18. Audrey
Every time I closed my eyes, I couldn’t escape the thought of Theo and I kissing. The touch, the taste, the passion, and then there’s the absolutely sick feeling in my gut once I realised I’m going to have to see him today, and his father. Chills ran down my spine, and I felt like I’m being haunted. How can someone haunt you when they’re not even dead?
And besides, I told him it was a mistake—did that make having to see him better or worse? I stomped down the steps, staring down at my sweater which had a stupid Christmas jingle about love written across it. Maybe today wasn’t the time to be jolly, or to pretend romance existed at all.
“Heading out already?” I flinched at Lucy’s words, feeling caught. But there’s no way she’d find out that easily, in less than twenty-four hours since the new incident occurred. The title ‘new incident’had a certain ring to it, after learning about Theo’s mother and what really happened when Theo left. To think just as I wanted to rebrand that moment in our history, he was waiting and ready to replace the old with something new. Pest behaviour, if you asked me.
“I can’t run away from all of my problems.” I yawned, playing it cool as I took an apple off the kitchen hutch and opened the front door. It wasn’t a white Christmas, not yet, but the air was more intense than I’d hoped, and I swapped out my trench coat for a cream, long-length puffer jacket that covered my knees.
“What problems?” Lucy asked from inside. But I couldn’t tell her—I was too mortified that while Theo kissed me, I happily reciprocated, until I remembered who we both were. And the fact that making out wasn’t always the best activity to do with your sworn enemy.
“I’ll tell you later,” I said, if I felt up to it. But luckily, she didn”t seem to care, her attention was solely on a bowl of batter that she was beating with all her strength—a new dessert to pair with dinner. Sometimes you hope for a little neglect from your friends, and I was grateful she was offering it.
I walked to my station, so focused on keeping myself warm that when I heard my name get called, I felt completely caught off guard. “Audrey? You in there?”
Theo was beside me, trying to catch my attention, while mocking my layers at the same time. “Can I not have a moment of privacy?” I turned to him, crossing my arms. “Why are you here, anyway?” His lips curled into a sly smile, and I couldn’t help but think he looked perfect standing there in a black jacket and jeans, taking on a more casual approach than usual. Shit, not perfect. Completely presentable for a relaxed work day, and that was it. His skin was olive and tanned, despite how pale I’d already become here in London, away from the notorious Australian summer. I almost wanted to ask how he was keeping it up—if he was using self-tanner, the illusion would shatter, leaving me with a similar degree of whiplash to when I heard about George’s teeth whitening. Theo had a bright smile too, and surprisingly perfect teeth. I needed to stop looking at his mouth.
“I had a few drinks at Will’s last night and stayed over,” he said. “Why? Did you think I travelled all this way to nag you at the station?”
“It’s easy to draw that conclusion when I find you loitering on my street.”
“Alright, I’ll give you that.” His laugh hummed alongside the breeze, and when he noticed my shiver, he stepped closer. “You okay?”
“Still acclimatising,” I answered. Then he came near me, sliding a hand around my waist. The close proximity certainly helped, and while I didn’t exactly remove his hand—savouring every bit of warmth I could get—I wasn’t going to pretend it was okay. “I told you it was a mistake.”
Without a beat, Theo bent down and looked in my eyes, and I could spot a familiar glint of mischief, something I didn’t want to test. “I never agreed it was.”
The yellow train screeched to a stop in front of us, and I jumped forward, getting my head start to find a spot inside. If he got left behind, I wasn’t going to pretend to worry. Still, he kept up, and made me remember how tall he was for his strides to be so efficient. “This can’t happen, Theo. I’ve got to meet with your father, for Christ sake.”
“We’d kissed well before you first met Dad, so I don’t really see the difference.” He held his hands up as if it wasn’t a big deal. I should’ve known he’d use our past to rationalise this.
“Just a little reminder in case you forgot, but that was five years ago, Theo. It doesn’t compare to the shame of visiting someone for work after making out with their son, less than twenty-four hours ago.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself.” He laughed. “We’re adults, Audrey. We’re allowed to have a little fun every now and then.”
And there it was, Theo saying exactly what he meant… that it was justa little bit of fun. I wasn’t hurt, I knew better than to let Theo get me down with sweet kisses, using me to pass the time. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little offended. Besides, even though he did promise me a memorable last month here in London, it didn’t mean I was suddenly going to be okay with him using me as a no-strings-attached fling, just to keep him warm at night. I’d been there, and while I now knew it wasn’t entirely his fault, it wasn’t the type of feeling I wanted to revisit when things inevitably went sour. Because that’s exactly what it was; inevitable. “If you’re an adult, Theo, at least have the decency to act responsibly,” I begged. “For me.”
He looked me up and down, and just when I thought some crude commentary was going to pop out of his mouth, he gave in. “Okay, I understand. Let’s not ruin a good thing.”
“Exactly.” I sighed in relief. We passed the next train stop, and a new swarm of business folk entered the tube, cramming me to the side, barely able to reach a handrail to keep myself steady. Theo reached out for my grasping hand and gave me a tug, helping me get through a wall of people to a spot with more room. His large frame naturally left some room around him, and now he was holding me in front of him to keep our balance. I looked up, ready to lecture him over his touch, only to see him peering at the buildings flying by us.
“Purely platonic,” he mumbled. Liar. Still, I took a moment to revel in his warmth and stability, knowing that it was just a temporary bliss. If Theo was using me, why couldn’t I use him, too? He’d hold onto his end of the deal and help make my London stay memorable, then as soon as this little trip was over, I could get as much space away from him as I needed.
When we arrived at the office, he walked off to find the coffee cart, giving me a moment to myself to breathe. I took out my packed lunch—courtesy of Lucy’s leftovers—and placed them into the communal fridge, before finding my way to Ava’s office for my morning check in.
“George is away today, FYI,” she said as soon as I found her. Today, she was wearing a blue ensemble; a glittery skirt with a more corporate button down, but her manicured nails still matched.
“So that means?” I questioned, knowing Theo had just entered the building and he wouldn’t have cancelled our project meeting entirely.
“It means you can handle Theo while I work on some other client projects,” she replied. “I’ve spent quite a bit of time on keeping George happy, so now that he’s not here today, I better leave you to it.”
“You’re really going to send me alone, out to the wolves like this?” I frowned.
“Out to the wolf,” she clarified, a soft smirk on her face. “Besides, based on our archive room’s security footage, I don’t think you’re actually that opposed to him.”
My mouth dropped to the floor while she looked proud of herself for mentioning it so coolly. “You’re kidding me.” I groaned, banging my head on the clear, glass wall.
“Not kidding, but you’re not in trouble either,” she sing-songed. “They may be a client, but I know you’ve got history, or so George inferred.”
“Please don’t tell me George also saw that footage!” My face turned white.
“He didn’t.” Ava laughed. “The only reason I saw it was because the security team approached me about it, worrying that some love-sick idiots broke into the room without permission.”
“I’m not a love sick idiot!” I looked pitiful.
“And I’m not a shopaholic.” Ava pointed to the door, a brand-new bracelet dangling off her wrist as if proving her point. “Now out you hop, get this meeting over and done with, then we can order crepes for morning tea afterwards. It’ll be just like you’re in France, right?”
I shuffled to the door, each foot betraying me by listening to Ava’s command like I was the designer poodle she had framed on the corner of her desk. As much as I wished the floor would swallow me up from underneath, I had to fight a smile. Ava was a great boss, and I’d even dare to call her a friend by now. And while she was motivated by selfish means, she was still catering to my terms and interests.
I walked to the board room where I could see Theo sitting comfortably, his legs resting on a chair beside him as he sipped from his coffee cup. “It looks like it’s just you and me then,” I stated, omitting the part where we got caught kissing in the basement. “What’s left for us to cover?” We’d been working on the project for a few weeks now, and Theo had liaised with the venue staff, booking an expensive entertainment hall with ‘bones’ that his designers were more than excited to work with. I’d sent press releases to different printing houses across London—even to neighbouring towns to get more business owners interested—and we allotted an amount for the bar tab that was bound to destroy someone’s liver if they enjoyed its spoilings a little too much. Yet, as Theo flipped through the pages of his father’s trusty planner, there seemed to be one detail we were missing.
“Shit,” he said aloud. “We haven’t organised catering yet.”
The term ‘we’ here was a little loose, since I worked in marketing and he was supposed to be the venue and event management expert. But Ava did sell our souls to George at the start of this project, and with that great pay came left field responsibilities. Including thinking outside the box on what an event should have, and being ashamed that out of all the professionals on board, we’d failed to think about what hundreds of high-class business owners were going to eat.
“That is a bit of an oversight.” I sat next to him, wracking my brain over our options. “Do you think we can find someone with availability before the event?”
“Unlikely, the menu planners for these types of events book out months in advance. This is an ongoing effort, it’s not something anybody with some cooking experience can whip together. When it comes to finalising the menu and making sure all dietary requirements are taken care of, that process can take a while. And that’s a while we don’t have.”
“Shit, indeed.” I sighed, before an idea came to mind. There was only one person I’d trust with such a high-pressure job, knowing that it’d be done before our deadline—and that it’d be done well. “Does the menu designer have to be in charge of catering itself?”
“I mean, it wouldn’t hurt, but with an event this big, there will already be several chefs in the kitchen. So long as they’ve been trained, we only need someone to plan the menu.”
“Then that’s sorted.” I stood up again, taking out my phone. “We’re about to give Lucy the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“Lucy?” Theo quirked. His expression wasn’t one of disbelief—we’d both tasted her cooking, and it was clear she knew what she was doing. But Lucy barely had time to think, between cooking for Will and his family. “You sure she’ll be up for the challenge?”
I nodded, feeling confident in my friend’s skills. “What choice do we have? You said it yourself, we need someone who can get this done quickly. Hiring a fresh pair of eyes who we can’t talk to all night long will only delay us further.”
“Then, I guess we’re going to be exposing Lucy to the kind of overtime that any sane HR department would ban?” He crossed his arms in amusement. My eyes wandered over them, and I realised they were slightly more toned than I first thought. I shook my head, trying to remove the image from my mind.
“She’ll do it,” I said surely. “And we’re just going to have to take care of everything to make it work. You can cook for Will in the meantime, right?”
“Fine,” he replied. “Get a hold of her, and we’ll draw her up an offer she can’t refuse.”