Page 27 of Embracing Love

Chapter 12

“Hi, how’s it going?” Nadine’s voice sounded tight, and so it damn well should, thought Tanya. She hadn’t questioned Nadine about Michael’s impromptu visit to Paris, and decided she wasn’t even sure she could trust her any more. It was better to leave things alone. And Michael had kept them all busy with back to back meetings, finding out how the Paris implementations were going.

“Oh, you know. Back to back meetings, the way it always is when Michael wants to find out what’s going on. You were lucky to catch me. He wants us back in fifteen.”

“I heard he was in town.” Nadine commented.

I’m sure you did, thought Tanya. But you didn’t think to warn me. “Fancy that, huh?” But she couldn’t resist it. “Did you know?”

“Not until the day he landed,” said Nadine. “He called me from the airport.”

“That’s the first you heard of it?” said Tanya her voice bordering on accusation.

“It’s the first I heard of it. Why?”

“Because it was a total shock to me to see him, so unexpectedly.”

“He’d been in London. I had no idea about him going to Paris, but I guess it made sense. Why? Is something wrong?” Nadine had obviously picked up on Tanya’s ill-disguised accusation.

“I feel as though he’s here to check up on me, and I don’t like to be spied on. Things with Gabriel—with Flight Europe are beginning to pick up. It’s moving along.”

“Excellent,” said Nadine, ‘I had a meeting with Russell Trent yesterday and he told me the same. I don’t think Michael’s checking up on you, Tanya.”

“Who knows?” Tanya took a breath.

“Like I said, visiting the Paris office makes sense, if he’s in London. You’re beginning to sound paranoid. Is something wrong?”

Perhaps she was. “He’s ordered me to go to Milan. I’m heading there in a few days.”

“I heard.”

“I’m sure you did.” It seemed that Nadine heard about every little thing—perhaps had even been masterminding this whole new plan to shift Tanya to Milan. After all, Nadine had overall responsibility for the European expansions. Michael had such great faith in her he’d given her this hefty sized chunk of a project—only she had the luxury of ‘overseeing it from San Francisco. Typical.

“Maybe he’s being strategic. Maybe this will help get things moving in both offices. You’re doing great but I’ve told him it’s a lot of work for one person. You’re dealing with both offices and you have the ad work on top. Maybe he’s trying to do what he can while he’s there.”

It sounded plausible but Tanya had her doubts. She didn’t feel as comfortable about the whole setup as Nadine. And it was easy for Nadine to pass judgment from afar.

“We’ll see.” She was more motivated than ever to make her mark in Milan. Luck just wasn't on her side and she’d have to work harder than ever to prove to Zimmerman and management that they’d picked the right person for the job.

She couldn’t fail at this as well. She felt as though she was undergoing a test of some sort, as though Zimmerman was figuring out whether she could ‘cut’ it here. Or whether he wished Nadine had taken the role anyway.

“You’re doing great.” Nadine’s words sometimes came over as patronising, and if she counted the number of times Nadine had told her she was doing a good job, she might start to get even more paranoid at what her friend was trying to cover up. But she had no time to think and Zimmerman was waiting.

“I’d better go. Michael’s waiting,” she said, and automatically opened Vincent’s social media page.

And nearly dropped the phone.

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