And then the moment was gone. The tea arrived, and Leo took that as a cue to resume his questioning. The way the charity was run. Exactly what they spent their money on. How many volunteers they had, how they dealt with Health and Safety. He was nothing if not thorough and, although Alex struggled to keep up with him, he seemed content with her answers.
‘And now that I know all about you—’ his smile became melting again ‘—it brings me to the question of 2KZ’s planned involvement.’
* * *
Maybe he’d been a little hard on her. There was actually no maybe about it, but Alex hadn’t let him walk all over her and Leo respected that. And the delicious surprise of seeing her again...
Had been shockingly tempered when he realised that she had been through so much in the last ten years. An accident, losing her leg. But she’d turned that around. And, out of respect for her, he’d concentrated on her achievements.
If it had been anyone else, he would have allowed the personal to oil the wheels of the professional. But Alex clearly didn’t want to put their relationship on that level. She hadn’t called him back ten years ago. And even though she’d known it was him, she’d left it to her assistant to call him and arrange this meeting. Leo wasn’t prone to holding grudges, but that looked like a pretty definite expression of intent.
He’d reacted like an iceman, shrinking from a flame. Ill-prepared, because of an emergency with one of the patients at his GP’s surgery, he’d asked the questions he needed to ask and kept his feelings to himself.
And his feelings weren’t a part of this equation. If Together Our Way was slightly amateurish in its approach, its heart was quite definitely in the right place. It was an organisation that his show could make a big difference to, and Leo seldom turned down a challenge.
‘As I said, the spotlight we’re proposing is a little different from the one first offered.’ This was the sticking point. ‘The intention now is that I’ll be hosting a representative from Together Our Way as a guest on my medical phone-in show, once a week during the whole of February. I’m assuming that it will be you?’
Panic flared in her eyes, and Leo felt another little piece of him melt in response. Clearly the idea that she’d be talking live on the radio hadn’t registered with Alex the first time he’d mentioned it.
But she rallied beautifully. ‘Yes. It’ll be me.’
‘I’m trying to get some ten or fifteen minute slots on our Community Affairs programme in addition to that. That’ll involve me spending some time with you, and seeing your work first-hand. I assume you have no objections to that?’
‘We’d welcome it. What do you have in mind?’
‘I’ll be making reports, and probably writing a few articles for our website. And there’ll be an outside broadcast...’ He fell silent. He could see from her face that Alex had an issue with that, and he waited for her to put it into words.
‘Would you be happy to fit in with our way of doing things? Our first priority is the young people we serve, and if we needed to change that emphasis to accommodate you we’d have some difficulty.’
She’d have no difficulty in changing; she just wasn’t prepared to do it. Good for her. ‘We’d be there to observe. Low-profile isn’t my usual approach, so I’ll be giving those muscles a little much-needed exercise.’
Her pursed lips reminded him of a severe version of a kiss. ‘That’s part of what we do. Help exercise under-used muscles.’
‘We’ll stay flexible, then.’ He imagined that Alex was just as used to acting on her own initiative as he was, and that might be interesting. Even so, it was time to flex the muscles he did use regularly and remind her who was in charge of this project.
‘2KZ has broadcast to the whole of London for more than thirty years now. Interviews with young people appeal to our listeners and we know how to do them appropriately and with all the necessary safeguards and permissions. We give our listeners what they want, and outside broadcasts are very good for ratings.’
Another disapproving look. Maybe he needed to mention that ratings weren’t just a number on a spreadsheet; they represented hearts and minds. She might deal in hearts and minds but she couldn’t reach them without his domination of the ratings lists.
Despite all that disapproval, she came to the right decision. ‘That sounds excellent. As long as our young people are properly supported and safeguarded, I think an outside broadcast would certainly be something we’d be keen to do.’
‘Good. Anything else?’
‘Yes, would you mind if we featured the spotlight on our website?’
‘We’d welcome it. We can provide you with artwork if that’s of any help. I’ll have our in-house designer get in touch with... You have a web designer?’
‘That’s me, actually.’ She shrugged. ‘I’m afraid it’s not very professional. One of those standard template designs...’
He’d looked at her website briefly and had been very favourably impressed. ‘If you like, I can set up a call with our designer. She’s got a lot of experience with liaising with other organisations we partner with, and a conversation might be helpful.’
‘Thank you. I’d be grateful for any suggestions she has.’ Alex paused, squeezing her hands together. She seemed to have something else on her mind.
‘If there are any other issues, now’s the time to raise them. We have a very tight schedule on this.’
‘I’ve never been on the radio before...’ And she was clearly terrified at the prospect.
‘That’s what I’m there for. I ask a few questions, to steer things in the right direction, and step in when you dry up...’ He couldn’t help smiling when Alex’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Everyone dries up first time. It’s expected.’
‘Right. I’ll try not to do it too much.’
‘Be yourself. Don’t think about it too much; just say what you want to say. There’s a seven second broadcast delay, which allows us to catch anything too bad before it airs. It’s supposed to be so that we can cut any profanity, but it works pretty well if you suddenly find you’ve forgotten what you were about to say.’
‘I won’t forget. This is really important to me, and I want to do it well.’
Leo nodded, taking a sip of his tea. ‘That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Hold that thought and you’ll be fine.’
* * *
He seemed to have loosened up a bit, which was good, because the giddy chicane of Leo’s questioning, and his efficient, autocratic way of doing things, had left her almost weak with exhaustion. He took a thick card from his jacket pocket and handed it to her.
‘Here’s my number. I dare say that our PR department will be bombarding you with all kinds of details that don’t really matter. If you want to cut through all of that, give me a call.’
Alex looked at the card. It was printed with Leo’s name and a mobile phone number. She’d never met anyone who had personal calling cards before. ‘Thank you. But I don’t want to bother you...’
‘You won’t be. It’s always better to sort things out direct, and we don’t have any time for messing about.’ His gaze raked her face but he said nothing more. Perhaps he’d called her, ten years ago. Maybe she should explain why she hadn’t called back, but Alex couldn’t think of a tactful way to approach that conversation.
‘Yes. Thank you. Can I give you my number?’ Alex rummaged in her bag and found the box of cards with the charity’s contact details, scribbling