Jacqueline's fingers were clenched around her untouched coffee. Her soft brown eyes were hard as stone right then as she listened to her father's meaningless drivel. A rogue bit of her russet red hair had slipped from behind her ear and tickled her below the collarbone.
Her father gave his usual look of mock sympathy.
"Sweetie, Mr Miles is not the lawyer for you. He deals with big clients, not little contracts and agreements."
"This isn't just a contract Dad. This is four years of hard work focused on getting this software created. I need copyright protection and non-disclosure agreements before I can go any further, and Mr Miles is bloody good at these things. Even you said so."
"Yes sweety,"
she hated when he called her that, so condescending.
"I understand how important your hobby has become - "
'It's not a hobby! I have been working on this every waking hour! I have learnt different kinds of code and have been working on multiple platforms! I want to be sure I am properly protected before I develop it further. No one is going to just leech off my efforts for their own use."
"You're being a bit dramatic, aren't you?"
Jacqueline breathed deeply. Her father was an idiot, she knew, and right then was showing his weak will. He was intimidated by his boss, maybe even scared. Mr Miles was a ruthless man who had built up his firm himself and ran it with an iron-fist. He was also known to be excellent at his job, including work related to intellectual property. Jacqueline wanted only the best.
"How about if I look into it for you, Jacqueline?"
"Dad, you do property law. I am not purchasing a house."
"Look, this is too small for Mr Miles to deal with. He will not be interested."
"You don't know that!"
"Sweetie, no. I cannot do it."
Typical. Why did she expect anything different?
"Fine. Then I will do it myself."
The cup clunked onto the desk as she stood up to leave.
"Jackie, don't do anything stupid that would get me involved. I can't have anything jeopardise my job here."
"Don't flatter yourself, you'd be lucky if he knows your name."
She stalked out of his little office without waiting for a response, and headed toward the lift. She was seething inside.
Hobby, he thinks what I do is a hobby!
Over four years of learning to code and the sleepless nights she had worked her arse off, her heart and soul had gone into this project. She knew many would think this ridiculous, but she only wanted the best. She was proud of her work.
As she waited for the lift, she heard steps behind her. She glanced behind to see a handsome middle-aged man walking toward her. He was well dressed, walked with confidence, and she caught the hint of a woody vanilla scent from his cologne as he neared. She returned her gaze to the lift.
"It never bodes well when you leave a law firm angry."
She looked back at him.
"Excuse me?"
"You are quite literally white knuckled. "
Jacqueline looked down. Her hands were so clenched together the blood was definitely going where it needed to. Guess her anger wasn't quite as under control as she thought.
"Disappointing meeting. I did not get the help I had hoped for," she replied.
A slight frown crossed the man's face.
"That is not what we want to hear when people leave this office."
"Yes, well not all of your colleagues have a decent backbone."
This time his brow shot up.
"May I ask who you were meeting?"
"It's not important."
"Actually, it is. This firm prides itself for the integrity and quality of the service. So, if that has not been delivered, it is important."
"Don't worry, I won't give a bad review," she retorted sarcastically.
The lift arrived, and they stepped in. The man pressed the button for ground level then looked at her enquiringly.
"Same, thanks."
Once the descent had started, the man turned back to her.
"Look, maybe the lawyer you spoke to, may not have been the right person for you."
"He absolutely isn't! He's my father."
The man gave a warm laugh.
"Ah, so family mediation will soon be required."
Jacqueline sighed.
"I had hoped he could introduce me to Mr Miles in relation to copyright and non-disclosure work, but it seems I am not worth the big guy's time."
"Miles is the one you want to see?"
"Yeah. But now, I need to pitch my work the slow way, and submit it for initial check before I can hope to have an appointment. And even if it gets taken up by the firm, it may not be the big guy that deals with it, but one of his cronies. It may be menial work to him, but this is my project, my baby! And I want the best."
He was still smiling slightly as they arrived at the ground floor. Slipping his hand into his inner jacket pocket, he produced a business card. He handed it to her as they stepped out.
"I decide what I find menial."
Oh shit...
Jacqueline looked at the card and back up at the man. Why had she not done some research on what the guy looked like, instead of just his qualifications and successes in business. Then again, she never would have thought of doing so. She expected a greying man with a paunch and too much gloop in his hair.
But here was this tall fit man in a slate-grey suit, a muted moss-green tie and the scent of smoky vanilla. He looked mid-forties at most, with medium-length brown hair with a side part, slightly combed back. He had broad shoulders and a well-proportioned body. His eyes were blue-grey, and he had nicely trimmed beard and moustache, slightly lighter than his hair. And his lips were currently curled in amusement at her discomfort.
"I - I - Oh crap. I did not mean to talk down about your business, Mr Miles."
"Yes, you did."
There was nothing she could say at that point that would not put her foot in it further.
"However, I understand your anger, especially for something close to your heart."
Mr Miles looked at his watch. Jacqueline was surprised it was not a Rolex, but a muted black leather/silver dial watch, which suited his total look.
"I was going to get a coffee and do some paperwork before my next meeting; however, you have intrigued me, Miss—"
"Templeton. Jacqueline Templeton."
"Templeton, your father is one of our property lawyers if I am not mistaken."
"Yes, sir."
"Don't call me sir. It makes me feel like a schoolteacher. Let's get a coffee, we have 20 minutes."
It was not a question, just a statement. Clearly this was a man that got what he wanted. And at this point, Jacqueline did not care. She had made a crap first impression, but she was damned if she would let that get in the way of what she wanted to achieve. He walked at a quick pace, but she could easily keep up with him with her long legs.
"Coffee of choice?" he asked as they walked into the local café.
"Flat white, thank you."
Once the drinks were ordered, Mr Miles led her to a corner table, and they sat down.
"So, Miss Templeton. Tell me about your project."
"I had hoped to have some time to present it to you, and in a less public setting."
"We can get to that later. Give me a 5-minute run down, and then I can let you know whether I am the lawyer for you."
Jacqueline took a moment to compose her thoughts.
"I am a software developer and have been working six years for Puzzle Soft."
"I'm not expecting your history."
"Do you want to hear my five-minute rundown or not? I would assume you would like to know that I have experience in my field."
He grinned, and nodded his head for her to continue.
"I have six years professional experience and am fluent in four types of computer code. Four years ago, I started working on a cross-platform software. I assume you understand these terms as you deal with modern copyright and intellectual property?"
He nodded again, gave a quick smile to the waitress as their drinks arrived, then looked back at Jacqueline.
"Go on."
"In a nutshell, this software allows the management of diaries, business trips, school terms or holidays. It does so by logging and tracking not only the appointments on a calendar, but also expected travel times, possible interconnected diary clashes, and takes into account different time zones and airport wait times for the extensive travellers."
She expanded slightly on her concept, explaining how the software would work on Apple and Android machines, then on phones, tablets and laptops. Mr Miles listened intently, watching her all the while. Finally, Jacqueline came to a close and took a sip of her coffee.
Miles sat back in his seat with a sigh, and gazed up to the ceiling, lost in thought.
The fingers of his left hand were drumming lightly on the table. After a while, he looked back at her, his eyes boring into hers as he leant forward.
"Your ideas have merit, and as you say, you have some experience in your field. I assume the software is still in development stage."
"Correct. The non-disclosure agreement will be required in relation to the people I will bring on board to do the graphic design, web development and the quality assurance among other things."
"Have you budgeted the capital required for the development?"
"I have. It will be coming both from my savings and Research and Development grants."
