‘I disagree,’ Tina snaps. ‘If we apologise, all we’ll do is bring attention to the issue and give the story legs. Our brands are blue-chip. We need to focus on their strengths and let these distractions die down.’
How did this woman end up running the marketing division of one of the biggest international companies in the country? She wouldn’t recognise a market trend if it bit her on her flabby, conniving arse.
‘There’s no such thing as blue-chip anymore,’ I say tersely. ‘Your customers are dying off, and the next generation doesn’t have brand loyalty to anything. Social media has changed the landscape. The era of a specific media push around a single theme is over. Brands need to be having a conversation with their customers 24/7 to win their loyalty. And the foundation of any relationship is honesty.’
I hold her gaze, daring her to contradict me. We both know I’m not talking about advertising.
‘This is why I wanted Caz on this,’ Patrick intervenes. ‘You and I are part of a different generation, Tina. We need to think the way these kids think.’
Tina turns puce, and I think AJ’s going to choke on his caramel frappé. We spend the next hour and a half going around in circles, but Tina’s on the losing side, and she knows it. Challenging her relevance to the next generation was a winning move on Patrick’s part. There’s a reason he’s the CEO, even though, at fifty, he’s an archaeological curiosity in the ad business. He knows people, and that’s what this game is all about.
But my victory is Pyrrhic. I may have won this battle, but I’m still stuck working with Tina. She’s going to fight every pitch I make tooth and nail on principle. The next six months of my life are going to be a nightmare. I can feel a headache coming on at the mere thought of it.
Patrick shows Tina back to the elevator, and I grab a couple of paracetamol from my desk drawer and swallow them dry, then retreat to the bathroom and lock myself in a stall. I love my job; I’ve worked hard to get to where I am. I started here five years ago knowing next to nothing about advertising, having spent the first three years of my career in PR. But I listened and learned; I put in sixteen-hour days and seven-day weeks, and didn’t take a holiday for the first two years I was at the agency. Client servicing is demanding; agency heads want more billing; creatives want more time, quick approvals and minimal changes; clients demand everything yesterday. Despite the Tetrotek fiasco, Patrick’s entrusted me with some of the company’s most important clients. I refuse to let Tina Murdoch sabotage everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve.
I open the cubicle door, and jump when I see Tina leaning against the washbasins waiting for me. ‘What do you want?’ I ask coolly.
‘I want you off this account.’
I turn on the tap. ‘That’s not going to happen. You heard what Patrick said. He wants me on this.’
She reaches across me and turns the tap off again. ‘You may have Patrick wrapped around your little finger, but you don’t fool me,’ she says. ‘Take yourself off this account, or you’ll regret it.’
I lean on the washbasin as she slams out of the bathroom, my heart thumping in my ribcage. I practise my breathing the way my therapist taught me, trying to calm myself down. I can’t let her get to me. I know what I’m doing, and I’m good at what I do. I can handle this.
My pulse finally stops racing. I straighten up, and smooth my hair back from my face. AJ is waiting right outside the bathroom when I come out, and I mentally resolve to make time next week to get to the bottom of what’s going on with him. He’s the most loyal man I’ve ever met, and he deserves a little kindness. There’s no way I’d survive going toe-to-toe with Tina Murdoch if I didn’t have AJ to watch my back.
‘So,’ he says, as I head briskly back to my desk. ‘Do you have a plan?’
I always have a plan.
ANGIE LARK
PART 1 OF RECORDED INTERVIEW
Date:- 28/07/2020
Duration:- 41 Minutes
Location:- Kingsbridge Police Station
Conducted by Officers from Devon & Cornwall Police
(cont.)
POLICE
And you are Caroline Page’s best friend, Ms Lark?
AL
I’ve known her since we were at primary school together. I’m telling you, she wouldn’t lie about something like that.
POLICE
When was this altercation, exactly?
AL
I don’t know. Three weeks ago? Maybe four. [Pause.] You must have a record of it; Caz reported it.
POLICE
And until—
AL
Not that anyone did anything. Caz warned you what Louise was capable of, but none of you took her seriously.
POLICE
We take all such reports very seriously, Ms Lark. But until the altercation between them last month, there hadn’t been any trouble?
AL
[Laughs.] Are you kidding?
POLICE
No, Ms Lark, I am not. I don’t consider murder a laughing matter.
AL
Look, Caz is no angel. She’d be the first to admit that. Technically, Andy was still married when they hooked up. So, you can imagine, Louise wasn’t exactly Caz’s biggest fan. But the woman behaved like a total bitch over the divorce. She wouldn’t let the kids meet Caz for, like, a year. She just couldn’t let Andy go. If it’s over, it’s over, you know?
POLICE
So how would you characterise the relationship between the two women?
AL
Shit, is how I would characterise it.
POLICE
Care to explain?
AL
All that stuff about Caz in the papers, none of it’s true. I can’t believe Louise has the balls to play the grieving widow when she’s the one who killed him!
POLICE
If we could just stick to the facts, Ms Lark, rather than speculate—
AL
I’ve seen Louise in action. She comes across so nice and sensible, right? Mother of the year. But I’m telling you, underneath it all she’s a fucking psycho.
POLICE
In what way?
AL
Well, for a start, she used to call Caz all hours of the day and night, yelling and crying down the phone. I mean, Caz is tough, but she’s put up with years of it; it’d wear anyone down.
POLICE
You witnessed these calls?
AL
I was there when Caz got some of them, yeah. But Louise is smart. She never called when Andy was around.
POLICE
Did you hear what was said between them?
AL
I didn’t need to. My best mate ended up in tears, and she doesn’t cry easily. It wasn’t just the phone calls. Louise was a bloody stalker. She wouldn’t let Caz alone. Turning up at the house, at her work, and then claiming Caz was harassing her. I thought there were laws against stalking these days?
POLICE
Yes—
AL
She’s got form, you know that, right?