Chapter 36
36
F leur arrived at the door to a small conference room in a business centre, having stayed in a hotel room next door the night before, just in time to see Cassy step out with a face like thunder. She approached Fleur with a shake of her head and lowered her voice almost to a whisper. ‘Head office does not have a clue. They really don’t. That new guy from marketing has asked why we don’t give our training courses with handouts as a rule. I mean, really? When was the last time you ever gave a handout unless there’s a problem? We just have one old set to pass around if we need them. I thought we were meant to be doing stuff for the environment. That was company policy, wasn’t it? A few years ago, they said that handouts were strictly forbidden. Something to do with paper and the planet, wasn’t it?’
The look on Cassy’s face was a picture, which made Fleur giggle. It was one of the moments between them she loved. They couldn’t be manufactured, they just happened and always made Fleur laugh. Cassy did the funny high-pitched, squeaky voice she always did when she was highly irritated. Fleur had sometimes witnessed her use it on her boys as well—when they heard it, they knew they had better behave themselves and usually scarpered.
Cassy pointed to the coffee area on the other side of a small lobby section and made a coffee sign with her hand. ‘I need a humongous dose of coffee. I’m leaving him to it.’
Fleur turned around and followed her. ‘What did you say to him, then?’
‘I told him to refer to the document, which is a PDF, and the section on the company’s policy on the environment.’
‘That’s hilarious. These people—you can’t make it up sometimes, can you?’
‘Precisely.’
It had to be said, Cassy was looking on point. She had a beautifully cut pair of slim-leg Capri trousers in a gorgeous dusty pink, paired with a floaty silk blouse and a classic pair of loafers. The look on her face, though; not quite as pretty.
Cassy got them both a coffee. ‘Honestly, Fleur, the absolute state of some of these people at head office. It’s like they just pluck ideas out of thin air without thinking them through for more than three seconds. How about they get into the real world? I hate it when one of them turns up.’
Fleur nodded, stirring her coffee. ‘What did he think was going to happen? That we’d all suddenly go back to printing out stacks of handouts like it’s 1998? It was his department that made the whole “no paper, save the planet” policy in the first place!’
Cassy snorted. ‘Exactly! And now they’re acting like it’s some shocking revelation that we don’t have physical materials to hand out at a training session. He actually looked confused when I pointed it out. As if it had never once occurred to him that this was an intentional decision, not just some random oversight. I cannot stand it when one of them insinuates that we’re incompetent. You and I run the tightest ship ever .’
Fleur shook her head. ‘They must have meetings about meetings, just to forget everything they decided in the last meeting.’
‘I give it three months before they send out an urgent email reminding us that handouts are banned again and act like we’re the ones being difficult for following their original policy.’
Fleur smirked. ‘We should start keeping a bingo card for every time they contradict themselves.’
Cassy laughed. ‘Anyway, enough about those absolute muppets. Let’s talk about something actually exciting. My flights for the wedding are booked. I was up with the lark this morning. It’s done. Show me the cocktails and tropical flowers.’
Fleur’s eyes lit up. ‘Really?’
‘Yep! I found a great deal yesterday when you were delivering that session. A good flight time, decent layover on the way back, and—best part—the boys are sorted for the week, my holiday is approved, so I can actually relax and attend. Hooray.’
‘Oh, that’s amazing!’
‘I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I think it’s going to be perfect. For the record, I love that you’re doing it your way. No stress, no fuss, just you and Patrick on a beach, having the time of your lives. That’s how it should be.’
Fleur nodded. ‘That’s what I keep telling myself. I just don’t want to get caught up in the pressure of it all. I want it to be us, not some big production line for family we never even see and don’t like that much.’
You’ve done the hardest part—you’ve decided what you actually want. The rest is just logistics.’
Fleur agreed and smiled. She couldn’t quite believe how easy everything had turned out. She crossed her fingers that nothing would change. Her best friend was coming to her wedding. All was right with the world.