Page 61 of Strictly Friends
Mac’s well-rehearsed speech appeared to have opened the door to Estella’s good graces, if not yet her heart, and the reunion had led to dinner and subsequent dates.
But as much as Mac’s friendship lifted Ruby’s spirits, she grieved the gaping, Griffin-sized hole in her life. The only antidote she knew to heartache was work, and she threw herself into her new role. As head of marketing, she now worked closely with Fi and the other heads of departments, and she had swiftly taken to her increased responsibilities. After wresting an uplift in her budget from an agonised Fi, Ruby had developed a marketing communications strategy and overseen the acquisition of the much-needed new conference system. But, despite the long hours she spent on the business and the welcome healthy salary increase that came with the job, nothing lessened the misery of losing the mainstay of her life.
‘Hey, Rubes, can you stay behind for a minute?’
Ruby broke off her conversation with Nick and retraced her steps back into Fi’s office. Ignoring the pint-sized visitor’s chair, Ruby pulled out a chair from around the recently vacated conference table and dragged it over.
Sitting down, her face lit up with an excited grin. ‘I was just telling Nick that I spoke to MissIda at the weekend, and their Christmas and January bookings have shot up.’
‘I’m not surprised, given this bloody weather,’ Fi muttered. ‘Well, I suppose having my staff work for free has done somebody some good.’
Ruby brushed off Fi’s grumbling. ‘Nick says Narita has turned into a social media whizz. She set up an Instagram account for Paradise Inn and is posting loads. Her videos on TikTok and the promos she’s running seem to be doing the trick, if sales are anything to go by.’
Fi eked out a tiny smile and then said briskly, ‘Right, so what I wanted to tell you – confidentially – is that I’m promoting Nick in the new year.’
When Ruby clapped excitedly, Fi instantly raised a warning hand. ‘Before you ask, it’s not because of his work on MissIda’s website – although I can’t deny it’s given us some great PR for our corporate social responsibility report. Nick’s a fantastic team leader, and he’s really proved himself on the big accounts over the past couple of years.’
‘That’s so cool – and I won’t even say I told you so,’ Ruby crowed, elated to see Nick’s talent and all-round niceness recognised.
‘You are so much more like your Auntie Pearl than you know,’ Fi observed dryly as she picked up her pen and a sheaf of papers. ‘Okay, that’s all.’
Ruby was on her way out the door when Fi stopped her in her tracks.
‘So, are we still not allowed to talk about Griffin?’
With her hand on the doorknob, Ruby paused and shook her head dumbly.
‘Rubes...’ Fi started, and then sighed.
Ruby turned around. ‘There’s nothing to talk about,’ she said woodenly.
Fi dropped her pen and sat back in her chair. ‘You know, I’ve mulled over everything you said, and it just doesn’t add up. Ruby, is there something you haven’t told me?’
Ruby stared at Fi for a long moment and then leaned back against the door.
‘Griffin and I kissed.’
Fi flicked a careless hand. ‘I know all about that. You were fifteen, drunk, and hanging out behind the bike shed and—’
She broke off at the look on Ruby’s face and gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. ‘Oh,crap! You mean on the island, don’t you? You and Griffinkissed, like properly kissed?’
Ruby nodded forlornly.
Fi dropped her hand, her red lips forming into a shocked ‘O’ as she absorbed the information. She scrutinised Ruby’s troubled expression and asked carefully, ‘And how was it?’
‘As Priya would say, bloody amazing,’ Ruby said, sounding even more miserable than she looked.
Fi looked at her with wide eyes. ‘Well, go on then,tellme. I want details!’
‘It was absolutely magical,’ Ruby said in a dull tone. ‘We went out to a club one night and danced for hours. Then we went for a walk along the beach to cool down. It was dead romantic, and at first we were just kidding around and then he said something silly which got me upset, and the next thing either of us knew, we were kissing... and kissing...’ She trailed off with a dejected sigh.
‘Shee-it!’ Fi breathed. ‘Now, it’s starting to make sense.’
‘What do you mean?’ Ruby frowned.
‘I mean, you idiot, that if you two properly snogged at last – well, then, it’s no wonder your guard went right up and you were spoiling for a fight.Obviously, you were worried he’d see you as one more notch on his rather impressive belt.’
‘I didn’t think that at all,’ Ruby protested. ‘I trust – okay, trusted – him!’
