Page 37 of It's All Sun and Games

James twists the engagement ring around on my finger, his touch sending a shiver down my spine. I really wish I could read his mind right now. I mean, I have a pretty good idea, but I’d love to know more.

‘Maybe we could finally go for that drink, just me and you,’ he suggests. ‘What do you say?’

This is it, the moment I’ve been waiting for, my chance to show James that I’m not just his dorky co-worker, that I’m someone fun and dateable – someone he could actually enjoy spending time with. And the beauty of it is, I am actually single, free to date whoever I want.

I think it’s clear what James wants – he wants the thrill of the chase, the excitement of stealing me away from the arms of my supposed fiancé. So, I’ll play along and let him think that he’s winning, at least for now anyway. I just need to keep him on the hook, until this week runs its course, and then we can move this into more normal territory.

That said – and this is going to sound silly – even though Andrea and I aren’t really a couple, I still can’t quite bring myself to cross certain lines. Even fictitiously, I can’t betray my morals, so I just need to let James think he’s seducing me away from Andrea, until we can stage our little break-up, and then all is well that ends well.

‘Maybe we can,’ I reply simply, my heart racing with anticipation.

James rises from his crouched position, leaning towards me to place a soft, lingering kiss on my cheek. Oh, the years and years that I have craved physical contact from him. The closest we’ve ever come to physical interaction (and all of that nonsense in the gym definitely doesn’t count) was when he accidentally knocked me over at an office Christmas party. After that night I am always very specific, when thinking about him, that I mean something else when I wish that James would ‘put me on my back’ – you know, just in case the universe is listening.

But now, with his lips grazing my skin, it feels like something real. Maybe the universe does listen.

My phone vibrates loudly on the bedside table, jolting me out of my moment with James. I believe that’s what you call being saved by the bell.

I quickly shift away from him, James taking a step back, so that I can grab it.

Shit, it’s Andrea. Of course, I can’t tell James that – he thinks he’s in the bath.

‘Shit, it’s Rick,’ I lie, trying to sound convincing. ‘He said he was coming here to see Andrea before the meeting…’

‘Okay, I’ll get out of here,’ James replies, excitement evident in his voice. ‘I look forward to seeing you at the breakfast meeting, and pretending we didn’t just have this little meeting of our own…’

‘Go, quick,’ I bark at him, suppressing a laugh.

After James makes his exit, I flop back down onto my pillow, a satisfied grin spreading across my face. I’m playing this game like a pro. From struggling to even get James to notice me, to now having him actively pursue me – it’s quite the U-turn.

All I need to do now is get through this week, fake break up with Andrea, and then I can finally give in to James’s charms. I just need to bide my time.

How hard can it be?

16

The breakfast meeting is going well. Or at least, it seems that way, unless Andrea is pulling off the most convincing fake Italian accent I’ve ever heard and doesn’t actually have a clue what Beppe is saying to him. But I highly doubt it, don’t you?

‘So, to summarise, Beppe wants to bring a taste of Italian home cooking to British supermarkets,’ Andrea explains to us. ‘He’s looking for an ad campaign that will showcase Italy’s offerings and appeal to the UK market. He wants to capture their hearts and their stomachs.’

‘Okay, that sounds promising,’ Rick nods, clearly pleased with the direction. ‘Does he have an idea of what he wants the campaign to involve, or does he want us to come up with a few ideas for him to choose from?’

Andrea relays Rick’s words to Beppe – in Italian, of course – then waits for his reply.

‘Aspetta,’ Andrea tells Beppe, turning back to Rick.

‘He’s open to ideas and trusts your expertise – you are the experts, after all,’ Andrea tells us. ‘However, he is very keen on the idea of seeing multiple options before making a decision on which one he feels is right for Come a Casa.’

‘Got it,’ Rick replies, jotting down notes. ‘We’ll brainstorm some diverse concepts to present to him.’

‘He also wants to know if we can do this quite quickly?’ Andrea adds. ‘He says he can review proposals by the end of next week.’

‘Then tell him we can deliver initial pitches asap,’ Rick replies. ‘That won’t be a problem for this lot.’

‘Beppe also says that perhaps everyone could visit Come a Casa headquarters, to see what they’re about, sample the food – to help the team find inspiration,’ Andrea continues on Beppe’s behalf.

Okay, now that’s something I can get on board with. In fact, I think we should always get to sample any products we’re trying to market; it just makes sense… Unless it’s something I don’t like, of course.

‘Beppe says he’s going – shall I walk him to his car?’ Andrea offers.

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