Lucy in the Sky

sincerely with his deep blue eyes.
    ‘Okay.’ I smile. ‘I’ll try.’
    ‘I’ll look on the internet this afternoon and see what flights are available. Then at least you’ll have an idea.’
    ‘Okay, that’d be good.’
    Eugh. I go through to the bedroom and start sorting through laundry. So much for me insisting we go out with my friends. Now, here I am, agreeing to spend a whole weekend with James’s work colleagues. But weighing up the crappy company against the prospect of a weekend in the sun with my boyfriend, plus there’s the free accommodation to consider…I may as well.
    Who did he say was going? Edward and Snooty Susannah, Jeremy and his latest shag. James also mentioned another couple of guys who he thinks I might’ve met before. The names Terence and Hector ring a bell but I can’t put faces to them. And another girl from work called Zoe.
    ‘Isn’t Zoe the girl I met at your Christmas party?’ I ask, coming back through to the living room.
    ‘Jeez, you’ve got a good memory.’ He looks impressed.
    Well, I can also remember wondering if it was she who sent the text.
    ‘What?’ he asks, seeing my unamused expression.
    ‘Nothing,’ I tell him.
    ‘Don’t worry, she’s got a boyfriend.’ He grins. ‘Come here, baby. You’re such a funny thing!’
     
    I’m walking to work every day at the moment. The rhododendrons in Dorset Square are blooming with pinks and purples and the wisteria hanging out at the front of our building is bursting with colour. The trees are full of new green leaves and the warm smell of freshly mown grass in London’s many squares screams out summer. In contrast, the tubes are so hot and stuffy that I barely take them anymore and the exercise is doing wonders for my thighs. The only thing missing from my journey is Nathan’s tape. James still doesn’t know about it and he’d definitely suspect something was up if he found it. Of course, I could download all of Nathan’s songs from iTunes and put them on my iPod but it just wouldn’t be the same.
    It’s Friday, the night of the Luigi launch, and the office is buzzing when I arrive.
    ‘They don’t do bar reviews!’ Gemma is berating the workie.
    ‘Who doesn’t do bar reviews?’ I ask. I assume our workie–Kelly–has been doing the ring-round of journalists to see who’s coming to the party and has mistakenly rung someone inappropriate.
    ‘ heat magazine,’ Gemma answers.
    Journalists hate it when you ring up and try to PR something that has nothing to do with their publication. Sod ’em. We can’t read everything, especially not the poor workie who’s putting in enough hours for free as it is.
    ‘Oh, I wouldn’t worry,’ I say, trying to reassure her. ‘As long assomeone from Girls Aloud falls over drunk or Paris flashes her knickers, we should still make “Week In Pictures”.’
    I’ve just come from a morning meeting with the clients at the venue. It’s almost ready–they’re adding the finishing touches. They went for ‘The White Lounge’ as the name in the end, which I don’t mind. Design-wise, they’ve gone for the polar opposite to the bar in Milan. This one is all white: white velvet booths, white tables, white and silver bar…In fact, it reminds me of the ice bar in Sydney. It looks spectacular but I wonder how long it will be before someone spills red wine over the seats. Oh, well, their problem, not mine anymore.
    Eliza is just as Chloe and I had imagined her: aloof, bitchy and very up herself. Her husband, Gian, is as lecherous as ever. The only time he keeps his hands to himself is when his wife’s around. And that isn’t very often, so it’s a lose-lose situation as far as we’re concerned. But she’ll be there tonight. She always turns up when the snappers are out.
    Even Kelly is coming tonight and she’s beside herself with excitement. At first Mandy didn’t want anyone with spiky purple hair and a nose stud representing her company, but I managed to persuade her. I gave Kelly James’s ticket because he flies out to Spain this evening.
    He managed to find me a flight at two o’clock tomorrow. I’m returning on Monday night as I don’t want to push my luck with Mandy at this late notice. I still have my bonus to consider.
    We finish work early so we have time to get ready. I have to be there at five o’clock to oversee the guest list. We’ve called all the picture agencies, we have a host of photographers coming to the venue and we’ve rolled out