Page 64 of Just Like That

‘We have to do something,’ says Nick. ‘This cannot be the end. Those animals need us; the job we do is too important. Do the bank not get that?’

‘They do.’ Gwen nods. ‘Believe me, I’ve tried all the arguments. I gave them quite the speech.’

I cringe as a rogue thought passes through my mind that, from what I’ve seen, Gwen’s speeches aren’t the most compelling. Batting it aside, I focus on her, Nick and Lauren and their visible pain at the idea of losing the place they love most in the world. It just can’t happen. It’s clear that Nick lives for the park, and I’d put money on it being exactly the same for Gwen, perhaps even for Lauren.

There must be something we can do to save it – something that will bring in an injection of cash to plug the gap. Something like…

‘I know what we need to do.’ I suddenly stand up.

‘You do?’ Nick, Gwen and Lauren ask in unison.

‘Yes. We’re going to hold a fundraiser event. A huge one. There’s nothing that’s a bigger threat to our world right now than climate change. People love animals and they want a future for their kids. We’re going to show them how important this park is, and we’re going to appeal to their community spirit.’

‘Surely something like that will take a couple of months to plan,’ says Gwen. ‘We don’t have the luxury of time. Our fortunes need to turn around in a few weeks if we’re to have a chance at saving this place.’

‘It doesn’t need to take a couple of months.’ I shake my head determinedly. ‘We just need to be smart about it. Use what we already have at our disposal and get some charitable donations.’

‘I don’t know.’ Gwen sits back down, looking unsure. ‘It feels like too big an undertaking, and I can’t afford to pay Craig for the additional support we’d—’

‘You won’t need any. And actually, as he’s still essentially your brother-in-law, the stingy bastard should be helping you for free.’ I blanch at my own behaviour. ‘Sorry, that should not have come out of my mouth.’

‘You think I care?’ Gwen guffaws, temporarily distracted from her woes. ‘You already know that to me he’s just a twat in a suit.’

‘Yes, I suppose I do.’ I let out an almost maniacal laugh. ‘OK, so let’s focus here… I can manage all the activities and logistics.’

‘And I’ll help,’ says Nick.

‘Me too.’ Lauren’s face is already regaining its healthy glow.

‘Great, so Nick, Lauren and I will handle that. We’ll make the most of the park and use some of the ideas that we’ve put into the other events. We can get Serge on to his supplier contacts to see if they can help with donations on the food and drink side of things, and we can do an appeal for prizes for a prize draw. Then all we need is some really good PR to get the word out, and I know just the person who can help us…’

By the time, we leave Gwen’s office, I’m firing on so many cylinders, I’m in danger of taking off. I didn’t realise how much I cared until I heard Gwen’s awful news. The potential implications for the animals, and the broader staff and management team, many of whom I now see more as colleagues than clients, is too much to stomach. I’ve moved on from seeing it as a blight on my CV, and as much as I’m still desperate to revive my career, I also need to make sure the park has a future. For Nick, for Gwen, for everyone here. Plus, if I can help them save this place under near impossible circumstances, then there’s no way Craig can continue to keep me down. I’ll have more than proved myself.

‘Are you really confident we can pull this off?’ Nick asks me, as we leave Gwen and Lauren talking in the office and head back towards the retirees’ event to check everything’s still going smoothly.

‘As confident as I can be.’ I feel slightly nauseous as my mind tries to comprehend what I’ve just signed up to, but I refuse to let my monkey brain hijack me and distract me from this challenge. ‘If we don’t try, then it’s game over. I don’t know about you, but there’s no way I’m letting this place go down without a serious fight.’

Chapter 29

Having neglected to think through the consequences of leading a fundraiser of the size I was suggesting in Gwen’s office, I had to seek Seth and Jackson’s blessing to take on the project. As part of that, I also had to be completely sure that everyone was happy with the arrangement and no one was feeling taken advantage of or left high and dry. The arrangement being that, for the period running up to the event, Jackson would move in and take over as a Seth’s full-time carer, while I would stay at a small family-run hotel in the charming little village of Dirleton for easy access to the park.

Thankfully, the hotel owners were willing to give me a very generous discount on one of their four self-catering studio apartments, as I was booking such a long stay with them. And the best thing about it all was that I made sure mine and Seth’s pathetic excuse for a parental unit would foot the bill for the extra care. Of course, they were happy to shell out, because it eased their woefully tiny consciences that little bit more.

The next three weeks are a whirlwind. Between overseeing the scheduled dating events and coffee mornings – which thankfully, the park team are largely on top of – and planning the fundraising-event-to-end-all-fundraising-events to save the place, I barely have a spare moment in my waking life to think about anything else. Though I do make sure my other projects are ticking over to keep Craig at bay.

I work round the clock with Nick, Lauren and some enthusiastic volunteers (who are also desperate to keep their jobs), leaving the hotel at seven a.m. each morning and not returning until ten p.m. As well as planning the event itself, we put a plan into action to spruce up the park, because every person who comes to the fundraiser is a potential future customer and/or word-of-mouth recommendation. I also enlist the help of Amelia, who’s more than happy to lend us some remote support, and within a couple of days she gets us up and running with some killer social media content to promote the event. This includes designing us some eye-catching e-flyers with the tag line: ‘Help save the best conservation project you’ve never heard of’, which we’re also able to print off and hand out in the local towns and villages, and in and around Edinburgh, appealing to the good nature of the small businesses – cafes, restaurants, hairdressers and the like.

‘Won’t that strapline make us look bad?’ Nick had asked, when Amelia unveiled her stroke of genius via video call at one of our project meetings. ‘If we’re admitting people have never heard of us, then aren’t we admitting to being a failure?’

‘Nah-ah.’ Amelia had firmly rejected this statement, shaking her head so violently her huge hoop earrings bashed her in the face. ‘It adds a layer of intrigue. People will want to know what they’ve been missing out on, so they’ll check you out. It’ll work, I promise.’

So, after twenty-two days of living on espressos and very little sleep, we find ourselves jittery with nerves at our last project meeting on the eve of the event.

‘Do you think it will work?’ asks Hayley, who’s a member of Lauren’s team, and looking very anxious indeed.

‘Honestly? I don’t know.’ I shrug, unable to give her the decisive response she’s seeking. ‘It depends on whether the local community connect with our message and turn up on the day, but I certainly hope so.’

‘You’ll get your turnout,’ says Amelia’s confident face from the wall-mounted TV screen. ‘I know my stuff, soldiers. You’ve got them by the tear ducts.’

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