No. No, no, no.
“Valerie?” asked Ricky, coming up. His face was sweaty. “It’s like a sauna here.”
She didn’t have time to answer. She clamped her hand over her mouth and ran to the staff washroom. This couldn’t be happening. Not today.
A few minutes later, the door swung open behind her. “Ew,” said Alexis. “Gross. At least pull your hair back. People are arriving. What should I do?”
“Can you deal with it?” Valerie managed to gasp.
Alexis disappeared, then came back. “I can’t find Ricky.”
“Please,” begged Valerie, now on her knees. “You have the plan. Figure it out.”
This time it was five minutes. “This is revolting,” Alexis observed. “I can hear you in the hall.”
Valerie struggled to her feet. “You can do it,” she whispered to her red-faced and wild-eyed reflection in the mirror. “You have an event to run. You have clients to impress. Presentations to queue up.”
“Are you coming or what?”
She had… Valerie slumped against the sink as waves of nausea and realization hit her.
She had to get home.
She couldn’t run an event feeling like this, let alone deal with the ick factor of being ill around a crowd of people. At least it was obviously food poisoning and nothing contagious. Ricky and Alexis would have to keep the event on track. Although she hated the idea of it, she could ask Nico to help out as well. She suspected he’d rather step in to make the event a success than stay in his lane.
The door flew open. It was Ricky, looking green and clutching his stomach. “Fuck,” he said before she heard him run toward the stairs.
Excellent. Just fantastic. Ricky had eaten the same thing as her. She listened to a door slam and it felt like the shutting down of her career.
No. She was being ridiculous and melodramatic. Nico and Alexis remained functional. She could work with that. Valerie did a body scan and decided she had about ninety seconds to safely get to Nico before she escaped home. After scrubbing her hands, mouth and face, and then her mouth again, she straightened her clothes and went out to the main room, doing her best to walk normally. A quick chat with Nico, another with Alexis, and she would be out in the fresh air. She could do it.
The room was filling up, and while the planner in her was pleased at the turnout, that meant it was harder to find Nico. Finally, she caught sight of him but had to take a break to sit down and get herself under control. She cringed back as Penny strode by, looking at her phone. There was no way she could deal with one of the Badgertons in her current state. Penny looked right past her to Nico.
“Nico, whatever you’re doing can wait. The dog sitter just called. Shecan’t bring Julius and Augustus to the vet, so you have to take them. I had to wait a week for this appointment, if you can believe it.”
“I’m needed here,” said Nico. Valerie leaned forward and tried to think about anything besides food.
“What did we pay the event planner for if not to run the event?” Penny examined the room with grudging respect. “I must say though, this is better than I expected.”
Valerie had done adequately well. High praise, indeed.
Roger joined them and Penny turned, her hair swinging in an elegant arc. None of them noticed Valerie and she was pitifully grateful because she didn’t trust what would happen if she had to open her mouth. “Roger, I need Nico to take the dogs to the vet. This is important to me, and it’s not like I can send John.”
“Pen, seriously?”
“Nico’s not part of the family. He doesn’t need to be here.”
“I’d be happy to go,” said Nico. Go? He couldn’t leave. Valerie needed him. She looked around, frantic, as her stomach tensed again. If Nico left and Ricky was out…she’d have to stay here to support Alexis.
Penny gave a brisk nod as if this resolution was never in doubt. “Lina will text you the information. Oh, there’s Tracey Jefferies. I’m surprised she bothered to come.”
Then she was gone. Roger sighed. “I’m sorry, Nico, but I need her off my case about the damn dogs so I can pay attention to Dad’s friends.”
“It’s not a problem.”
Valerie sat bolt upright, hand on her stomach. She’d run out of time and dashed up to Ricky’s private office, where Ricky himself was grabbing his bag.
“I’m sick,” he said, face pale. “Like, bad. I gotta go.”
