Page 1 of The Gin Lover's Guide to Dating

Prologue

‘Anya, have you seen Mark?’ I address my colleague urgently through my earpiece.

‘Mark? No.’ Anya’s reply is swift. ‘Isn’t he due on the podium right now?’

‘He is. And he’s disappeared. What is it about Chief Execs that makes them impossible to track down at the most crucial of moments?’

‘Tell me about it.’ Anya’s giggling voice crackles in my ear. ‘I’ll see if he’s in the foyer.’

This is all I need when I’m trying to show I’m worthy of a promotion. Cursing under my breath, I hurtle through the backstage door and out into the corridor leading to the toilets. As I’m rushing along the circular walkway of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, I spot my target, casually chatting to Jen Collins, the IT Director.

‘It’s fine, Anya.’ I hiss into my earpiece. ‘I’ve found him. Hasn’t the slightest clue he’s late, as usual. Will have him there in two.’

‘Received.’ Her reply crackles in my ear.

I approach the two senior leaders and gently touch Mark’s elbow in a bid to extricate him from his conversation – without appearing rude.

‘I’m so sorry to interrupt…’ I purr. ‘But Mark is meant to be on stage – right now.’

‘Goodness, Liv. That time already?’ Our bumbling Chief Exec gives me an apologetic look. ‘I’ll come right away.’

‘No problem, Mark.’ I flash him and Jen a super cool smile. ‘We’ve only lost a few minutes. You’ll just have to stick to the script, as we agreed.’

‘Right. Yes, of course.’ Mark suddenly looks intense. ‘Is my tie straight?’

‘As ever.’ I smile at him. ‘Now go and inspire them.’

‘Inspire. Tell a story. Stick to the script. Got it. Thanks, Liv.’

‘A pleasure as always.’ I beam at him as we make our way through the backstage door.

Once in position, Mark clears his throat a couple of times. Then, prompted by Anya, he steps onto the stage to polite corporate applause.

‘And… crisis averted,’ I say through my earpiece.

‘Well done!’ Anya whispers back excitedly. ‘Well done on the whole conference, Liv. So smooth and professional. People have been talking about how much you have put into this – and the veryimpressiveresult!’

‘Really?’ I’m delighted to hear this.

Able to stand down for a few minutes, I slip into the auditorium to listen to Mark’s speech on the future of leadership – in an environment where my own company, McArthur Cohen, and our merging partner, JG Harper Group, will come together to create a new force in the world of management consultancy.

As Mark speaks, I hear some of my own carefully crafted statements being repeated back at me, and I almost burst with pride. There’s nothing I love more than constructing a really effective communication.

Now, having spent the last few weeks supporting Mark with his speech, it’s obvious that our hard work has paid off. He’s not entirely sticking to the script, but that’s fine. I only tell him he must, so he doesn’t go off on a complete tangent. He needs to be real, as well as getting key business messages across. Surely, this is enough to show I’m ready for the next step. I’ve put my heart and soul into leading this event. Glancing at my watch, I realise I need to check everything is in place for the breakout sessions. I slip out of the auditorium and make my way along the corridor to check on the group facilitators – Mark’s own team of directors.

On my way, I spot my manager, Derek, coming towards me, completely engrossed in his phone as usual.

‘All right, Derek?’ I address him as I rush past.

‘Oh… Liv… yes, good thanks.’ He barely looks up.

I chuckle to myself as I walk on, wondering how a senior manager of communications can be so uncommunicative.

‘Actually, Liv?’ Derek’s voice comes from behind me suddenly.

‘Yes?’ I stop and turn on the spot.

‘I’ve put some time in your diary this week. There’s something important we need to discuss.’

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