Page 35 of Take a Moment

The three of us take the lift down to the ground floor, then wander across the plaza in the sunshine. It’s remarkably warm for September but I’m unsure whether this is normal now I’m living that bit further south.

‘I love these water features,’ I comment, as we make our way along the landscaped path between them. ‘Reminds me of holidays spent in France when I was young.’

‘You like France?’ Danielle’s ears prick up. ‘Me too. My family spent most of our summers there.’

‘Really? We stayed on the campsites. Keycamp, Eurocamp, that kind of thing. We visited so many different parts of France. It was amazing freedom as a kid. Did you do the same?’

Danielle raises an eyebrow. ‘No.We stayed in a villa.’

‘Ah, right.’ I nod, understanding. ‘My family considered hiring a gîte one year, but we just loved the outdoor lifestyle of the campsites too much.’

As I say this, a memory of happier times spent with my family pops into my head. A time when my parents were still together. Before my mother became so bitter and judgemental following the death of her brother and drove my dad to divorce – and then a stroke ripped him from our lives altogether.

‘Yeah… we didn’t hire villas, we owned one.’ Danielle tries to sound nonchalant but her face is leaking an unapologetic air of superiority. ‘In St Tropez. We went twice a year.’

I let out an impressed whistle, keen to keep Danielle talking to understand more about her. ‘Gosh, lucky you. That pales my holidays into complete insignificance. Rubbing shoulders with celebrities, were you?’ This last statement is intended as a joke.

‘There were a few around that my pops knew.’ She shrugs. ‘So, are you a French speaker then, Alex?Parlez-vous français?’

She’s challenging me. But I’m not going to engage in a game of one-upping. I’m happy for the mine-is-bigger-than-yours behaviour to remain entirely one-sided.

‘Oh… no. My French is terrible.’

Danielle seems satisfied with my response. I can tell that, in her head, it’s now one–nil to her.

We reach Thai Paradise, a culinary sanctuary of peace and tranquillity with its babbling water feature just inside the entrance, Thai-inspired interior decoration, and zen-like woodwind tones floating down from the wall-mounted speakers. Danielle struts ahead of us, keen to join her teammates at the table, and quite possibly to see if she can assemble the front line her way ahead of my arrival. Emmanuel hangs back and gives me a curious look.

‘That was an interesting conversation. I’m sure I remember languages featuring on your CV, and in particular your semi-fluency in French. Thought it would come in handy in dealing with the Paris office.’

‘Is that right? Must have slipped my mind.’

Emmanuel smiles at me. ‘You’re right not to get into all that. It’s only day one and you’re impressing me already, Alex.’

I’m pleased with this early feedback, but decide there’s no need to say anything. I simply return her smile and approach the table and its occupants, at whom Danielle is already talking animatedly. I’m relieved to see that none of the others look too heavily engaged with her.

‘Everyone, this is Alex,’ Emmanuel announces as we reach the table.

‘Hi.’ I give them a friendly wave, which is immediately mirrored by all, except Danielle.

As I look around at the Birmingham-based part of my new project team, I feel quite encouraged. There’s five of them, including Danielle: two men who look around my age or slightly younger and two who look like they’re in their late forties or early fifties.

‘I’ll do the introductions,’ says Emmanuel. ‘This is Felix, Dhruv, John and Aadesh.’

I nod round the table at each of my new colleagues, knowing I’ll never remember their names straight off.

‘It’s so great to meet you all.’ I smile my most warm and open smile at them.

‘Felix is the change manager on the project,’ says Emmanuel. ‘He’ll be working closely with you to make sure people are ready for the new ways of working. Isn’t that right, Felix?’

‘It is, yes,’ he confirms with a strong Germanic accent. ‘I am looking forward to working with you, Alex.’

‘Me too.’ I meet his kind eyes and already feel like we’ll get along. ‘Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?’

‘I am from the north of Germany. From Hamburg.’

‘Well, that will certainly help with communications with the Frankfurt office.’ I notice Danielle out of the corner of my eye. ‘And Danielle is our French-speaking champion, I gather.’

Danielle looks immediately smug, which I note with interest sparks some subtle negative reactions round the table.

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