****************************************
New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings
Lao Tzu
Public speaking has never been my forte. The afternoon of the awards presentation saw me nervous and agitated as I ran through the points I wanted to make over and over in my mind. The team had done a fantastic job with the presentation. Jaimie’s art was photo-realistic and really popped from the pull-up banners that we would set up alongside the presentation. However, it only served to pique my anxiety as it all now rested on me to not fuck it up.
As I walked into the room with the judging panel, I felt the weight of the situation crashing in on me. Chloe had come to help set up the presentation with one of my other staff and she slipped little looks at me as she worked. As the presentation came up on the projection screen behind me and the room lights dimmed, she took my wrist and squeezed, conveying her encouragement. Her gesture was enough to take the edge off my nerves and while I wouldn’t say I wowed the panel with a slick presentation, I did manage to cover most of what I had intended to convey. I found I was far more at ease by the time we got to the questions from the panel. Besides, talking about the technical aspects of the design process was far more familiar to me than trying to provide a sales pitch.
To their credit, the judging panel were very encouraging and it was not quite the inquisition that I had expected. The questions devolved into a discussion of design principles and when I reflected on the presentation later on that evening, I was unable to put my finger on the point at which I actually started to enjoy the chat. Certainly, we went well over the time that had been allotted to my presentation and the warmth of the group as we finished up left me feeling buoyed.
Sitting alone outside the meeting room was Chloe. She looked up at me as I came out of the room and her smile broadened as she saw my expression. I walked over to her and held my arm out inviting her to take it. She picked up her handbag and stood looping her arm in mine.
“It went well, I take it,” she observed.
“I’m not going to give up my day job to be a news presenter, but I didn’t embarrass myself,” I replied smirking.
We strode out of the building to the parking lot.
“Do I get to know where we are going now?” She asked as we reached her car. The light wind fanned through her hair and carried her perfume to me. Although her arm was looped in mine, the distance she maintained between us was evident.
“I was thinking of wine and tapas. Does that sound ok?” I asked.
“Sure,” she replied, the uncertainty about what we would discuss evident in her slightly furrowed brow.
We drove separately to the small tapas bar nearby. I had made a reservation in advance so we didn’t need to wait despite the queues from the entrance. As we were guided to our table, the noise of the other couples and music, together with the subdued lighting meant we were afforded some privacy to talk. The waitress took our orders and then slipped away as I turned to Chloe.