Category Archives: Novel

Serge arrives in Bordeaux just before midnight. After a flurry of phone calls, he joins Philippe and me in the restaurant of the Mercure hotel where we’re staying. While he wolfs down the club sandwich the kitchen agreed to prepare for him despite the late hour, I retrace for him my afternoon conversation with MargueriteContinue reading “Chapter 14 – The Circus aka the Export Meeting”

Philippe and I leave Kingston together. No point in taking two cars when airport car parks charge such extravagant rates. Between the two and a half days in Bordeaux for my meeting with Marguerite Villa, followed by the export meeting, and The Wine Shop’s wine fair in Edinburgh, we’ll be away for five days. TheContinue reading “Chapter 13 – Marguerite Villa”

I slump in my chair and push aside the papers that have accumulated on my desk. Mary has unpacked a wine sample for me and bits of polystyrene cling to the side of the bottle. I pick them off one by one and drop them in the bin until a pointed look from Philippe makesContinue reading “Chapter 12 – Creativity Unleashed”

It’s raining hard when we leave The Super-Market, which allows André to comment on the British weather and the folly of anybody who chooses to live here. I ignore the dig and suggest we get on to the motorway and stop at the first services for a debriefing. ‘Will I be able to buy aContinue reading “Chapter 11- A Hellish Car Journey and Creative Wine Marketing”

Rachel greets us with a smile as we come out of the lift, enquiring after André and Jean Jacques’s flight and pecking me on the cheek. A French supermarket buyer, in similar circumstances, would be much sterner. André’s face breaks into a smirk and his shoulders drop. French people often misread British politeness for weaknessContinue reading “Chapter 10 – In the Lion(ess) Den”

Arnaud jabs his index finger at me. ‘I will fulfil the mission Madame Villa has given me.’ I’ve been in his office since eight thirty and I’m starting to fidget. ‘I won’t share my success with anybody,’ he says. I am tempted to ask, ‘Which success?’ but think better of it. I need to getContinue reading “Chapter 9 – Drip, Drip, Drip, Stress”

I rush past Dave but not fast enough. ‘Good meeting with your new boss?’ he asks. ‘Sorry, I need to go back.’ ‘Of course you do.’ Back in the office, Mary is on the phone again. ‘How was it?’ Philippe asks. ‘Seb is leaving. I’ve met his successor, a guy called Arnaud Vidal.’ ‘What isContinue reading “Chapter 8 – Question Marks”

I fall into a comatose sleep the minute I sit on the plane and only wake up when we touch down at Gatwick. I reach Kingston upon Thames at five to three. It’s raining. The Wine Shop’s offices, and therefore Villa’s British headquarters, are located in an industrial estate, three miles from the centre ofContinue reading “Chapter 7 – Back to the Office”

Back in the safety of my hotel room, a vicious headache kicks in.: the air conditioning is on full blast again, the note I left for the maid nowhere to be seen. I pick up my phone, start typing an apology to Jen and stop. Best to wait till tomorrow: in my current state ofContinue reading “Chapter 6 – The Formidable André Lange”