Read the beginning of The Time of a Hug

The beginning of the novel, exactly as you’ll find it in the book.

Chapter 1

There were two kinds of people, in Ginevra’s philosophy: those who made plans and those who blew them apart. She belonged to the first category without a doubt, and she was proud of it. As she walked that Tuesday morning through the door of the grey conference room, crowded with men in suits and ties, there was one thing she hadn’t factored in: that some plans are not yours to make. And that life, every so often, enjoys rewriting the agenda precisely when you believe it is final.

“The good news is that the new investor intends to carry forward all the projects we had planned. He found them all extremely interesting and, above all, in line with his own investment and growth plans and with the new direction he intends to give the company.” That was how the General Manager opened — Gabriele, whom everyone called GM, the initials of his name and his role at once — as soon as he took the floor in that meeting that smelt of change. The room was crowded — at least twenty people from different departments, gathered for what was supposed to be a simple project alignment, as the agenda put it, but which for everyone was clearly something more.

Ginevra looked around a little lost: it was the last week of January and only her second day at the company, and she didn’t yet know all the faces; in fact, apart from a few figures glimpsed in the corridors, this was the first real chance to see them together. That was why she was trying to memorise as many details as possible, as though studying a new map to be deciphered. It struck her as odd that so many people had been called in for a meeting about projects, and from different working groups at that. And there was another detail: apart from Anna, GM’s assistant, sitting beside him to take the minutes, she was the only woman at the table.

Not that being the only woman frightened her: she had grown up among male cousins, as a child her closest friend had been a boy, she had always worked surrounded by men and over the years she had learnt to take jokes and teasing without flinching. If anything, there had been a time when she used to hide alongside the other girls — years of loose, shapeless clothes to go unnoticed, in the shadow of classmates who seemed to her prettier and surer of themselves. But that time was over: she didn’t hide any more.

That day, in particular, she stood out among the others as well. She was wearing a white jacket, wide bottle-green trousers with a retro cut and a floral shirt, crossed at the front, with a kimono effect. Against the greyness of the men’s clothes in that room she stood out like a chromatic anomaly. She felt as if the spotlights were trained on her. Since she always ended up in male environments, her rule was simple: if she had to be the centre of attention, then she might as well do it with style. That was why she had chosen the high heels too: a couple of extra inches would come in useful at the coffee break, standing next to the others.

“The main objective,” GM went on, “is to reach the revenue target for the end of this year and to exceed it by +20% next year: that will be a crucial moment, in which substantial additional resources will be made available for the consolidation of the company, but above all for the setting up of a more innovative working group, ready to step up and keep pace with the times.”

Ginevra listened to him, studying his body language. And here comes a great big BUT, she thought. She knew how those meetings worked and she had grasped the boss’s tactic: start with the good news, to relax everyone and make the rest easier to swallow. When the opening was that enthusiastic, there was always a HOWEVER the size of a house lying in wait.

“I want to reassure everyone right away on one important point,” GM resumed, “namely the retention of jobs: there will be no cuts and no reduction in staff; on the contrary, an expansion is likely, shortly, in order to complete the headcount with all the necessary figures, some of which are currently lacking and whose functions are being carried out temporarily by others on a supplementary basis.”

Ginevra’s gaze travelled across the table. Like her, everyone was watching the boss with an expression suspended between curiosity, astonishment and anxiety, waiting for the twist.

They studied one another, and many of the glances ended up on her. The others were all company veterans and already knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses; she, by contrast, was the newest arrival: to be studied, to be tested.

“These plans have already begun to be implemented,” GM added, “one example being the presence in the company of a new colleague, Ginevra, who, while we’re all here, I’m finally introducing to you officially.”

As GM pointed to her, every gaze turned her way.

“Ginevra will take on the role of project manager, the figure we were missing and the one we’re really going to need to carry the various projects forward and not lose pieces along the way. Ginevra brings solid, well-established experience and impressive training; I’m sure she’ll do a great job and make a significant contribution. Naturally, you’ll have the chance to get to know her better in time, there’ll be no shortage of opportunities; let’s give her a warm welcome!”

It was Davide, from Human Resources, who broke the ice — and he wasn’t the type to let a moment like that slip. Neat beard, warm voice, the reassuring face of the sort of man you end up telling your business to over the first coffee. Ginevra knew him: he was the one who had interviewed her. “If I can jump in,” he began, spreading his arms, “because I think I speak for everyone: welcome. This team needed someone to put the projects back in order — and if she also brings a bit of colour in among all these grey jackets, better still.” There was a laugh, a scattering of applause, and for a moment Ginevra felt the room a little less hostile.

Ginevra hadn’t foreseen that introduction: she managed a shy smile, a generic greeting, and thanked GM. She was too busy keeping in check the blush that, after her colleague’s remark, was rising to her cheeks.

She felt herself flushing, as she did every time she ended up in a situation she hadn’t planned. Speaking in public didn’t frighten her — provided she had a script, provided every detail was in its place. But there, caught by surprise, she found herself with no lines ready: she of all people, who always made the plans.

And that introduction raised the bar: if before her colleagues had been looking at her out of curiosity, now they’d want to see whether she lived up to what had just been promised.

“Since this is the first occasion that sees us all gathered together,” GM continued, turning to Ginevra, “I’ll take the chance to introduce everyone to you, quickly,” and he began to name them one by one, with the role of each.

Ginevra concentrated on memorising the names and beginning to form an idea.

Chapter 2

Ginevra followed the string of names GM was rattling off, trying to fix them quickly, matched to faces. Around that table, besides him, sat a good number of other colleagues: from sales, from the orders office, from the creative department, as well as the head of market data analysis, Human Resources, Finance and Purchasing.

Davide was the only face she already knew. Of the others she watched every movement, every expression, every word, to build a picture of the people she’d be working with. She didn’t like surprises, especially bad ones, and she always wanted to be prepared. But she filed them away quickly, more by function than by name.

Only two stuck in her mind — and not exactly in a good way. Fabio, from Purchasing, was a cross between a nerd and a party host: T-shirt, sunglasses pushed up on his head, the face of a man who enjoys his job and lets it show. Andrea, the guy from Finance, should have embodied the serious side of the company — the classic controller’s blue suit — and instead he sat there laughing and sniggering with the first one, as if they were sharing some private joke. The Cat and the Fox, Ginevra thought: cheeky, always ready with an answer, faces you’d like to slap. What a pair.

[…]

Keep reading

The novel continues on Amazon, in paperback and on Kindle. With Kindle Unlimited you can read it for free.