A Silver Lining by Christine Murray

A Silver Lining
    Of all the companies, in all the towns, in all the world, she had to walk into his, thought Mollie Butler as she walked into the Empressario boardroom.
    Ok, maybe that was a bit over-dramatic. Still, she had just landed the first big client for her fledgling firm, and now she found her ex-boyfriend sitting at the boardroom table. And not just any ex, oh no. The ex. The one who had broken her heart.
    No doubt about it, Dublin was way too small.
    Half a dozen executives for Empressario Corp sat around the table, looking at her expectantly. Dealing with such a large company would make her nervous at the best of times, but being watched by James – the man she’d thought she was going to marry –only exacerbated the situation.
Mollie wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing that she was rattled. She shook her heavy blonde hair from her face, happy she had worn her business like cream suit and matching Karen Millen shoes. The last job they’d had, shooting a promotional video for a kids preschool months ago, had been a strictly t-shirt and jeans affair. More than ever, she was grateful to have Greg, her chief editor and second in command, beside her. She sat down and pointedly ignored meeting James’ eye. She’d moved on, she was an independent, successful woman. She didn’t need his validation.
So why was she so bothered?
That was the million dollar question. She needed water but was afraid to pour it from the jug in the middle of the table in case her hands were shaking.
‘Welcome!’ boomed the man at the head of the table. He looked to be in his mid-forties. His suit was expensive, and impeccably cut. It had, unfortunately, been made for a much slimmer man, but Calvin wasn’t the type to let that kind of thing bother him. His hair was as black as coal and had a suspicious amount of volume. He got up and shook her hand, and that of Greg – her business partner.
    ‘Welcome to Empressario!’ he boomed. ‘Nice office space, huh? You excited to see how the big players’ roll?’
    Mollie felt Greg stiffen beside her. Even if they weren’t operating out of her spare bedroom, and relying on a loan from her brother, she knew the remark would have stung. She interjected quickly, before Greg could say something pointed.
    ‘Yeah, the office space is amazing. The last time we met with Tim, it was at a conference. We’ve never actually been here.’
    The subtext being, ‘where the hell was Tim?’ She’d been dealing with Tim Clarke since the project had started. While he still had scared the life out of her – being so close to such a make or break deal tended to have that effect – he had been crisp and professional. He’d mentioned that Calvin Greene would be involved in the project, but not that he would be solely responsible.
    ‘Tim is away on annual leave,’ said James, helpfully. ‘Family emergency, I’m afraid.’
    Damn, she’d have to look at him now. She met James’ eye and gave a terse nod of her head. ‘That’s a shame.’
    ‘But never fear,’ Calvin bellowed from the end of the table. ‘I’m taking charge of this ship, and all who sail in her!’
    Tim hadn’t said much about Calvin, except to note that he was a bit of a wild card. Empressario was an investment firm, so she’d presumed Tim was talking about his gambling on the stock market. It turned out the name was a better fit because he was actually insane.
‘So, what did you discuss with Tim?’ he asked.
‘It was a pretty crisp project,’ she said, before going through the basic details. It was totally in keeping with the Empressario brand. Sweeping camera shots of their building, which had won an award for ground-breaking architecture, a few talking head pieces with their main players and some newer faces from this year’s intake. She allowed herself a moment of pride as she finished up her brief. It was truly brilliant, even if she did say so herself.
    Unfortunately, the look on Calvin’s face told her he