‘No,’ Chloe answered, simply. ‘Not the main suggested itinerary. But, at the bottom of page six, you will see there are a few other options and this trip could be one of them.’
‘Look, Chloe, no more beating around the bush. I want to be completely straight with you even if it means, you know, touching on my… oh God, I don’t know if I can say the word…’ She took a breath and panted like she might be about to push the baby out then and there. ‘E… e… emotions.’
‘That was very brave, Michelle,’ Chloe said with utter sincerity. ‘I’m very proud of you.’
‘I need you, Chloe. Now more than ever. Because I cannot do this on my own and the only person I know who is as control freakish as me about this business is you. You are my safe pair of hands, the brains behind everything really and I never fully appreciated just how brilliant you are. But I want to now. Before someone else swipes you because they aren’t as blind or as stupid as me.’
‘O-K,’ Chloe said, a little tentatively.
‘Chloe, I don’t want you to be my employee any more. I want you to be my partner. A partner in the business. Sharing the profits, working towards more growth, making plans to see Dress Code fold and go into administration… OK, maybe a bit harsh… but, Chloe, I think we would continue to be a dream team and I would promise to do better at collaboration than I have been, hopefully particularly when these hormones exit.’
Partnership. Chloe’s dream. What she had been on the path towards since she had set her compass dial all the way over to the direction of work with no other points on the map. This felt like a defining moment; the snow clouds should have parted and a beam of light should have appeared like an angelic beacon spotlighting this transformative episode. Except, it didn’t feel quite how Chloe had expected it to feel.
‘Thank you, Michelle,’ she said, a sense of unexplained ease about her now. ‘I am really so honoured that you’ve said those things and made that offer to me and?—’
‘Well,’ Michelle jumped in. ‘Of course we can go through all the figure work and percentages and terms and conditions when you get back here for the Sinclairz Chairs meeting.’
Now a shiver ran through Chloe but it was definitely dread and not exhilaration. ‘What Sinclairz Chairs meeting?’
‘Chloe, I’m not going to email this brilliant work to Lincoln or his team. As magnificent as it is on paper, we need to sell this in person. And, when I say “we”, I really mean “you” because you are the beating heart of this project.’
Her eyes were already on Gunnar, that driving side-profile from the seat she was getting accustomed to riding in. His blond hair pushed back behind his ears, a look of concentration on his handsome face as he navigated the road. She cared about him. Deeply cared. But what really happened next for them? There were no guarantees…
‘The meeting is in two days,’ Michelle said.
Now Chloe gasped. ‘What?’
‘We need to get this pitched with festive weather outside and a Yuletide backdrop inside. I’ve got Scarlet making the boardroom into an Icelandic winter wonderland so if you can email her any more photos that can inspire her mood boards that would be sensational.’
Chloe didn’t know what to say. Because if she left for the UK now she would miss Magnús’s show.
63
HÚSAVÍK
‘Today, we are hoping to see not just humpback whales.’ Gunnar spoke to his happy band of travellers waiting to board the traditional Icelandic oak ship about to take them out of Skjálfandi Bay. ‘But other kinds – fin whales or maybe even dolphins.’
Despite the excitement of the whales, a mention of dolphins always seemed to get appreciation. Except one person didn’t seem to be fully engaged in his pre-tour patter. Chloe. She was gazing out over the bay like her mind was swirling with a million thoughts as her eyes grazed over the water.
‘So,’ Gunnar said, clapping his gloved hands together. ‘We can get on board the boat now and the crew will give you further instructions.’
Everyone rushed toward the vessel, cameras already out of their bags, desperate to get the best seats or standing area where they could have the perfect view to capture a maybe once-in-a-lifetime shot. The only thing on his mind was easing whatever was going on in Chloe’s. He stepped towards her, then, without overthinking, slipped his arms around her waist and drew her close into his body.
‘Let us hope the whales do not mind snow,’ he whispered close to her ear as the flakes continued to fall around them.
She snuggled into him and he relaxed a little, her head nestling close to his.
‘You are OK?’ he asked her.
‘I am OK,’ she answered.
But he sensed it in her voice. She was deep-thinking. ‘Tell me,krúttio mitt.’
He felt her body tense first and then slowly release. He held her as she began to still, relax, simply breathe. And then she turned around to face him, snowflakes landing on her pinked cheeks. She was so beautiful, like a warm, radiant picture against the cold, rugged landscape. She was looking at him now as if there were a million things she wanted to say and he wished she would tell him, let him lighten her mental load. Then she slipped her gloved hands into his, giving them a squeeze.
‘Let’s get on the boat.’
* * *
