‘The more the merrier.’ Brody pumps the air. ‘We’ll do shots.’
‘We’d love that,’ I reply, ‘but I have a meeting with the caterers this evening and I guess now Callum will be coming along to that, too.’
I give him a look and he gives me nothing. Just that charming professionalism of his. Urgh.
‘No rest for the wicked,’ Callum says.
Clio pouts. ‘Oh, no. Can’t you move the meeting?’
‘It’s been in the diary for some time now,’ I say, trying to strike a balance between firm and amenable.
‘Nina and Cal.’ Clio grabs us both by the hands, pulling us awkwardly close to one another and making my brain go foggy. ‘We’re in Australia for one week only and this is our first night together. It would be really cool if we could all hang out and have fun. Let loose. Go wild. There’ll be loads of time to meet the caterers tomorrow, right?’
This is not the first time a client has thrown a spanner in the works and it certainly won’t be the last, but usually clients want to push meetings forward, not abandon them for the sake of a night out.
Also doesn’t she know that ‘have fun’ and ‘Callum Bang’ are polar opposites?
Callum is watching me, waiting to see how I react. We both know that client satisfaction is top of the list and although a last-minute meeting move will cause some extra admin at my end, Cody’s happiness is my number one priority.
‘I guess we could push the meeting,’ I say.
‘Really?’ Clio looks delighted.
‘She’s the boss,’ says Callum, giving me a surprisingly deferential look.
‘Yass! Did you hear that, Brody? Nina and Cal are coming with us tonight. Oh.’ We all turn to see that Brody has now passed out in his seat.
‘See?’ chuckles Clio. ‘Brody’s the life and soul.’
Business class passengers are called to board and Callum is given the job of waking Brody. I watch as he physically hauls Brody up, which is no mean feat given the size of the man, but Callum makes light work of it.
Once Cody have boarded we’re left standing there, just the two of us.
I chance a look up at him only to find his gaze trained on me.
‘A night out, Moss.’
‘What of it?’
‘Will you be letting loose and going wild?’ His lips quirk as he quotes Clio.
‘What the client wants, the client gets.’
He huffs out a noise. ‘I’m looking forward to it.’
‘Me too, actually. It’ll be good to blow off some steam after …this.’
Callum’s eyes flash and I’m saved from having to figure out his response because our row is called. It’s only when we’re walking along the passenger boarding bridge towards our second plane that I realize I’ve missed another opportunity to talk to Hamish. Damn. Are the fates conspiring against me? I’m going to have tomove fast this flight because once we land in Perth, he could be off and out of my life again without even knowing I was here.
This aircraft is not a double-decker, which probably isn’t the correct aeronautical term, but here we are. It’s only got one level, is what I mean, and Callum leads the way through business class, past Cody reclining in their massive booths with yet more champagne, before we find our seats further back. There’s no extra legroom this time and I try not to bristle as Callum manspreads all over my space. I suppose it’s not his fault that he was born with such a wealth of long limbs, is it?
That’s the spirit, Nina! Tolerance.
One long-haul flight in and I am totally growing as a person.
Just a casual five hours to go, I think as I reluctantly settle in. The thrill of long-distance travel has pretty much worn off by now, and as much as I can’t wait to get to Aus and crack on with this project, I also just cannot wait to not be sitting down. My butt hurts! Will I develop bedsores from this? I make a mental note to book into some classes while in Australia, already craving cardio in a way I never have before.
‘Moss?’ Callum’s voice floats into my subconscious, immediately making my hair stand on end. ‘Moss, wake up. We’re landing.’
