Page 47 of Endgame

‘What are you thinking about?’

‘I’m trying to figure out what happens now.’

‘We need to find a way to forgive each other. You’ve hurt me too. I need to find a way to move past some of that and forgive you.’

She nods.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

‘No, not yet, but I promise I will as soon as I’m ready.’

‘When do you head back?’

‘Honey and I fly on Saturday so that we can sleep off the jet lag on Sunday. You?’

‘I’m going to be here until Tuesday, so I’ll see you at work on Thursday.’

I nod and stop myself from asking if Dominic is staying for three additional days as well.

She plants a long, loving kiss on my forearm before she extracts herself from my embrace and stands. She silently gets her coat from the hook behind the door and wraps her scarf loosely round her neck.

‘I love you,’ she says sadly as she opens the front door quietly. She doesn’t wait for a response, she just steps out of the flat and shuts the door behind her.

Things move quickly when we get back to Singapore. The very day Ariella returns to the office, the identity of our new CEO is revealed and everyone is on edge because we don’t know what to expect. Ariella, in response, suggests we give him a chance and invites us all to dinner at her new home in three weeks for a Friday night review. She also takes the opportunity to remind us that we will always be a team, whatever happens.

No matter how much we attempted to anticipate what was coming, we were severely underprepared for the changes about to hit us.

When Samir Hussein steps on to our floor the following week in his sharp, expensive suit, bank-breaking watch and shiny shoes, I immediately know that everything is going to change. He spends most of his first week silently observing, quietly asking questions and getting to know the business. He keeps his cards so close to his chest that we have no idea what to expect when he calls a staff meeting the following Monday. The fact that he called it a ‘staff meeting’ rather than a ‘catch-up’, ‘kick-off’ or just a random time like ‘the 2p.m.’ should have been enough warning. It doesn’t help that he is ten minutes early, and pacing the room as he watches us all file in.

‘This company is run like a day-care centre,’ is his opening line. I try not to laugh as I watch everyone’s faces drop. Ariella is silent at the back of the room as she fixes her expressionless eyes on him.

‘There is more focus on employees having fun than actually doing your jobs. There is no project structure, effective tracking, efficient collaborative software and no disaster recovery plan. There’s too much independence here, and individual accountability is easily handed off to your COO – who has indulged that, perilously.’

He walks up and down like a predator, with everyone’s eyes trained on him. I’m warming to him.

‘There is no discipline. This meeting started late. You are all meant to be here ready to start at the allocated time. You do not waltz in chatting and laughing at the time it was meant to commence. We lost eight minutes this morning. That is hardly surprising because, as there are no time sheets, you all come in and leave whenever you like?—’

‘Excuse me. We work hard and we work late, often attending events,’ Sian interrupts abrasively.

‘We must be much busier than I thought. So, these projects you often work hard and late at – we’re being paid to deliver all these, are we?’

‘Not always, we go out to raise awareness and network for the company,’ she argues.

‘Oh really? And how much in sales have these so-called projects dragged in? Is there a business case for these evening events you attend? Is there a return-on-investment projection drawn up?’

‘No, but the PR value is immeasurable,’ she counters.

‘Everything is measurable. Only the laziest PR companies sell you immeasurable PR. While we are on the subject, I’ll be terminating the agreement with our PR company. We are engagement specialists, not college students running around Singapore having romances and getting drunk with celebrities. I’ve seen your expenses. We are not a hospitality charity for our clients to feed on freely and the dry-cleaning bills stop now. The only person who has a permanent solid reason for being out on the town is Caleb. If you are not Caleb or supporting him, I want to see a business case and pitch for every single after-hours event you decide is worth attending.’

Let’s face it, Ivory Bow as we know it is fucked – but I like this guy. I love the team but we need this. Ariella has done an exceptional job getting us to this point, but he’s right. We do work our butts off, because we have fun while we are at it, but we should be more focused. It’s our job and we are being paid to do it. Loving it is a bonus.

‘I am introducing digital time sheets. I want you all clocking in and out. Project team, your diaries are a mess. I want to see all your appointments scheduled and diarised. No more time blockswith “Popping to the venue for a cheeky lunchtime drink with the client”. That is not an appropriate reason for a meeting.’

‘Well, there goes my calendar,’ Jess says and the project team all titter between themselves.

Samir silently folds his arms until they have finished. The laughter stops as quickly as it starts.

‘I will be reviewing the structure and job descriptions of all the staff this week and in all cases you will be reinterviewing for your jobs?—’

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