Page 6 of Unless It's You
“Yes, of course.” She’s not wrong, but this one time, I’d strongly prefer not facing this team in person.
“Here we are. Would you like coffee?” Tessa stops short in front of a cracked open door.
“No, thank you.” My stomach’s twisting into tight little knots. I don’t think coffee would sit well.
“Right then. Come on in.”
I breathe in and out through my nose.
How hard can it be to face Stella Hart?
Hard.It’s fucking hard.
Especially with that look on her face. Shock? Dismay? Her jaw’s hanging open so wide, she looks like a marionette doll.
Stella’s as stunning as I remember, and I hate myself for thinking it.
Her shoulder-length blond hair shifts around her face as she looks at her laptop, then at me, then Tessa, who is introducing the team to me one-by-one. I smile and nod at each person as she explains their role. A pair of creatives named Graham and Luke, Chloe, the account manager, and then...
“And this is Stella Hart, your main contact and our very senior account director. You’ll be in the best hands with her.”
“Hello.” I nod my head at Stella, and her eyes widen comically. She rubs her left thumb on her right wrist and my eyes flit down. A colorful blue-and-purple butterfly tattoo. I’d noticed it that night a year and a half ago. She’s wearing a tight white tank top that swoops down to just over her breasts, and a blue fitted sweater that hangs past the waistline of her form-fitting jeans. And those damn red heels. I was already seated when she entered the room, awhoosh of sweet-scented air surrounding her and a spooked look on her face.
“Stella’s been involved in Mentor Me, so she has all the background on that half of the merger. And I know you’re an expert in the other half, right, Ethan?”
I nod and grab my beard, pulling and twisting the coarse hair in a nervous motion.
“I’ve been volunteering with Sporting London for five years,” I say, because Tessa looks like she expects me to give a speech. “They’re a fantastic organization that serves needy kids in Greater London. We want to make sure this merger between the two charities leaves us with one organization that still helps the same number of kids. More, really.”
Stella’s face softens slightly.
“Mmm, don’t we all, Ethan?” Tessa coos. “And I think it means something personally to you, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” I immediately regret telling Tessa about my past when we first talked, but we’re in too deep now. “I wish there had been a group like this when I was growing up in Newcastle. I didn’t have parental support during my childhood, just like many of the kids I coach. If it weren’t for my best friend’s family advising me, mentoring me, pushing me into rugby, helping me secure a scholarship to university, connecting me with the right people, everything... then I would be nowhere.”
Why did I go and say all of that? Why did I mention Ben in front of Stella? I could’ve kept it much more surface level. But this isn’t all about me. This is about Sporting London and the kids it helps. I need everyone to understand how important it is to me that we get this right.
Tessa nods and looks around the room at the other solemn-faced people. “Thanks for sharing that. It’s so inspiring. You’ve come so far.”
“Mentor Me is also a wonderful group,” Stella says after a pause,running her hand along the back of her neck. “But they’re not the most organized. After signing up to mentor Izzy, I never really heard from them. And they’ve not been great about driving donations. On top of that, they had an unnecessarily big office space in central London... still, I feel bad so many of them have lost their jobs. Anyway, I think we all have the same objective with this campaign.”
“I know the board has been working with some of the displaced employees to help them find new positions.” I’m not sure why I offer this information, other than the fact that I agree it’s rough for the former Mentor Me employees.
Stella half smiles at me and I almost smile back, but I stiffen my spine and look at Tessa instead. I will not be making friends with that woman, even if she also spends time helping kids. I need to protect my mental health. Protect my heart, just like I did for the whole time she was dating Ben, when I spent way more time meeting my old rugby mates instead of accepting invitations to go out with Ben and Stella.
“Can we talk timelines? We’d like this on air by October. We have funding for two months of television, and since December spots are too expensive, we’ll focus on October and November.”
“Absolutely, that will work,” Stella says. “We can do a sixty-day timeline from now until finished product, then it will take a few more weeks after that to get it approved by the networks and on air. October will work.”
I keep my eyes fixed on Tessa, acting as if Stella hadn’t said a word. Tessa blinks at me, eyes darting to Stella then back to me. I can see Stella shift in her chair out of the corner of my vision, waiting for me to look at her so she can continue speaking.
“We’ll have to keep to a tight timeline, but, as Stella said, it’ll work,” Tessa finally says, after giving me plenty of time to acknowledge Stella. I do not. “You’ll need to make quick decisions on storyboards, directors, and all the shoot details.”
Stella lets out a huff of air and Tessa looks at her with concernedeyes.
I know I’m being an arse. I thought I’d be able to handle this. But how can I work with Stella? Even looking at her is painful.
The hurt comes rushing back. Ben pulling me aside the night of Gemma’s birthday drinks, only a few days after Stella and I kissed, after I’d already broken things off with Helen. Him telling me he asked Stella out, having no idea what had happened between me and her days earlier.
