Are you sitting comfortably.....

..then I'll begin (and try and cut a long story medium). He (MC) rang and asked if I would go with him and view possible offices premises, as now he has been freelance for three months, working at home is not ideal. Yes, I say, I'll come with you. So it is arranged, he says, for 1pm on Wednesday: he has meetings in London until 12 noon, he'll jump on a train and be in St Albans by 1.45 latest and pick me up. (You can already see where this is going, can't you....)

I tell my secretary the arrangements, and it is very worrying when my phone bleeps at 1.45pm, she laughs and says pointedly that it will be MC texting to say he is running late. How well she knows my friends..... he has phoned EA (see previous texts for terms) and put appointment back to 1.20..latest... I go out and get a sandwich as I see there will no chance to eat later, and settle down to wait. 1.25pm the door opens and in runs MC. We jump in the Landy and he rings EA again to say we are only 5 mins away (!) and puts phone down without allowing EA a word in. We drive round a roundabout quite fast and as I am holding on to stay upright, I find myself saying, in a tired sort of way..' You see. this is why I really don't want to be in business with you.... you do this all the time and it is so unprofessional...' MC declares his innocence and says he's not always late.....

We are apparently looking for a farm near St Albans..we find a farm, drive up the lane, see some converted barns but no EA. MC jumps out and runs about looking. I sit back and close my eyes, enjoying the sun on my face, and thinking, why, oh why......

MC jumps back in and starts driving whilst talking to me and phoning EA. Apparently it's the wrong farm. There's another one up the road and so we head off at speed. Once again MC gabbles to EA and puts the phone down. I remark that I hope EA has waited, since we are now almost 40 minutes late....

We find farm, drive up track and there is a lonely looking young man in a suit standing by a barn. Aha, EA. There is also the Farmer, waiting. DC jumps out, says hi to EA, hi to Farmer, shakes his hand, and as we start walking, I hear MC begin his sales pitch. 'Hi, I'm DC, I am a MC, and I run my own events and management company..oh, that's my partner....and...' ...he is walking ahead with the farmer, I am walking a few steps behind (as befits my status, with EA who is young and shyish and so far not said a word). I am a bit embarrassed because for some reason MC is as high and wired as I have ever seen him, and I wonder if he will ever shut up.

I smile at EA and say, 'He does all the talking, and I do all the listening, that's how the partnership works.' He smiles and says, 'I will leave the talking to the farmer while he shows you the barn, then I'll do the business stuff at the end.' 'Very wise,' I say, and we walk on in companiable silence, as I pick my way across the farm yard and wonder if black sling backs was the wisest choice of footwear today.....

We arrive at a derelict barn, and as we join MC and F, it is apparent that MC is still talking, even faster, and F has not yet said a word. MC looks at me as he is talking, saying..'Um, what size of events do we do, Sally..what's the biggest event we have ever done?' I fix him with a beady stare and say calmly, 'Is that really relevant at this point, D, some of us have jobs to go back to.' MC is stunned into silence, and EA has to pout his hand over his mouth and stifle a giggle. But I saw it. He likes my style. 'Why don't we just look round?' I ask, and MC says to F, 'Yes, yes, good idea, you show us round....' and he finally stops talking. F shows us round the barn, I try not to step in the horse poo and we hear the plans for coverting said derelict barn into offices.

We step out the far side and see the space for parking 6 cars (including a soft top landy which is no longer welcome on MC's drive at home) and the storage space at the far end which could be a home for the vast amount of sound and lighting equipment which is no longer welcome in MC's garage at home...the place is growing on me.....

MC is once again talking to the F about all the things we do and what we need the space for..once again I am stood apart with EA. He smiles and says, 'Um...does he do Anger Management?' I say, 'What?' 'I am sure he said on the phone something about Anger Management..' 'No, ' I say. 'Hang on, I am a therapist, I have run Stress Management courses, could he have said that?' 'Oh, possibly, ' he says, stills smiling and looking at MC. 'Only, it's funny.....' he stops talking, and I spookily see where this conversation is going. I put a gentle hand on EA's shoulder. 'Do you feel the need for some Stress Management?' He giggles shyly (I like this young man) 'Well, yes, I have had a really stressful week, and..well, while I was waiting for you, I thought...' 'You thought, I am getting angry and stressed because I have been kept waiting 40 minutes by a man that runs Anger Management Courses?' I say, still with my hand on his shoulder. This is therapy in action in while I am standing in a field in horse poo.

'Yes' confides EA, growing in confidence, 'I wondered if this is how he gets his business...' 'That's right, ' I say, 'He is late and irritating, and winds people up, then I come along and offer Stress Management..that's how the partnership works.' There we are, EA and myself, laughing and quietly sharing a private joke, when something makes MC turn round and glance at us. He stops talking. 'What?' he says, noticing something...... 'I have been telling Jack how are business partnership works, ' I say. 'Oh good,' he says, beaming with pride, 'How?'

'That you piss everybody off and I come along and make everything ok'.

Farmer and Estate agent finally collapse with laughter, and do you know, to his credit...MC joins in.......

We all like each other. I can already see the barn converted into an office, with a large picture window down one side, overlooking the paddock, the sun pouring in, and there is a large meeting/training room where I can run my Stress Management and Assertiveness groups. I turn back to the others.

'Can I have a horse, too? My very own horse?'