Page 51 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
Patsy took the coffees upstairs. Matt was sat where she’d been on the sofa and was looking optimistically at everything that was laid out on the coffee table ready.
‘Latte, cappuccino,’ she said, handing Oliver and Matt their coffees.
‘Thanks,’ said Matt. ‘It looks like you two have been busy.’
Patsy grabbed a chair from the nearby dining table and sat across from Matt and Oliver, the coffee table between them.
‘Patsy’s done most of the work and I’ve asked her to take on the role of project manager.’ He handed Matt the master document. ‘She’s already done most of the research and I think as she’s got such an eye for it she ought to be involved in all the decisions from now on. We’ve got cover for her here so she’s free to be on site as much as she needs to be.’
Matt put his coffee down and sat back, grinning. ‘That works for me. Hopefully you’ll be much easier to pin down than Oliver.’
‘Thanks, mate,’ said Oliver in mock outrage, ‘I thought you of all people would know you don’t have a minute to yourself when you’re your own boss.’
‘I can be sympathetic until I need a decision making and then it’s annoying when I can’t get hold of you.’
‘I’m sure Pats will be a huge improvement then,’ said Oliver. ‘Look at this, it’s all her work.’ He pulled some of the key elements to the top of the pile of pictures and plans that were strewn across the table. ‘This is her vision and I want her to make sure it comes to life.’
Patsy sat there watching Matt as he wordlessly sifted through her painstakingly prepared design boards. For some reason this made her feel a bit uncomfortable. She felt like he was judging her and it reminded her of what he’d been like in the beginning.
‘It’s a very coherent vision,’ he said, finally. Patsy softened a little. ‘But do you have any experience of project managing? Any procurement experience? Knowledge of commercial building standards and regulations?’
‘To be fair, we’re paying you for that,’ said Oliver. ‘And I don’t know much more than Patsy about procurement and project managing.’
‘Buying stuff isn’t rocket science,’ Patsy said, defensively. ‘I’m a very organised person and… and I have no idea why I’m justifying myself to you.’ She aimed this at Matt but looked at Oliver as she said it, hoping he would put a stop to Matt’s doubts.
‘Come on Matt, you’ve got to get on board with Patsy. Give her a chance.’
‘Look, don’t get me wrong, I’m only making sure you know what you’re getting into. It’s a lot of work.’
Patsy could see in his eyes that he genuinely wasn’t trying to be a dick about it. He looked concerned, if anything.
‘It’s okay. I’ve got the time, and I would like to see it through and be involved in the whole thing from start to finish, now that we’ve decided what we want,’ she said.
Matt smiled and gave a small nod. ‘Let’s get started then.’
‘Right. So what do we need to look at first?’ Oliver asked.
After an hour of having to justify every inch of her design but holding her nerve and doing just that to prove she could be business-like and calm, Patsy was relieved when Jack called up the stairs for help.
‘I’ll go,’ she said.
‘Thanks, I think we’re almost done anyway,’ said Oliver.
Matt nodded in agreement and Patsy skipped down the stairs. She felt like she’d won Matt over, not that he’d admit it, but he’d asked her questions that she knew the answers to, asked her reasons for various choices and hadn’t come back with any negative comments. She was exhausted but felt like she’d made a good job of pitching her vision. Surprisingly, she found herself respecting the fact that Matt was so thorough in checking that she knew what was what. It showed that he was good at his job, even in the face of his client calling the shots. And it was right that he checked those shots. He was the kind of person they needed on their side.
The coffee house had developed a little queue which she and Oliver would take in their stride but which, completely understandably had freaked Jack out.
‘I’m sorry to interrupt your meeting, Patsy.’
‘Don’t worry, we’d pretty much finished. I was glad to get out of there.’
‘How did it go?’
‘Really well. We might be needing a bit more help from you in here.’
‘No problem,’ said Jack, grinning. ‘I totally nailed drawing a heart on someone’s latte this morning and she gave me a tip.’
‘Wow, that’s great. Did you fancy her?’
