Chasing the Sun: The laugh-out-loud summer romance you need on your holiday!. Katy Colins
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my phone screen, wondering how I was going to get through Planet Wedding once I got over there.
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