Page 104 of Another Lucky Number

‘There is no pressure to make a decision immediately,’ he quickly adds. ‘I understand that you may wish to try for senior positions elsewhere, however, I want you to know that I see the role as a stepping stone to the one you applied for over time. Succession planning is a key aspect of how I operate the business.’

‘Gosh, Sébastien,sorry…’ I finally find my voice. ‘I just wasn’t expecting this. Of course I’m interested. I don’t even have to think about that.’

‘Bien.’ His face breaks into a crinkly-eyed smile. ‘I am very pleased to hear this. I will email the details to you, and we can talk more once you are home and rested.’

‘Fantastic. I can’t wait to hear more. Thank yousomuch for this opportunity.’

‘The pleasure is all mine, Emma. You have earned your place with us and we will be lucky to have you join our team…’

As he’s talking, I suddenly remember my agreement with James to go travelling together.Sh-i-i-t. I don’t want to miss out on that, and I certainly don’t want James heading off to god knows where alone and potentially finding himself an exotic goddess like Félicité to replace me. But then I don’t want to miss out on the job either.

‘Emma?Ça va?’

Double shit.I’ve completely zoned out because of this dilemma. Honesty is the only way forward here.

‘Sorry, Sébastien. Yes, I’m fine, however… when I found out I didn’t get the job, I made other arrangements. I was hoping to travel for a few months with James in the summer.’ My gaze falls to the floor as it dawns on me how lame this must sound.

‘That is not a problem, Emma,’ says Sébastien to my surprise, and I look up. ‘This job is new so we have flexibility. We can agree a start date in the autumn. How does that sound?’

I break into a relieved grin. ‘It sounds perfect. Thanks so much again, Sébastien.’

‘As I say, Emma, the pleasure is all mine.’

We return to the others and say goodbye to Sébastien and Félicité who head in the direction of the pool. Cat, Amber, James and I then make our way outside to the waiting people carrier, where the concierge is loading our luggage into the boot.

‘What was that about, Emma?’ Amber asks.

‘Nothing really…’ I adopt a sly expression. ‘Except that Sébastien just offered me a job.’

‘He what?’

I laugh at the three stunned faces blinking back at me and quickly fill them in. What follows is much cheering and whooping as we celebrate my surprise job offer – and the fact I can still go on my trip with James.

‘We’ll leave you to say goodbye properly,’ says Cat when the excitement of the moment has passed.

‘Yeah, we’ll skip the face sucking,’ says Amber. ‘Bye, James. See you on the other side.’ She gives him a little salute, then Cat hugs him and they get into the waiting taxi.

‘I’ve been dreading this bit.’ I say to James, wrinkling my nose.

‘Hey, don’t be so glum. I’ll see you in about four days’ time.’ He lifts my chin with his forefinger so I’m gazing right into his eyes.

‘I know that. It’s more that it’s the end of our time here together. It’s been so wonderful and romantic – bar one or two hiccups – and I wish we could have longer.’

‘Well, remember… all being well, we’ll be going on our own trip soon – just the two of us.’

‘I know.’ I beam at him, my mood instantly lifting. ‘I already can’t wait.’

‘Me neither.’ He takes my face in his hands and kisses me tenderly. ‘Safe journey home. Never thought I’d say this but I’ll be looking forward to getting back to cold, rainy Scotland.’

‘Thatisa rare statement.’

Keeping hold of his hand until the very last second, I reluctantly get into the people carrier, giving James one final wave as we drive off.

‘You OK?’ Cat takes my hand while the taxi crawls down the long driveway past the lush vegetation and towering trees.

‘Yeah, I’m fine. But sad that our trip is already over.’

‘You’ve got nothing to be sad about.’ Amber eyes me from the other side of Cat. ‘New boyfriend and a new job. I’d call that a bloody successful holiday.’

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