Page 4 of What Happens in Dubai

I shuffled through to the treatment room, grasping the bigger pair of trousers tightly in my hand, still smiling from the banter with Ashley. I carried on with work that morning, injecting a couple more faces, chatting along the way, while discreetly performing a prolonged pelvic floor workout, feeling ever so paranoid about the size of my vagina.

Later that afternoon Ashley and I were gossiping in the staff room when Raj popped through the door.

‘Ladies, how was your morning?’

I nodded happily while trying to swallow my Koka noodles.

‘Yeah, good. Peter was in,’ I smiled, knowing it was still a sore spot for Raj to lose a client.

‘Oh, was he now? I still can’t believe you poached him, Zara.’ He squeezed my shoulders jokingly.

I started to giggle but remained engrossed in my noodles.

‘All right, people.’

We looked out towards the clinic floor as we heard a deep voice. Andrew.

Raj immediately went to greet him while I slurped the rest of my noodles down and quickly followed a few seconds behind.

Andy smiled over to me as he removed his dripping wet jacket and placed it over the desk, shivering slightly, still feeling the cold from outside. I was gawking at him as if he was in a Coca-Cola advert until I noticed him watching me back. ‘How’s it going, Zara? How are you?’

‘Yeah, not bad thanks, Andy. How are you?’ I asked, fiddling with my ponytail while checking him out from a distance. He was wearing a tight Ralph Lauren shirt which was carefully tucked into his dark denim jeans. The strong, masculine scent of his aftershave filled the room, which made me immediately turn my head a little to the side, taking in a deep breath, inhaling his scent. I could feel my face turn warm as he continued the conversation.

‘Yeah, can’t complain. Did I interrupt your lunch?’

‘No, no, not at all. I’d literally just finished. You’re totally fine to start.’ I walked over to the large white sofa in the centre of the room, glad of the slight breeze escaping from underneath the front door which was cooling my flaring face as nerves took over.

‘Well, you’ll probably be hungry later on,’ Andy said. ‘Half of it’s down your uniform.’

My flirtatious smile dropped as I glanced down at my scrubs, which were encrusted with curried noodles. Raj shook his head in disgust.

‘Aw, Zara. Are those my bloody scrubs you’re wearing again?’ Raj huffed.

Shit. Shit.

‘What? No. Well, I don’t think so. Oh, wait. Are they? Sorry, I must have lifted the wrong ones from the desk this morning.’ I glanced over to Ashley who had her hand over her mouth discreetly hiding her smirk.

Well, thanks for that, Raj. Now the guy I fancy knows we could shop jointly in Burtons together, even share sizes.It took a few minutes for my heart to stop pounding so loudly into my ears, till I could sit back, relax and finally admire our sales rep.

Andrew must have been in his mid-thirties, with a shaved head, bright blue eyes and great body that peered through his designer shirts. He had broad shoulders, large forearms and was pretty muscly uptop, with a slight pot belly. Normally this would instantly put me off someone – even though I personally felt like Pavarotti’s sister, I wasn’t a fan of podgy men. Nevertheless,hisslightly bloated abdomen always seemed adorable. Combining all of this with a glistening smile and laddish patter, Andy really did seem to be the full package.

‘Right, troops, have you got the sales figures from last month?’

Ashley handed him the spreadsheet and he skimmed over it.

‘Yeah, looks pretty OK. A bit of a dip mid-month, Raj, eh?’

‘Yeah, and it’s getting more of a dip each month, Andy. It’s that bloody new place that’s opened right across the square, Botox Boxx. I mean, the council must have approved their premises when we’re right here. It’s a joke. They are stealing half our clientele. I’ve seen more than a few of our regulars pop up on their Instagram feed having had treatments there – cheap treatments.’ He rolled his eyes at me, sitting at the other end of the sofa.

‘I know, ma man, but that’s the business you’re in. Aesthetics is building, and more and more people are training in the industry,’ Andy replied.

‘Yes, well, I wish they’d move further afield,’ Raj muttered back.

‘I think I can do something that could help. Anyone ever been to Dubai?’

Ashley gasped. ‘Me!’

Raj and I looked at one another curiously.

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