Page 9 of Made Up for Love
Not for the first time, Joel wondered why Rupert wasn’t asking him how it had gone. He never understood why his boss preferred to channel everything through their PA. After everything that had happened since he’d returned to the hotel, he’d almost forgotten about the client pitch. Not that it hadn’t gone well—it had—but his mind had been occupied by other things.
“We’re probably going to get the business.” Somehow, that seemed less important to him than spending the evening with Lydia Hendrick. Somewhat distractedly, he told Sophia about the presentation and what the client had asked. Everything seemed positive, right down to the question about how often Joel himself would be onsite. Nothing was ever nailed on, particularly when there was competition involved. “He was meant to be seeing the last company tomorrow. Depending on where they were coming from, I don’t know whether we’ll get to hear anything before Christmas. The weather here is awful; all the flights tonight were cancelled.”
“I’ll keep an eye on them for you, book you something for tomorrow?”
“Thanks, S, that would great.” He suddenly had a thought. “Can you do me a favour when you book and make sure there’s another ticket?” He paused. “I, um, met someone this evening and she’s going to need a flight home too.”
“On Bourne & Masters payroll?” Sophia’s tone was tinged with suspicion. “I’m not sure that’s allowed.”
“Then I’ll give you my credit card details and you can pay for it with that. Please, Sophia?” Joel didn’t like to beg, but he thought that Lydia might appreciate the help—given the situation with her cards earlier.
Sophia let out an audible sigh. “Who’s the ticket for?”
“You’re a star. I’ll email you all the details.”When I know them myself, he added silently.
“I can’t change your mind about the Christmas party?”
“Sorry, Sophia, no. And now I’ve got to go. They’re holding a table for me for dinner.”
He hung up. Suddenly, he was famished.
Lydia was already hovering in the entrance to the restaurant as he walked down the stairs. She was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and an oversized jumper, which surprised him as he thought she might have made an effort. He shook the thought away. Why would she make an effort for him?
“Lydia, hi. Have you been waiting long?” His initial thought was to lean over and kiss her on the cheek, like he would with any of his female friends, but he stopped himself.
A flush crept over her cheeks. “Not too long, although I am absolutely starving.”
“Me too.” He grinned.
Joel signalled to the waiter, who took them over to a quiet table in the corner, next to one of the big windows, away from the other guests. They settled themselves into their seats and the waiter made a big show of putting their napkins on their laps, before handing over the menus with a flourish.
“We have no specials this evening, I’m afraid,” he said. “Because of the snow, we haven’t had the same deliveries as usual, so the menu is rather limited. Now can I get you some drinks?”
Lydia scanned the menu. “A large glass of Merlot, please. The larger the better.”
“Why don’t you get a bottle?”
Her eye twitched. “I don’t want to get drunk.”
“I was hoping you’d let me share it.”
The corner of her mouth quirked up. “Whoops. Not exactly the best start to our date.”
“Oh, it’s a date, is it?” Joel’s own mouth curved into a smile. “I thought it was simply a thank you dinner.”
“It would be a thank you if I could actually afford to buy dinner.” The smile disappeared from Lydia’s face. “I guess I’m going to be in your debt a while.”
Joel didn’t want her to think that he was only there to get his money back. He wanted to get to know her. “One bottle of Merlot please,” he said to the waiter, who nodded and went to get it.
They sat in silence, studying their menus.
“How was your day with Sadie Starr?”
“Ugh. Well, at least I got paid. I don’t know how Jacinta puts up with her all the time.”
“Jacinta?”
“My friend who was meant to be there. She got food poisoning and I got to take her place.” Lydia looked down at the menu, avoiding Joel’s gaze. “When I should be at home doing heaps of other things.”
