Page 79

“Not in my language,” she retorts.

“I’d still do that, you know, if you could ever get grumpy to co-operate,” Mason says, poking the bear even more.

“I’m not doing that,” Caleb says, just as grumpily as expected.

“And this is why you are not given your media assignments in advance unless you absolutely need to prepare for something,” I quip.

The driver pulls around to the front of the main building, and we all climb out of the SUV. Mason reaches the door first and holds his credential up to the security scanner. It lights up, and then he pulls open the door for us to enter.

I smile as soon as I’m in the posh lobby. It’s all glass and light, with the large windows letting sunshine in. I step onto the black floor and immediately look up at the soaring ceiling overhead, where a beautiful chrome Collings Motors F1 car is suspended at an angle above us. It never ceases to amaze me to see it on a clear day, making it appear as if it’s flying in the sunlight.

The walls are lined with glass cases showcasing just some of the hardware the F1 and GT3 teams have earned through the years. The greenery theme from outside is carried inside, with lots of palms and potted plants in the reception area. Modern chairs and glass tables make up the seating arrangements, and there’s a large staircase that leads up to the first and second floors. Receptionists are busy working behind a sleek, long black desk, and I take it all in with pride.

My family built this. My grandfather inherited Collings Motors itself, but he is the one who bought an F1 team and developed it into this. The Collings name is on everything here, from the security lanyards to the napkins in the café to the car hanging overhead.

And for the first time, I realise I can be another Collings innovator. Not on this level, of course, but in merchandising. Leading F1 teams to bring women’s fashion to the forefront.

Is it what I wanted to do at uni? No. Was it the plan? No.

My vision has changed. I didn’t study marketing. I have no background in fashion other than knowing what I like and following trends. What started as an idea to do this for social media practice has evolved to something more.

I know I can do this, my head whispers. I can learn. I’ll work hard. I know I’m onto something with this idea.

“Catherine?”

I blink. Caleb is looking at me, and I shake my head. “Sorry. I was thinking,” I confess. “What did you say?”

“See you later,” he says. “Go on, you can get back to your daydreaming.”

“You are incredibly annoying this morning. Go meet with JP. He actually likes you,” I tease.

Mason looks at me and clears his throat. “Catherine, Isla, later,” he says. “And good luck. She’ll be impressed by you.”

“Thank you,” I say, loving the way Mason believes in me.

Mason and Caleb head off to their respective engineering meetings, and I know I won’t see either of them until the commercial shoot. I won’t see much of Isla, either, as I have a meeting and she has conference calls to be on in one of our guest workspaces today.

“Well, I’m going to check in and get my desk,” Isla says. “What time would you like to meet for lunch?”

“I’m going to be hungry early,” I say as we approach reception. “Just because I had to eat so early before the flight and my anxious stomach didn’t co-operate. Is eleven too soon?”

“No, I’m good with that.”

We both head over to the reception desk, with Isla going to one receptionist who isn’t on the phone, whilst I wait behind her. She checks in and gets her visitor pass for the day, then turns to me. “I’ll see you in the cafeteria,” she says brightly.

“Sounds good,” I say, resisting the urge to tell her we call that a canteen. Then I step up to the same receptionist.

“Hello, Catherine,” she says, smiling at me. “How can I help you this morning?”

I smile in return. I’m here so much with Caleb that I know a lot of people at headquarters. “Hello, Rhiann! I have a meeting at nine with Nicola St. John,” I say

She nods and taps a few buttons on her keyboard, then calls the head of the online store. “Hello, Nicola, I have Catherine here for a meeting … Yes. I shall. Thank you.” The receptionist looks at me. “Someone will be down to greet you shortly.”

“Thank you,” I say. I move to one of the seating clusters and take a seat in a grey chair. I exhale, excited and anxious. After talking with my dad about my idea, I decided to utilise my time here by getting a meeting. I immediately went to work, doing some digging. Boy, it was a crash course in understanding how merchandising is organised within the company. I learnt that we have a teamwear and licensing department within marketing that also handles the Collings Motors online store. The department itself is small, only ten people, but there are partner managers who deal with our big athletic-shoe partner, and clothing logistics team members, who manage the apparel that is worn in the paddock, just to name a couple of them.

I was able to get half an hour with Nicola. I found a video on the company website where she explains her job, and wow, the woman has a lot on her plate. Everything from determining what goes on the site and how it’s packaged and shipped to managing more than 100 stock-keeping unit numbers … I can’t imagine what her day is like. I’m willing to bet she truly didn’t have time to meet with me on such short notice.

And I have no doubt I got in her diary today because my last name is Collings. That’s okay. I’m excited about presenting my ideas to her, and if my name can open that door, so be it.