A Very Corporate Affair book 3 (The Corporate series) (20 page)

The reception hall was packed, throngs of mainly men were standing in groups chatting and laughing. Oscar flagged down a passing waiter, and handed glasses of champagne to Lucy and I, before taking one for himself. I spotted the Pearson Hardwick group, and we made our way over to say hello. Ms Pearson looked extremely elegant in a dove grey designer gown, her hair blow dried into flicky waves around her face. "Elle, you look lovely dear. That dress is divine. Lucy, how nice to see you here." She turned to Oscar, "Lord Golding, I'm so glad you could come. Hopefully not too difficult a week for you, with all these problems going on?"

"Thank you for inviting me, I must say, all you ladies look extremely elegant this evening," Ms Pearson actually blushed, "and I have to say that thanks to both Elle and Mr Carey, I've had a very good week. We've had the highest number of account openings in our history, including a lot of prestigious corporate ones. So far, I'm having a good scandal."

I spotted Peter and Matt from my office, and excused myself to go and say hello. They looked less at ease in their ensembles than Oscar, who looked like he'd been born wearing his. They both complimented me on my dress, and asked who Lucy was. When I explained that she was one of our colleagues from head office, I swear I saw Peter dribble.

"Clever enough to be a lawyer, and looks like a model? Jeez. She is one hot lady. Looks like Golding thinks so too," said Matt. I glanced over to see Oscar gazing at her, a look of total enchantment on his face. I felt a tiny pang, as I realised that I'd lost my fallback position, but the truth had been that I didn't want to sleep with him again. It was right to let him go.

He sat between Lucy and I at dinner, barely noticing that I was there. I chatted to Lewis, who was seated on my other side. I heard Oscar ask Lucy if she was going away this year.

"I'm trying to, well, I was meant to be going with my ex, but we cancelled it when we split. I kept the time off booked, and I thought I'd visit my parents in their villa in Southern Tuscany, only I've not been able to get a flight out. I'll keep trying all next week, but so far they've all been fully booked, even from places like Manchester and Glasgow."

I dug Oscar in the ribs, and whispered, "can't she come on ours?"

He whispered back, "we're sharing with the Smythe-Robertsons, there isn't room. I already promised them a lift. They couldn't get flights either."

"Well, I could go to Spain with James, and take Ivan's jet down to you next weekend. Give you a clear run with Lucy if you like. Go on, invite her."

"Are you sure?" he asked

"What are you two whispering about?" Lucy asked. I nodded at Oscar, and smiled at him.

"I'm flying out there on Monday," said Oscar, "you're very welcome to join me on my jet."

"That would be fantastic," Lucy exclaimed, "what a stroke of luck."

"Well, I've got a family with five children hitching a lift too, so you might not think it quite so lucky. One of them's a baby, so there may be some screaming, and it's a relatively small jet." He turned to me, "I wish I hadn't offered the Smythe-Robertsons a lift really, but I felt a bit mean."

"Henry and Penelope?" Lucy said. Oscar nodded.

"You know them?"

"Oh yes, we often meet up in Tuscany. Our villa is only about a mile from theirs. We've christmassed with them before too, in their Cotswold house."

I tuned out as they chatted happily about the people they knew, and turned my thought towards Spain. As soon as the awards were over, I excused myself and went to the ladies to phone James. He answered  straightaway. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's great, because I'm coming to Spain with you in the morning."

"Yay! How come?"

"Fixed Osc and Lucy up, she needs a flight out to Tuscany, so I'm letting her have my place, and I'll take Ivan's jet over next weekend. Whatever you do, don't let me sleep in. What time we gotta leave?"

"Cabs coming at half six, we have to be at Gatwick by eight. Flights at ten. I'll make sure I've got your ticket ready. You have a 22 kilo luggage allowance."

"I'll pack when I get home. James, I'm so excited. Listen, I'd better go, I need to call Ivan and let him know that there's a change of plan."

"Ok, I'll see you later on. Have fun."

I quickly called Ivan. "Hey babe, we have a change of plan, Oscar is taking Lucy on Monday, so I'm going to Spain in the morning instead. Am I still ok to borrow your jet next weekend to fly from Spain to Italy?"

He went quiet...."have you been matchmaking?"

"Yeah, a bit. But they've really hit it off, and it gives Oscar a bit of a clear run with Lucy without me getting in the way."

"I'm delighted, I sort of thought you were keeping Oscar on ice..." He trailed off.

"Don't be silly. Oscars a great friend, but that's all. He's like a smitten kitten with Lucy. She seems very taken with him too. It's very cute."

"Cute is not a word I'd ever use to describe Oscar. Listen, have a great time in Spain, and I'll sort out my Jet for next Saturday. Is that ok?"

"More than ok. I hope you can come out too. I'm gonna miss you so much next week. Just don't forget that I love you."

"I love you too baby. Ya sobirayus zhenit'sya na tebe."

"What does that mean?" I was curious, as it sounded like the phrase he'd whispered the night before.

"Doesn't matter. I'll tell you soon. Go and have fun."

We said our goodbyes, and I went back into the ballroom. I spotted Oscar and Lucy deep in conversation at the table, their body language indicating that they were indeed, very into each other. I decided to leave them alone, and joined Lewis and Ms Pearson, near the bar. "Might be you getting an award next year Elle," she said, "you could easily go up for the 'rising star' category."

"Yes, but look at the head hunters crowding around this year’s winner," pointed out Lewis, nodding towards the young man who'd been awarded that honour.

"At least Pearson Hardwick won the 'best litigator' prize, and best 'investor in people' award. That's quite something. You must be very proud." I said to Ms Pearson.

She beamed, "I have a feeling that corporate is where the prizes will be won next year. I think we may have a few more banks on board by then. Now, if we can get the Conde Nast account too, well, that would be a huge coup."

"I'm working on it. I accepted the position of company secretary on the board of the umbrella company that I set up to combine Conde Nast, Retinski, and various other companies. With Retinski already a client, I doubt if the other companies would have much choice. Odey and Corbett are gonna lose another one."

Ms Pearson raised her glass in a toast. "To the sharpest corporate lawyers in London." We clinked, and drank.

I mingled and networked a little, mainly chatting to my colleagues, although a chinless wonder made a feeble attempt at chatting me up. Oscar and Lucy were deep in conversation, so I left them to it. In truth, I was itching to get home and pack.

It seemed to take forever to get to midnight, despite it being such an important and glamorous 'do'. I was relieved when Oscar and Lucy approached to ask if I was ready to leave. "We're planning to go over to Whisky Mist for a drink. Would you like to come?" Lucy asked.

"I need my bed," I lied, thinking they were both a bit overdressed for a bar. Roger was waiting outside, and we all got into the Bentley. We dropped the two of them off outside the bar, and I watched them walk in holding hands, before Roger pulled away to drive me back to the docklands.

As soon as I got in, I made a coffee, stripped off, and began my packing. With an uber-full wardrobe, it was relatively easy to get carried away, and pack too much. I worked my way methodically through my list, making sure I packed carefully to avoid creasing. It was nearly four in the morning by the time I'd finished. I didn't dare risk going to sleep in case I didn't wake up, so instead, I sorted my handbag, checking that I had money, debit card, passport, and phone numbers for lost and stolen services. I took my hair down, hid the clip and jewellery, and hung my dress back in the closet.

By the time I'd showered, washed and dried my hair, put some makeup on, and got dressed, James was up. "Hey little Elle, didn't you go to bed?" He asked, eyeing my suitcase by the door.

"No, I'll have to sleep on the plane. I didn't get in till nearly one, so by the time I'd packed, it was time to get ready. I busied myself making James a coffee. He drank it quickly, and shuffled off to have a shower and get dressed.

The cab arrived bang on half six, and after James had checked he had the tickets and his passport, we set off for Gatwick. We got there in good time, as the traffic was light, and checked in straightaway. "Shall we go through security and find somewhere for a bit of breakfast?" James suggested.

"Good idea. I'd like to visit duty free too, and the sunglasses shop if we've got time." We passed through security without issue, and wandered around the vast shopping area inside the terminal. As we were quite early, we had loads of time, so found a table in Cafe Rouge, and scoffed a full English each. It felt like we were already on holiday.

We looked around duty free, where I bought a bottle of perfume, some aftershave for Ivan, and a new mascara, then bought some magazines in Smiths, some bottled water, and a bag of sweets for the flight. I was delighted to find a Sunglasses Hut, and we each bought ourselves a new pair of shades. By the time our flight was called, I was exhausted.

I think I fell asleep the moment we sat down on the plane. I vaguely recall James doing up my seatbelt. It felt like my eyes had only been closed for a moment before he was shaking my shoulder to wake me up and tell me we'd landed. I hadn't even been aware that we'd taken off.

I took a long swig of water, and wiped my fingers under my eyes, as we taxied to the terminal. "That was the shortest flight I've ever taken," I said.

James grinned, "Apart from the fact that you drooled on my shoulder, it was the quietest I've ever seen you. I think the stewardesses thought you'd been drugged."

I looked at the damp patch on his T-shirt, "sorry about that." He just looked amused. With a bit of sleep under my belt, I felt a lot better. We whizzed through the terminal, got our cases, and found a taxi to take us to our hotel.

We pulled up outside a rather grand looking place, larger than a huge villa, but smaller than the high rise tower block hotels which peppered the Spanish coast. It looked extremely swanky and exclusive. The taxi driver pulled our cases out of the boot, and placed them at the entrance. James paid and tipped him, and we went inside to check in.

"Mr Harrison and Ms Reynolds? Yes, your suite's ready for you. May I have your passports please?" We handed over our passports. "These will be returned tomorrow. Your bags will be collected in a moment. Would you like to take a seat, and enjoy a glass of sangria, with our compliments?" We sat down on the sofas in the cool, elegant lobby, and a waiter appeared with two glasses of sangria, filled with pieces of fruit. I sipped mine slowly, savouring the fruity, citrusy flavours. About ten minutes later, a porter appeared to take us to our suite.

We walked past an enormous pool, with people laying flat out around it on loungers, looking like lizards sunning themselves. A few people were swimming, and a group were clustered around the swim up bar at one end. It was beautifully peaceful. "Where are all the kids?" I asked.

"It's an adult only hotel. I didn't think you'd want to be surrounded by squealing children," said James.

"Oh well done, I didn't know they did that." I beamed. I loved it there already. We followed the porter into a small block, and up a flight of stairs. He drew a key card out of his pocket, and opened a door, gesturing for us to go in. After passing through a tiny lobby, we stepped into a living room area, all done in creams and beiges, with doors opening out onto a balcony. I stepped outside, and gazed at the perfect sea view. It had a little bistro table and chairs too, for watching the sunset.

Back inside, James tipped the porter, and handed me my key card. We checked out the bedrooms, and I took the pool view one, and let James have the larger sea view room, as he'd be staying longer. "Do you want to unpack now, or throw a bikini on and go explore?" James asked. "I don't mind either way."

"Can I fling a bikini on and have a look round?" I was eager to see the beach. James lugged my case into the room, and left to find a pair of shorts. I rummaged through, and found a bikini, a sarong, and a pair of flip flops. I quickly changed, and went back into the living area.

"Anything you need to put in the safe?" James asked, as he put his wallet, watch and our tickets in. I grabbed my handbag, and threw it in, taking just enough money for some food and drinks, which I poked into my bikini top. "Don't forget that's in there if you jump into the pool."

We strolled round the grounds, checking out the restaurant and bars, one of which was right on the beach. We stopped at a barbecue area, and sat and had a grilled steak each, with an icy cold beer to wash it down. "We need to get some lotion on if we're going back out. This sun's fierce," I said, noticing James' nose had gone a bit pink during our walk.

We discovered that we could charge everything to the room, which was handy, and set off back to the room for beach towels and sun lotion. I was pleased to discover that the gym was just a short walk away. We sunbathed and swam for a couple of hours, then went up and unpacked, showered, and went down for dinner.

I just couldn't stay awake long enough to go out drinking, so James watched a bit of telly in the room, and I crashed in my bed, after texting Ivan to tell him all was fine.

Next morning I was back to normal, and up early. I made some coffee, while James trotted down to the pool to bag our sun loungers. I packed my beach bag, and we headed down to breakfast. "So, what would you like to do today?" I asked.

"Flop around by the pool, drink some beers, eat, maybe a bit of reading, hit a bar tonight? How does that grab you?"

"Sounds like a plan. I might try out the gym, and add a game of volleyball to that itinerary, and I'd really like to make a start on some of the trashy chicklit books I downloaded." We lingered over breakfast, drinking coffees, and checking out the other guests. A small, slim brunette caught James' eye.