Chasing Daisy

later, then.’
    ‘Bye . . .’
    Two hours later, the hospitality area has finally cleared out and we’re hard at work, scrubbing down the kitchen. I glance at my watch. It’s already seven thirty.
    ‘What time did you tell him?’ Holly asks me.
    I look at her, worriedly. ‘Eight o’clock.’
    ‘We won’t be finished before nine,’ she says.
    ‘I know.’ I wasn’t thinking when I told Will otherwise and now I’m feeling quite sick about it.
    I hear the sound of male voices outside the kitchen.
    ‘That’s Pete and Dan!’ Holly says. ‘Go with them!’
    ‘What? Back to the hotel?’
    ‘Yes!’ she urges. ‘Hitch a ride! I’ll see you at that tapas bar later!’
    ‘I can’t leave . . .’ I look around the kitchen. Everyone is hard at work.
    ‘Go!’ she insists. ‘Chef!’
    ‘What?’ Frederick turns around.
    ‘Holly!’ I whisper.
    She continues, unperturbed. ‘Can Daisy be excused? She has an errand to run for Will.’
    ‘Is Daisy not capable of asking for herself to be excused?’ Frederick asks, irritably.
    I shift on my feet.
    ‘Go on, then,’ Frederick says, turning away.
    Holly beams at me so I quickly take off my apron and grab my bag before he changes his mind. The lads are just walking outside to one of our people carriers.
    ‘Pete! Dan!’ I call breathlessly. ‘Can I get a lift back to the hotel?’
    They look surprised, but step back to let me into the car first. ‘Sure.’
    ‘Where are we off to tonight?’ Pete asks me, when we’re all belted up.
    ‘Holly wants to meet at that tapas bar we went to on Friday.’ ‘What, the one with the bright lighting?’ Dan asks me, screwing his nose up.
    ‘Yeah. And all the sexy barmen.’ I grin.
    ‘Bollocks to that,’ Pete exclaims, nudging Dan. ‘We’ll go to that other one, won’t we, mate? The one on the other side of the road?’
    ‘What, the touristy one?’ I frown.
    ‘They’re all touristy,’ Pete rebuffs me.
    I sigh. ‘Okay, I’ll call Holly when I get back to the hotel.’
    But when I do, her mobile goes straight through to voicemail. Her battery could be flat, but I’ll keep trying.
    At ten past eight, I’m still in my hotel room desperately trying to decide what to wear. I did have a change of clothes with me at the track because Holly and I usually get ready there, but now that Will’s coming, nothing I have will do. I’m torn between a mini skirt or my black Rock & Republic jeans that I wore on Friday and eventually I decide on the latter, teamed with a gun-metal-grey Diesel T-shirt. The outfit is a bit rock chick, but I decide to run with that look. I have to wear my hair up in a bun for work, but now I take the pins out and it falls dark and wavy, halfway down my back. I go into the bathroom and hurriedly apply some more make-up – black kohl around my green eyes and a smudge of shimmery silver eye-shadow on the lids, followed by black mascara and just a touch of lipgloss. I look at my watch. It’s twenty-five past eight. A quick spritz of perfume and I’m ready.
    Nerves flutter through me once more. I take a deep breath and try to still them. This is ridiculous. It’s not like I’m going on a freaking date, is it? I pull a face and shake my head at my own ridiculousness as I grab my bag and go to the lift. Will’s room is on the top floor.
    I knock on his door and distractedly survey my fingernails. The beige-pink polish doesn’t really go with my rock chick look. I wish I had some rouge noire . . . Oh! I jump as the door swishes open.
    ‘Hello!’ I chirp, resisting the urge to take a step backwards. Will is standing in the doorway wearing khaki-coloured G-Star trousers and a black T-shirt. The smell of his aftershave wafts out, but I can see from here that he hasn’t shaved. In fact, his jaw has the beginnings of stubble and he looks even hotter than usual. I don’t know how I’m going to cope with this.
    ‘All set?’ he asks, coming out of the room and pulling the door closed behind him.
    ‘Yes, sorry I’m late.’
    ‘That’s alright.’ He follows me down the corridor to the lifts and I push the button. ‘Is everyone else downstairs?’ he asks as the lift doors open and we step inside.
    ‘They should be by now. Holly’s meeting us there. She had to stay back at the track a bit longer.’
    He nods. A moment later we arrive at the foyer. Pete, Dan and the rest of the lads – about ten in total – whistle at me as we walk towards them.
    ‘Gawd, check you out,’ Dan says,