Page 24 of Love Me Ever After
Mason: Anything you want, babe. Looking forward to seeing you x
Andthank Godshe hadn’t changed her mind.
Leaving my plate and mug in the sink with the other dirty crockery, I went and cleaned my teeth. I grabbed my laptop bag, stuck my phone in the pocket and took a brisk walk to the hotel.
There were a number of Lane & Parks staff displaying varying levels of freshness in the foyer when I arrived. Taking one look at the amount of green faces, I was glad I’d been sensible and gone home.
“Oh, God, Mason, what a night.” Trevor stumbled up to me, one of the owners of a pale green face. He drank greedily from a plastic bottle of water. “You should have stayed. Where did you get to anyway?”
“He went home, like I did.” Fraser joined us, passing me a cup of coffee. “How was it?”
Trevor shrugged. “I heard rumours a couple were caught shagging in one of the hotel rooms which wasn’t for our use.”
I almost choked on my coffee. Ems and I hadn’t been caught, but we had definitely used a room which wasn’t on the Lane & Parks list.
Fraser raised his eyebrows. “Really? Do you know who it was?”
“Nah, no one wanted to spill, but I bet it was one of the London Secretarial team. They’re up for anything.” He winked and I wondered how he knew that. I also thanked God he didn’t tell us.
“Not great for our reputation with the hotel though, especially as it’s our first time here.” Fraser’s mouth was set in a straight line. “I hope it hasn’t caused any difficulty for Ems.”
I did too, hoping she hadn’t got into trouble for what she’d done. “I’m going to nip to the bathroom before the first sessions starts. That coffee’s gone right through me.” I thrust my now empty cup at Trevor and made my escape, wanting to check if Ems was okay before I got caught up in the morning’s presentations. I wandered around the hotel, trying to remember where her office was.
“Can I help you?” asked a porter when I found myself in the kitchen.
“Looking for the Events Office? I’m with the Lane & Parks group.” I blustered.
“Right.” He gave me directions and I retraced my steps to a door marked ‘Operations’.
I tried the handle, but it seemed to be locked. Instead, I rapped on the wood and pressed my ear to it, seeing if I could hear voices. Nothing. Defeated, I headed back to the main body of the hotel to join my first session of the day.
Distracted, I barely heard much of what was being said about client management and handling objections. Luckily, I rarely came across them, and when I did, I seemed to manage to find a way around them.
Once the session had finished, I wanted to go back to the Operations office to catch Ems. But Janine collared me, asking me to fill her in on how dinner had gone with Robert. While we were talking, I thought I saw Ems, today dressed in a charcoal grey trouser suit, her hair pinned up in a smart bun. The vision would tease me for the rest of the day until I got the chance to pull it out of its neatness.
“Being on Robert’s radar is a good thing. There’s more he can offer in terms of secondments and new opportunities. Did he mention anything last night?” Janine was talking, but all I heard was white noise.
“About what?” My question made it blatantly obvious I hadn’t been listening.
“Late night, was it, Mason?” Janine shook her head. “Honestly, this isn’t meant to be a jolly. And if I find out who that couple were who took advantage of the hotel’s kind hospitality, there will be disciplinary sanctions.”
“Sorry. I was thinking it might be a good idea for me to talk to Fraser, after all I think he’d be a good mentor for me.” Spotting him crossing the room, I beckoned for him to come over. “What do you think?” I turned to Janine, trying to pretend this was the thought occupying my mind rather than Ems.
“Janine, Mason.” Fraser nodded. “What can I do for you?”
Janine glanced between the two of us. “Mason was telling me how he thought you’d be a suitable mentor for him.”
“Did he?” Fraser struggled to keep a straight face. “Well, it’s certainly something to think about. Why don’t we catch up over lunch? I think the next presentation is about to start.”
“Excuse me, gentlemen, if that’s the case, I need to prepare my notes.” Janine smiled at both of us and disappeared towards the conference room.
“What was that all about?” Fraser asked the moment Janine was out of earshot.
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll tell you over lunch.”
The presentation dragged. The content was appropriate for newer members of the Lane & Parks staff, and I felt as if I’d heard it all before. When I thought no one was looking, I snuck my phone out of my pocket.
Mason: Everything okay? I haven’t seen you this morning x
