‘I’m a qualified first aider,’ Leo said, solemnly, ‘and I think –
no, Iknow– you need some space and a lie-down after that. For the shock. You should pay a visit to the nurse.’
I smiled gratefully. ‘Thanks, Leo, I think I will. I do feel quite shaky.’
‘But you’ll miss dessert?’ Heidi said, her undertone clear.
‘I honestly couldn’t eat another thing,’ I replied, smiling sweetly around the table. ‘Thank you for your hospitality, Thiago, and for the invitation, Brooke, and for your er… help there, Leo.’
‘For saving your life, you mean?’ Zach piped up.
‘No need to exaggerate,’ Leo said, putting him in his place.
‘Who knows, maybe you did,’ I said, standing and gathering up my dress. ‘Thank you Leo.’
‘Anytime.’ His face was full of concern. ‘Should you have someone walk with you to the medical centre? Heidi, perhaps?’
She snorted. ‘Nice try Leo. Trying to get rid of both of us now?’
‘I’ll be fine. I just need some air and to get out of this dress.’
Leo’s expression changed and I felt myself go pink.
‘Anyway. Goodnight everyone.’
I hurried off and couldn’t work out if it was the shock or something else that was making me feel light-headed, but my knees were wobbling and I didn’t want to embarrass myself any further. I’d forgotten about this side of Leo. He’d been a caring soul back in our internship days and always made sure everyone got home safely on team nights out. That I’d got home safely. And I’d been grateful for him. He had a gift for anticipating problems and had seen I was in trouble before anyone else. Thank God his instinct had been to leap into action.
Nine
Saturday 26th June
My stomach lurched asEsmeraldamotored on out to sea. The heavy thrum of the engine was no longer registering, but the up and down,uppppanddownnnnwas starting to take its toll. Abi and Sara told me to keep my eyes on the horizon and take ginger for the nausea, so I had a second slice of carrot cake and tried to distract myself.
‘How about “A Whole New World”?’ Heidi suggested, looking up from her notepad. ‘We could superimpose celebrities and influencers onto a magic carpet and fly them from ship to ship, then film it with a drone?’
I nodded encouragingly. There was no such thing as a bad idea when it came to brainstorming, but a Disney song and a flying carpet would send our production manager into a spin. I could just imagine her face. Besides, there was no way Walt Disney would let us use that song. We’d end up with the Katie Price and Peter Andre version – not quite the vibe Brooke had briefed us on.
‘Love it!’ I lied. ‘The whole world at your fingertips. Excalibur Cruises – where the world is your oyster… and lobster… and whale… We could shoot big, then zoom in on the food, the chefs and the marine life?Under-deck, over-deck, out on the sea. The cruisers of cruising-don, common are we.’
Heidi nodded thoughtfully. ‘There could be something in it, write it down. What about:You’re never too young to start cruising?’
I sniggered and Heidi looked at me blankly. ‘Erm… could that be misinterpreted?’
‘OK, what about:holidays for the modern, multi-tasking family. See it all. Do it all. At once.’
‘Travel the world. Efficiently.’ I scribbled, then crossed it out with a frown. ‘No.’
‘Around the world in eighty cruises?’
I laughed then whispered in a throaty voice, ‘The ultimate threesome. You,Esmeraldaand Phileas Fogg.’
‘Would young people be familiar with Phileas Fogg?’ Heidi mused, sitting back in her chair.
‘Unlikely,’ Zach said, walking past with a coffee.
Heidi snapped her notebook shut. ‘Do you mind? This is a private conversation.’
Zach rolled his eyes. ‘I’d want to keep those ideas private, too. Is this your big pitch plan? Phileas Fogg?’ he scoffed. ‘The brief is about modernising cruising, remember.’
