Skinny Dipping by Alicia M Kaye

firm.”
    “The Dorchester is the place Bradley takes people to celebrate or commiserate,” Desmond said under his breath. “If he ever asks you to lunch, be very wary.”
    Sophie felt herself pale. That’s why everyone was so dynamic this morning. She hadn’t heard because she was too busy with her personal life. “A recession doesn’t stop at a few redundancies.” Bradley paced the front of the boardroom, and a silence filtered around the boardroom. “We’ve come onto hard times. This isn’t meant to scare you, but as managers, I need to work with each and every one of you on business development. We need to win new work. I’ll be looking at all the teams, trimming the fat.”
    Sophie scribbled on her notepad, shivering at the words, ‘trimming the fat.’ Many companies in London were “restructuring” due to the financial crisis which had hit the capital, the country, and the world almost overnight.
    “You’ve probably already heard rumours from other advertising agencies. Floors of staff are being given redundancy packages. A solid business development strategy will help us keep ahead of the pack, but we need to start now.”
    Silence engulfed the room as the team tapped their pens on their desks.
    The door burst open and Jessica stood there. “What did I miss?” She ran to the empty seat next to Bradley.
    “Why were you late? Chatting on the phone?” Bradley asked.
    Jessica’s face flushed an almost scarlet colour. “I’ve been taking client calls, thank you very much.” Jessica pushed her shoulders back.
    “Sure, you weren’t talking on the phone? I’m surprised clients got through.”
    “For your information Matthew Silver called and left a message for Sophie, and I spoke to him for quite some time. Relationship building like you instructed me to do.”
    Sophie sat straighter in her seat. “Tell me later.” She waved her hand dismissively.
    “It’s about a spot coming up for a swimming lesson,” Jessica continued. “If you want it, you’re to confirm with Eve or of course Matthew.”
    “Swimming lesson?” Kelly’s eyes narrowed. “You have time to take swimming lessons. Bradley, aren’t you trimming the fat?” She looked innocent as she spoke.
    Sophie felt her cheeks become hot. “The Silver Account, as everyone knows, has potential. We only have a sliver of the company – the swimming pool chain, the smallest part of the group,” she said.
    “Why don’t we start with you Sophie, tell us the business development work you have been doing the past two weeks.”
    Sophie twitched, fear sinking in, urging a terrified feeling away. She smiled and gave her report on the Advertising Gala, where Matthew Silver hadn’t shown up.
    “How are you going to get part of the hotel chain? Is that what the swimming lessons are all about, living and breathing your work?”
    She wanted desperately to impress him, but she shook her head. “No. No. I was traumatised by a swimming incident as a child and it happened to come up in my conversation with Matthew. Apparently he has loads of experience with all types of swimmers – or non-swimmers in my case.”
    “Swimming lessons look like the ideal way to get to know Matthew Silver, and grow new business.”
    “You don’t mean I should actually take the swimming lessons?”
    “Of course.” Bradley gave Sophie a puzzled look.
    Sophie felt her hands sweating. She should try to explain, try to help him understand. She bit her lip, practically chewed it off. “I almost drowned . I’m scared of swimming. I can’t just get in. Not even for a lesson. There are emotional issues to deal with.”
    “Spare me the excuses. Just go for it, impress me.” Bradley’s eyes glinted. “‘ Swimming is for Living’ – your motto remember?”
    She desperately wanted to impress him. “Bradley, I’ve been traumatised,” she blurted, unable to help herself. “You do understand? I died for three minutes. I was actually brought back to life. I have a