‘I don’t understand,’ I exclaim. ‘This was never supposed to—’
‘I’m afraid I’ll be moving our account, Patrick,’ Franco interrupts. ‘Even if I wanted to stay with you, my board wouldn’t allow it after this.’
‘Franco, I am so sorry,’ Patrick says. ‘Of course we’ll do whatever we can to make the transition as straightforward as possible.’ His eyes are like stones as they rest on me. ‘I want to know how the hell something like this happened. Someone had to authorise that change order and put it through.’
I stare again at the image on the computer screen. I don’t blame Franco for dropping us. The repercussions from this will be huge. Our other clients will rightly be concerned; if it’s not handled properly, this could destroy our agency. ‘Patrick, I don’t know who would have done that,’ I say helplessly. ‘We pulled this. It should never have gone through.’
‘What do you mean, you pulled it?’ Louise interjects.
‘Louise, I don’t mean to be rude, but this account has nothing to do with you,’ I say tersely. ‘To be honest, I’m not really sure why you’re here.’
‘Like I just told Patrick and Franco,’ Louise says, her eyes never leaving my face. ‘I was in the office when the change order was phoned through. I heard who did it. It was you.’
NOLAN CASEY
PART 1 OF RECORDED INTERVIEW
Date:- 28/07/2020
Duration:- 32 Minutes
Location:- Whitefish Advertising Agency, King’s Road, London
Conducted by Officers from Devon & Cornwall Police
(cont.)
POLICE
So the change order didn’t come from you, as the Creative Director?
NC
Of course not. AJ told us to pull it, so I spoke to the team and had it binned.
POLICE
But the ad ran anyway?
NC
I don’t know how it— I spoke to Bette and she said it was gone. She was the main, the creative on the Vine account. She saw, I mean, once Caz pointed it out, we all agreed. That yellow logo, on striped pyjamas? We’d have been— Well, you saw what happened.
POLICE
So the campaign was officially shelved?
NC
Yes. We were working on a totally new angle. Finn had this brainwave. She was, like, going to—
POLICE
Sorry to interrupt, Mr Casey. But I just want to be clear. How did it end up in the press if it had been cancelled?
NC
It didn’t ‘end up’ in the press. Look, there’s a process. There are proofs, copy approval; you have to book ad space, all the rest of it. It’s not like you can hit send and the next thing you know the ad’s all over the number 44 bus.
POLICE
So what happened?
NC
Well, someone must have put the change order through.
POLICE
Who would have the authority to do that?
NC
Only Caz or Patrick. But obviously Patrick didn’t do it, and Caz says she didn’t, so …
POLICE
Do you believe her?
NC
[Inaudible.]
POLICE
For the tape, Mr Casey shrugged.
NC
Caz says she didn’t do it. She was, well, she was very— She accused Louise of doing it.
POLICE
Why did she think that?
NC
Well, they don’t exactly get on.
POLICE
According to Mr Thatcher, the two women had a cordial relationship.
NC
[Inaudible].
POLICE
Sorry?
NC
Patrick sees what he wants to see.
POLICE
You disagree?
NC
It was weird, the whole thing. The first day she arrived, she and Caz got into it out on the terrace. We all saw them.
POLICE
Is it possible Caz simply made a mistake, and put the change order through after all?
NC
[Pause.] I suppose.
POLICE
But you don’t think so?
NC
Caz doesn’t make mistakes like that. She can be a bit difficult to work with, but she’s super-organised. She and Louise had, like, this blood feud. Caz started going on about some kind of conspiracy between Louise and Tina. She totally freaked out.
POLICE
How do you mean, freaked out?
NC
She started yelling and shouting at Louise, saying Caz had pretended to be her and put in the change order. She had a total meltdown; the whole office heard them. In the end, Patrick came out and told her to go home.
POLICE
Mr Thatcher blamed Caz?
NC
The whole thing was a PR nightmare from start to finish. Vine had to issue a public apology, we lost them as clients, and several others threatened to walk. Whitefish is a small agency – we can’t afford this kind of fuck-up. Patrick was furious with Caz. He nearly fired her, except no one could actually prove what’d happened.
POLICE
When was this?
NC
A couple of weeks ago? Like, two?
POLICE
So, hold on, Perry, can you get me, thank you. That would be, ah, ten days or so before the incident outside the Pages’ house when the police were called?
NC
Yeah, maybe. Yes.
POLICE
Presumably that’s what the altercation was about?
NC
The fight at Caz’s house?
POLICE
Yes.
NC
Oh, that wasn’t about the Vine campaign. It was way worse than that.
Chapter 24
Louise
With every mile the train from London puts between us, I feel safer. I should never have taken the job at Whitefish. Min warned me, but I didn’t listen. She wasn’t worried about what Caz would do; she was concerned about what it’d do to me. And she was right: going head-to-head with Caz has unleashed a darkness in me I thought I’d overcome years ago. I let myself get sucked back into a vendetta with her, retaliating every time she struck a blow, when instead I should’ve risen above it. But it’s not too late. I can’t undo the bad blood between us, but I’m going to call Chris tomorrow and tell her I can’t work at Whitefish anymore. It may mean I have to tighten my belt a bit until I can get some more freelance work, but it’ll be better than this constant state of warfare.
Even I was shocked by Caz’s violent outburst this afternoon. I’ve never seen anyone that angry. I’ve always known what she’s capable of, but it’s the first time I’ve seen her lose control in public like that. And judging from Patrick’s appalled reaction, it was the first time he’d seen that side of her, too.
At least he doesn’t think I’d jeopardise the livelihood of hundreds of people over a stupid quarrel with my ex-husband’s new wife. I’d hate to lose his good opinion, especially now, when I’m going to need a reference.