Chasing Daisy

eye I see Simon looking amused.
    ‘How was Italy?’ Luis asks me. Everyone is listening.
    ‘Fine, fine,’ I reply quickly, following Holly out of the room. We return a few minutes later with the smoked salmon starters.
    ‘Thanks.’ Luis looks up at me and grins, a familiar twinkle back in his dark-brown eyes. I try to keep a straight face as I serve the sponsor next to him. Norm Gelltron is the managing director and main money man behind our team.
    ‘I’m liking your new fresh-faced look, Luis,’ Norm says in a loud, booming American accent.
    ‘Blame this one.’ Luis aims his thumb at me.
    ‘Is that right?’ Norm asks with interest.
    ‘Yep. Well, actually, blame her grandmother. She shaved it off for me.’
    Cue a loud chorus of impressed and surprised ‘oohs’ around the table.
    ‘Your grandmother, hey? You two know each other well, then?’
    Twelve sets of eyes are now focused on me. Before I was invisible,
    now I’m the centre of attention.
    ‘Um . . .’ I start.
    ‘We’re friends,’ Luis interrupts. ‘Aren’t we, Daisy?’ He raises one eyebrow at me and tucks into his salmon.
    ‘Mmm, yes,’ I murmur, blushing but secretly pleased.
    Holly smirks at me as I hurry out of the room.
    ‘Friends?’ she says, once outside. ‘And to think you used to hate him.’
    ‘I didn’t hate him,’ I reply, brushing her off.
    ‘Sure you didn’t,’ she says sardonically.
    Ten minutes later, we go back in to clear the plates. Luis produces a clean one. ‘Look!’ he says, delighted with himself, a bit like an 8-year-old.
    ‘Well done,’ I mutter, amused.
    ‘Daisy’s trying to get me to eat properly,’ he tells everyone.
    ‘Oh, really ?’ Norm says. ‘Gosh, Daisy, you seem to be one hell of a woman,’ he booms.
    My face immediately heats up again.
    ‘You are one hell of a woman, aren’t you, bun tart?’ Luis pats my bum.
    ‘Oi!’ I whack him on the arm.
    ‘Feisty, too.’ Luis laughs.
    By the time dessert comes around, I’ve blushed so many times I’m surprised my face hasn’t turned red permanently. Holly is finding the whole thing highly amusing.
    ‘It’s mortifying!’ I exclaim.
    ‘No, it’s not,’ she scoffs. ‘Simon will be loving it.’
    ‘Will he?’ I ask hopefully.
    ‘Absolutely. He hates it when the sponsors act like we don’t exist.’
    ‘Huh. I didn’t think he cared about things like that.’
    ‘Yeah, well, there’s a lot you don’t know about Simon. I wish you could see him like I do.’
    ‘Ew!’ Whoops. Didn’t mean to say that out loud. ‘Sorry, I was just imagining him with his pants down!’ I dissolve into giggles and after her initial perturbed reaction, Holly soon joins in.
    ‘Why are you always rushing away?’ Luis complains as I clear up his dessert plate.
    ‘I’m working ,’ I say quietly. Once again, the others are all ears.
    ‘Stay and talk to me,’ he says, as I move on to clear the next plate.
    ‘I can’t.’ I give him a look to warn him off.
    ‘What are you doing after this?’ Luis asks. I’m halfway around the table by now.
    ‘ Still working.’
    ‘Want to take the afternoon off and come for a drive with me?’
    ‘I can’t.’ This is so embarrassing!
    ‘Aw, come on, how can you say no to an offer like that?’ Norm booms. ‘One of the world’s top racing talent offering to take you for a drive? You’ll let her off an afternoon’s work, won’t you?’ Norm turns to Simon.
    ‘Of course,’ Simon casually replies.
    ‘There you go!’ Luis chirps. I stand at the end of the table, my hands piled with plates, and stare at him with pursed lips. ‘Ready in five?’ he asks.
    ‘I’ve got to get your coffees, first.’
    ‘Don’t really fancy a coffee. You don’t mind if I shoot off, do you?’ Luis asks the faces around the table.
    I frown. ‘I can’t just leave.’
    Holly grins at me. ‘I can manage the coffees.’
    ‘Off you go, then!’ Norm booms.
    I glance at Luis and he winks at me, then I leave the room to the sound of him shouting that he’ll meet me back here. Holly cracks up laughing the second the door shuts behind us.
    ‘That was hilarious!’ she squawks between guffaws.
    ‘I can’t believe he just did that to me,’ I reply, walking quickly down the corridor in the direction of the kitchen.
    ‘ So funny. . .’
    I decide to help out Holly with the coffees, but when we get back to the boardroom, Luis is leaning up against a wall outside the door.
    ‘Come on, then,’ he says, jokily