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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Right on time.
I glanced at my watch. In fact, eleven minutes early. That was a good sign. It showed that not only was she professional but she was also interested.
I’d secured prime window seats at Darwin. Overlooking the Thames on Level 36 of the Sky Garden, it was London’s highest rooftop brasserie. The fantastic views of The Shard and countless famous landmarks were the perfect backdrop for what I had planned for this morning.
I stood up to greet her.
‘Rhonda, hi.’ I gave her a kiss on each cheek. ‘How are you?’
‘Good, Soph. Great to see you!’ she sat down.
‘Likewise. Can I get you something to drink?’
‘The kale juice would be good, thanks.’
She looked sharp as always. Striking jet-black blunt bob, structured royal-blue dress with shiny skyscraper heels and the kind of ‘natural’-looking make-up that took much longer to do than it would appear (I knew this because I used to do that every day, today included). Yep. Rhonda was polished and ready to do business.
I called the waiter over and ordered the drinks and some breakfast. I was feeling good. Calm. Even though this could potentially be one of the most important meetings in my life, I had to keep my cool.
We did the whole small talk thing. Spoke about how things were going with her, showed her photos of Leo and Lorenzo, but I knew she had to catch a flight back to New York soon, so it was time to get down to business.
‘So: I mentioned on the phone that I had a proposition for you.’
‘Yes, and I’m very intrigued. Tell me more.’
‘Well, I was reading inPR Update—nice interview by the way—that you had plans to expand and open an office in either London or Paris and I wondered what stage you’re at with that?’
When I was scrolling through Instagram a few days ago, I saw that Rhonda had posted about how great it was to be back in her home city. And after I’d read about her expansion goals in that article before, a lightbulb had gone off. IknewI had to get in touch with her. Surely it was fate that we were both in London at the same time. She was looking to open a business here and I wanted to sell one—I was convinced it was a sign.
‘It’s at the very early stages at the moment. Takes time to find the right premises, set up, put a team in place.You know the drill. But I’m going to make it happen.’
‘I know you will. Which is why I called. How would you like to make it happen right now? How would you like to open the London branch of your agency immediately?’
‘What?’ She frowned. ‘I mean, of course, I’d love that but how…?’ Then the penny dropped. ‘BeCome? You’re selling up? But, that business is in your blood. It’s part of you. That’s your baby! How would you even…? I remember how hard you worked. I mean, I heard rumours that you were thinking of selling last year, but I knew it would never happen. And I know you wouldn’t let something like having a kid get in the way of that. You’d just hire a nanny or au pair if it got too much, so I don’t get it.’
‘You’re right. I don’thaveto sell it, but I’m ready for a new start. Look, I know so many agencies would kill to have what we have and it could all be yours. If you want it.’ I put my hands together and leant in closer. ‘Just think, if you took over, you’d have an instant London office in a prime location, a ready-made roster of the most prestigious clients in the industry, a talented team. You’d become a truly global player in the PR world.’ Her eyes widened. I could tell Rhonda could see it. She could picture the dream. ‘The media wouldlovethe story. I could see you splashed across the front pages of the SundayTimesbusiness section.Everyonewould want to cover the story. With your clients and mine, you could dominate the industry. Even more clients and staff would come flocking. You’d be untouchable. Just think: you could own it all. For the right price…’
‘I’m in!’ she said. I’d barely managed to get the words out before she’d agreed. Her saying yes wasn’t enough, though.
‘We’d need to discuss figures and terms, of course. I have other parties who’ve been hounding me to sell to them for months’—I dialled up the sales pitch—‘and I’ve said no, but now I’m ready, I thought I’d come to you first—’
‘Forget about them,’ she snapped. ‘I want in. I’ll buy your business. I told you, I want a London office. I have the money. I can make this happen quickly.’
That would be ideal. If I could get this business off my hands tomorrow, I would, but I couldn’t show my desperation. And it had to be right. Even though I wanted to move on sooner rather than later, it wasn’t just about offloading it to the quickest or highest bidder. BeCome was and in some ways always would be my first baby, so it was important to hand over the reins to the right person.
I respected Rhonda. I liked the way she ran her agency. She had a strong management team supporting her. Her clients and her staff respected her too. That was crucial. I needed to know that my company would be in good hands. That my team would be looked after. She had smart investors backing her. Like Rhonda, they would know a good opportunity when they saw it.
‘How quickly did you have in mind?’
‘I can get on the phone to my lawyers this morning and get the ball rolling immediately. Naturally they’ll need your financials and want a ton of information, and like you said, we’d have to talk figures, but provided we all give each other what we need, there’s no reason we can’t get this done in a matter of weeks.’
Weeks?I was sure it would take longer than that. Then again, weeks could mean anything. Anything from five to fifty-five. I didn’t want to be waiting around for over a year, though…
‘I could work with that. My financial director already has everything in order and ready to send over. I do have other opportunities on the table, though, and don’t want to drag this out, so once you’ve spoken to your people, if there’s a chance you can’t go ahead quickly, I’ll need to move on to the next buyer.’
‘No! Trust me. I want this. I’ll get this done.Fast. I assure you. And your plans? Will they involve staying in the industry?’
