‘His name is Frank,’ said Grace as she readjusted her T-shirt.
‘Frank?’ asked Carlotta.
‘Yes, Frank. And before you ask, he’s a bike courier and it’s through him that I got to meet Calypso,’ she said proudly.
‘A bike courier who knows Calypso Gable?’ asked Carlotta incredulously.
‘I know, crazy huh?’ said Grace, sitting forward. ‘We met at the last auction at Cranfields and he is so sweet and funny and doesn’t care about money or anything like that,’ she said, sitting back and smiling dreamily.
Violetta and Carlotta looked at each other.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ said Grace. ‘But he’s not like that.’
‘So how the hell does he know Calypso Gable?’ asked Violetta.
‘He knows her husband. And she’s really nice and wants to do the campaign. She really likes you, Violetta. She said you were funny.’
Violetta preened a little. ‘Really? She said that? I do like her films. I might watch one tomorrow night.’
‘I thought you had seen them all, with you and your rom com addiction,’ scoffed Carlotta.
‘How many times have you seenInternational Velvetagain, Carlotta?’ reminded Violetta.
Grace stood up and walked into her kitchen. ‘Pizza?’ she yelled.
And the sisters yelled out their orders while Grace rang them through.
‘OK, wine?’ She walked out holding a bottle.
Carlotta looked at her. ‘I won’t drink if you aren’t comfortable with it.’
Grace rolled her eyes. ‘I can drink if I want to, Carlotta.’
‘I know, but just in case,’ Carlotta said, glancing at Violetta.
Violetta got the message. ‘I won’t drink tonight, I want to be on form for tomorrow.’
‘Fine then, mineral water?’
‘Excellent,’ said Carlotta.
The three sat down.
‘OK, so we need to prepare our order,’ said Carlotta. ‘Chris says we should get them excited about the celebrity angle first, so Grace, you need to take them through the Calypso pitch.’
‘OK,’ said Grace, and opening her notebook she started to write.
‘Then Letty, you need to show them the design ideas and the direction and tell them why you think it will work.’
‘Yep, I have all that here. I need help in working out the order,’ she said, rifling through one of the bags.
‘Great. And then Chris and I will take them through the direction for the stores and the new approach to customer service. Including the new loyalty card and members program.’
‘How long do we each have to talk?’ asked Grace.
‘About fifteen minutes,’ said Carlotta, checking the agenda Chris had given her.
As the evening wore on, they presented to one another, giving notes and support. It was the best night they had had in a long time together and as Carlotta and Violetta said goodbye to Grace, they spontaneously hugged each other.
