Knowing Me Knowing You (51 page)

‘
Frank, I’m flattered, really I am, but I have
Bethan
and I’m not sure....,
’
Kate started.

‘
You could work from home, some of the time at least, I mean you know my business takes me all over the world and there would be times when I would need you with me but primarily we don’t have to be in the same place, I do a great deal of business by video link these days,
’
Frank informed her.

‘
I don’t know, I mean this has come so out of the blue,
’
Kate began.

‘
Well, don’t rush a decision on the spot, I know better than anyone that decisions need to be carefully considered. I can give you until Wednesday,
’
Frank answered.

‘
Wednesday,
’
Kate said with a gulp.

‘
It might take me some time to find a candidate as desirable as you and I don’t like to let the grass grow once I’ve made a decision.
’

‘
Frank, I don’t think....,
’
Kate started.

‘
£75,000 a year plus bonuses,
’
Frank blurted out.

Kate’s eyes went out on stalks. That was more than she could ever have imagined earning at
Randall’s
even if she had made partner.

‘
£75,000 a year,
’
she repeated, the words almost choking her.

‘
To start with,
’
Frank added with a smile.

‘
Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come, the moment is here, please, be upstanding and put your hands together for our brides and our grooms as we begin the
final of ‘Knowing Me Knowing You 2011’,
’
Larry Rawlins roared into the microphone.

The already half-cut audience got to their feet and began clapping; cheering, wailing and banging glasses on tables, sounding like a scrum of rugby players on a pub crawl.

Kate took a deep breath, put a smile on her face and then let Joel lead her out onto the stage, following the train of other contestants in front of them. She now had much more on her mind than just trying to win the contest. Frank’s job offer was sensational. Working from home would be ideal but jetting off to far-flung countries whenever Frank needed her wouldn’t be. She would have to rely heavily on Hermione and she did that too much as it was. But £75,000 was a hell of a salary and she was in no position to wave it away without serious consideration. Especially as it was money she badly needed, wasn’t she competing in the show for that very reason?

‘
Don’t our couples look wonderful? A picture of harmony, but which couple is going to end up victorious tonight and take away the grand sum of £100,000?
’
Larry continued.

The crowd let out an over the top ‘
woooooooo
’ at the mention of the cash and Kate cringed as she noticed the Love Dove loitering with intent at the edge of the stage.

‘
And, on top of that, there will be spot prizes, come on
Lovey
,
bring
on your golden eggs.
’

The Love Dove sprinted onto the stage as fast as his stocking clad legs would carry him and began to shake his tail feathers for the cameras and anyone else that happened to be unfortunate enough to be looking.

‘
We have three spot prizes tonight; you could be taking home, two tickets for a top West End show of your choice, first class
Eurostar
tickets to
Paris
or a wonderful Mediterranean cruise courtesy of Cruise
UK
.
’

There was more whooping from the audience and Kate’s gaze fell on
Marina
, sat at the table adjacent to Lynn, Darren and most of the
Randall’s
team. She was clapping her hands excitedly and smiling in their direction.

Marina
was her other problem. She didn’t like the way she looked at Joel. There was something in her expression that spoke volumes about the way she felt about him. She knew she only had herself to blame for losing her chance but she didn’t like it and she didn’t like being so quickly usurped by someone who could grace the cover of Cosmo and probably had.

‘
Right, without further ado, let’s prepare for Racy Cakes!
’
Larry announced.

With that announcement made the wedding cakes arrived from stage left. Six decorating stations in a trailer were pulled onto the stage by the Love Dove who was driving something resembling a golf buggy decorated with sequins identical to those on Larry Rawlins’ jacket.

Kate looked at Joel in the hope of receiving some reassurance about the tasks to come but he was smiling out into the crowd, specifically at
Marina
.

‘
Do you want to join us or not?
’
Kate snapped, indicating to him that the other couples were starting to get behind their cake stations.

‘
Sorry, of course, let’s do it,
’
Joel replied.

‘
Because if you would rather be down there with her then it’s no skin off my nose,
’
Kate added crossly.

‘
What?
’
Joel questioned.

‘
Marina, the bimbo down there, the one you haven’t stopped looking at and flirting with all night.
’
Kate spat.

She couldn’t keep her dislike for her under wraps any longer.

‘
Kate, I....,
’
Joel began.

‘
Don’t you mess this up for me, I want to win this contest,
’
Kate told him fiercely.

‘
Right, ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’ couples; your task is to decorate these wonderful wedding cakes supplied to us by Barnes Cakes of London in two minutes.
Once completed they will be judged by Linda Barnes of Barnes Cakes and her decision is final.
One word of warning to you, the cakes must be stacked, three tiers high and if they aren’t stacked Linda won’t even give them a second glance. Is that all clear?
’
Larry spoke, looking at the couples with a serious expression.

‘
Yes Larry,
’
the participants bleated.

‘
Good, then without further ado I will give you the countdown, five, four, three, two, one, start decorating!
’
Larry boomed as a loud air horn sounded.

‘
Hurry up! Roll the icing out! Come on Joel, smoother than that!
’
Kate ordered him as she began to arrange the decorations.

‘
I’m doing my best,
’
Joel replied, hurriedly rolling out icing and shaping it to fit the cake.

‘
Yeah, of course, one eye on the icing another on
Marina
’s cleavage, or rather lack of it actually,
’
Kate muttered as she began to put baubles and hearts on the bottom tier.

‘
What’s the matter? You’ve been acting odd since you had that chat with Frank Peterson, what did he say to you?
’
Joel
enquired
, putting another layer of icing onto the second cake.

‘
Stop talking and keep rolling, we don’t have long left and I wanted to try the bell formation on the top tier,
’
Kate exclaimed, racing to place the cake decorations on the second tier.

‘
There’s plenty of time, stop rushing, we need it to look right. Not so many balls otherwise there won’t be enough to go round.
’

‘
Shut up! Decoration is my job not yours!
’
Kate barked.

‘
Thirty seconds guys!
’
Larry exclaimed loudly.

‘
See! Thirty seconds, get them stacked, get them stacked!
’
Kate ordered, flailing her arms around and picking up the porcelain bride and groom.

‘
Hold this and take that,
’
Joel spoke, passing Kate the rolling pin and some edible roses.

‘
Never mind those, get them stacked or we don’t get any points. Shit, Mark and Gloria’s cake looks really good,
’
Kate exclaimed as she helped Joel hold the cakes steady and get them into position.

‘
Looks like it’s got a lean on to me,
’
Joel announced, sneaking a look at his competitors.

‘
Is that central? Joel is the bride and groom central?
’
Kate questioned, staring at their cake and trying to measure distance with her fingers.

‘
I think so; hold on, this doesn’t look good.....whoa!
Oh dear!
’
Joel announced as Mark and Gloria’s cake toppled over and two tiers fell onto the stage.

‘
Five, four, three, two, one....OK,
time's
up, put down your rolling pins and step away from the cakes.
’

‘
It’s not good enough, look at that couple’s over there, the bride with the beehive, theirs looks professional. Linda Barnes from Barnes of London is going to lap that up, ours looks like something one of Hermione’s kids made,
’
Kate moaned.

‘
It isn’t that bad, the bell formation is sort of working,
ish
,
’
Joel told her.

‘
Oh what would you care? The cakes didn’t have your full concentration,
’
Kate snapped again.

‘
What’s all this about Kate?
’
Joel asked her.

‘
Sshh
, here comes Linda Barnes,
’
Kate hissed as the judge, Larry Rawlins and the Love Dove headed over to their table.

‘
And here Linda we have Kate and Joel, I’d say this is quite a decent effort wouldn’t you?
’
Larry spoke.

‘
Yes I would, most commendable, all three tiers stacked up neatly, good use of varied decoration, I like the
silver balls in the shape of, I think they’re bells aren’t they? Yes, good,
’
Linda Barnes said, scrutinising all three tiers.

‘
So how many out of ten for Kate and Joel?
’
Larry wanted to know.

‘
I’d say an eight,
’
Linda decided.

‘
An eight, wow, that’s top marks so far for Kate and Joel, now let’s move on to Martin and Yvonne,
’
Larry said, moving away.

‘
Eight, that’s great isn’t it,
’
Joel whispered.

‘
It isn’t enough to compete with beehive girl; they’ll get at least a nine,
’
Kate moaned, folding her arms across her chest.

‘
What’s wrong with you tonight?
’
Joel asked.

‘
Nothing a large drink won’t fix, or several large drinks seeing as we’ve blown our chance in the contest,
’
Kate said letting out a heavy sigh and looking at
Marina
, perched on her seat, sucking at a cocktail.

‘
Don’t be stupid, we haven’t blown our chances, we got an eight, that could be good enough to win, let’s listen to the other scores,
’
Joel suggested.

‘
What’s the point?
’

‘
What’s the matter with you?
’

‘
Nothing’s the matter with me; I was focussed on the task, unlike some of us,
’
Kate said.

‘
I don’t understand,
’
Joel answered.

‘
No, you don’t,
’
Kate replied, fiddling with the fascinator in her hair.

‘
....right, so that means Ladies and Gentlemen the winners of Racy Cakes are Claudia and Gerry, five Kissing Gates on the board and runners-up are Kate and Joel, three Kissing Gates on the board for you. Well done everyone!
’
Larry announced.