Page 91 of What Happens in Dubai

‘Tom, I’d rather do it just now while Andy’s here. Make it more professional rather than winding him up on the phone, if that’s OK?’

‘Yes, of course. Certainly. Excellent idea,’ Tom smiled.

‘Come on then. We could nip into my clinic room?’ I took a nervous breath, and Andy stood up and followed behind me.

As I closed the door and thought about what I had to do next, I felt my mouth turn dry.

Andy saw the look on my face. ‘Zara, you’re telling him good news, hen,’ he said sympathetically. ‘Don’t look as if you’ve just burnt the place to the ground. Let me do the talking if you want?’

‘OK, thanks.’ I started up the computer and aimed the screen round as I sat on a small swivel stool beside Andy. My chest ached with anxiety as I saw the call connecting.

Suddenly, a sun-glowing Raj appeared onscreen wearing Ray-Bans.

‘All right, my man, how’s it going?’ Andy began.

Raj’s smile faltered a little, curious as to why he was calling. ‘Good, good. Everything OK?’ Raj sat down, holding his phone.

I smiled in the background, waiting for my cue to speak.

Andy grinned. ‘Everything’s better than OK to be honest, mate. We have an update. While you’ve been away, Zara has gone and transformed the clinic. Messed around with the treatment menu, done a refurb of the shop floor, and you guys are currently my busiest clinic in the town.’ Andy turned to me, and I felt my eyes fill with tears of anxiety, awaiting Raj’s reaction.

On the screen, I watched Raj lower his sunglasses. ‘You’re joking, right?’ He sounded shocked.

I shook my head, scrunching up my face.

‘Zara Smith, you are fucking amazing! Ha, what the hell did you do?’

For the next twenty minutes, I took Raj through each step of the clinic’s transformation. I explained the aim of each change and told him how it was all reflected in booked-up appointment slots and overwhelming client satisfaction. I wondered why I hadn’t told Raj sooner. He’s a great friend, after all. He was ecstatic and relieved, and for the first time in months, he looked worry-free. When we ended the call, I felt not only massively relieved, but also like my belief in the new approach had doubled.

Andy turned to me, grinning. ‘I told you he’d be buzzing!’

‘You did. Thank you so much for that. And for the push to do it. Honestly, you’ve been so great with us.’

‘That’s my job, darlin’.’

‘It’s all falling into place. I can’t believe it.’

‘Aye! You didny think you’d say that last month when you were spying through windows across the street, did you?’

I laughed loudly as we walked back out to the shop floor, suddenly remembering about Botox Boxx. For months I’d stared enviously through the glass, counting their customers in and out, but I couldn’t remember the last time I did it. I had been so busy focusing solely on Individualise that I no longer compared it to the clinic across the square.

‘How did it go?’ Ashley yelled from the desk.

‘Good, great. He’s delighted.’

Andy gathered his things, and I walked him to the door.

‘Keep going with this, Zara. You’ve got a great thing going,’ he said.

I smiled. ‘Thanks, Andy. Oh, and thanks for the Juju image for the desk.’

‘Aye, no bother. It was my favourite picture of the shoot. You look great, pal.’ I watched him blush at his flattery.

‘Amazing what airbrushing can do, eh!’

‘Nah, I see you a lot, man. You always look good.’ He giggled nervously. ‘Catch you later, Zara.’

I grinned towards Andy, then waved him off and re-entered the clinic.

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