Who: Shona McGonagall and Aureliana Abercrombie What: Shona and Aureliana talk business and sympathize. When: Sometime mid-December, post-joint team conversation re: friendly mixed match. Where: Shona’s office Warnings: None!
“Aureliana! Just the woman I wanted to see,” Shona smiled as she took long strides to catch up with the blonde woman several paces ahead of her. “How are you?” She asked, slightly breathless from her jaunt halfway across the pitch.
If Aureliana wanted to be honest, she was once again imagining going into her mother's office and telling the imposing woman that she was quitting, but she had never quit anything in her life. So no matter how much Aureliana wanted to quit, she knew that she would not actually follow through. That would rock the boat far too much.
"Shona," Aureliana smiled and paused to allow the other woman to catch her breath. "I am doing well. And yourself?"
“I’m glad,” Shona smiled again, falling into step with her. “Busy,” she shrugged easily, “but I’ve always found that suits me best.”
Nodding, Aureliana understood completely. Keeping busy meant that she didn't have to think about everything else that she may or may not be forgetting or things she felt like she was not meeting her responsibilities for. "How may I help you, Shona?"
“We should talk business. Get all of our magpies in a row, so to speak,” she quipped, and nodded to the nearest of their offices. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long, but the fact of the matter was the administration and ownership needed to all be on the same page.
If asked herself, Aureliana would have done her best to distance herself from her mother as much as possible, but the fact remained that she had been installed at her mother’s behest. Still, she did not feel much like part of the ownership at the moment. She deferred to the McGonagalls on most matters anyhow. “Of course. With the holiday season, we should be busy even if there are no games to play.”
The dark-haired woman nodded in affirmation, and held the door open for Aureliana to step through. “Now. Not to pry, but,” started Shona as she busied herself with shuffling papers on her desk, “You took a few days off, recently, if I’m not mistaken. Is everything alright with the family?”
Unintentionally, Aureliana clenched her jaw and swallowed. That was… family business, as far as she was concerned, which did not concern those with the team. It did not matter if part of the upset lay in a player, that was Aureliana's sister as far as she saw it. These things could be mutually exclusive in her mind. "I just needed a few days to myself. Working full time, or nearly full time, takes some adjustment."
“Of course,” Shona replied courteously, mentally cataloguing Aureliana’s response and that the topic was a sensitive one. “Please, do sit,” she gestured to the chairs on the other side of her desk, and smiled, hoping to encourage a sense of rapport.
The blonde took the offered seat, crossing her legs at the ankles, trying her best to look settled. She wished that she had something in her hands to keep them busy, but Aureliana could only fold them in her lap to stop from fidgeting. "I do hope everything is alright." With her job performance. With the team. With searching for a new person to take on the PR duties. "How may I help you?"
Shona hid her raised eyebrows by turning around and pretending to look for something in her file cabinet before resuming her seat. “Everything is quite fine. I know that taking on a new team member can lead to something of a press storm, though, so I wanted to hear from you how everything surrounding Georgi’s hire has been going.”
"In the interest of fairness, I have nothing to compare it to." Georgi would hopefully be her first and last when it came to bringing a new player to the team. "However, I feel confident that everything is well in hand." If that was true or not remained to be seen, but Aureliana kept that particular thought to herself for now.
"Though." Aureliana paused and reconsidered what she was going to ask. Her husband's words came back to her. Why did she stay if she were unhappy? Because she did not want to leave the team in such a precarious situation without a person filling the PR roll. "How has the search been going for a permanent replacement for Mr. McEwan?"
“Unfortunately, not as fruitful as I’d have hoped,” replied Shona in a rueful tone, “but it’s still early, and I intend to reach out to some contacts.” Not that she’d had time to really do much about it, considering everything with Georgi, but that was the next thing she intended to tackle, even if she privately didn’t see much potential in obtaining a new PR person by the New Year, even, at this rate.
Aureliana could not hold back her sigh. She was afraid of that. With the holidays being what they were, all consuming, searching for new talent would naturally fall down the list. Since it was likely something her mother was not actively pushing for, no doubt Shona had directed her attentions elsewhere. No matter. "I am sure you have been doing all you can, what with all the other matters needing your attention."
Shona leaned back in her chair, and offered Aureliana a sympathetic grimace. Her suspicions were now confirmed, but the question was, how to coax her colleague into confiding and opening up? “I’m sorry, all the same. I understand this wasn’t your first choice.”
This position was far from her first choice. Aureliana would be hard pressed to even name it among her top ten. 'It is what it is," Aureliana sighed, because that was the realization she had come to in the past few weeks. There was nobody else the family could call upon and trust at this point. Fraser, perhaps, but he was busy with the BIL and his fellow commissioners. "The New Year will bring us new opportunities, I'm sure."
“I’ll double my efforts on finding someone to replace you - ” on top of this new friendly Ellie decided to spring on them last minute, “- but please know that your assistance is very much appreciated.” Shona said sincerely.
Aureliana inclined her head, "Thank you." That was really all she could ask, after all. She wasn't about to quit suddenly, unless of course someone forced her hand. Thankfully, that looked like there was going to be less and less a chance of that happening. "As for the upcoming friendly match, Gwen Miracle and I have plans firmly in hand. My mother is on board," that had taken some convincing, "and I have sponsors lined up. We will, of course, need rosters for both teams, but I assume MG and Coach MacFusty have that well in hand." She hoped. If they didn't, there would be words.
Shona managed to avoid an eye roll at the mention of Ellie (and Merc, too, if she was being completely honest) but a withering expression still made its way onto her face. While she was more than game for planning such an event, it appeared that those who initially called for the event didn’t truly understand how much behind-the-scenes coordination it would take. And that was frustrating. To say the least. “I’ll have both their heads if they don’t.”
That was good enough for Aureliana. Whenever she could come out not looking like the bad auror in a situation, the better. "I would remind you that finding a head coach would be much more difficult than someone for PR. However if you were to just focus on Portree…." she trailed off, sure that her point was clear. The Golden Neep would be far easier to win.
"As far as this friendly, please let me know if there is anything you need from me."
“I will, thank you,” Shona smiled warmly, electing not to share the less forgiving thoughts running through her mind. It was merely her frustration getting the best of her, anyway. Best not to give a voice to it.
Nodding, Aureliana smoothed her skirt before standing up. "If that is the case, I should probably get back to my own office. No doubt there is something new waiting for me since I dared to leave it so long." At least now she could be assured that the pile on her desk would not be hers permanently. She couldn't be sure if she could call Shona a friend, but an ally at the very least.