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It’s early afternoon, and Zoe excitedly jumped into a car with Romeo an hour ago, waving goodbye and telling us we’d see her when she got home… eventually.
Rhia and I drag our tired bums out of our rooms to do at least a little exploring today. We can’t justify doing absolutely nothing for an entire day—it goes against our nature.
We’re walking down the corridor to the elevators when a door a few rooms down opens, and a geeky-looking guy steps out. He doesn’t look like your typical tourist, but I guess they come in all shapes and sizes. He gives us a polite nod as we pass and heads in the opposite direction.
“See, there are guests on this floor,” Rhia remarks as we step into the elevator.
As we reach to the parking lot and get into our little red Fiat Panda, Rhia’s phone starts to ring in her bag. She checks the caller ID, wrinkling her forehead.
“Shoot, it’s the office. I told them to ring meonlyif there’s an emergency,” she says, looking a little concerned.
“Go ahead. Answer it,” I urge her. I’ve been impressed that her phone hasn’t rung once for an entire week. She has capable staff, but they rely heavily on Rhia’s direction. She listens intently, her face going from concerned to astonished to beaming and then back to concerned.
“Oh my god, that’s one hell of an opportunity. When do they want to have the proposal by?… Next Monday?! That’s impossible… Email me all the details right away,” I hear her say before she hangs up.
“What’s happening? You look excited and scared all at the same time.”
“You’re not wrong. Oh my God, Ella… oh my fucking god.” She squeals and does her weird little happy dance. It’s the second time I’m seeing it today. This clearly runs in the family.
“I need to sit down. Let’s get a drink.” She touches her chest and pats it as if to calm her heart.
So we lock up the car again and head back inside and aim for the hotel bar. Once seated, I turn to my best friend expectantly.
“What’s going on?”
“That was Tim calling,” Rhia begins.
Tim is her right-hand man and is handling the business while she’s away.
“Do you remember the boutique hotel chain I’ve been trying to win as a client since I started my company?”
I shake my head, no. “They’re all over Europe specializing in unique properties, no run-of-the-mill type stuff with them. They review their PR team regularly to keep the ideas as fresh and unique as they are and invite tenders every so often. We’ve never made it onto their tender list… But guess what?”
She gulps down her drink in one go and then fans herself in excitement. “They just rang and want us to tender for their next PR campaign… Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God… Ella, this is huge. This could be the breakthrough I’ve been waiting for. If we win this, it will catapult us on the international stage, and the sky is the limit from there.”
“That’s amazing!” I’m as excited as she is. No one deserves it more than Rhia. She puts so much love, sweat, and dedication into her campaigns, and I just knew it would pay off big time before too long.
We order another round of drinks. “We need to celebrate,” I declare.
“We have to do it now. Once Tim forwards me the tender documents, I need to study them and prepare a strategy. We only have a week to come up with something mind-blowing. Sorry sweets, but I can’t do dinner tonight.”
I swallow my disappointment. I don’t want to go out on my own. But staying in my room reading a book sounds like a horrible plan when you’re on vacation.
“Don’t worry about me. This is important, and you need to get started. I understand.” And I really do, even though I don’t like how this will affect everything.
“You’re the best. Why don’t you ring Tiero and go out with him tonight?” Rhia suggests.
“Hmm,” I say, non-committedly. Good thing I haven’t told her about him wanting to see me again, or she would ring him herself.
Our drinks arrive, and we clink glasses. “Congratulations on making the tender list!” I say as we take a sip of the cool, sweet liquid. “What made them change their mind and include you?”
“Who cares why! It’s only important that we’re one of the three companies invited. I’ll blow their minds. That account is mine!” she declares confidently.
Her phone pings, and she checks it quickly. “Here we go,” she squeals, rubbing her hands together.
She really loves what she does, and even though owning her own company has come with lots of challenges, she is thriving, and so is her company. I’m immensely proud of her.
Rhia gets up and heads to the stairs. I follow her. “I’ll spend the afternoon by the pool and read,” I say more to myself as Rhia is off in her own world, focused on reading the document Tim sent.
