Chapter 10
10
‘Sunday is my chill-out time.’ Caleb gave Belle a shy smile as one of the bar staff handed them their drinks. ‘You’d like to join me?’ He gestured towards a cushioned love seat on the edge of Serenity’s terrace.
Belle picked up her gin, strawberry and passionfruit cocktail and followed him over. They sat in silence for a moment, taking in the dusk-streaked sky. Belle inhaled the salty breeze and the mouth-watering waft of grilled seafood, still not quite believing after more than three weeks that this was her current reality. The vibe at Serenity was different than at Spirit and both places were aptly named. While she wasn’t yet sure which she preferred, there was something incredibly special about Serenity’s location.
‘This is my go-to place for a Sunday evening nightcap,’ Caleb said, raising his bottle of beer. ‘It used to be the bar at Spirit where Cara and I would sit on the wall overlooking the sea, but here there’s, well, this.’ He gestured in front of them.
‘Peace,’ Belle said quietly. Even the chatter from the restaurant and the terrace packed with guests enjoying dinner and the view was muted, accompanied by a gentle beat, music that soothed rather than got the heart pumping. ‘You really miss Cara?’
‘Yeah, she’s my sounding board as much as a friend. Actually more like a sister really, with both of us living far from family. We just clicked. She’s damn good at her job too; helped me to succeed with Spirit far beyond what I hoped for.’
Belle pointed to herself. ‘Big shoes to fill.’
‘You’re doing just fine.’
‘Good to know, ’cos I’m loving it. And the way Cara’s been running things has made it easy to pick up the reins.’
‘Our social media followers have increased in the time you’ve been here – you understand how to showcase our places in the best possible way.’
‘It’s not exactly hard.’ Belle swept her hand around and gave Caleb a knowing look.
A smile flickered over his face. ‘I mean this as a compliment despite it probably not sounding like one, but my worry was your lack of experience with social media, because it’s a big part of the job as well as running the events. You were honest that it wasn’t a part of your previous job and that you don’t personally use it.’
‘For me, social media is fine when it comes to the aesthetics, showcasing and selling an idea or experience. It’s creative and inspiring when you have something beautiful to work with. What I don’t like is the intrusion into people’s lives even if it’s a personal choice. So just don’t ask me to tackle TikTok.’
‘No worries there.’ Caleb laughed. ‘We’re selling a dream, a luxury lifestyle, even if most people only get to experience it for a week or two. Slick, sophisticated and sexy is the vibe I’m after.’ He swigged his drink and clasped his hands round the bottle. ‘I also don’t mean to offend you by implying you’re unusual staying off social media.’
‘I don’t avoid it completely; personally it’s not for me, but it has its place and for events and marketing it’s necessary.’
‘A necessary evil I’m guessing…’ Caleb looked at her pointedly.
Belle shrugged. ‘When I was researching you and Spirit I noticed that you don’t exactly plaster your life over social media either. Slick and professional accounts for Spirit and Serenity, but not for yourself.’
‘Touché,’ he said smoothly.
Worried she’d overstepped the mark, she blustered on. ‘I find social media can be toxic. At least the way some people behave isn’t healthy. Even if you don’t intend to, it’s hard not to compare yourself to other people.’
‘You do understand that what most people post is a lie a lot of the time?’ Caleb shifted in the seat and rested his foot on his knee.
‘Oh, I get that but it’s hard to separate reality from fantasy, at least I found it was, particularly if you’re feeling low or vulnerable. In my first job I used it a lot, but I didn’t want it spilling over into my personal life. You know how people share everything. I didn’t want friends, or to be honest people I barely knew, to have a window into my life, even a false one.’
‘A refreshing attitude to have.’
‘I’ve seen it with my friend Gem in particular. She’s a social media queen and is big into interior design and the aesthetics of everything. But she showcases a false reality, taking photos from an angle that doesn’t include the clutter on the other side of the room.’
‘Everyone does that.’
‘Of course, but being constantly shown what’s perceived as perfection isn’t helpful.’ Belle was acutely aware of what a snapshot of this moment would look like, her and Caleb looking snug together, with a backdrop of the golden-red light of sunset and the unrealistic impression it would give. ‘If you only knew Gem through what she posts on Instagram you would see a glamorous mum of two, in control with perfectly behaved kids, a house to die for; you’d think her life was perfect.’
‘When I’m guessing it’s not.’
‘Not that she’d ever admit it, but it’s impossible for her to hide the reality from her friends who know her well. Although as time goes by I feel like I understand her less and less.’
‘And you don’t want to post on social media because your life isn’t perfect either?’ Caleb asked slowly.
‘Is anyone’s? Honestly, who can hold their hands up and say they wouldn’t want to change something?’
Caleb nodded knowingly and glanced away. ‘I would in a heartbeat despite having all of this.’
Sadness coated his words so Belle decided not to probe any further. Business and pleasure muddied the waters; she’d had first-hand experience with Isaac and she’d vowed never to do that again – not that she thought anything romantic would happen, she just didn’t want to cross a line with her boss and become overly personal. She told herself it wasn’t unusual for him to have a drink with his staff, so it wasn’t as if he’d singled her out, plus she’d taken Cara’s place who he was obviously close to.
They lapsed into silence. Whispered conversations spiralled into the night from couples snuggled together further along the terrace. She was acutely aware of Caleb’s jean-clad thigh just millimetres away from hers. Serenity was all about love and romance and her own ideas for utilising the outside spaces leaned towards that vibe.
‘I love how I’ve seen such a different side to the island,’ she said, needing to fill the silence. ‘It’s not just about clubbing and having a good time.’
‘No, it’s not,’ Caleb said, ‘but that’s what drove me here.’
‘It’s the reason why we came to Ibiza too.’
‘I went on a club 18–30 holiday to Magaluf in the late nineties.’ He winced and shook his head. ‘I’m surprised I remember anything. I was eighteen, went with a couple of mates, you know the freedom of the first holiday away from your folks. My mum travelled a lot for work so I lived with my gran who was loving but pretty strict.’ A smile crept across his face, crinkling the corners of his eyes and forming dimples on his stubbled cheeks.
‘What did you get up to?’
He laughed and shook his head again. ‘What didn’t I get up to? Let’s just say I had a damn good time. The club reps were only a year or two older than me, but they were bolder, funnier, sexier. They just swooped in and pulled girls I fancied like they were superheroes. I remembered thinking I want some of that . So before the end of the holiday I signed up for a holiday rep training session back in the UK. My gran wanted me to go to university so we compromised and I said I’d take a gap year, go travelling first then work as a holiday rep through the summer season in Ibiza, but you know.’ He shrugged.
‘You never left. Your gran was okay with that?’
‘Not at first. But as well as playing hard I worked hard too, proved myself out here, earned shitloads of commission, got bigger and better gigs working for the super clubs. I managed to convince her that university was unnecessary when I was already learning everything I needed. I’m just mighty relieved that it was back in the day when there was no social media or smart phones to document everything. There’s zero evidence of my hedonistic days beyond a handful of blurry photos.’
‘Unlike me having every bloody thing documented.’
‘The one advantage to being forty-two,’ he said with a glint in his eyes. ‘I started working in Ibiza in the late nineties right at the end of the really crazy period. Things are different now, back then anything and everything happened.’
‘It seemed pretty insane when I was here in July 2013.’
‘The summer of 2013,’ Caleb said slowly, his eyes drifting off towards the sea. The sunset had faded leaving moonlit darkness and a fresh clear night. ‘That was a year to remember. Lots of changes and a slightly weird vibe.’
‘Really? All I remember was having the best time.’
‘You were an Ibiza virgin, right?’ He glanced back at her with a sly smile. ‘You would have had the best time and been none the wiser. That was the year shedloads of new parties cropped up. Pacha celebrated forty years but they mixed things up too. Most people had an epic time but on the ground, the people working behind the scenes felt the strain – lots of new places competing for clubbers meant not everyone did well.’
‘It was ten years ago; how do you remember something like that? I imagine all the summers would roll into one.’
‘Generally they do, but that summer was special because I got married.’ He suddenly had that lost look about him again, pain folding across his face. He breathed deeply and met her eyes. ‘But as it was your first time in Ibiza you’d have noticed none of that and had the time of your life.’
‘Yeah, I was drunk most of the time and didn’t see much of Ibiza beyond pool parties and the inside of a few bars and clubs.’ Belle gazed at the flickering light from the candle in the glass holder on the table. A wave of nostalgia washed over her. ‘I think we only made it to a beach once or twice. The focus was on drinking, partying and having a good time. It felt so simple at twenty-one. I’m not sure I thought of Ibiza as anything beyond having a pool and club scene and being filled with young, beautiful people. I take it that’s what made you want to stay?’ She picked up her drink and took a sip of the smooth, fruity gin.
‘Yeah, to begin with it was the lifestyle. There’s a real joy to earning money while socialising and I proved to be rather adept at it.’ He paused and glanced away for a moment, looking wistful. ‘My mum is a well-known and respected foreign correspondent – I took her work ethic even if the career I followed was vastly different. My dad was never a part of our lives. I felt guilty being far from my gran, but once she realised I was onto a good thing here, she selflessly encouraged me to stay. I’d got used to hot days and sultry nights, not waking before midday and working till the early hours. There was no job that appealed to me back home. I was good at what I did, savvy and entrepreneurial – something else I took from my mum – and invested in projects which brought in more money and success, plus I became friends with this incredibly successful guy, Eddie Rosen, who’d established himself as a big player in San Antonio. I also fell in love.’
Caleb’s phone ringing took them both by surprise and stopped the question Belle was about to ask.
‘Sorry, I need to take this.’ Caleb scrambled off the seat and paced away as he answered the phone.
The question ‘is the woman you fell in love with the one you married?’ never made it past Belle’s lips. She wondered if he’d said more than he’d meant to. She was also left wondering what had happened with his wife. He’d fallen in love and got married, and he wore a wedding ring, but there was no evidence of a wife around – it was all a bit of a mystery.
This was the first time their conversation had become personal. She’d vowed to keep a professional distance with her work colleagues, her boss in particular, yet it felt easy talking to him. And that was all they’d been doing, talking. There was nothing wrong in having a professional yet friendly relationship.
Deciding to head back to Spirit, Belle left the comfortable depths of the love seat, yet she was unable to rid herself of the worry that she was attracted to Caleb. Because he’s a good-looking man , she reasoned. He was older than the men she usually went for, not that age necessarily mattered. It was fine to appreciate him for his good looks and easy-going nature, but that was all it was – an appreciation from afar, because she was certainly not going to go down that road again.
Belle didn’t see Caleb again until the following afternoon, when he found her in the office at Spirit.
‘Sorry to have left abruptly last night. Cara phoned. She was starting her day while I was ending mine. She’d been working on something but it’s madness when she’s across the other side of the world and has enough to be dealing with. I suggested I pass it on to you.’ He placed a couple of printed sheets and flyers on the desk in front of her. ‘She was in talks with Ushua?a working out a VIP deal for an outdoor club experience for our guests. I’ll put you in touch with Diego to iron out the details.’
Belle’s heart momentarily stilled as the name Diego evoked emotions and memories.
Caleb scribbled a name and number on a piece of paper and handed it to her. ‘He’ll be expecting your call, but any questions just check with me. Hopefully it should all be straightforward.’
Belle gazed at the name Diego Torres Corchado, only vaguely aware of Caleb leaving. She’d never known the surname of the Diego who’d rocked her world in the summer of 2013. Of course a summer fling had been all it was, yet the strength of the feelings that had followed her ever since…
Although Belle wasn’t active on social media, she did have a Facebook profile even if she never used it. If this Diego Torres Corchado was on Facebook then she could look him up to see if he was her Diego. She felt absurd thinking of him like that when their time together had been fleeting if passionate. She scooped up her phone, clicked on Facebook and typed in his name. There were reams of people with a similar name but only one Diego Torres Corchado from Ibiza. With shaky hands, she clicked on him. The profile picture jumped out at her, a slightly older version of the young man she’d fallen for staring back at her. Heat rushed to her face. Belle glanced up. Miguel and Giada were oblivious, busy at work on their laptops.
Belle returned her attention to her phone. She had a few photos that she’d taken of Diego, but as time passed and she’d grown older, her memory of him had blurred. She scrolled through his profile. He was still living on Ibiza and worked as a marketing manager at Ushua?a, so he was definitely Caleb’s contact. Relationship status: single. His Facebook feed was sprinkled with photos with friends, at the beach, in a bar, partying. A couple of photos she assumed were of him and his family. Frowning, she clicked on one and zoomed in. Caleb. A younger Caleb with a huge grin lighting up his face, one arm laid across Diego’s shoulders, his other around a young woman with dark curly hair, olive skin and rosebud lips.
Her heart stalled. Diego and Caleb knew each other socially? What were the chances? And now she needed to phone Diego knowing full well who he was when he’d be unaware of who she was. Unless of course they met in person… And would he even remember her? The way things had ended, she already knew she hadn’t meant as much to him as he did to her. Yet seeing him again was something she’d dreamed about, and now there was a real possibility of that happening.