Chapter 14
The hotel by the sea was incredible. Sampath knew that, despite all his talk about authenticity and cultural significance, even Marcus would be swayed by the beauty of the wide, golden beach.
The atrium of the hotel had a large window that looked out onto the ocean.
From the moment they arrived, he could see that Kalpana was captivated by it.
She was standing at the window, welcome drink in hand, looking out.
Marcus was standing next to her, an arm around her waist. There was something odd about him, though.
As if he was there, but not fully there.
There had been very little conversation between the couple on the journey down.
Sampath had put it down to everyone being tired.
As Marcus took a quick glance at his phone, Sampath wondered if it was something more than that.
He caught himself. No. He hoped there was nothing wrong.
If they decided to call off the wedding, he would be in so much trouble.
The company had booked him a room in a property attached to the hotel grounds. Which meant he was sharing a room with Lal again. He was going to miss the kid when he left. They had become quite close friends over the last few days.
Walking over to Marcus and Kalpana, he cleared his throat. ‘Everything’s ready for you now.’ He handed Kalpana the key. ‘They’ve taken your luggage up for you.’
‘That’s great, thank you,’ Kalpana said.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow morning at ten for the meeting with the wedding organiser.’
He watched them leave, hand in hand, and felt his shoulders relax.
Hard as it was watching them together, it was even harder to keep his own thoughts and reactions in check.
He was developing a full-fledged crush on Kalpana.
He only had one more day of being here with them, then he could go back to Colombo and do a few other reconnaissance trips for work.
Kalpana and Marcus would be able to spend some time relaxing and being on holiday.
Sampath planned to meet them again on their last day, back in Colombo.
After tomorrow, he would be able to have some time to think. Maybe even work out how to stop thinking of Kalpana as someone who was more than a client. He gave a friendly nod to the concierge who had helped him check everyone in and went to find Lal.
The first thing he wanted to do once he was settled was to call Ashley, but Lal was lying on the bed, talking on the phone, so Sampath took himself for a walk.
The accommodation gave them access to the private beach that belonged to the hotel, so he headed out that way.
It was early evening, but the sun was still hot.
He stuck to the line of coconut trees that formed a natural barrier between where he was and the hotel.
Farther out on the beach there were beach umbrellas and loungers.
It was hot enough that the beach was empty.
He found a conveniently placed rock at the edge of the coconut trees and scrambled onto it. The heat, both from the sun and from the hot sand, was powerful, but the breeze made up for it. He took a moment to breathe in the salty air and then called Ashley.
He didn’t tell her about how he felt, because falling for the bride or groom was just such a massive no-no, but he outlined what else was happening. Ashley was immediately invested, just like he would be if she’d called him with a work problem.
‘So, you have no idea what it is that’s distracting Marcus? Maybe it’s a work thing – if he’s tied to his phone so much?’
‘Could be. I tried to talk to him about it, but he shut me down immediately.’
Ashley made a thoughtful ‘hmm’. ‘How’s Kalpana dealing with things?’
‘She’s … annoyed, I think, but keeping a lid on it. I don’t think she challenges him much.’
There was a pause from the other end of the line, then, ‘Sampath, what are you not telling me?’
Damn. She knew him too well. ‘I … think they’re making a massive mistake marrying each other.
He sees her as this beautiful trophy. He loves that she’s …
exotic.’ The word made him shudder. ‘It’s like he watched Aladdin when he was eight and now he wants a real-life Princess Jasmine.
’ Oh god, that was it, wasn’t it? That was what was bothering him so much.
Marcus treated Kalpana like she was a Disney princess, not a real person.
‘He doesn’t love her. He just wants an exotic thing to call his own. ’
‘Oh, ouch,’ said Ashley. ‘That can’t be all. What else?’ Her tone was gently encouraging.
Of course there was more. Now that he had permission to talk, it gushed out of him.
‘He’s so fake. He clearly hasn’t read any of her books and has no respect for her skill because it’s not highbrow like his books are.
I mean, sure, he might be a literary genius, but it doesn’t give him the right to be an asshat to other writers.
The whole wedding, right up till we got here, was about him and what he wanted.
She pretty much just went along with it.
When I finally got her to talk about what she wanted …
she wanted something simple. She didn’t even want it to be in Sri Lanka.
’ He went on for a bit longer. When he finally ran out of steam, he finished with, ‘I don’t think he’ll make her happy. ’
Ashley made a sympathetic sound. ‘I understand, but … you know what I’m going to say.’
Sampath pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course he knew. He had been trying to remind himself of his role in this. Maybe it would help to hear it from someone else. ‘Say it.’
‘My darling,’ she said, gently. ‘You know the rules. We don’t get to judge the client or their relationship. That’s not our job. No one knows what happens inside a relationship apart from the people in that relationship.’
‘I know,’ he said, miserably.
‘Our job is to make sure the wedding happens. You know how people get weird and panicky before they take the plunge. You’ve done this so many times before. You’re there to support them through this tough time.’
‘I know that too.’ He kicked at the sand. There was another reason he thought they shouldn’t be together, but he really couldn’t bring himself to say that out loud. He was being stupid for even thinking about Kalpana that way.
‘And … I probably shouldn’t tell you this when you’re already stressed, but Grant has been going on about what a wonderful opportunity this is.
There are enough Sunday magazine supplements interested in Marcus and Kalpana that we could really bolster our PR roster.
And they’ve been throwing money around like it’s nobody’s business.
You need this to go right. If you screw this up, he will fire you for sure.
You were safe enough before, and if you’d kept a low profile, you’d have survived, but this thing is big.
If you pull it off, you’ll be promoted. If you mess up …
things won’t be great. Do you see what I’m saying? ’
Sampath looked out at the sea. The sun was lowering in the sky, making the sea less blindingly bright. ‘I see what you’re saying,’ he said.
‘So, what are you going to do?’
He sighed. ‘I guess … go and check out the wedding stuff at this hotel with Kalpana tomorrow. I think it might suit her better than any of the other places we’ve looked at so far.’
‘Who doesn’t love a beach wedding, am I right?’ Ashley said.
‘Exactly. And then I’ll go away and complete my assignments,’ he recited in a sing-song voice. ‘One step at a time.’
‘And if the bride or groom expresses any doubts?’ Ashley prompted.
‘If either of them expresses any doubts, I’ll do the usual and try and guide them back to what brought them together in the first place.’ The thought made him feel a little sick.
‘Yep. See. You’ve got this.’
‘Thanks, Ash.’
But Ashley wasn’t done. ‘Now, why do you do this job? Do you remember?’
He hung his head. ‘Because weddings make people happy and giving someone the perfect wedding is a gift as well as a job.’ In this life, if there isn’t joy, what even is the point? as Lihini would have said.
‘Exactly!’ She laughed. ‘You taught me that, you know.’
‘I know. Thanks for reminding me.’
‘Anytime, my darling. Anytime.’
‘How are things with you?’ He changed position and settled in to hear about the weddings Ashley was working on.
By the time he had finished talking to Ashley, the shadows were lengthening. The beach was busier as people came down to watch the sunset and walk along the wave-washed beach. Further towards the hotel, someone had lit a small fire, so that people could sit around it with their drinks.
Since he was here, he may as well make the most of the lovely view. Stuffing his phone into the pocket of his long shorts, he pulled off his footwear and headed for a stroll along the beach.
Ashley’s heads-up about their boss’s plans worried him.
Sampath had been so thrilled when he’d got this commission.
It had seemed like such a great opportunity to prove himself to Grant and the rest of the company.
Now he could see it unravelling before his eyes.
If Kalpana and Marcus pulled out of this wedding, it sounded like Grant was going to fire him.
He didn’t want to lose this job. He was good at being a wedding planner.
He was normally extremely professional. He had no idea what was wrong with him right now.
He kicked at the sand like a child. This was stupid. He really needed to pull himself together. His job was on the line.
Someone calling his name made him stop. Unlike in England, someone calling out ‘Sampath’ here could actually be meant for someone else. There was even a bank here by that name. He turned to look anyway.