Page 41 of About Last Night
He could tell people were impressed with her and he felt a surge of pride to be there in her company. Quite a few mentioned they’d heard her show recently and complimented her on it. Sheaccepted the praise with a gratified smile, but Tristan was concerned by how subdued she seemed otherwise.
Surely, she couldn’t be that uncomfortable in his company?
She nipped out a couple of times for a bathroom break and he found each time that he felt hollow without her there by his side and relieved when she returned to stand with him again.
As they were chatting with a small group of people, that worked at one of the other independent stations in the region, they were approached by a guy wearing a loud shirt and a big smile. He zeroed in on Lula and began talking to her about how his company was looking to run some ads on one of the more cutting-edge radio stations.
‘I have to say, your weekday Breakfast Show is markedly better than it used to be when Jez was presenting.’ He leaned in conspiratorially. ‘The guy’s a good businessman, but he’s a littleparochialwhen it comes to DJing. Better to leave the presenting to the talent, I say.’ He gave Lula a knowing wink.
She smiled pleasantly but didn’t say anything back.
Tristan jumped in quickly and pressed the guy to talk more about his needs – hyper-aware that they had to grab any lead they could right now.
He chatted for a while to the guy and managed to arrange for him to come to the station the following week and have a chat about buying some targeted airtime.
After he moved on, Tristan turned back to Lula to give her a furtive high-five, but she was staring round the bar as if in a daze.
‘Lula? You okay?’
‘I’m just going to the bathroom,’ she said, giving him a firm smile.
‘Again?’ He pinched his brows together in concern. Was she ill? When he looked carefully, he realised she did seem a bit paler than usual.
‘What, is there a limit on bathroom breaks or something?’ she said, jokily, although the wild look in her eyes told him to back off. He didn’t want to though, not until he was sure she was okay.
‘No, of course not.’ He was concerned to see she was trembling. ‘I’ll come with you,’ he said, gesturing out of the bar.
She twitched her eyebrow into an expression that said, ‘Why would you want to visit the ladies’ toilet with me?’
‘Not to the bathroom,’ he clarified with a grin. ‘Just out of here.’
Lula walked quickly out of the bar with Tristan hot on her heels.
She needed some head space, away from all these people. It was great they all seemed to want to talk to her, but her reserves for intelligent banter were quickly depleting and she could only stand there mute for so long, allowing Tristan to lead the conversation, before it began to look like she wasn’t making an effort.
And it wasn’t just the fact she felt she was making a mess of selling herself and the station, but that she was doing it standing next to a man who only had to glance her way to turn her brain to jelly. She was finding it virtually impossible to concentrate without being distracted by Tristan’s intoxicating scent and the sexual magnetism that seemed to roll off him in waves.
Her body actually felt feverish with arousal.
She must be coming across as a real idiot tonight and she really didn’t want him to think badly of her.
She made her way down the corridor towards the bathrooms with Tristan one step behind, her body burning with awareness of his presence in the cool quiet.
‘See you in a sec,’ she said, pushing the door open and striding inside before he could answer her.
Pressing her forehead against the cold glass of the full-length mirror next to the sinks, she took some deep breaths, willing her mind to clear and her heart rate to slow down.
This was torture. Added to the strain of dealing with being around Tristan, the event itself was bringing back memories of the awful parties her parents used to hold where she was expected to circulate, making witty conversation with their friends, when all she wanted to do was run away and hide. She used to feel physically sick before them – and sometimes tried to convince her parents that she actually was ill. They never let her off them though. Apparently, they thought it was imperative for her to learn how to act in polite company. She’d never been able to get it right, always managing to say the wrong thing to someone and chastising herself for days, or sometimes weeks, afterwards.
This networking thing was bringing back all those old feelings of insecurity she’d fought to get past.
‘Are you okay? You looked like you were about to pass out in there,’ he said as soon as she exited the bathrooms and found him leaning against the wall, waiting for her.
‘I’m fine.’
He put a hand on her arm to stop her walking past him and as she turned to face him, he gave her a puzzled look. ‘Are you sure?’
His concern seemed to make everything so much worse. She threw up her hands, humiliation making her face burn. ‘What do you want from me, Tristan? I said I’m okay. Let’s just get back in there and get this thing over with.’
