Page 29 of What Happens in Dubai
‘Is it that bad, Raj? Like, surely there’s enough business to go around the clinics?’ I peeled my arse from the plastic lounger to turn around and face my friend, who was rubbing his forehead, looking concerned.
‘It is bad. The younger clientele goes to the cheapest clinics that are offering deals or who are completely free to influencers, and they end up with shitty sub-standard results. People get what they pay for, and it’s just fucking annoying because I know we’re the best. I don’t see why we should lower our prices or offer discounts. I’ve worked too hard to get the clinic where we are with a stellar reputation.’
I smiled back warmly, completely understanding his concern. ‘Yeah, you’re right. The good old duck look, which makes everyone look identical.’ I paused for a second, recalling a shower thought I’d had recently. ‘Maybe we should try a new treatment?’ I waited and watched Raj, who seemed to be only taking in half of my words. ‘I’ve seen this new thing American practitioners do on YouTube. It’s called facial balancing. Rather than sticking a mil of filler in lips and two mils in cheeks just becauseeveryoneis doing it, we would provide a full consultation of each individual face. Like completely measure it, making it as symmetrical as possible. It’s basically like a person-centred approach to aesthetics. That way, we could advise the best treatment uniquely based on a client’s features. We could pitch how we could enhance their natural features and balance the profile. The clinic is called Individualise after all. Whether it’s the jaw, the cheeks, the ey—’
‘Zara,’ he interrupted, ‘I know what facial balancing is but no one in Glasgow would pay that amount of money each visit. It wouldn’t work. The younger clientele doesn’t care about balancing their original features. They want the opposite. They strive to look identical to influencers and girls off the television,’ he said.
‘I don’t think so. I honestly don’t think the millennials want to look the same. They’re quirky and funandindividual. Honestly, maybe we could ask Andy to see what—’
‘I’d rather we kept doing what we’re doing already, to be honest,’ he cut across me again. ‘I’m just so stressed with work now. I hardly see my wife and son and it’s impacting massively on my life now. I’m never home. I’m working in the hospital, at the clinic, meeting with banks and you guys. And here I am in Dubai when I haven’t spent any time with my family for god knows how long. The last thing I want to do is retrain on something that’s a big risk,’ Raj huffed. ‘We just have to advertise more. I’d rather spend money on an ad campaign than new treatment packages and expensive courses that just wouldn’t pay off.’
I raised my eyebrows at him. ‘OK, I was just trying to help,’ I said, turning onto my back to face the sun.
‘I know you were, Zara, and I appreciate it. It’s all very stressful, that’s all.’ He sounded disheartened.
We lay in silence for a few minutes until Raj sat up.
‘Zara, check out the pool. It isveryphotogenic, but you would definitely get caught having a piss in that, wouldn’t you?’ he giggled.
The pool was crammed with holidaymakers posing and relishing the photo opportunity.
‘Oh my god.’ I started laughing at the thought. ‘How funny would that be? Thank fuck you said that. That’s totally something I’d do.’
Raj twisted his face up in disgust.
‘Ashley would have loved this place, you know,’ he said, admiring the beautiful beach and luxurious surroundings.
I took a long sip from my cold glass of water. ‘I know. We would all be ordered in the pool till we looked like prunes just to catch that perfect snap!’
‘Go in, and I’ll send her some pics to make her jealous,’ he said, nudging my arm and standing up.
‘No way. Look at the nick of me!’ I folded my arms in protest.
‘Oh, here we go! Stop it. Go!’
He started pushing me off the lounger, and I eventually got up to walk towards the pool. I’d only gone a few steps when my feet began to nip from the burning sand and I winced and hobbled the rest of the journey up the stairs until I reached the edge of the water. I turned to see Raj, who had followed me to the poolside glass, wearing his sandals smugly.
I dipped my toes in the water and felt instant relief. I could almost feel the steam sizzling through my pores as I lowered myself down the stairs and my body finally cooled down. Pure bliss! The water was up to my waist, and I gradually battled my way through the pack of posers to reach Raj, waiting at the poolside.
‘Ahhhh … This water feels amazing, Raj. You need to get in.’
‘No, I’m concentrating on my suntan today! Right, c’mon. Give me your hat and I’ll take some snaps.’ I passed it over the glass partition and began beaming my happiest, most contented pose while Raj clicked away on his phone.
‘Don’t make me look fat, Raj!’ I warned. ‘Fuck’s sake, take it from a higher angle!’ Rolling his eyes, he raised the phone higher into the air. ‘Did you put a filter on it?’ I called out. I could see the frustration build on his face until he eventually called an end to the shoot, and he headed back to the edge of the pool to show me the results.
‘What do you think?’ He was scrolling through the phone as my eyes scrunched up, struggling to see with the glare from the sun.
‘Turn this way.’ I grabbed his arm and turned so my pasty white back was to the sun.
‘Wait, I’ll adjust the brightness on the screen,’ he huffed.
As Raj fiddled with his phone, I cast my gaze out and admired the beach once more. The sand was almost white, and the ocean washed up so rhythmically as the techno music played in the background. My eyes followed the horizon, admiring the relaxed vibe of the club, and I was quickly drawn to the most stunning-looking couple strolling along the beach, his large arm draped over her. She had sandy blonde hair and wore a tiny white bikini with an oversized white shirt covering her petite, muscular frame. The guy had dark hair, pushed back from his face with a fantastic set of fuck-me shoulders and a sculpted, hairy chest. His large Ray-Ban sunglasses were taking up the majority of his face but his glare was fixated on his partner. Both of them seemed fascinated entirely with one another, and completely oblivious to the magnetic sex appeal they were radiating.
‘Jesus, check out Posh and Becks, Raj.’ I nudged him. ‘Look, three o’clock,’ I whispered, continually tapping his shoulder.
He looked up. ‘Wow, she’s like a movie star.’
‘I know, so perfect,’ I muttered enviously as the entire beach was now staring at the handsome couple.
