Chapter 60 Reminders of the Past
ALICE
Freddie was waiting for me outside the venue.
“Right on time,” he remarked before we headed inside. “Everything’s ready. Did you bring the camera?”
“Yes, it’s right here,” I claimed as I patted the handbag I brought with me. I’d have to put it down somewhere and walk around with the camera. “Are the Cennarros here already?”
“They’ve just arrived. Why don’t you welcome them and I’ll look for the potential new client? Oh, and Alice?” We stopped and faced each other. His hand went to my shoulder and he gave it a light, friendly squeeze. “You’re doing an amazing job.”
I smiled, blushing. Freddie never said anything like this to me before, so I took it to heart. “Thanks.”
He nodded, then averted his gaze.
We parted ways as soon as we headed inside. I always felt nervous during these types of events, but the good news was that I didn’t have to interact with anyone who wasn’t our client. Plus, Freddie’s compliment really reassured me.
The whole place was banging. There were reporters and some photographers everywhere. I put my bag down on the table assigned for Freddie and me, and then started snapping the photos for our social media page before searching for the Cennarros.
I needed a photo of them, too.
I met them close to a bar. I gave them the little welcoming speech I worked on in the drive here, and I was pleased to hear that they were satisfied with the launch of their new service.
There was a part of me that genuinely enjoyed doing a great job. I didn’t know how amazing it would feel to get things right and make people happy in the process. It comes with a whole lot of satisfaction and makes the long hours of work so worthwhile.
This job was the best thing that ever happened to me. Hands down.
I went back to snapping a few more photos I thought the creative team would appreciate.
I pointed the camera at the bar and closed one eye, but it slowly opened when I saw that the person on the other side of the lens was watching me with a curious expression.
I knew that face. A little too well.
He starts toward me and I swallow the knot of nervousness forming in my throat. I lowered the camera and tried to keep my expression as neutral as possible as Todd Steimer stopped in front of me.
His smile was warm and appeared genuine. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I thought I recognized you,” he claimed before taking a sip of his red wine. “I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. You remember me, don’t you?”
“Yes.” I cleared my throat. “Of course.”
“Yeah. We had a good time in Helsinki, didn’t we? It’s a shame it was cut so short. I was glad to hear you made it back home safely. That storm…”
All I could do was nod. Dammit, this was the last thing I wanted to think about. I’d been avoiding everything Theo-related for so many weeks.
I didn’t trust my feelings or my sense of judgment where he was concerned, not anymore. I thought our distance would smooth everything over, but my feelings were still a mess.
“You’re not working for Theo anymore?”
My answer was simple. “No.”
“Hm.” He drank more wine. His eyes never left my face. “Didn't work out, huh?”
I only looked at him. What the hell should I answer to something like this? Besides, it wasn’t like I owed him an explanation. I didn’t know him. In fact, he was talking to me like we were acquaintances or something when that wasn’t the case at all.
I really had to learn to be more dismissive. I was putting myself through an uncomfortable situation with a man who assumed I had an affair with my boss for no good reason.
Well, we had an affair…or maybe there was another name for it. It didn’t matter.
It was over now. For good.
I looked from left to right, searching for an escape.
“Hm,” he said again. “So, how're you finding your new position?”
“Great, I'd say.”
“Probably makes it more comfortable working here and not directly with him,” he stated with a smile before downing his entire glass of wine. A waiter walked past and Todd gestured for him to stop.
“I don't know what you mean,” I said a little loudly. What was he trying to say?
He grabbed another glass of wine. “You know, because of his policy. This makes it easier for both of you.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t see why—”
Freddie appeared behind him and the words died on my tongue. Hell, I felt so embarrassed for a moment that I had to lower my gaze. I wondered if he heard anything. If that were the case, I’d feel so ashamed.
But he wasn’t here for me. “Mr. Steimer, it’s good to see you. I’m glad you decided to stop by and have a look around.”
Todd shook his hand. I was…shocked, to say the least. “Yes. I’m glad to be here.”
Freddie glanced at me, then turned his attention to Todd. “So, this is how your event would look. You can rest assured because we’ll organize everything according to your tastes. An event like this would be suitable for any launch. We could even send invitations to other related healthcare organizations to get them to show up and spread awareness.”
Todd was the new client we’d be taking on? I didn’t want to feel uncomfortable because, really, there wasn’t a reason for that, but I wished it were someone else. I felt like he was too closely associated with the ‘past’ I wanted to forget.
What if he made a comment serious enough to make my new work environment unpleasant for me and everyone around me?
“I’d love to hear more, that’s for sure. You’ve managed to convince me to give this a try.” He glanced at me before adding, “How about dinner at Maison Aurelio? We can discuss all of this in detail, and I’ll give you a concrete answer afterward.”
“Sounds great.”
As they shook hands, Todd looked at me and with a sly expression, added, “I'd like Miss Rhodes here to be present, if that's alright.”
Freddie looked at me for an answer. I was cornered. There was no way I’d be able to say no. “Yes. Of course. I would…love to be there.”
“Perfect.” He looked away. “Until then.”
Freddie stepped closer to me as we both watched Todd Steimer walk away, joining other groups. He asked me, “Everything okay?”
I swallowed the knot forming in my throat and tried to appear normal. I wasn’t sure if I succeeded or not. “Yeah. Just fine.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded even though Freddie was looking at me suspiciously. It would be stupid for me to assume that he didn’t notice that something was wrong.
What did Todd even mean by anything he said? That was what bothered me the most.
I didn’t know. Deep down, I didn’t want to.