Overstatement of the century, she thought. A team? What team? He did his thing, assisted by some youngsters, and she worked on serious advertising. They met once. They spoke via the idatrons twice. They exchanged a few emails, mainly to do with renegotiation of Carpe Diem’s Christmas break, which, by the way, had got them nowhere so far. Collins kept hiding behind the contract, and she was too busy to deal with it now. She decided to leave it for the time being; surely once they would hit the road and realize what demand they were in, they’d change their minds.
‘I’m glad you clarified that. I will make a mental note of it should it be required in the future. Is there anything else I can do for you today?’
There was a short silence on the other side.
‘Carpe Diem are playing a small, semi-private concert tomorrow night,’ he said. ‘It will be a great occasion for our teams and yourself to meet the band and their manager face to face. We’d be honored if you joined us.’
What???
‘I appreciate it, Mr. Collins, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend,’ her reply was automatic like an unconditional reflex, ‘I have committed myself to a business dinner tomorrow night, in view of convincing a couple of important clients to the project. I’m sure it would be a very enjoyable evening, and I regret I must miss it. Is there anything else?’
‘No, that was all,’ he said. ‘If for any reason your plans change, the concert will be held at Steel Magnolias club at 9pm. You are welcome to join us at any time.’
‘I’ll make a note of it. Goodbye, Mr. Collins.’
Grrrrrr. She flinched at the thought of spending an evening with Collins and his associates, in a place where at least half the audience would be Mortals. Wasn’t it enough that she had to listen to Carpe Diem’s music and watch the recordings of their concerts, now he wanted her to be exposed to a whole night of it live? And how would that even help her do her job? She knew everything she had to know about them from the video materials and her simulations. She could think of at least ten better ways to spend her time.
The club was buzzing. People crowded around the bar and a few rows of the most hardcore Carpe Diem fans already guarded the best spots in front of the stage. Daniel made his way through to where Frankie, Maddie, Tom and Angela were standing in a circle, sipping cocktails.
‘Hey, buddy, where have you been?’ Tom greeted him.
‘Just finishing up some reports,’ he said. ‘You guys been here long?’
‘Long enough to have a couple of these,’ Maddie smiled, raising her empty cocktail glass. ‘Your famous mojito. You must be in desperate need of one?’
‘Thanks, Maddie, but I’d better go and say hi to the guys first,’ he said. ‘In fact, why don’t we all go, I’ll introduce you lot.’
They quickly finished up their drinks and followed him to the dressing rooms. They could hear the sound of electric guitars from the other end of the long corridor.
‘They are playing Rollercoaster!’ Maddie lit up.
By the time they reached the door to the changing rooms, it was so noisy Daniel had to bang on it to be heard on the other side. A hoarse voice resounded from inside.
‘What has the cat dragged in now?’
‘It’s us, mate, you got a moment?’ Daniel shouted back, opening the door a little.
‘Danny, my good old friend!’ the same voice answered. It belonged to a tall, bony and shaggy man who emerged from the depth of the room, and gave Daniel a big hug and a pat on the back that could pass for a beating. ‘Good to see you! Who have you brought me?’
‘This is my team. Frankie, Angela, Maddie and Tom.’
‘Wow, you’re a lucky man, Danny boy!’ he said, inviting them inside and shaking their hands. ‘If only the lot I have to babysit were as good-looking as yours! And fully dressed! Not so much here! My lot are a scruffy bunch who can’t decide what to wear till five minutes before show time, so up till then they sit around in their undies. Not the prettiest of sights, I am warning you. Let me see if I can make them throw something on for the ladies’ sake. ‘Hey, guys!’ he shouted, disappearing in the other room. ‘Danny’s here with his team, so get some pants on and come meet the people who are organizing your tour! They are doing a good job so be nice to them!’
Daniel, Angela and Tom exchanged amused looks. Frankie and Maddie giggled. Gary was quite a character, but only those who knew him well, realized how shrewd a manager he was. Carpe Diem were in good hands.
The noise stopped and there was some commotion. About a minute later, Gary shouted that they could come in. By the time they all entered the other room, the electric guitars went off again.
John and Patrick were sitting on a big sofa that occupied the middle of the room. They were the ones playing the guitars. Will and Joe were at the back, busy with their long hair and outfits. They were naked from waist up, so it seemed Gary wasn’t joking when he said they sat around in their undies till five minutes to show time. Maddie’s cheeks, rosy as they already were from the cocktails, now turned bright red.
‘So,’ Gary said to Daniel, having pulled him away from the band, as the rest of the team were shaking hands and doing small talk. ‘Where’s your hot immortal chick? I’ve seen the list of sponsors she’s put together. Boy, good on you for bringing her on board. There are a few big fish in there.’
‘She couldn’t make it tonight,’ he said, making sure his face didn’t tense at the mention of Amari, ‘she’s meeting some more big fish she’s trying to win for us.’
‘She should have brought them here!’ Gary exclaimed. ‘What sells this band better than their music?’
My thoughts exactly, Daniel reflected, but he didn’t say it aloud. When he called Amaranthine earlier on to invite her to the concert, and she said she was meeting some important clients in the evening, he was going to suggest she brought them along, but from the tone in which she declined to come, it was safe to assume she wouldn’t even consider it. So he never mentioned it.
‘Ah, you know what they’re like, big businessmen, with their tight schedules. It was a bit of a short notice for them,’ he said to Gary.
Daniel’s idatron started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.
‘Sorry, Gary, it’s a client. I’d better take it.’
‘Sure, sure, you go ahead,’ Gary said, and turned around, heading for the couch. ‘Come on, you lot!’ he yelled, clapping his hands. ‘Let’s get you ready!’
Daniel rushed out of the dressing rooms to be able to take the call.
‘Mr. McLaren!’ he picked up as soon as it was quiet enough. ‘How are you?
‘Very good, very good,’ he answered. ‘And you?’
‘I’m very well, thank you, sir. What can I do for you?’
‘Listen, I just spoke to the lovely Miss Quinn today, she sent me a selection of music by a band called Carpe Diem? The spec mentioned your name, so I just wondered what you know about them?’
‘My PR company is representing them on their first world tour,’ Daniel explained. ‘They are one of the most sought-after mortal rock bands at the moment.’
‘That’s what Amari said, but I wasn’t convinced. She tried to sell me a sponsoring and advertising package on their tour,’ Athos McLaren said. ‘She never mentioned you were involved in it.’
‘Yes, we have just started working together. How did you like the compilation?’
‘Great stuff, actually, pretty damn good! I was skeptical when she presented it to me, but now I believe young Immortals would like this band,’ he said. ‘But will they really go to all those concerts? Don’t get me wrong, Danny, you know what I mean, it’s one thing listening to some records at home or in an Immortal venue, but openly supporting Mortals in a public concert? No offence to you.’
‘None taken. As for Carpe Diem’s Immortal fans, it doesn’t seem to bother them,’ Daniel said. ‘Mostly probably because at any of Carpe Diem’s concerts at least half of the audience are actually Immortals, so it feels
like an Immortal event to them. They get very enthusiastic about cheering on the band, I’ve seen it happen many times.’
‘It’s not that I don’t trust you, Daniel, I’m just skeptical cause it’s such an unusual thing, you understand. It’s hard to believe it without seeing it.’
‘Sir,’ Daniel decided to go for it. ‘I am actually at a club called Steel Magnolias just now, and Carpe Diem are about to start a small concert. If you could spare a couple of hours, you could see them play live and see for yourself how Immortals react to them.’
‘Why didn’t you say so in the first place?’ Athos McLaren exclaimed. ‘What’s the club called, did you say?’
‘Steel Magnolias.’
‘Ok, see you soon.’
He hung up. Daniel stood there for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts. I’d better let Amaranthine know, he thought, otherwise she’s going to assume I’m interfering. But what if she really was at an important dinner with clients? He wasn’t sure if her excuse was genuine or not. He didn’t want to disturb her, if she really was out there trying to win business, but then again he knew how particular she was about him trying to get involved in what she called ‘her’ business. He hesitated for a while, but in the end he dialed her number.
Amaranthine had just sat down at the table with two of her biggest potential clients. She kept the conversation light and entertaining whilst they waited for their food. She tried not to let the pressure she was under leak into her body language, which was becoming increasingly difficult. She had spoken to more clients today and they were all skeptical about getting involved in Carpe Diem’s tour. She needed big names, without them she had no ammunition for her sales talks. But it was of utmost importance that her companions, both extremely influential tycoons of the software industry, did not find out how much she needed them. It required the highest degree of concentration, the meticulous selection of words, and the perfect body language.
Suddenly, she received a mental signal from her idatron. An urgent call from Mr. Collins.
She automatically declined the communication, cursing in her mind as she felt a flash of fury go through her face. She knew that one of her clients noticed it. What on Earth is he thinking, calling me now, she thought, when I’m in the middle of a business meeting of this magnitude? Who does he think he is? She sent another mental signal to her idatron, blocking all incoming calls from him.
It took all her aplomb to recover her composure, and go back to the conversation with her clients.
Daniel gave up after the fifth attempt. His first call was declined and then she was unavailable. There was nothing more he could do. At least I can’t be accused of not trying to contact her, he thought. I’m just going to have to explain everything tomorrow.
He put his idatron away and headed back to summon his team and let them know that Athos McLaren was to show up shortly. He’d have to give him his full attention, and he needed to brief them on how they could help. He considered telling Gary how important it was that Carpe Diem made a good impression on this guy, but decided against it. They should just play as usual, any pressure could backfire or make them look artificial. Besides, he was confident they would perform to their usual high standard, which was all that was needed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
It was nearly ten o’clock on Friday night, but Amaranthine was still in her office, perfecting every detail of her presentation predicting Carpe Diem’s future popularity. She wanted to have it ready for Monday morning so she could convince her clients into investing. She was sure the predictions and the way she presented them would impress at least a few. And yet she wasn’t entirely happy with it. She felt like something was missing, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She’d been trying to figure it out for hours and was still at square one. She felt the increasing frustration, but was determined to crack it.
She heard a quiet knock on the door.
‘Come in!’ she called, not raising her head. She knew it was Perenelle with the reports she’d been putting together for her.
‘Hey boss, here’s the updated list of clients on Carpe Diem project,’ she said, placing her idatron on Amari’s desk. It immediately displayed the document. ‘We’re still waiting for a couple of signed contracts to be returned, and the ones you negotiated this week. I also updated the revenue predictions.’
‘Thanks, Penny,’ Amaranthine said, transferring the data onto her own idatron and not looking at her PA. ‘You can go home.’
‘You staying for much longer?’ Penny asked.
Amaranthine raised her eyebrows and nodded absent-mindedly, still focused on her simulation.
‘Mmm,’ she murmured under her breath, neither confirming nor denying.
Perenelle looked at her closely, plucking up the courage to say something. This prolonged tension and distance that Amaranthine has built around her since The Universe disaster, was starting to get to her. She adored her boss, and always enjoyed working with her closely, but this time Amari had built this wall around her, and she wasn’t allowing anyone near her. She sat in her office, leaving only to meet clients, and worked like mad for hours. She was in the office before anyone else got there and stayed long after everyone had left. She didn’t share her thoughts with anyone, it was as if she was in some sort of a trance. No one dared approaching her, even to express their gratitude for saving their jobs.
Perenelle knew her boss long enough though, to notice that Amaranthine wasn’t doing all this on purpose, or to punish anyone for her current situation. She was merely under an enormous amount of stress which she was unable to ease. It was typical of Amari, she just tried to work through her difficulties, and it wasn’t in her nature to ask for help, or talk it through with anyone. She’d just deal with it all on her own. She’d done that before, but never to this extent. It was even showing in her face – pale complexion, her eyes dulled and circled with dark shadows, visible even from underneath her perfect make-up.
Amaranthine raised her head, suddenly noticing Perenelle was still there.
‘Yes?’ she said.
Perenelle opened her mouth but the words that came out were not the ones she intended.
‘No, nothing. Good night, then, Amari.’
‘Good night. See you on Monday.’
Perenelle picked up her idatron and headed for the door.
‘Penny?’ she heard Amaranthine’s voice.
‘Yes?’ she turned around and went back to the desk. Amaranthine was scanning the report she’d just given her. Two deep vertical wrinkles formed on her forehead.
‘You’ve made a mistake in this report,’ she said, turning her idatron at an angle so that Penny could see the document. ‘No big deal, you can fix it on Monday before the meeting, I’d just better show it to you now.’
Perenelle looked at the name which Amaranthine was pointing at. Athos McLaren, one of the clients on the ‘Confirmed’ list. The client who’d bought the biggest advertising package so far.
‘This client is actually still in limbo, so just move him back down to ‘Potential’ on Monday. I’m going to try and arrange one more meeting with him and hopefully win him over, but as it stands, he’s not confirmed.’
‘Sorry about that,’ Penny said. ‘His status was confirmed on the updated list that Daniel Collins has just sent in. He called earlier to discuss some details, remember, you said to tell him you were busy – ’
‘That’s because I was busy,’ Amaranthine snapped back. ‘This guy is seriously getting on my nerves. He just can’t help himself, can he? I said to him that I’d let him know when Athos McLaren got in touch, he doesn’t like to be rushed. And I did say he was highly skeptical, so with all probability, he’ll not go for it at all. I hate it when people try to count their chickens!’
‘I’ll correct it now,’ Perenelle offered, trying to smooth things up. That was another reason no one dared speak to Amari these days. At every mention of this guy Collins’ name, she burst out in rage, which was a completely new thing
for the whole office – she had always been a hundred percent self-controlled, even if she had to work with someone she disliked. But Penny didn’t blame her. She didn’t know how she’d react if she had to deal with Mortals on a daily basis, and she knew that Amari had more reasons than most Immortals to hate them.
‘No, go home, Penny. Just do it first thing on Monday morning, ok?’
‘Ok,’ she said, sensing that Amaranthine wanted to be alone more than anything else. ‘Good night.’
What a pity, Amaranthine thought, looking at the financial report that Penny had updated. Athos McLaren’s account would bring it up to a nice total, not to mention the extra trump card it would provide for negotiations with other clients. But there was no point deliberating and imagining what could happen, and it was certainly very stupid to put him on the list of confirmed clients, when the chances of winning his business were so slim. It could only bring disappointment. Deep inside she knew that even her presentation wouldn’t convince him. Who am I trying to kid, she thought, I’ve been in this business for long enough to know when a client is lost, and pushing him would only make things worse for our future relationship. At least if he got back to me and said no, I could channel my energy to other clients and stop hoping for him to buy a package first…
In fact, she thought, I should resolve it now. Get a definite answer from him before the new week starts. The weekend will give me time to get over it and I won’t have to worry about it anymore, I’ll know exactly where I stand then. She knew that Athos McLaren worked late, even on Fridays. She decided to call him.
‘McLaren here,’ he picked up immediately.
‘Mr. McLaren, this is Amaranthine,’ she said. ‘I’m terribly sorry to bother you at such a late hour, but I just wanted to check if you’ve had a chance to look at that band’s compilation I sent you a few days back?’
‘Oh, yes, sure, I listen to them all the time now, as a matter of fact!’ he said enthusiastically. Amaranthine felt a warm wave of hope go through her chest. ‘I now have got all their albums,’ he continued, ‘but I must say they sound even better live!’