Page 52 of Love Me Ever After
Whatever possessed me to do shots at close to midnight on a Sunday night before one of the most important weeks of my career, I’d never know. When I stumbled to my room, sometime later, I meant to message Ems to say good morning. We’d promised that we would stay in contact as much as the time difference and work would allow, even if it was something as simple as a smiley face. Trying to focus on my phone screen, I made several aborted attempts at saying something meaningful before finally giving up. I lay back on the bed, phone still clutched in one hand and drifted off into a restless sleep filled with dreams of signposts and crossroads.
24
Ems
“Are you going to eat that?”
My hand hovered over the banana sitting on the corner of Sonya’s desk. It was only eleven o’clock, but I was starving.
Sonya’s brows rose. “My banana?”
“Mmmhmm. If you don’t want it.”
She fixed me with a quizzical look. “You hate bananas.”
“But I’m hungry.”
“Why don’t you go to the bar and see what pastries they have left after breakfast?”
I eyed the fruit sitting there taunting me, then reluctantly withdrew my hand. “I’ll wait. I’ve got a meeting for a potential wedding booking. They should be here soon.” Turning back to my desk, I sat down again.
“Did you hear back from Barbara Smyth-Hall yet?” Sonya asked without taking her eyes off her screen.
After the whole Lane & Parks debacle, Sonya and I were learning to work together again. She’d trusted me with bigger events and had let me resume my relationship with Barbara. The next booking from them was a series of training sessions for the senior leadership team and we were currently working out dates. Because it was the summer, the hotel tended to be a lot busier with holidaymakers and there wasn’t the lull in midweek that we would have in the off-season.
“She’s going to let me know some options by the end of the week.”
“Good. Keep me posted, I don’t want them to clash with the fashion show.”
The phone on my desk rang. “Hi, it’s Ems.”
The receptionist informed me that the couple who were coming to see me about the wedding booking had arrived. I asked her to direct them to the bar and I’d be there as soon as possible. Annoyingly, I needed the bathroom before the meeting and I didn’t want to make a bad impression by being late. Gathering the wedding portfolio, my notebook, pen and phone, I stood up.
“Right,” I said, “Fingers crossed we get this one sorted today. Their emails seem positive, but it would be good to get them nailed down.”
Sonya glanced up. “You’ve got this. I’ll see you later.”
On my way to the bar via the bathroom, I wondered what Mason was doing. It would be around six a.m. in New York and he’d be starting his day. If I remembered rightly, it was the orientation session this morning. Then he’d be full on into all the things he needed to do to get this job. I let out a hard breath as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. He’d tried to explain why he had to do this, but I didn’t understand why he wasn’t going to pursue something here. With all the interest his CEO had shown in him, there was every chance he could have found a role in London, which would have made it much easier for me to try and find a new job. Grabbing my phone, I sent him a message.
Ems: Morning! Good luck for today. I know you’ll kill it. Talk tonight xxx
Feeling better that I’d at least made contact, I went to the bar. There was only one couple sat at a table, so I knew it was Naomi and David. Plastering on a smile, I went over to them.
“Hi, I’m Ems. It’s lovely to finally meet you.” I placed my stuff on the table and held out my hand.
Naomi shook my hand first. “And you. It’s been fine chatting with you on email, but great to finally put a face to the name.”
Curtis came over. “Can I get you some coffees or any other drinks?”
I gestured to Naomi and David. “After you.”
They both ordered an Americano while I wasn’t feeling a coffee. “Curtis, can I have a mint tea. Oh, and would you be able to see if the kitchen can spare a banana?” Despite Sonya’s suggestion about pastries, I couldn’t stop thinking about bananas. Which was, completely bananas.
He frowned but nodded. “I’ll bring over some biscuits too.”
I opened the wedding portfolio and pushed it towards the couple. “Here are the packages we discussed over email. We can also tweak them to make them personal to you.”
Naomi pulled the folder closer, excitement twinkling in her eyes. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this place. We came to a friend’s wedding here last year and it was so gorgeous, I knew I didn’t want anything else.” She shot a look at David who looked slightly less keen than her.
