake ritual.
  Jane started in the opposite direction, but the table was too small for the ‘I won’t shake your hand because you’re too far away’ nod.  She just had to take the bullet and shake his hand.

His hand was warm and her body seemed to remember its touch.  Heat
diffused throughout her body.  This was going to be unbearable.  As much as she disliked him and the things he stood for, she was still ridiculously attracted to him.  More so now that she had a whole suite of sounds and images to go with those particular sensations.  The sad fact was that she didn’t respond like this to anyone else, and now she had been suckered into going googly eyes over him too.  She was fine the way things were before that unfortunate trip to Singapore.  He was attractive, but it didn’t affect her, it was just like a passing notion that didn’t take root in her mind in any meaningful way.  It was a different story now; she could barely function around him with this relentless nervous awareness.

She would wish it away in a heartbeat if she could.  She had to get this under control.  She was too smart to be losing her cool over some inappropriate man, no matter how hot he was.  She really should take direction from Edmund.  This was business and they needed him, she needed to focus on that.

“Damon will start in a couple of weeks,” Edmund said.  Jane just nodded; she couldn’t trust herself to speak at that moment.

“Cool,” Sam said.  “We can certainly use some help.”

“The way I hear it, you need some slight guidance at best,” Damon’s deep voice said. Sam looked ecstatic at the praise.  Jane looked at him.  She hadn’t expected him to pay them any due, but it was also abundantly clear that they were now expected to take direction from him.  A position she had never officially been in before, she had always been a representative from an outside team, even when she chose to assist him with financing for the Singapore deal.  Now, she was going to be his lackey.  Jane closed her eyes and cursed her misfortune.  This would definitely have to go down as a potential story for those conversations girls had about disastrous misfortune involving ex’s.  Not that they were ever in a relationship, but this would qualify for such a discussion.  He was essentially going to be her boss for all intents and purposes.  If that didn’t qualify for a horror ex story, she didn’t know what did.

Carmichael had been neglectful in specifying which girls he had working on this project.  He had sung their praises, young, smart and aspiring.  He should have known that the old codger would include his little pet in this project.  For some reason, it hadn’t occurred to him.  He’d assumed that she was still in Sydney, but now she was back and Carmichael had wheedled her onto his project without telling him.  He was sure the old man was taunting him.  Well, the old man had another thing coming. 

He was not going to be distracted by her, nor was he going to succumb to her powerful but indiscernible charms.  There was absolutely nothing special about her.   She was pretty enough and she did have a healthy body under her business clothes.  He couldn’t help tightening when he thought about her curves.  He mentally rolled his eyes and cursed Carmichael again.  She still had some kind of grip on him, but he was not going to acknowledge it.  For some reason, he found her attractive.  He found lots of girls attractive.  Attraction wasn’t compelling; he didn’t have to act on it.  Although that was the exact same thing he thought in Singapore.  But that had been
different; he had been weak with lack of sleep, jetlag and a consuming relief that they had got a decent proposal into the clients hands before the deadline.  Circumstances had made him lose control, it would not be repeated.