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They’d found the free canapés and more drinks and were standing to one side of the restaurant entrance. I hurried over to them and let Stacy pull me into a hug. “Well done, lovely. You’ve done an amazing job. I know we’ve said this before, but everyone here agrees too.”
I blushed, even praise from my friends making me feel self-conscious.
“I think I’ll be glad when today is over and we can all go on our road trip and then back to the UK.” I grinned, liking the idea of getting away with them all and preferring to think about that over anything else. Seeing Lukas had unsettled me again.
“Get a drink and we’ll start celebrating right now. If you’ve spoken to the press already and been on a tour, you’re officially all done, right?”
I wasn’t sure I could argue with that logic and I didn’t intend to. A drink would help calm my nerves and relax me enough to hopefully enjoy the rest of the day. While I had no intention of getting drunk while I was representing Sarai and her business project, a glass or two would happily take the edge off my nerves and make socializing a little easier.
After hugging the rest of my friends, I hurried toward the restaurant. The free drinks and food were supposed to be laid out on tables inside, but I’d also been informed that as staff, I could request anything I wanted to keep me going. As I went inside and saw the array of drinks and food already laid out for people I knew I wasn’t going to need to use my special treatment.
I grabbed a small plate and loaded it with finger food, smiling at the other men and women inside. A few of them who had been on the first tour with me congratulated me on a job well done, but for the most part, I was left alone to get food and drink.
As I was coming out of the building one of the journalists and his photographer appeared again. “There you are, Kit. Could we get you to come out here for some more photos? We want some of you with your colleagues.”
“Sure,” I said, although I was immediately disappointed I wouldn’t get to eat or drink just yet. Thankfully Stacy took the plate and glass off me.
“I’ll keep these safe for you,” she said with a wink.
“You better. They’ve been carefully and lovingly put together to satisfy my stomach.”
This comment made everyone laugh and it helped break the awkwardness of the moment. It returned as soon as I saw who they meant by colleague.
Lukas wasn’t far away, being photographed now that his interviews were complete. I frowned and paused, but no one else picked up on my hesitation and I was asked to step up beside Lukas.
He finally noticed me but looked away again quickly.
“We’ve heard the two of you have been working together a lot on this,” the journalist said. “We’d love to get some photos of you both.”
I didn’t know if this was something I should refuse or not, but everyone was looking at me expectantly and Lukas was still sort of playing to the crowd. Not sure what else to do and aware Sarai had asked me to play nice to promote the project, I walked over to stand beside him.
Instructions on our positioning flew thick and fast, but neither of us looked at each other. My heart hammered in my chest and the cameras flashed so fast that I could barely see or do anything but hold up a smile.
“Can you put your arm around her, please?” someone called out, and before I knew what was happening Lukas had done so. I naturally leaned into him, catching the smell of his usual cologne and feeling the familiar pang in my chest.
I missed him. I missed him so much, but I wasn’t going to beg for him back. Not after he had decided I couldn’t be trusted. Trust was a two-way thing, and he had certainly damaged mine.
It was difficult to be this close to him, but the cameras flashed again and the press got their photos. A few seconds later, Sarai was there with us, and Henry approached too, Lukas happily encouraging it. The press continued to flash their cameras as Sarai put distance between me and Lukas and an arm around my waist.
She gave me a squeeze that made it clear she had my back, and I found myself recovering a little. It was over, and I was pretty sure it was the worst that could happen now. No one would ask us to be in the same place again. Maybe now, I could feel like I was done.
There were yet more photos as we organized getting more people who had been involved in, including Richard, who cameout of one of the nearby huts and back to the main area for the party. As soon as I thought I could, I slipped away and off to one side, but there was a journalist I’d already spoken to waiting for me and he came up again as Stacy handed me my drink.
“Sorry to bother you again. I know you have already answered some questions for me, but our newspaper also wants to cover your story a little bit more. It’s rare that someone rises so quickly into such a position of influence, and for you to be British as well gives things an air of interest that our readers like. Can we ask you some other questions, a bit more personal in nature?
I didn’t know if this was something I could say no to, but I also understood the fascination with me being British. People seemed to love my accent over here and I didn’t think it could do any harm.
“Sure,” I said, shrugging before I took a mouthful of the mimosa I’d chosen. It wasn’t a lot of alcohol, but it was a wonderful flavor mix. Whoever had chosen the champagne had known what they were doing.
“You’ve lived in the UK your whole life, right?”
I nodded, my tension easing as the questions became standard ones about my life. Things about siblings, where I went to school, what I’d studied… It was all stuff that was the background to a career and showed they wanted to know more about me.
“And you’ve never been married, correct?”
“What kind of question is that?” Stacy asked, still to one side of me and holding the food I couldn’t easily eat while I was talking.
“It’s okay,” I replied, letting Stacy know I didn’t mind it. “No. I’ve not found the right man yet. Although there are merits to a relationship, I just haven’t wanted to be married, and Ilove being able to focus on my career. I’m sure when the right situation comes along I’ll consider it.”
