‘It was fine; nothing to report,’ I reply.
I have no energy, or desire, to run through the antics of Friday’s misfortune with Pippa or Gus. They don’t actually care and, honestly, the less it’s mentioned, the quicker I can forget about how I once again acted a fool in front of Aiden Edwards. I reach for my earphones, pointedly sticking them in my ears yet again in the hopes that they’ll finally take the hint, but the man himself walks through the door before the Bluetooth even has time to reconnect.
Pippa’s face lights up the second Aiden appears, her hand flying to smooth her hair back quicker than I can inhale. Even Gus smiles wider and looks brighter under Aiden’s ever-disinterested gaze. Their behaviour is vapid and shallow, and far beneath them. Or maybe it isn’t– frankly, they’re pretty low already.
‘Aiden! How’s it going mate?’ Gus asks, his voice deepening. ‘Heard you went to the La La Lounge Friday– bet it was sick.’
I have never heard Gus use the word ‘sick’ once in my four years here, or refer to anyone as ‘mate’. One glance at Aiden and I can tell he’s just as baffled at the faux familiarity as I am.
‘Yeah, it was good, thanks. Ended up being a pretty late one.’ He is so clearly uninterested in the conversation.
‘Oh, I bet it was!’ Pippa jeers before launching into a chorus of knowing giggles. ‘What time did Maddison head off?’
I can’t deal with this today. I’m sick of her giggles and hair flicks, and snide little comments about how predictable I am. I can’t bear to listen and I certainly can’t bear to watch as they delight in how Aiden had to ferry me home. I take a deep breath, squeeze my mouse and start desperately clicking through old emails in an attempt to appear like I couldn’t care less. If I try hard enough, I can tune all three of them out while they revel in my lame too-many-notebooks-filled life.
‘Actually, she ended up outlasting me.’ I look up just in time to watch Pippa’s face fall at Aiden’s lie. ‘I couldn’t keep track of her, from the dance floor to the tabletops. . . This girl is amenaceonce you get a few drinks in her. But you guys should know that already, right? With a party animal like her in your team, she must invite you out twenty-four-seven.’
I would pay disgustingly large amounts of money to have Gus and Pippa’s current expressions immortalised. The utter shock, confusion, and, dare I say,jealousy, has formed the kind of look worthy of preservation in the Louvre. And I need it preserved, because at this moment in time I can’t enjoy it the way I so dearly want to. I’m too busy frozen in my own state of shock and confusion.
What game is Aiden playing now?
‘We should head out,’ Aiden says blankly, turning to me. ‘Evie’s waiting outside– we don’t want to be late.’
I nod back tepidly, gathering my things and following him towards the lift. He doesn’t look back, so I don’t either. I leave Gus and Pippa behind. They’re probably still frozen, probably still dumbfounded. I get it; I know that I certainly am.
Nudge 13
The Bet
I’ve never seen anybody move through life with the sheer ferocity of Evie Eesuola. It is captivating just as much as it is terrifying, and each second I spend with her fills me with adrenaline. From the moment I got in her car (chauffeured, of course), I was handed a bottle of sparkling water, then given piping-hot tea over the following two hours. She spoke at the speed of light, covering more ground than Aiden or I could possibly even try to digest. I’ve been trying to be cool about it, especially after Friday night, but after a while I realised it’s an impossible task. I have a job to do, and therefore no choice but to whip out a notebook and pen.
Plan ofAction
When: Today (twenty minutes from now, exactly)
Where: Tennerton House, Colchester, Essex
What: Brooke Tennerton’s launch party for her new wellness gummy ‘Salyva’
The Tea:
Brooke Tennerton, big-time influencer and long-term frenemy to Evie Eesuola, is launching a new wellnessmultivitamin chew called ‘Salyva’. To launch, she is throwing a ‘Start of Spring Soirée’ with two hundred of her closest friends and business partners. Suspiciously familiar? Of course. Even down to its ‘boho glamping’ theme, almost identical to Evie’s ‘Camp with Style’ Summer Splash theme from last year.
Goals, Aims, Objectives:
We are, ultimately, here to support, because Evie doesn’t compete– she uplifts (even ‘bitches who steal her whole concept’). That doesn’t, however, mean that Aiden and I can’t scope it out on her behalf. Take pictures, take notes, look at what works and be sure to document what doesn’t. Take stock of how she throws it, how it’s running, what she puts in the gift bag. Look out for key players. . . Are they invited to the Summer Splash? What can we do to ensure Evie still has the hottest ticket of the year?
‘You all right?’ Aiden whispers we make our way through the second of three sweeping flower archways to the grounds. Brooke’s grounds. The grounds for her house. She has three sweeping flower archways down the path to the grounds for her house.
‘It’s incredible, right?’ he says, catching me staring. ‘When you’ve been in the game as long as Brooke and Evie, the world is truly your oyster.’
I still can’t respond. I haven’t been able to speak to him since we left my office two hours ago. Evie and her ranting made iteasier to focus and pretend it was about the work. But now she’s gone– already off doing her round of hellos, and we’re back just the two of us for the first time since Friday. I can’t do it; I can’t talk to him. I don’t know how to act around him after what he did earlier.
We continue down the path in silence, music growing louder the closer we get to the action. At last, we reach a towering hedge, sculpted into a vaguely phallic-looking mushroom. It looms over us, casting shade in our path and blocking us from the party on the other side. In the middle of the hedge sits a pale-pink wooden door with a small, shiny golden doorknob and anEnterfor Wellness!wooden sign hanging on it. Aiden reaches for it.
‘You ready?’ he asks.
I nod silently. It’s enough– he twists the doorknob and we begin to creep through.
