Impressive ‘Star-in-Waiting’

“Does that pose a problem for you?”

“Err, no.”

“Then hi, Mike. Please sit for this working lunch. You understand that if I assess you as a correct fit for the team, you’re in if you wish to join it.”

“Yes, Mr Briggs made that clear when he called me and my head of department to discuss the possibility of having me seconded to your team for an unspecified period. Thelma and I can understand why he left the final decision to you.”

“Simply put Mike, I’m the managing-partner’s protégé and he accepts that I’m at my best when I’ve left alone to do my thing.”

“Which is?”

“I’ve just stated it, to do my thing.”

“But that’s nebulous.”

“Let that go, Mike. Don’t get tied up for the moment, giving the impression you preferred to work under someone’s thumb. You are twenty-five and I as team leader am twenty-one. Does that leave you thinking I’m too young to inspire you, to open the way for your to be at your creative best?”

“Well, by the way you are handling this meeting with me I have to say I’m impressed and you are stripping away my initial doubts.”

“Good answer Mike. I now wish to push to the limits. Are you presently of a mind you’d like to date me?”

Mike, glancing at her beautifully shaped bosom against her tight top coughed and said, “Isn’t that an inappropriate question for management to hit a subordinate with?”

“Yes, if I were in management. I’m simply a co-worker in the group with a simple title of team leader, to lead, organise, report to Brick and discipline is necessary of the group for which I possess the thin advantage of being designated team leader.”

“Wow, a mind-bending reply but I get the drift.”

“Thanks, but answer the personal question.”

“The female I’m dating is beginning to hint about us becoming serious.”

“Congratulations, Mike. But please answer the question.”

“Yes, I would be prepared to date you, my present situation on dating notwithstanding.”

“An excellent answer, finally. It tells me more about you that possibly you might think. For instance, you appear capable of committing to the philosophy that author Alexandre Dumas ‘All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall’ gave to his heroes, The Three Musketeer. I certainly believe it’s the perfect philosophical aim for our small self-managing creative group to operate under.”

“I agree and understand that you are attempting to gather like-minded people around you for this project.”

“Wow, this has become rather deep and I appreciate your frankness, Mike. Now let’s relax over a drink, I must say I wanted to hear something like that from you. I’ve studied your CV and references and the type of accounts you worked on in Melbourne, for a substantially smaller agency than ours but it was totally a PR agency. You are in, if working in our group appeals to you that much.”

“Oh yes, I’m in. The scope of this account that you outlined to me offers something to really get me teeth into.”

* * *

On Monday, the newly designed special projects team of four had their first team meeting, where Toni introduce Mike to Greg, and Raewyn and then allocated work for the week.

“Raewyn and Greg, we need to build our own database on Churchill Park. Raewyn you concentrate in getting historical files going right back to the naming of the park, as earlier use of the land if that is available. Greg you look for copies of maps of the area from way back to the present, and drawing and maps. Raewyn you lead that quest over the next couple of days or perhaps longer and meet and coordinate your researching including noting information that may involve gathering information further afield.”

“Mike, since it’s council-owned land, please get the person directly responsible for the administration and upkeep of the park, whether that’s one person or perhaps more, and arrange for a complete guided tour over the entire 740-acre wilderness for you and me.”

“They will be aware that the council has development plans for the site and that our firm has been handed the contract to promoted the story of the development once the council is ready to release it. I’ll call the City Manager in the next few minutes to press him to authorise those managers to cooperate fully with us.”

“Greg, for the familiarisation tour, I suggest you carry a high-resolution camera with you to capture features that we encounter such as swamps, tidal flow, wading birds, any notable trees, etcetera and of course the personalities revealing the park to us. Some of that may be useful for our PR releases but above all those images will be a mind-refresher when you begin preparing the sequences of media releases.”

That evening, Mike contacted Toni.

“I made positive progress at the city admin.”

“The inspection for us all starts tomorrow and will take a couple of days to complete, beginning with a flat-bottom boat ride in shallow water along the coastal boundary line with the park.”

“Excellent decision as the briefing on-site will benefit us all.”

“Thanks, Toni. How did you guys get on?”

“We have had access to a ton of information and I have been told about a painting in the early 1890s of a small fishing village developed by early European settlers on the actual parkland that prior to that had been a wasteland on scrub in tidal marshes, very much like it is today. The painting is in storage at the city museum. We need to suggest to the council it should preserve a big slice of the marshlands in its natural state as the marshlands are probably century-old nurseries for seawater fish that lay eggs there.”

“That sounds like a sensible and a cautious approach and could help to appease the Greenies to some extent who are anti-development and pro wildlife protection. Um, Toni, may I take you to dinner tonight?”

“Yes, I need to eat but I have no wish to jeopardise your relationship with your girlfriend.”

“There’s no problem. She’s waiting for me to answer her query about the possibility of moving in together but I’m stalling, because I don’t think she’s right for me.”

“Hmm. Well we have to eat, Mike. I’ll be ready to go somewhere at 8.00. I’ll text you my address. I prefer that no one knows about this, okay?”

“Agreed. But it’s only dinner, right?”

“Who knows Mike. I have no idea.”

“Right.”

Toni cut the call and wondered why she’d thrown in that teaser ‘Who knows’ into that conversation. On the other hand, perhaps they both had been thinking that they had been loosely attracted to one another. She was aware that Mike had glanced at her boobs and her legs occasionally, although that was a fairly normal reaction from any male.

Whatever.

Well, she was also pleased she now had something to get her teeth in with the bonus of having sex on the side as like anyone working in high-performance mode, it was necessary to wallow in a bit of full-on sex to keep a balance to one’s life.

The End