Temerity (n.) – Excessive confidence or boldness
‘Ah, here she is!’ Conrad smiled as the bell dinged my arrival into my small but beautiful travel tour agency in Manchester. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you today; thought you’d be out celebrating still. I heard your pitch went really bloody well.’
‘News travels fast then.’ I grinned. ‘I’m just waiting for their call with the final answer, but I was going mad trying to work from home, surrounded by all our boxes. Plus, I feel like I’m hardly ever in this store nowadays.’
‘And I thought you were only here for my rugged good looks.’ He acted mock-offended. ‘Speaking of ugly men, Ben not around to entertain you?’
I shook my head. ‘He’s in the London office today, overseeing a recruitment drive.’
‘Didn’t he just get back from Finland?’
‘You know there’s no rest for the wicked.’
‘Then you both must have been terrible in a past life.’
‘Maybe next time I’ll be reincarnated as a pampered house cat or something, but right now there’s too much to do, so sleep can wait.’ I smiled at him and shrugged off my jacket. ‘I’m guessing you’ve spoken to Kelli then?’
He shook his head. ‘I doubt she’s surfaced yet, judging by the photos she was tagged in on Facebook in some very swanky-looking wine bar quaffing on champagne last night. I figured she was out toasting your success.’
‘Well, technically we still haven’t got it all signed off.’ I hoped we weren’t all getting carried away with ourselves. ‘Their decision should be coming through any moment now.’ I pulled my phone from my bag and checked I hadn’t missed any calls since I last looked, three minutes ago.
‘Pfft,’ Conrad blew out through his lips. ‘I read the pitch, remember. Solid gold.’
‘Let’s hope they think so too.’ Why was I doubting myself this morning? We had this in the bag. ‘Anyway, there’s nothing that a strong cup of coffee won’t fix.’
‘I guess I’d better stick the kettle on then, shall I?’
‘You superstar.’
The Manchester store had flourished in the hands of Conrad, a brusque but brilliant Yorkshire man who had taken to our company like a duck to water. Having him on board meant less stress for me, though I did miss the old days of us all squished into this room, as well as the daily banter, office gossip and the camaraderie that came with it. Because we had expanded so rapidly, Ben and I had hired Felix to oversee the day-to-day running of the London store; he was perfectly lovely and still learning the ropes, but in my opinion lacked the charm and likeability that Conrad had in bagfuls. Flitting between the two places, as well as trips away, networking events, conferences and everything else that filled my hectic diary, it was the people I missed the most.
‘I’ve got everything crossed, not that I need to. I just know that this is what we’ve been waiting for.’ He gave a knowing smile and generously poured coffee granules into matching mugs. Since the start of the year we’d been obsessing over what the business was missing, this spark of an idea, a revelation, an X-factor decision that would push us further than our competitors. ‘Lord knows we need something, as yesterday’s meet-up was not our answer.’
‘Oh, what happened?’ I asked, flicking through my diary to check that I had time for a quick catch-up before my next call, which Erin had set up. Realising I had an unexpected free half an hour, I settled onto the comfy sofa next to the bookcase, stacked with glossy brochures advertising exotic destinations and trips that we offered.
‘Well, I mean, we had a few new clients interested, but most of them just wanted to eat Val’s cakes and nick a few of our pens,’ he grumbled.
‘Maybe it will be one of those things that takes a little time to pick up?’ I offered, sensing how disappointed he was that his latest idea hadn’t taken off exactly as planned. Conrad was always coming up with ways we could increase our client base and spread the word about what we do, from holding Thai cooking classes to promote our Southeast Asia trips, which ended in two people getting food poisoning, to an outside Australian barbecue that fell victim to the unpredictable Manchester weather.
‘Hmm, maybe. I think we’ll have to shelve the “pin the tail on the llama” game for the Chile trip – almost took a poor lassie’s eye out,’ he confessed, cringing. ‘But, I’ll keep trying. You know the sales figures speak for themselves, but I can’t help thinking there’s something that we’re missing out on,’ Conrad said, as he poured in milk, his face growing serious for a moment. ‘I haven’t quite put my finger on what it is yet, but I’ve been sending my spies into our rivals’ businesses and hopefully they’ll be back with ideas. I just have this sense that there’s some trick we’re missing, something we could offer our customers that would knock the competition out of the park.’
He was right. As great as our reviews were, the profits healthy and customers going home happy, I often had this niggle in my head too. To keep moving the company forward, we needed to make sure we moved with the times and offered over and above what other travel agents or tour companies did.
‘Well, we can only keep trying.’ I gratefully took the steaming mug he handed me.
‘Aye, that we will do.’
I glanced around the small room as Conrad picked up his ringing phone and smiled. In the corner, they’d set up a snack station for customers with hot drinks and complimentary cookies, which came from Val’s café over the road. This had gone down well, but it wasn’t like a free slice of banana bread or homemade Eccles cake was going to be the trailblazing idea we’d imagined.
‘So, how are things with the lovely Val?’ I asked, absent-mindedly picking up a cookie and breaking a piece of buttery biscuit off as he got off the phone. ‘She could put Mary Berry to shame.’
His ruddy cheeks broke into a wide grin at the sound of her name. ‘Well, it’s not gone tits up between us yet.’
I laughed. ‘And I’m sure it won’t either. Tell her from me that she makes the best cakes in town; in fact, I’m surprised you’ve not put on ten stone since meeting her.’ I brushed crumbs off my shirt.
It was probably for the best that the snack station hadn’t been implemented when I’d worked in this shop full time. With this much temptation in my way, there’d be nothing left for the customers. I tried not to think about how snug my work clothes had got since Ben and I had moved in together. There was something about the comfort of being in a happy relationship, eating a lot more takeaways, not wanting to leave the warm bed for an early morning run, and sharing a bottle of wine most evenings, that was a hell of a lot of fun but did nothing for your figure. Sexercise only burnt a fraction of the calories I was indulging in.
‘Keep it to yourself, but I’ve started this new fitness regime.’ He leant forward, dropping his voice to a whisper, even though we were the only ones in the shop. ‘She’s had me join a gym.’
‘You? At a gym? I never thought I’d see the day!’
‘Mock all you want, but it’s the only way I don’t balloon. Anyway, that’s not the worst part.’ He lowered his voice even more. ‘She’s got me taking a few evening classes.’
‘Oh yeah? Like what?’
He grimaced, as if locked in a mental disagreement over whether to tell me or not. ‘Dancing.’ He sat back in his chair, waiting for my reaction. I couldn’t help but let a giggle escape at the thought of Conrad pirouetting in a fetching pink tutu; he ignored me and carried on. ‘Well, first it was Zumba, then it was this salsa beat workout, and now it’s sodding ballroom with a twist.’
‘Ballroom with a twist?’ I repeated, quite enjoying the blush rising on his face.
‘Yep. The twist is that you break into this flaming difficult hip-hop routine midway through.’
I couldn’t help but let a snigger escape. ‘Hip-hop? You do hip-hop?’
‘Don’t.’ He placed his reddened cheeks into his large hands. ‘I’ve not told anyone else and I’m making you swear that you won’t either.’
I held up my fingers in a Brownie Guide salute as he continued.
‘You know those YouTube videos of couples, usually a bride and groom on their first dance, who start off all formal and then the music changes halfway through to some irritating dance song, and they perform this well-rehearsed but bloody ridiculous routine?’
I nodded, my cheeks aching from smiling.
‘That’s ballroom with a twist.’
‘Oh, wow. So, you going to show us a move then?’
‘Don’t hold your breath. I only agreed to it to make her happy. The things you do for love.’ He grunted and began shuffling through some brochures on his cluttered desk.
‘Love?’ I raised an eyebrow.
‘Yeah, I love her,’ he mumbled. I had the urge to start clapping but kept my emotions in check. Conrad wasn’t usually this forthcoming with his personal life so I didn’t want to stop his flow. ‘Lord knows why she puts up with me, and trust me there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her happy. But flaming dance classes?’ He shook his head at what he had become. ‘Seriously.’
‘Well, I think it sounds adorable, and don’t be putting yourself down. You’re a catch; she’s lucky to have you in her life too.’
He shrugged and cleared his throat. ‘So, back to you, I still can’t believe you and Ben are finally taking a holiday. He’s promised me that you’ll both turn your work phones off and step away from your emails.’
‘Nice subject change. Don’t expect me to forget that you owe me a dance at the Christmas party,’ I teased and took a slurp of my coffee, double-checking my phone again for when the bank called. ‘I’m not sure how much of a holiday it will be with helping Shelley out, but I am looking forward to ticking Australia off my list and spending time with Ben.’
‘Your first trip down under! Be prepared for the jet lag as it can be a bit of a killer, you know. Why don’t you ask Shelley to delay the trip for a few days so you can adjust?’
I shook my head. ‘No way. I don’t want to do anything to make her already dangerously high anxiety levels rocket even more. I’m sure I’ll be fine.’
‘You’re just going to have to have a coffee drip inserted in your arm and be prepared to ride the jet lag waves more like.’
‘Oh come on, it’s not that bad, is it?’ I’d taken enough long-haul flights by now to realise he was overreacting.
Conrad raised his bushy eyebrows. ‘You’ve never done the London–Australia route before. I know you think you may be superwoman at times, but, trust me, that can really mess your head up.’
I dismissed his scaremongering and flicked my head back to my laptop screen. ‘I’ll be fine, really.’
‘Well, good luck. I just hope I won’t be saying I told you so when you’re feeling like a zombie for your first few days.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ I repeated. ‘Anyway, even if I do, there is no way I’d tell you and give you the satisfaction of saying I told you so!’ I teased, and ducked when he flicked a paper clip at me.
‘We’ll see; also, unless you’ve changed your phone screen to a topless photo of Ben, you need to stop checking that phone of yours.’ He nodded, as I glanced at my mobile phone, again.
‘I know. I’m just … Don’t tell anyone … but I’m just a little nervous. They said they’d be calling us today and, judging by how they spoke yesterday at the pitch, I thought I would have heard first thing.’
‘They’re probably telling everyone else they didn’t make the grade and saving the good news for last.’ He shrugged just as a customer walked in who he then went to help.
Suddenly, my phone chirruped to life, making me jump and Conrad spin his head over to the noise. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Here goes!
‘Georgia Green speaking,’ I said in my most professional phone voice.
‘Georgia, you’re there!’ The harassed-sounding voice of my best friend Marie rushed down the line. ‘I called your London office and Erin said you were in Manchester. I’m not interrupting some super-fancy important meeting or something, am I? Can you talk?’
‘Marie, slow down, is everything okay?’
I could hear banging in the background and some irritatingly high-pitched nursery rhyme, probably coming from the TV.
‘No!’ she said in a gulp of what sounded like tears.
Before I could ask another question, she’d turned her mouth from the phone and began telling off her son, Cole, for not sharing with his sister.
‘Marie?’
‘Oh, Georgia. I am so sorry to have to do this but I need your help.’
‘Sure what’s happened?’ I flicked my eyes off my emails and focused on her breathless, anxious voice, bracing myself for the worst.
‘I really, really don’t want to have to ask you as I know how busy you are. Trust me, I’ve tried every other option but I’m desperate.’ She let out a chirp of a laugh that fell flat. I tried not to take offence.
‘Are you okay? Are the kids okay?’
‘Cole. Give that to your sister!’ she barked distractedly. ‘Yeah, they’re fine. It’s just, I need you to watch them. I’ve got to be at this audition and Mike’s mum was going to have them but she’s not well and then the childminder we sometimes use is booked up and …’
Marie was a part-time actress slash hairdresser, always waiting for the big break that never seemed to come. Before her daughter Lily was born she had been going to quite a few auditions, and had mentioned contacts who were hoping to break her into the big time, but it had all gone very quiet since then.
‘Is that it?’ I let out the breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding and laughed lightly. ‘Of course I can look after them.’
‘Really? Are you sure?’ She sounded surprised, which hurt a little. I hadn’t been that bad in helping her out with her children, had I?
‘’Course! I love spending time with them.’ I heard her breathe a sigh of relief as I flicked open my diary and ran my finger down the packed pages. ‘So, when do you need me? Remember, I’m off to Australia in two days, but I can look for a day when we get back?’
There was a brief pause. ‘No, Georgia. I need you now, like right now.’
‘Now? Oh,’ I stuttered. ‘It’s just I’ve got this call to tell me about this deal and …’ Everything else on my list could be rearranged with Erin’s help but this, this was a biggie.
Marie picked up on my apprehension. ‘You know I wouldn’t normally ask at such late notice but I can’t cancel. Please, Georgia.’ The desperation in her quiet voice was painful to hear.
I sat up in my seat. What was I doing even hesitating? I didn’t have to choose between helping out my oldest friend in her hour of need and signing off this deal, I could manage both.
‘’Course. I’ll grab a taxi over right now.’
‘Thank you!’ She sighed with relief. ‘I really owe you one.’
I hung up and turned off my laptop, feeling Conrad’s eyes on me as he made a hot drink for the customer who was sitting at his desk, flicking through the Moroccan brochure.
‘I’m just heading out for a bit.’
‘Wait – what about the call?’
‘Don’t worry. Will you just drop Erin a line telling her to cancel my afternoon meetings? I won’t be long!’
I just had to entertain two small children and do my job. It couldn’t be that hard; people on TV did it all the time. In fact, they made it look easy. I could so handle this.