Page 75 of It's All Sun and Games

I grab my phone and see a few messages from Rick, but one stands out the most:

Beppe from Come a Casa wants to hear our pitches today.

‘Oh, shit,’ I blurt, my heart sinking as I realise what’s going on.

‘What’s wrong?’ Andrea asks, sitting up in bed, his concern evident on his face.

‘Rick says that Beppe wants to hear our pitches today,’ I tell him. ‘I need to get back to the resort, asap.’

‘That’s okay,’ he tells me reassuringly. ‘We’re not far, I have my car here. I can drive us to the resort. It won’t be a problem.’

‘Okay, thanks,’ I say, jumping out of bed and grabbing my bag to put on the change of clothes I packed for the drive back today.

Andrea springs into action too, throwing on clothes and packing things up with a sense of urgency that I really appreciate.

‘How about we pick up where we left off later?’ Andrea suggests, daring to flirt as we rush around the room like headless chickens, gathering our things up so we can go. ‘After you pitch, before we go to the party – then maybe again after.’

‘That sounds great to me,’ I reply with a smile.

I am so, so close to winning my first big project at work. All I need to do is go, get it done, and then that’s it. I can go to the party, and if Beppe likes my idea then great. If not, well, no one can say I didn’t try.

33

Arriving back at the resort after what feels like forever, my stomach does somersaults, thanks to a mixture of nerves and excitement, as we hurry to the hotel conference room that Rick has booked for the pitches.

‘Robin, you’ve got this,’ Andrea tells me, squeezing my hand encouragingly as we navigate the hotel.

‘Do you really think so?’ I reply.

My confidence goes in and out like the tide – only much, much quicker.

‘Of course,’ he says. ‘Your idea is strong, it’s what Beppe asked for, and you really believe in it. What more could anyone ask for?’

I puff air from my cheeks.

‘You’re right, you’re right,’ I reply. ‘I just need to get in there, get it done, get it over with and then…’

‘And then we get to go to Nonna’s party,’ he says. ‘And we will eat and drink and dance the night away – again – and then…’

Andrea stops me in my tracks briefly, lightly pinning me to the corridor wall as he plants a kiss on my lips. He lightly sucks my bottom lip, only for a few seconds, but while it’s happening, I briefly imagine letting Rick sack me, just so that I can stay here, like this, in this moment.

‘There’s no one around,’ I point out in a breathy voice. ‘So, whose benefit was that for?’

‘Yours,’ he tells me. ‘It’s always been for yours.’

I smile like mad – like someone who has just won the lottery, or something – as I pick up the pace again. I wonder, if I win this pitch, if I’ll smile as widely as I am right now.

Stepping into the conference room, I’m greeted by the sight of my colleagues already gathered around the boardroom-style table. Liz, James, Cait, and Henry all sit with varying degrees of tension etched on their faces, while Julie occupies her usual spot to the side, silently observing.

Then there is Rick, who is pacing back and forth. There’s an unspoken tension in the room, something beyond what is there when we’re pitching usually. I just can’t put my finger on it yet.

‘Robin, I thought you weren’t going to show up. Where have you been?’ Rick’s voice barks in my direction.

‘It was Andrea’s sister’s wedding last night, remember?’ I remind him, but he doesn’t seem all that bothered.

‘Come with me,’ Rick insists, gesturing for Andrea and me to follow him.

We step into a small side room through one of the two doors in the conference room. It’s a snug space, furnished with a desk and a sofa.

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