Chapter 2
2
MAY 2023, PRESENT DAY
Belle’s hands were slick with sweat and her heart raced as she adjusted her notebook and pen and glanced at her laptop screen. Still in the Zoom-call wait room. She drummed her fingers on the kitchen table. Not one for being nervous about a job interview, she felt unusually jittery about this one because she wanted it so much. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to take the rejection and disappointment if she didn’t get it. On paper, the role of events manager at Spirit, a luxury boutique hotel on Ibiza, was perfect, the opportunity arising at exactly the right time. She’d become comfortable in her current job and had been mulling over a new challenge for a while, although her true reason for handing her notice in had moved his stuff out of her flat just weeks before. Mixing business and pleasure, or in her case having a relationship with a colleague, had been doomed from the start.
Never again.
The call started bang on time and she found herself sharing the screen with Caleb Levine, the owner of Spirit.
‘Belle, hi there.’ Caleb’s voice was deep and warm as he looked at her intently. ‘It’s good to finally meet you, not quite in person, but the next best thing.’
Belle hadn’t known what to expect. Most of what she’d found online was at least a decade old and only a few images of a clean-shaven young man. The man on screen sported thick stubble, had dark hair peppered with grey, a healthy tan and looked somewhere in his early forties. One of those men who had managed to get more handsome with age. She shuffled upright and focused her thoughts onto selling herself and not how attractive Caleb Levine happened to be. She’d chosen to sit at the kitchen table because the background was her attractive courtyard garden with the pink crab-apple blossom, but Caleb was sitting in his hotel bar, the background a pool, palm trees and the glittering sea. There was no comparison.
Her nerves began to settle as they talked. Caleb was business-like, efficient and quietly friendly as he asked about her career in marketing and events to date. He’d already sent her the details about the salary and accommodation, and she’d done her homework on Spirit too but had discovered little about him apart from that he was British and a successful entrepreneur who had lived and worked on Ibiza since his late teens.
After discussing her own experience and current position as events manager at Tockbeth Hall, a large and historic venue on the banks of the Thames, he moved the conversation on to his plans for the year.
‘We’ve recently opened our sister restaurant Serenity down the coast, plus we’ve teamed up with a couple of iconic venues so we can offer our guests different Ibiza experiences while keeping the chilled-out vibe of Spirit intact. This is all happening two months into the season and just as my events manager has had to urgently take time off. It’s only a role for the summer season, which I’m aware might not suit someone as qualified as yourself. What I’d really like to know is how you feel about the temporary nature of the position?’
‘It’s actually perfect.’ Belle took a breath, unsure how much she should divulge about her personal circumstances. ‘I’ve wanted a change for a while and have been slowly setting up my own virtual event management business alongside my day job. Long term, I’d like to be my own boss. This job could be a good stepping stone.’
‘And you’d be available to start asap? My events manager will be leaving in a week and you’d have to hit the ground running.’
‘I actually handed my notice in before I even knew about this opportunity. Whether I get this job or not, I’m moving on.’
‘Well, that’s good to know.’ If he seemed surprised or impressed he didn’t show it, apart from a slightly raised eyebrow.
‘There’s no problem starting soon. The only commitment I have is a friend’s wedding next weekend. Apart from that I have no ties.’ That was the story of her life, but at least being single allowed her to drop everything.
Caleb picked up a coffee cup and took a sip. ‘Your experience speaks for itself, but can I ask why Ibiza? Particularly when you’ve been managing a large team of people and I’m pretty sure you’d have the pick of jobs back home. We’re a small team and the work will be hands-on, managing events and building links with new partners.’
‘Which is exactly what I’m looking for,’ Belle stressed, well aware that she was walking a fine line between sounding desperate rather than enthusiastic. ‘Ibiza is a place I fell in love with when I first visited with friends ten years ago – actually, it’s the only time I’ve been, but the plan was to return a decade on, which we still hope to do. A friend forwarded me your job advert and it seemed fortuitous, particularly when I’ve been wanting to find a way to bridge the gap between being employed full-time to running my own business.’ Her image on the laptop screen was beginning to look fuzzy around the edges as if the connection was slow. She remembered reading something about broadband work being done in the area but hadn’t taken much notice of the date. Typical that it was playing up now. ‘A job in Ibiza for a few months before I concentrate on my own events business full-time would be perfect.’
Her image was lagging behind her words. Suddenly it froze. Open mouthed and eyes half closed, she somehow managed to look unattractive and utterly stupid with an expression like she’d been out partying and was the worse for wear. Caleb looked cool, calm and ridiculously sophisticated in the bar of his White Isle hotel, the image of him perfectly crisp.
At least he remained serious and wasn’t laughing, although inside he was probably thinking there was no way in hell he’d be giving her the job.
He leaned forward, his blue eyes intensely vivid as he looked directly at her. ‘As you seem to be having connection problems, we’ll leave it there for the time being. I have more than enough information to go on, thank you. I’ll be in touch in the next couple of days.’
He gave a slight nod and just a hint of a smile as he disappeared from the screen.
Belle sighed and logged off. She lived in central London, but badly timed internet connection issues had potentially messed up her chances. The thought of spending the summer in Ibiza was massively appealing, but she couldn’t get her hopes up. Sometimes things were just too good to be true and in her experience something good was usually followed by something bad. She’d learned that the hard way – more than once. The thought of staying put in London was just too depressing to dwell on though and, regardless of the job, Ibiza would be on the cards this year. She needed to talk about it with Gem and Laurie soon, although she’d wait until she found out about the job. They’d all be seeing each other at their friend’s wedding next weekend and could plan things then.
Belle made a coffee and stood by the patio door looking out at her garden. The pink blossom was a splash of colour in an otherwise overcast May day. Thinking about Ibiza brought back all kinds of memories and emotions. Ten years felt like a lifetime ago. It was crazy how such a short yet intense time could have made such an impact, and yet somehow it had, the feelings, memories and lost chances still filtering through her life nearly a decade on. That whole year had been a pivotal one with graduating, the holiday, her move to London, the accident…
Belle’s stomach lurched and she returned her thoughts to the job. She didn’t like waiting for things, not when it was something that would massively change the direction of her life, and yet she knew she’d be unlikely to hear back from Caleb until Monday. At least she had a distraction. Although it was Saturday, that evening she would be at a glitzy award ceremony and after party that she’d been working on for months. Her life revolved around work, which often included socialising, so it wasn’t all bad. The downside was that working with her ex on a daily basis wasn’t much fun. In that respect she’d forced herself out of a job she used to love. A change could only be a good thing as long as things fell neatly into place.
Handing her notice in without having anything else lined up had been a leap of faith, but she’d needed to do something drastic. She was successful, had the career she’d longed for and a flat of her own, but she’d become stuck in a rut, going through the motions of life, her relationship stagnant. When Isaac had pushed for more commitment, she’d backed off. She didn’t want to be with someone just for the sake of it. He was a nice enough guy, but nice wasn’t doing anything for her. It was her fault for letting their relationship become as serious as it had. Forget about the seven-year itch. She was lucky if she made it to seven months with anyone before getting cold feet.
The award ceremony would be Belle’s last big event at Tockbeth Hall and, after working her way up to head of events management, her nerves were the fluttery kind rather than gut wrenching ones that used to leave her feeling queasy. Since moving to London she’d grafted even when life had thrown her curveballs. She’d said yes to everything, had taken chances and done things out of her comfort zone, but the payoff had been progressing rapidly in her career. The only thing she was uneasy about that evening was Isaac being there.
With Belle in events and Isaac in marketing, neither reported directly to each other but their work was closely connected. Since she’d broken up with him at the beginning of the year, he’d gone from upset to anger and was now avoiding her as much as possible. Apart from being honest with him, she’d done nothing wrong. There wasn’t anyone else, and in her mind not leading him on gave him the freedom to find someone who was right for him. Isaac was the wrong guy for her, much like all the others who’d preceded him…
Laurie had thought she was mad, commenting, ‘I really thought you’d found “the one”,’ the last time they’d spoken. Belle hadn’t admitted that she’d known from the beginning she didn’t feel that way about him, but then she hadn’t felt that way about anyone. Actually, that wasn’t technically true; she had felt that way once but she didn’t say that to Laurie. She hadn’t admitted that to anyone; she didn’t even like admitting it to herself because it made her wonder what her life would have been like if she’d made different choices ten years ago.
Belle put on her game face as she entered the ballroom. The tables were all laid out, the wine glasses glinting in the light from the sparkling chandeliers. The stage was set and the sound check in full swing. This point of an event used to feel like the calm before the storm, but Belle knew everything was in place, and even if there was a crisis, she had enough experience to tackle it with calm confidence. The only uncertainty she felt was when she clocked Isaac looking dapper in a suit, a dream man in so many ways that made her seriously question what on earth she was after. Someone who made her heart sing. Despite his many good qualities, Isaac never had.
His cool glare landed on her and she looked away. She just needed to get through tonight, be civil and professional, and hope to goodness she’d get good news on Monday.