‘Then why don’t you let me buy you lunch?’ Janice asked boldly. ‘I know this place where they serve the best soup in midtown.’
‘That sounds perfect. Come on, let’s go.’ Lita grabbed her purse and they made a run for the elevators.
When they got back, she worked on her perfume commercial for the rest of the day. There was a temptation to go back to the soap, but Lira had learned that she had to trust her instincts. If she worked against her first instincts, over-correcting, adding stuff that wasn’t needed, a campaign only came out worse. If your gut told you the initial campaign was right, it was better to leave it at that.
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Soft-Soap was perfect. She knew it.
Janice worked quietly outside her office, taking calls from her existing clients and typing up paperwork. She only stuck her head round the
corner when it was six, time to go home. ‘See you tomorrow, Lira.’ She paused. ‘What’s up?’
‘Probably nothing. But Kathy Donalds was crowing some. She said Pete Bessel had an incredible idea.’
Kathy was Pete’s assistant. They had offices just down the hall. ‘lKelax.’ Lita was supremely confident. ‘It can’t be as good as mine.’ She went home, ran a scented Floris bath and then made herself some chilli with a large glass of Cabernet Sauvingnon. Maybe after she won the bonus and got Janice her promotion she’d take a week off. Go somewhere really warm and exotic. She would deserve it.
Next morning Lita was in the office early, putting the finishing touches to the L’Amour campaign. She hefted up her work and rode downstairs
to Harry’s office. ‘Is he free?’
Susan nodded and indicated that Lita should go right in. She couldn’t stand the girl, but there was no point fighting a losing battle. Harry
obviously thought the sun shone out of her firm little behind. ‘What’s this?’
‘The L’Amour campaign.’
‘Let’s have a look.’ Harry hefted it up and regarded it in the light.
‘Well … this is wonderful stuff. The flag is inspired.’ ‘You need to thank Janice.’° ‘Janice who?’
‘My secretary Janice. It was her idea. The copy, too.’
‘Your secretary?’
‘I started out as a secretary. You might want to consider unusual routes for your copywriters. I think she should get a promotion,’ Lira said, sitting opposite Harry and crossing her long legs.
Weiss regarded the work without looking at Lita’s legs. Sexually, he always made her feel invisible. She didn’t know whether to be grateful or resentful.
‘I’ll think about it. One good idea does not a copywriter make.’ ‘You could always—’
‘I said I’ll think about it.’
‘At the very least she has to get a bonus for this work,’ Lita said.
‘I agree. Why don’t you give it to her? Since you’re getting paid for this.’
I69
‘Goddamn it, Harry. You’re impossible.’ Lita glanced behind him; he had a large sheet of cardboard propped up against his wall. ‘Whose work is that?’
‘Pete Bessel’s. It’s his shot for the Harris soap campaign. He gave me a copy - the original is already in the Managing Director’s office. He’s pretty proud of it.’
‘Can I see?’ Lita leaned forward curiously.
‘I don’t know. He might not like you looking at his work.’
‘It’s already gone through to the MD.’
‘That’s true.’ Harry looked at his protg6e thoughtfully. ‘You aren’t
going to like it. This is a really great idea.’
‘Let me see.’
He picked it up and turned it over.
‘Oh, my God,’ Lita said.
‘What’s the matter?’ Weiss was concerned. Lita had gone pale. ‘It’s not that brilliant.’
‘I have to … Excuse me, Harry,’ Lita mumbled. She jumped out of her chair and ran out of his office.
That girl is nuts, Harry thought fondly.
Lita barged past the staring Susan and took the elevator right up to the ninth floor. Robert Dawn, Doheny’s Managing Director, kept the entire ninth floor to himself. His office was more like a suite, with a private kitchen and bathroom, an executive chef and a private dining room where he entertained the CEOs of Dheny’s top clients. The entire thing was surrounded by an enormous wall of tinted glass that enabled Dawn to watch the whole of midtown Manhattan spread out below him.
Nobody came up here without an appointment. But she had to try. The elevator doors showed her red-faced and sweating. Frantically Lita tried to smooth down her hair and press the lack of her hand to her cheeks. She knew she needed to be together for this. If she had any shot of being believed.
The doors hissed open, and Lita’s foot landed silently on the thick pile of silver-grey wool that deadened every footfall up here. Mrs Higgins, Dawn’s junior assistant, was sitting in front of Felicity Nonna’s office. Nonna was the senior assistant. Higgins glanced up at Lita, taking in the sprayed-on jeans with the sequinned pattern at the hip, the cotton shirt knotted over her belly button, revealing half an inch of golden midriff, the stacked mules and the loose, glossy hair that tumbled around her shoulders.
‘Can I help you?’
17o
‘Yes. I’m P, osalita Morales. I’m one of the senior creative executives downstairs.’
‘Yes?’ The older woman sounded remarkably unimpressed. ‘I need to speak to Mr Dawn right away.’ ‘Can I help you with something?’
‘I’m afraid not. I need to discuss this in person with Mr Dawn,’ Lita said coldly. She was in no mood for bullshit from subordinates. Mrs Higgins took in her attitude, and backed off.
Tll just get Miss Nonna for you,’ she murmured.
Lita stood there and seethed. It was so quiet up here, everything so proper and calm, she thought that the woman must be able to hear the thudding of her furious heart.
Mrs Higgins retreated into her boss’s office and the senior assistant came out a moment later. Mrs Higgins then absented herself into the kitchen. She doesn’t want to see a scene, Lita thought. The woman reminded her of Rupert. She frowned.
‘Mr Dawn only sees people with appointments, Miss Morales. Is there some matter I can clear up for you?’
Lita regarded Miss Nonna, who was about thirty-five and far more attractive than Higgins. That was probably why Dawn kept her nearest to his office, she thought cynically. Nonna was stating at her with quiet hostility.
Td like to see Mr Dawn. Maybe you can ask him if he’ll make an exception.’
‘I can’t do that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because he’s not here,’ Nonna said triumphantly. ‘And he won’t be
back for two more days. He’s on a business trip in Canada.’ ‘Damn it!’ Lita almost spat. ‘Excuse me?’
She pulled herself together. ‘I’m sorry. The matter is urgent. I need to inform Mr Dawn that he can’t accept submission of one of the mockups from the Harris soap contestants. Do you know what I’m talking about?’
‘Of course.’ Nonna gestured back into ler office. ‘I have three already in. Waiting for him to see them.’
Lita’s heart thudded. ‘Is one of them from Mr Pete Bessel?’
‘I believe it is.’
‘Well, you can’t submit that to him!’ Lita half shouted.
Nonna didn’t flinch. ‘And why is that?’
‘Because,’ Lira said, failing to control her anger, ‘it’s mine!’
171
I just don’t see how it could have happened,’ Janice said. She was twisting her hands nervously.
‘I do. We didn’t lock my door.’
Tm terribly sorry about that, Miss Morales—’
‘Janice.’ Lita sighed, exasperated. ‘I don’t blame you and you don’t
have to start calling me Miss Morales. I’m not gonna fire you.’ ‘Oh,’ Janice said. She had gone very ashen.
‘If that scumbag comes sneaking in to my office… I can’t believe he would do something like that.’
Janet was still wringing her hands. ‘But it is my fault. I told his secretary that you had the best idea I’d ever seen. I was mad at her boasting about how Mr Bessel had the whole thing wrapped up. I told her there wasn’t even going to be a contest.’
‘Did you tell her that she should come in here and steal the idea?’ ‘Of course not.’
‘Then it’s not your fault.’ Lita seethed. ‘That bitch upstairs. She wouldn’t do anything about it. She actually said it was the first one registered.’
‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance he came up with the same idea independently?’
‘No chance at all.’ Lita was emphatic. ‘Pete’s good, I don’t deny it. But he doesn’t understand the housewife market. He’s always using models in their twenties to sell stuff to busy morns.’ She scrunched a piece of paper viciously in her hand and threw, it at the wire trash basket. It missed. ‘Fuck,’ she said.
‘You aren’t going to let them get away with it?’
The? Hell, no.’ Lita stood up and picked up her mockup. ‘Where are you going?’ Janice asked, bewildered. ‘Just hold the fort. I’ll be right back,’ Lita promised.
She was going to see Harry. He trusted her.’ He would fix this.
‘Lita, that’s plagiarism. I don’t get it.’
Harry took off his Lennon glasses and buffed them carefully. He put them back on, but the mock-up was the same as when he’d taken them off. A dead ringer for Bessel’s work.
‘Damn straight. But he copied me. I came up with this two days ago.’ ‘And you showed it to him.’
‘No—’
‘Then you discussed it with him. Told him your themes.’
‘NO—’
‘Come on, Lita.’ Harry was looking at her sceptically, and it drove her nuts.
‘
‘Come on? Come on?’ She was standing up now and shouting. Susan was staring at her from outside Harry’s office, but Lita didn’t care. ‘Harry, my assistant told his assistant I had a great idea. And we went out to lunch and didn’t lock the door.’
‘Lita. You’re not being rational. Why would a great talent like Pete Bessel sneak into your room and copy your work?’
‘Either he did, or I did.’ She gestured furiously at her collage.
‘If you had the idea yesterday, why didn’t you turn it in to me then? Why did you wait? If it was ready in your office, why didn’t you take it up to Bob Dawn? It makes no sense.’
‘Hell, I don’t know. I was busy with L’Amour. I didn’t think there was a rash.’ Lita stared angrily down at Harry. ‘Are you saying you don’t believe me?’
‘What I believe doesn’t matter. You’ve got no evidence, Lita, none. On the contrary, if it comes down to it, Pete can prove that you saw his work and copied it. I showed it to you.’
‘You think I could have put this together that fast?’
‘You could.’
‘I can’t believe it.’ Lira sat down heavily. ‘You’re not going to support me.’
Harry paused. ‘No, I’m not. I don’t play favourites.’
Lita felt a wave of nausea wash over her. It was so unfair. That money was her investment money, her get-out-of-the-rat-race money. It was her chance to make Bob Dawn notice her, put her on a level above the rest. Maybe for her to get a partnership. And now Harry, the one person she trusted, was betraying her.
‘I see.’ She picked up her l’nock-up and left the room without bothering to close the door.
Pete Bessel worked on Lita’s floor, a corridor’s length away from her office. Lita strode blindly past Janice, working at her desk, and over to where Kathy Donalds, the bleached-blonde with the orange skin that came from too much fake tan and who worked for Pete, was sitting. ‘Is he in?’ she snapped.
‘Yes. Let me see if he can see you right now, Miss Morales,’ Kathy said sweetly.
‘He can see me,’ Lita said, and barged into Pete’s office, ignoring her. He was on the phone, but he excused himself and hung up.
‘Lita. What a nice surprise,’ Pete said smugly. He reached behind her and shut his door so Kathy wouldn’t hear them. ‘What have you got there? Oh, it’s a copy of my campaign. Hoping to get some inspiration?’ ‘Cut the crap, Pete. We both know what you did.’
73
‘Yes. I won the competition. That money’s really going to come in handy for me.’
‘Pete. You broke into my office, saw my campaign and copied it.’ Bessel put his face closer to hers, his eyes narrowing. ‘Let me give you a little piece of advice, mamacita. Don’t go around spreading libellous stories that only make you look pathetic. Bob Dawn got my work in a day ago, and don’t expect Harry Weiss to back you up. I gave him a copy in front of his secretary. She saw me do it. So your little boyfriend won’t be able to cover you this time.’ He watched her face, and sniggered. ‘You already went there, didn’t you? And he told you to take a hike. You know what? I take it back. Go ahead and spread any wild stories you like. Nobody will believe you. Maybe they’ll finally fire your cute little ass. Then maybe I’ll let you come back here and make
my coffee. You’d have to wear a shorter skirt, though.’
‘Go fuck yourself, Pete.’
‘I’d much rather you did. You know, you’re wasted as a commercial executive, Lita. You’re such a hot piece of ass.’
She trembled with so much anger her whole body shook.
‘I love it when you do that,’ Pete said laconically. ‘It makes your tits jiggle.’
‘I’m gonna get you for this. You asshole.’
‘Oh, sure. I’m reeeel scared.’ He leaned over her and opened the door. ‘Good to see you again,’ he said in a falsely cheerful voice. ‘Thanks for dropping by.’
Lita pulled herself together, stood up and left his office. A strange calm came over her. She walked back down to her office, past the anxious-looking Janice and closed her own door. Then she spent the rest of the morning tidying her office. She had mascots, a bag of makeup, a couple of files of work-in-progress that she tore up and threw away. She cleaned her office thoroughly, the way she had cleaned her boss’s office over a year ago. It was left clean, neat, almost sparkling. Then she walked out.
‘Janice, take the rest of the day off.’
‘Why?’
‘I won’t be needing you today, OK,’ Lita said. Ignoring her assistant’s worried look, she took the elevator downstairs and walked right in to Harry’s office.
Weiss glanced up and sighed heavily.
‘Look, Lita, I’ve made my decision. I can’t help you on this one. I
won’t tell Bob Dawn that the campaign was your idea.’
‘You won’t have to. I quit.’