Skinny Dipping (14 page)

“I’m throwing these words out. Sponge bath. Octopus hands. Shark suit.” Of course these ideas were from Desmond.

“Good, lets work with that.” She wrote the words on the white board. All ideas needed to go on the whiteboard because once people started thinking they were stupid, they would clamp up, refuse to speak. The idea was to give people confidence.

“Swim out of your cocoon, butterfly,” Flora piped up. Sophie didn’t know what the slogan meant, it was too far from the point, but maybe they could work with the word butterfly like the stroke, butterfly.

“Just an idea,” Jessica started, standing up from behind her desk. “Picture this, a girl is prancing around on the beach, she’s toned, slim, and got a fabulous body, so she’s in a bikini. She’s never worn a bikini before. The slogan could be ‘bikini babes’?”

Sophie was impressed. Jessica had offered the first real idea and she was only a student.

“Bikini babes and wave warriors,” Desmond interjected.

A thought worked itself through Sophie’s mind, like a worm eating an apple. A theme emerged and then grew into a ripper of an idea. “I’ve got it,” Sophie said, her mind whirling. “Skinny dipping.” Excitement mounted. “The girl in the bikini, on the beach, says something like, I’ve got a dare for you, get fit for skinny dipping.” It was sexy, risqué, conjured up thoughts of getting into a bikini and swimming at the same time.

“That’s hot.” Jessica jumped up and down on the spot. “You’re definitely more than just sales and project management, aren’t you,” Jessica enthused.

Flora’s eyes twinkled, and she rubbed her hands together. “The dare type of theme, the challenge is what we could say to our audience. Something like the Silver Swimming Centre challenges you to get skinny
by
dipping?”

“If you think about the concept of skinny dipping, most likely someone challenges you, right? Makes sense to have a dare theme,” Desmond agreed, feeding off the energy.

Thoughts were coming together, bubbling over like a shaken soft drink bottle. “We dare you to love your body,” Sophie agreed. “So get skinny by dipping. We double dare you.”

Harry stood oddly quiet, hands deep in his pockets. “Is it too much, do you think?” He didn’t quite meet anyone’s eye. “Too naughty? Too risqué? ‘Skinny dipping’ I mean.”

“It’s not naughty, not really,” Sophie replied. “The best thing about a theme like skinny dipping is that it’s sexy, but it’s not actually
sex
. It’s actually kind of innocent, something young people (or possibly older people) get up to, just a removal of clothes, when they’re creating mischief. But the phrase conjures up excitement and fun.”

Harry nodded. “But would Matthew Silver like this theme? Would Bradley?”

“We’ll take it to Bradley, but I’m sure he’ll go for it.”

Desmond shrugged. “It’s Sophie’s job to sell it. I think we’ve got something here, I could back this, I can already see the last frame of the commercial where a girl is on Brighton beach and she throws her bikini top at the camera. Of course we don’t have any nudity in the shot. We see a shadow running to the water. It’s not exactly X-rated stuff here. I don’t see people objecting to a commercial like this.”

“We need to do some preliminary work before we can run it past Bradley,” Sophie agreed.

“Okay, Flora and I will work on an outline for the commercial script, and I’ll do a quick frame-by-frame sketch. Not too much time. Just form the idea of what we could possibly do within budget,” Desmond said.

“I’ll work on a mockup for the website, and put together a brief social marketing campaign. I might need Flora to help me a bit with the words, since she’s the one with words,” Harry interjected.

“Remember, none of this has to be perfect, just mockups, sketches; just enough to take to Bradley and then sell to Matthew (we need to get him to agree to pay our bill). He wants to be involved every step of the way, so we have to make him feel involved.”

“What about me?” Jessica asked. “How can I help?”

Sophie looked at Jessica, her large warm eyes, pleading to get some experience. “You can help everyone out. Be the general dog’s body. You can start by helping Desmond and Flora, but only if you don’t have things to do for Bradley. Okay?”

Jessica beamed. “Thanks Soph, you won’t regret this.”

“When are you seeing Matthew?” Desmond asked.

“Tonight for a swimming lesson.”

Desmond wolf whistled. “You sly dog Sophie Smart, pretending you have a swimming trauma.”

She blanked her face. “I actually do,” she said slowly.

“How are the laps going?” There was amusement in Desmond’s face, mocking.

“No laps yet.”

“No laps?” Flora said, stunned. “What are you doing in the pool with him then?”

Jessica snorted. “Yeah Soph, what are you doing in the pool with him, the sexy swimming coach? I know what I’d be doing to get fit.”

Sophie shook her head. “I’m trying not to drown, that’s what I’m doing. Of course Bradley’s worried about me pulling in more of the Silver Group’s business, while I learn how to swim.”

“If he thinks you look hot in a swimsuit, you’re in,” Desmond added, not looking up from his notepad. “That would do it for me.”

A low snigger was heard from behind the whiteboard of ideas. Kelly poked her face round, flicking a strand of blonde hair from her forehead. She clapped her hands together. “Well done guys. You’ve finally got a good idea. It took a while.”

Sophie frowned, what was she doing listening to their team work? Didn’t she have her own things to do?

“Thanks, Kelly, for the reassurance.” They didn’t need it. Sophie caught her gaze, and gave her a steely look. “Okay, everyone, the meeting’s over, we know what we’re doing.”

“A good project isn’t a new win,” Kelly continued, lifting one of the whiteboard markers. “Bradley wants us to focus on business development, doesn’t he?”

Sophie narrowed her gaze at Kelly, noticing Desmond gawking at Kelly’s legs.

“It’s still an excellent idea. Very creative. I think we all thought so.” Jessica’s face reddened in excitement.

“Try explaining why your excellent ideas took up all your time, rather than doing any work on business development,” Kelly grinned. “Surely Soph, as a project manager, even with your splash of creativity, you can see that each one of your team members is actually very experienced. You could have let them work it out themselves? But you, you can’t resist, getting involved in everything. Trust issues Sophie. That’s your problem. Trusting the people who work in your team to get it right. That’s why you don’t do any business development.”

Sophie felt her cheeks burn. She eyed Kelly, her pretty, pale face looked angelic but she could slither up behind you when you least expected.

Looking at Kelly, she chose her words with care. “The whole team is talented, but I offer them support.” She wasn’t going to show how much the comment affected her, the words drumming in her head.

Sophie’s phone started ringing. Jessica picked up the phone and then mouthed. “It’s your Dad.” God, why couldn’t he ring her on her personal mobile phone?

“The time you most need to do business development, you start taking personal calls from your family. Interesting.” Kelly slid her tongue over her straight, white teeth like a model selling toothpaste.

“I’ll take it.” Sophie rushed toward her desk. Kelly wouldn’t miss an opportunity to steal her clients, even though they were working for the same firm.

Sophie answered her phone. “Hello?” She spoke loudly, her voice filled with animation, just the opposite of how she felt, suddenly small and deflated after speaking to Kelly, like a pin-pricked balloon.

“Sophie, it’s Dad. I need to speak to you urgently.” His voice was barely audible.

“Oh, sure,” she said. Kelly was still standing around eyeing her carefully, why wouldn’t she just leave?

“I’m actually downstairs, outside your office.”

“Now?”

“Yep. Meet me outside.”

Sophie looked at her watch, furrowed her brow. “Sure, okay,” she said, being as vague as possible, trying not to let any information slip.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I’ll be outside your office building, just on the street; you can’t miss me.”

“Okay.” Sophie hung up, purposely squaring her shoulders even though she felt a stab of concern. “Ciao for now.” Sophie kept a blank expression on her face, no need to show her emotions.

“Having a long lunch?” Kelly shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

Sophie could handle a few competitive barbs. “I’d ask you to join me, but you must be too busy.” She grabbed her handbag, gave Kelly a tight-lipped smile. Feeling Kelly’s stare locked on her back, Sophie straightened.
Just keep watching Kelly. If you want a fight. Just keep watching.
She’d strike back at Kelly’s venomous approach. She just needed new business.

Chapter 10

Sophie waited for the elevator doors to open, staring right at the spot where the doors would tear apart. When they did, she didn’t wait for people to exit, she pushed herself into the lift, right to the back, ignoring angry scowls.

The elevator got to the ground floor and she raced outside her office building fast. Her head darted round looking for her Dad. She felt an overwhelming sense of concern. Her father never came to her office, not unless they’d arranged it. Her eyes darted, assessing the people outside. There he was, wearing an old shirt, looking thin, with his wispy grey hair. She threw her arms around him, gathering him in an all encompassing hug.

“Dad, it’s good to see you.”

“You, too,” he squeaked.

He felt a little boney, like he’d lost weight. She released him, standing back, taking a good look at him. He was swimming in his shirt, and his belt seemed to be tattered. Why hadn’t her Mum taken him shopping?

“You’re looking thin.” His skin was dry and sallow like he needed lathering of a whole tub of moisturizer.

“Hmmmm. A little bit,” he said, his gaze darting over her shoulder.

What was up with him? He looked different. The back of his smile seemed to have no light in it. There was almost a defeat in his stance, his slumped shoulders.

“Let me take you out for a slice of cake,” she said, “fatten you up a bit.” He shrugged, without purpose. “The café here has a wonderful chocolate cake. Your favorite.”

He still said nothing. “Dad?” He didn’t answer, or move. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Sophie placed a hand on her hip, looked at him again. His gaze slid over her shoulder, he wasn’t even paying attention to her. Then why did he call her out of work so urgently?

Turning around, she saw a slightly overweight man standing a meter away, observing the scene. The man wore a radio on his upper lapel, and held a black hat with a white checkerboard band. He was a bobby, a law enforcement officer.

“Officer.” Sophie nodded with a stiff smile on her face, hoping the policeman would move along and focus on catching criminals.

“Sorry to disturb you, Miss Smart,” the rotund policeman said.

Her mouth dropped open, slightly agog. “Um…, yes,” she said with almost hostile politeness, she was Miss Smart, but how did he know?

“You should take a seat.”

She looked around. “Me?” she faltered, her hand coming to her chest. The man of the law strode toward her. To her. She obediently sat down. What in the devil did he want?

“I haven’t done anything wrong.” She stared at the policeman. “Have I? Dad?” Her gaze flicked over toward her father who only watched the scene. He was chalk white. Something was wrong. She stood up.

“Dad?” Her voice got louder, she raced to his side, looked into his face, suddenly tight and pinched. Then it dawned on her. “Oh my God, it’s Mum. What’s happened?” She dropped onto the bench, then stood up, like the crank was turned on a jack in the box, she kept springing up and down, couldn’t stay still for a second.

Thoughts of her Mum flew through her mind, all the birthday parties she insisted on throwing, the time they went on a holiday to Rome together, when she bought her those patent blue shoes. They way her mother wanted her to get married (even if it was to Derek). She would be thrilled to help her buy a wedding dress.

She found herself almost hyperventilating in distress. “She’s dead isn’t she? Oh my God. I forgot to call her on her birthday this year. She never thought I loved her enough, not like Edith.” Hot tears fell down her face. Her mother was dead. Her own mother was dead.

“Sophie, stop.” Her Dad placed a strong arm around her. “Stop. Your Mum’s just fine.”

A large lump formed in her throat, her eyes were watery and wide. “Then what is it?” Her voice wobbled, she looked at the policeman. “Why is he here? I mean no disrespect.” She shot a look at the policeman and refrained from narrowing her gaze. Why was he here?

“Look, I just lost my way for a bit.” Her Dad’s eyes pleaded, flicking to the policeman.

She swallowed. “Is it drugs? Is that why you’ve lost all the weight?” Her neck craned forward, he was without a doubt much thinner than when she last saw him. “Have you gotten into drugs later on in life? Amphetamines? Crack? Heroin? We can work with this, together, get you clean. There are lots of support programs. I’ve read all about them.” She picked up his forearm, wanting to roll up his sleeves, the only way she would know if he was a…user. She shuddered.

“Are you going to tell her, or should I?” the policeman continued.

Her Dad shifted on his feet. “Everything’s fine now officer, surely? I’m in capable hands. My daughter said we can work through this together.” His voice was barely audible, a whisper caught in a windstorm.

“The truth?” Sophie’s eyes shifted from her father to the policeman. She sniffed, folded her arms. “What’s going on? First I think Mum’s dead, then I think you’re a…” she swallowed. “User. That’s not the problem, is it?”

The policeman cleared his throat. “It’s a criminal offence not to pay a train fare.”

“Is that what this is all about?” Clarity washed over her. She got her wallet out. “You didn’t pay your train ticket? Let’s sort this out.” She felt dizzy with relief, a train ticket, that was easy to sort out. Easier than death or drugs or anything else.