11. Theo
My hand dropped down, and the grip on my cup loosened. When it hit the ground, hot coffee splashed against my shoes, but I couldn’t move my feet. I was stuck, frozen, unsure of whether time froze with me or not. It seemed she was stuck, too. I watched her itch to turn away, and pretend we didn’t recognise each other… but it had only been five years, and playing dumb was impossible. I thought about when I first met her at the café, then the night I dragged her out from the water before she got swept away. I thought about the night we spent together, and how happy I was in that moment, even if it was short lived. Then, I thought about why I left.
“Audrey.” I gasped, taking in her appearance. Her hair was longer now than the bob she wore before, with blonde strands taking place in the perfect blowout that the Australian humidity would’ve instead frizzed up. She looked the image of perfection. Her eyes were a little more creased near the sides, but that was her only sign of ageing these past years. In fact, the biggest difference I noticed was the replacement of her ‘French inspired’ gimmicky style. No longer was there a beret attached to the top of her head, or horizontal stripes tucked into a pair of skinny jeans. This time, she’d found herself in chic business wear, looking rather trendy. It was as if she actually took note of what the younger generations were wearing, with her own twist caused by the way she held herself. The execution? Immaculate. “You’re here?”
“I can’t be doing this,” she said, finally turning on her heels, but I raced over to her just in time, taking her hand in mine to slow her down. The action was met with repulsion, and she shook her hand out of my grip without a second thought.
“Why are you here?” I asked, more directly this time. “You were meant to go to Paris, weren’t you?”
She sighed, noticing people in the building started to watch the fiasco, and when she turned back in defeat—not wanting to cause a scene. A look of warning was on her face. “If I’m not there right now, then clearly the plan failed,” she spat.
Of course. Feeling stupid, I took a step away to give her some space, but not enough for the conversation to end. “How’d you end up here, of all places?” I asked, knowing London was probably the last city she’d want to be. I thought about when we were younger, and how bothered she was about my accent when she first heard it. I could only imagine her distaste had doubled since then.
“A work contract. I thought I’d be here for just a month, but it looks like that might not be the case,” she spoke through her teeth, and I realised in that moment I wasn’t the only cause of her frustration. A win. She then looked down to my feet to where the coffee spilt. “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to clean that up?”
For a moment, her attitude shocked me. That was, until I had the slightest chance to self-reflect. I didn’t leave things on the best terms, that was clear, but it looked like the light had gone out in her as well—warmth no longer radiated around her, and her expression was stern… tired. “Of course, I will.” I looked around for something to use, and then saw the in-house coffee cart I’d bought my drink from, where a stack of napkins was available on the front counter. “But can you wait? Wait just one moment.”
I stood in place for her to nod to agree. Otherwise, I worried when I turned around, she’d disappear for good. She moved her head in approval, and I quickly trailed back to the coffee stand. Giving a quick thanks to the barista behind the table, I took a chunk of paper napkins in my hand, enough to do the job. But as I turned back around, nervous that she’d storm off and leave, an even bigger shock came over me. She was there, making small talk with my father.
“Hey.” My face looked strained, as if something that was mine was being taken away. I had no choice but to revel in these few moments, and while I knew Dad was an impressive man, I had a short window of opportunity here to steal the attention back to myself.
“Theo?” Dad gave his trademark, gentlemanly smile. “You already know Audrey? We’re working with her in the lead up to the gala.”
“No—” Audrey tried to interject, but I stepped closer so Dad would hear me instead.
“We had a run in, some years ago.” I then turned to Audrey again. “It’s good to catch up with old friends, don’t you think?”
She grimaced at the word friends, but Dad didn’t notice. “I couldn’t agree more, kid. Why don’t I give you some time to talk? I’m heading off early.”
“Sounds good, Dad.” I loved when he got the hint. “You sure you don’t need me in the office right away?
“I’m positive.” He grinned, and I watched him trail off to the lobby’s exit. When I found Audrey’s face again, I almost had to pinch myself to think I pulled that off successfully.
“It looks like we’ll be seeing each other more often,” I commented.
She turned around to check that Dad had gone for good, before finding her way into my personal space, looking up at my face and stopping just before our bodies made contact. A tactic to be intimidating, I assumed. I cursed my sweaty hands, because it was working. “Don’t you dare think we’re just going to be friendly after what you’ve put me through.”
I bit my lip, wondering exactly what my exit out of her life must’ve entailed. She hated me, that was obvious. Now, it looked like she couldn’t wait to get rid of me, like I was a piece of gum stuck on her shoe. It was an uncomfortable, humbling feeling; one I wasn’t granted often, since the respect people gave my father usually trickled down onto me as well. It was strange to see how different we were, because while she spent her time hating me, I thought about her so much over these past few years. And to think she’d be here, working with my family to market the best business event in London… I felt like I had to take advantage of this weird twist of fate, even if my efforts would crash and burn. When I took a half-step forward, she stepped back, as if she was repelled by my aura. I held in a chuckle at her; she always used to put on a tough exterior, but as soon as a bit of pressure was put on her, she’d crack. “You might not want to be friendly with me, Audrey, but we’re going to need to get along for the next month, whether you like it or not. Or would you want to risk dear old George taking his business elsewhere, because the staff couldn’t cooperate?”
Audrey scowled. “You’d stoop that low?”
“If you think I wouldn’t, maybe your expectations of me are too high.”
“You’re an actual villain, Theo,” she spoke in defeat. “But times have changed, and I know what it takes to get a job done. Even if it means putting up with the likes of you.”
“Oh, Audrey.” I put a hand over my heart. “You charm me.”
She frowned. “I knew you wouldn’t take this seriously.”
And then, the guilt sank in. Was Ibullying her? I felt like I was in grade school, where children would make fun of the girls they had a crush on. A complete fault of the patriarchy, even I’d admit that, but here I was, playing into that cliche on my own, at twenty-seven years of age. I allowed my cocky facade to slip and my face softened, trying to come at her with a new perspective. “Look, Audrey—” I tried to catch her as she began walking away again. “I want to be serious here, I really do. But the fact is, we’re going to have to get along for this, whether you like it or not. My dad built this business with everything he had, and I can’t let a tiff between us ruin his event.”
She looked me in the eye, hesitation on her face. “I’m not going to make a scene, Theo.”
A dangerous feeling washed over me; the feeling of hope. It was something that made people act recklessly, and I had to watch myself so I wouldn’t follow that path. But what was I so afraid of? And was my hope just for Dad’s project to be a success, or was it that Audrey would be around me a little longer? I shook my head to rid myself of the thought. “Then you’ll work through this with me?”
“I’ll work on this in my own way, and you can try to keep your smug attitude in check.” She snarled. “Goodbye, Theo.” I dawdled for a moment, taking in her words, before she shouted out again. “And don’t forget to clean that up!”
“Yes ma’am.” I laughed, walking back to drop the napkins on the wide coffee spill.
Once the coffee was cleaned and my conscience was relatively clear, I called my father’s driver to come back to the office to pick me up. Why get a rideshare when the resources were available, right? Or at least that’s what people at Dad’s work told me, knowing our driver was paid full-time. I didn’t like taking advantage of my father’s things, but when his things are part of the company I’d been working for over the past three years, I thought it was time I called them mine as well. That was another reason why I’d settled into a townhouse on the outskirts of Chelsea, since I decided to claim my yearly bonus last year, after exceeding expectations in the events industry. Of course, I acknowledged my privilege here, but if both the trailblazing father and his son work just as hard as each other, the office didn’t gossip about nepotism quite as much.
I unlocked my door and made my way upstairs to a loft-style living room. It was more of a bachelor pad than I liked, thanks to taking some interior design advice from my best friend Will, who always wanted a bachelor pad but had to set his place up with his kids in mind. It didn’t feel like me, but I didn’t care about it that much.
When I plunked down on my highly researched sofa, which I made sure would be most comfortable after hunching over a computer doing emails all day, I nodded in greeting to a photo frame on my wooden side table. It was of a woman—my mother—in a nice, black and white wide-brim hat, looking extremely like Meredith Blake from The Parent Trap. She loved that movie, and I can’t remember how many times I watched it when I was a kid. Since she passed, sometimes I find myself watching it on my own, just to feel less lonely.
But today, I didn’t find myself feeling lonely. If anything, I was too busy feeling shocked by the fact that I saw Audrey again, after how much time had gone by. I wondered if her number had changed since then, too, because I certainly didn’t delete it from my phone. Why would I? She was the one that got away, and the only reason why I thought ‘what ifs’, despite living a relatively fulfilling life since.
This change in events felt serendipitous, and I wasn’t one to avoid the signs. Just like when I randomly chose her town when I travelled to Australia, this was another feeling of chance tying us together. I didn’t have any expectations of how this would go, but the way Audrey seemed to detest me… maybe I could have a little bit of fun with it after all?
Until then, I pulled out the TV remote to play The Parent Trap from the start again. Whether it was out of habit by now, or out of an innate fear of losing things nostalgic to me, I knew my evening would be thoroughly enjoyable until I got my next chance to bother Audrey Clarke.