“Do you have anything else to add?” she asked.
“Yes. Although you may not be aware, Marshall Highlander is a close friend of mine. I know he is going through some public difficulties at the moment, but he has offered to help us—helpyou—to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. And he—”
“I have no idea how someone like you knows Marshall. But if this has anything to do with theCollectiveinterview, I have already approached—”
“For goodness’ sake, Muriel, will you just let mefinishfor once?”
Now the blood had truly drained from her face and, to top everything, her hands came together beneath her chin as though she were Mother Superior praying for him to be struck by a carefully aimed bolt of lightning.
“Go on.”
“Marshall has offered to provide his services to formally interview you and Lord Moresby at our client Christmas party in early December. He said that a lot of what you do—privately and professionally—goes unnoticed, and having a candid interview with you both onstage would be a highlight of the evening. Following the interview, you could consider using selective material—maybe have some exclusive sections not used during the live interview—to fill the celebrity interview page of the Christmas edition ofCollective. He feels the readers ofCollectivewould be delighted to learn more about the lives of the owner and her husband, and I completely agree with him.”
As he watched Muriel process his words, he sat stiffly in his chair, and mulled over the idea of being fired and grovelling for a job working for Marshall. When she’d finally processed what hehad said, and composed herself to declare her final judgement, he prepared himself for the worst.
“Clarissa called me at home last night to resign her position with immediate effect,” she said, taking him completely by surprise. “Were you aware?”
“No, I was not.”
“Well, I’m going to need you to step into her shoes.”
“You’re giving me her job?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? I’m asking you to take over the role while I decide how we are going to deal with the void she has left and consider her replacement. But if you do a good enough job, I see no reason not to offer you an opportunity to interview for the position.”
His mind tried to catch up with what was happening. Had Muriel hoodwinked him? He’d thought he had been brought there to defend his position in the company, only to find he was being expected to step up and replace Clarissa.
“How long?” he asked.
“I beg your pardon?”
“How long am I going to be filling the senior role? Is this going to mean an adjustment to my salary? And will I have anyone to assist me, in the same way that I assisted Clarissa?”
“This is all new, Spencer. I need to consult HR and talk this situation through with them. Right now we don’t have any spare resources to give you. But from what you say, you’ve been taking on her work in the past anyway, so it shouldn’t be too much of an adjustment, should it? In the meantime, I’ll make sure the menial duties you mentioned are redistributed. How does that sound?”
Spencer turned his head to look out of the window. Dirty grey clouds meant a possibility of rain, maybe even sleet or snow. Should he accept the chance to shine in Clarissa’s role? Or should he tell her to get somebody else? He needed somebody hetrusted to talk to, someone impartial, outside the confines of the company.
“Can I think about it?”
“Why would you need to think about it?”
“You’re asking me to take on a lot of extra responsibilities that are above my pay grade. As you say there is no guarantee of a permanent position in the future, and very probably no monetary incentive, bearing in mind the cost-cutting we’ve been through recently. I would like some time to think about this.”
Muriel released a deep, world-weary sigh as though listening to the bellyaching of a twelve-year-old.
“Apart from the Friday deadlines, which Tamara’s team took over and completed, I don’t see that there’s anything urgent Clarissa was dealing with, so I’ll give you until tomorrow. As for the interview by Marshall—I will need to consult our office publicist to run the idea past her and decide whether this is good for us right now. I’ll call Marshall and let him know my decision. Although I do find him difficult to contact.”
“Once you’ve made a decision, you can let me know. He and I are in direct contact with each other.”
“Are you?”
“Yes,” he replied, staring back at her. “Now, if that’s all, I have work to do.”
“Indeed you do, Spencer,” said Muriel. “Indeed you do.”
When Spencer left the office, he had no idea who had come out on top. He had an uneasy feeling Muriel had managed to get exactly what she wanted.
He needed to talk to Marshall.
