Chapter Two

"Another press conference?" I ask with a sigh.

It had been about half a year since the SGB rumours started swirling, and now they were beginning to come true. I had hired and fired a number of public relations girls. Starting with Alicia Billington, who is quickly rising to the top of the ladder with her impressive performance. (I need not mention Susan Cleath-Stuart, the girl who was hired at the same time as Alicia. What was I thinking? It was an absolute tragedy, however humorous. Okay, fine. It was pretty funny, her pitching for our competitors accidentally.)

"Yes. We're organizing this one," Alicia grins at me.

"I am utterly exhausted form all these boring press conferences," I say, as if I am letting Alicia in on a personal secret. "You'll be by my side to make sure I don't fall asleep, right?"

"I won't let you down," Alicia replies with a smile.

"Well, we'd better get going then. Come on." I grab my coat, breathing in the familiar scent of my flat, swing it over my shoulders, grab my binder of work thing, and walk out of the office, shortly followed by Alicia.

Alicia is my extremely hardworking and dedicated assistant. She has proved herself to be nothing but helpful so far and I think she is a great asset to Brandon Communications.

The two of us make it to the building in which the press conference is held. We follow the signs that say the Foreland Exotic Opportunities is happening in the Artemis Suite. It seems as though we have got itself quite a turnout. My stomach flips and I secretly pray that I won't royally mess up.

When we enter the room, everything is set up and a couple of people are milling around. I scan the couple of people for familiar faces, but I know none of them. I glance at Alicia, who's beside me and giving me the same look with that familiar glint in her eye.

"Ready?" she asks encouragingly.

"Please." I grab her hand and lead her elegantly to into the room.

As we go around meeting all the important business people, the room begins to fill. I look around and finally - familiar faces.

"Joe," I say with a friendly tone. "I'm glad to see you here."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Joe says in professional tones. He gives me a small smile. "And who is this?"

"This is Alicia Billington," I say, nudging her forward.

The two of them exchange a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr…"

"Hamilton," Joe says pleasantly. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Billington."

Alicia laughs with ease. She's a natural at… well, meeting people and leaving good impressions. "Please, call me Alicia. Everyone else does."

"Alicia, what do you think of the recent rumours surround Flagstaff?" Joe asks, leaning in and lowering his voice. "I'm a bit worried, to be honest. It is my company, after all. Or at least, I work for it."

"I wouldn't be too worried," Alicia laughs. "It's not the best news, but we can easily work through it. And don't worry, your company made a great choice with Brandon Communications." She grabs my arm as she laughs again. "You're in great hands. Luke here is more than capable. Aren't you?"

I give her a smile. "Alicia certainly thinks so," I say to Joe. My eyes move past him and I catch sight of Rebecca Bloomwood from Successful Savings. "Sorry, pardon me, but I have a lot more people to meet," I say with a friendly smile. "Nice bumping in to you, Joe."

"You too, Luke," Joe replies. "And you as well, Alicia. Absolute pleasure."

"I'm glad to hear that," Alicia says respectfully as I pull her along to meet Rebecca.

Rebecca, as usual, has her eye on something across the room. I look across, expecting to see a big brand name, but no, instead I see Elly Granger from Investor's Weekly News. Hmm. I did not know that Rebecca and Elly were friends. I'd have to say hi to Elly right after this, I thought she was doing a marvellous job at her column.

As I approach the glamorously dressed girl, she still doesn't see either me or Alicia. I stand in front of her and watch as she brings a glass of champagne to her lips. Damn, I'd love a glass of champagne right now.

"Rebecca. Glad you could make it." My voice comes out deeper than expected. I look at her as she nearly chokes on her drink. She makes a quick recovery with a small cough.

When she doesn't respond, and instead gives my suit a once over, I feel the need to speak again.

"You know Alicia, don't you?" I'm quite sure they know each other. The girls I know from business matters somehow have magical ways of knowing each other. It baffles me but works just fine.

Alicia reaches out to shake Rebecca's hand, but when Rebecca doesn't offer it, Alicia settles for a sisterly like grasp instead. "Rebecca," she says with a professional air, "you're on Successful Savings, aren't you?"

"That's right," Rebecca says nonchalantly.

"It's very good of you to come today," Alicia says appreciatively. Honestly, the flattery that girl churns. It will get her places some day. "I know you journalists are terribly busy."

"No problem," Rebecca says carelessly. "We like to attend as many press conferences as we can. Keep up with industry events."

I stare intently at Rebecca. Her hands are fidgety, as if she was waiting for something. Behind her cool facade I feel like she's trying not to smile.

Alicia nods with the utmost seriousness. "So, tell me, Rebecca," she begins, as if she's about to unload a heap of gossip, "What do you think of today's news?" Sh gestures at the copy of FT under her arm. I frown. That's my copy of FT. Oh, well. "Quite a surprise, didn't you think?"

I look at Rebecca, her expression calculating and her left eyebrow cocked as she looked to her upper right. Her eyebrows lift as if she just remembered what Alicia was talking about and she nodded numerously. "It's certainly interesting," she says with a smile. Her eyes dodge mine as she looks around the room.

I had a growing suspicion. She didn't know what we were talking about, did she?

"I have to say, I think it's bad news for the industry," Alicia continues, her eyes glued to Rebecca. "But of course, you must have your own views," she says invitingly.

Rebecca colours a bit and bites her lip, stalling. Both Alicia and I are looking at her, waiting for a reply. Alicia because… probably because she expects an answer. Me because I don't expect a proper answer. With Rebecca Bloomwood, it's always a surprise.

I crack a small smile thinking about coloured cheques. I wipe it away quickly, though. Better seem professional and businesslike for these things.

Rebecca opens her mouth and closes it a couple of times, eyes scanning the room desperately. "I agree with you," she says finally. "I think it's very bad news." She brings the glass of champagne to her lips again, and if it weren't for the fact that I very desperately wanted to stick around and hear how this conversation turned out, I would have slipped away and grabbed myself a glass.

"Were you expecting it?" Alicia says, clearly wanting to milk every word out of Rebecca. "I know you journalists are always ahead of the game."

"I…" Rebecca says, dragging the syllable out for as long as she could. "I certainly saw it coming." She smiles at us convincingly.

"And now this rumour about Scottish Prime and Flagstaff Life going the same way!" exclaims Alicia with vigour. I feel my mouth twitching as I regard Rebecca's expression. "Do you think that's really on the cards?"

I have to applaud Alicia. There is absolutely no way to be more vague about the topic than she is right now. Rebecca looks completely lost.

"It's… it's difficult to say," she manages.

I have to applaud her, too. The answers made sense and were somehow just as vague as the questions.

She brings the glass to her lips again, and this time takes a gulp of champagne. Her eyes flick towards mine and I can't do anything to stop my mouth from twitching as I try to hold in peals of laughter.

I got her desperate vibes, though. "Alicia," I say, turning to her. I gesture towards the door. "That's Maggie Stevens coming in. Could you—"

"Absolutely," Alicia replies with certainty, only too glad to be a help.

"And Alicia—" I say as she walks off. She turns and looks at me expectantly. "I want to know exactly who fucked up on those figures."

"Yes," Alicia says obediently. She walks off.

"Well," Rebecca says brightly. "I must go and…" she trails off.

I lean in. "SBG announced that they've taken over Rutland Bank this morning," I say quietly.

Realization dawns on her face which quickly rearranges itself into one of the most smug expressions I've ever seen. "I know they did," she says haughtily. "I read it in the FT." With that, she stalks off towards Elly's direction.

I shake my head after head and begin heading towards the table in hopes of getting my hands on a glass of champagne. That girl will never cease to surprise me.