But when she left the store, feeling deflated at achieving exactly nothing by traipsing to Oslo for this meeting, she couldn’t help wondering whether there was more to this assignment than met the eye.
5
Hanne popped her head around the door to Mats’ office. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget your sister.’
‘As if,’ he said, rolling his eyes and smiling.
‘He says as if it’s never happened before.’
‘I have a reminder set. But thank you, Hanne. Have a good evening.’
He was meeting his youngest sister, Ingrid, for dinner. She also lived in Oslo, and with almost eight years between them, she was the one sibling he felt particularly protective of. In reality, she was probably the most capable of all of them. She had decided from an early age that she wanted to be a journalist, and she made it happen for herself. She worked for the biggest women’s magazine in Norway, doing lifestyle pieces aimed at people exactly like her — young career women living in the city. When she’d moved to Oslo, Mats thought he’d have seen a lot more of her than he did, but if it wasn’t for his insistence on these fortnightly dinners, their paths wouldn’t cross.
Ingrid had embraced her life in the city and hardly visited the family home. His parents hadn’t seemed to mind, and before their mother was ill, they used to visit Oslo, enjoying the scenic train journey every couple of months to see the eldest and youngest of their children. Now Mats felt the responsibility of checking in with Ingrid, and it was the only thing about moving back to Bergen that didn’t sit well with him.
At five to seven, he pulled his coat on, grabbed his bag and headed through the quiet building. They always met at Barcode, which wasn’t far from his office. It was a place that had various street food stalls with eclectic seating areas in themed zones. There was an area where the tables were big beer barrels, a room where greenery trailed from the ceiling, and even a wide set of steps that went all the way to the ceiling. It was definitely a young person’s place, but he was happy to go along with somewhere Ingrid liked. It made a refreshing change from the stuffy, posh restaurants he usually ended up in for work.
‘Hey, Mats!’ Ingrid stood up and waved him over. She had a beer in her hand and was sitting with a group of other twenty-somethings.
He grinned and went over, feeling a little out of place in his suit now that he had to meet Ingrid’s friends.
‘Hey.’ He kissed her on the cheek and she hugged him.
‘This is my big brother, Mats. Mats, these are the guys from the office.’
Everyone waved and said hello and Mats awkwardly did the same. Ingrid handed her beer to him so she could grab her coat and bag. ‘I’ll see you guys tomorrow.’
‘Usual place?’ he asked as she followed him further into the place, towards the side that overlooked the street. They liked to sit in a booth that was made of a 1950s car.
‘Absolutely.’
They settled in the booth and Mats ordered the food and drink on the app.
‘So how’s the hotel going?’ Ingrid was the only member of the family yet to visit the island since he’d taken it on.
‘It’s slow progress, but it’ll get there.’
‘Ida says you bought a chandelier, so I thought it must be almost done.’
‘Well, no. Becca bought the chandelier because it was a good price, and we’re storing it until we need it. Not much has changed since the last time I saw you. And how are things with you? Work okay?’
She nodded, taking a sip of beer and making Mats check the app to see if his own drink was ready to collect from the bar. ‘Same old, but obviously I love that. What have you been up to?’
‘I went to London on Tuesday and bumped into a woman who runs her own marketing agency.’ It was a long shot, but if Lotta was running a big campaign out of Oslo, Ingrid might know about it. He felt like an idiot for not asking her at least what company it was for.
‘Which agency?’ Ingrid asked.
‘I don’t know. Her name was Lotta, and she’s English.’
‘You’ve given me such a lot to go on,’ she said sarcastically.
‘Oh, shut up.’
‘If you were so interested in her, why didn’t you find out more?’
‘Because I’m stupid.’
‘Just out of practice.’ She patted his hand.
