Page 22 of Just Like That

Dumbfounded by this comment, I emit a snort of laughter, which I quickly cover up with a cough when all eyes in the office land on me.

‘Are you sure you and Nick aren’t the ones with something going on?’ I surmise.

‘No, definitely not.’ Lauren bats my question away. ‘We spend a lot of time at this place, and on the few hot days we get in the summer, we normally have a barbeque after hours. I’ve seen Nick with his top off, that’s all. And he’s buff.’ She reaches up and flexes her biceps.

Heat creeps up my neck as it did the evening before when Seth was questioning me about Nick – which in both cases has far more to do with the scrutiny on me, than my feelings towards him. No one likes to be verbally poked and prodded about a potential love interest, especially when other people are making a meal out of something that’s not there.

Sidestepping the inappropriateness of Lauren’s comments, I simply respond, ‘Right, well, thanks for the tour.’ I get up from the desk I’m perched on. ‘I’ve got a tour of the catering facilities next, so I’d better get moving.’

‘No probs.’

Lauren smiles brightly at me and I detect a glimmer of something mischievous and calculating in her eyes. This unnerves me slightly, because I know exactly what it’s about. By mentioning that I keep work and dating separate, I’ve inadvertently let her know that I’m single, and the last thing I need when I’m trying to work is her and her merry band of fellow managers playing matchmaker.

My tour of the park’s catering outfit is very useful, because it helps me understand the existing food and beverage options, as well as the potential for branching out and creating new menus if the events would benefit from these. Serge, the catering manager, is a jovial man with a (bad) joke for every occasion and I warm to him immediately. He’s noisy and happy and affable – exactly the type of person I like to work with in my job.

After he’s finished showing me round, Serge insists on feeding me lunch before I head off to spend the afternoon with Nick. Having had the enchiladas the day before, I opt for the park’s signature burger, which is topped with bacon and halloumi and guaranteed to give me a dose of heartburn. It is, nonetheless, delicious.

‘Do I, or do I not, make the best burger in East Lothian?’ Serge demands of me.

Having never eaten a burger in East Lothian, this is an easy question for me to answer.

‘Number one on my list. No question.’ I supplement this feedback with the universal hand gesture for ‘top notch’.

‘And best in whole of Scotland?’

I bob my head from side while I contemplate this. ‘OK, I’ll give you it. I don’t remember having anything significantly better.’

‘Yes!’ He punches the air with his fist and strides back to the kitchen, singing something upbeat in a language I don’t recognise.

After I’ve eaten, I make my way to the same building the vet consultation with the rare tropical frog took place in yesterday – I sincerely hope it’s recovering and that it hasn’t croaked overnight (hmmm… perhaps my jokes aren’t much better than Serge’s). Pulling open the door to the animal hospital, as it’s known here, I walk inside and make my presence known, as Nick could be in any of the four rooms.

‘Hey, Nick, I’m here.’

Hearing a noisy rustling coming from room one, I’m about to open the door when he replies from elsewhere.

‘In room three,’ he hollers and I enter the room the frog was being treated in the day before.

He’s bent over, looking intently into the tank.

‘How’s Violet doing?’ I ask, biting my lip in anticipation of the answer in case it’s bad news.

Violet is named after Violet Beauregarde fromCharlie and the Chocolate Factory– the character who turned blue and inflated into a giant ball – because she’s a bright blue poison dart frog and she’s quite demanding in nature (so I’m told – I’m not really sure how a frog can be demanding).

‘She’s improving, thankfully,’ he says. ‘Starting to move around her tank again, but she’s still a bit sluggish.’

‘Oh, that’s good news.’ I join him by the tank and peer inside at Violet, who indeed is more active than the previous day. ‘She does look more… froggish.’

‘Froggish?’ Nick gives me a funny look.

‘I couldn’t say “human”, could I? I was looking for a similar turn of phrase.’

‘Fair enough. How was your morning?’

‘It was good, thanks.’ My conversation with Lauren suddenly pops into my mind and I feel myself colour, so I turn away and pretend to be interested in the contents of the room. ‘I got what I needed. Serge is fun.’

‘He’s certainly high energy.’ Nick’s still watching Violet’s every move.

‘Is that code for high maintenance?’

---