6,49 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: Youcanprint
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
Eve, a senior student in software development, about to graduate for her Ph.D. wants to spend a relaxing holiday with her friends Selene and Michael at the beach in St.Ives in Cornwall. Well aware that her friends feel far more for each than just friendship, even though they make no further advances for the duration of their holiday, Eve wants to help them get together. In the hope of having a fun-filled holiday, the three friends travel to their holiday resort, but upon their arrival, all three experience a nasty surprise. Eve in particular is eminently affected. Not only isn't she staying with her friends due to a booking error, but she also meets the man she had hoped never to see again in her life. Can she hook-up her friends? Can her holiday be saved? And how should she enjoy spending a holiday with her enemy? --- Join Eve, Selene and Michael for a romantic, fun-filled holiday adventure packed with friendship, emotion and love. Don't miss out! Order 'A Holiday with my Enemy' now!
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Ähnliche
A Holiday
with my Enemy
by Elora Monroy
Title | A Holiday with my Enemy
Author | Elora Monroy
Cover design by Elora Monroy
ISBN | 978-39-89230-09-5
© 2023 – All rights reserved to the Author
This work is published directly by the Author through the Youcanprint self-publishing platform and the Author holds all rights to it exclusively. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior consent of the Author
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of these trademarks are not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Youcanprint
Via Marco Biagi 6 - 73100 Lecce
www.youcanprint.it
Made by human
For my very own Mr. Right
without whom this journey wouldn't be half as joyful.
Chapter 01
Cornwall, St. Ives - Saturday, July 8th, 2023
"I can't wait for us to get there," I moaned, exhaustedly flopping back against the back seat rest of the old Ford Transit after leaning forward in my seat for a brief moment looking ahead through the windshield from the back in the car to see what a new milestone we had reached on our journey.
To my personal displeasure, I had to realise that there was still a long way to go, which didn't exactly brighten my mood.
I hate long car rides.
I don't mind travelling per se, on the contrary, travelling was exciting. Visiting distant places was something I always loved to do as it gave me the opportunity to escape the tiring, treadmill-like routine of my life, but being stuck in a car for hours was the part of travelling I always wished I could skip somehow.
What was the reason why time travel wasn't invented yet?
Apparently, we were on the A30 country road and, according to the navigation device, still had a good 3.5 hours of travel ahead of us due to massive traffic jams caused by the brisk travel tourism and not least because of the almost permanent roadworks that made it almost impossible to get ahead, especially since one of the two existing lanes was constantly closed.
The many different vehicles, mostly family cars or small coaches some of which pulling a caravan behind them, were crowded side by side or bumper to bumper in a seemingly endless tin snake on the never-ending country road that constantly rose or fell or led into one bend or another, constantly presenting its travellers with a paralysing, nagging reality of an inevitably slow progress.
Before we booked this holiday, Selene, Michael and I had done some research and finally decided to go to Cornwall because the absolute total travel distance was no more than 283 miles and the various route planners available had repeatedly always given us a total travel time forecast of about 4.5 hours. A comparatively acceptable time to drive somewhere by car. In reality, however, the entire journey turned out to be quite different.
Significant delays had already crept into our travel plans when we left, since Selene and Michael had not shown up at my small apartment in Hednesford at 9 am as agreed to pick me up, but instead had arrived an hour later, as they had spent a good 45 minutes in a traffic jam after leaving town where Selene lived and whom Michael had picked up first.
The reason for the delay, not really surprising but almost practically predictable, being again, road works in connection with a heavy rush hour, which unfortunately dragged on for quite some time, even after the three of us had left the A460 and switched to the M6 towards Birmingham. On the contrary, on the freeway, the situation had gotten even worse, since in addition to the already large number of normal vehicles, long queues of trucks lined up bumper to bumper and partly even next to each other, whilst occupying two of the available four lanes, now also making their way through the traffic, thus further blocking the flow.
After taking a rest stop in Bristol from a long, tiring 3.5 hours journey, I was already at the end of my tether. It also didn't help my mood that Selene had obviously packed her entire collection of ABBA CDs and apparently decided to play them in the car the entire trip. Michael wasn't much of a help here as his taste in music was even worse to bear as he thought only heavy metal was really good music.
Since Selene suffered from motion sickness and was therefore unable to sit in the back while driving, I was not really able to influence the playlist, which left me with no choice but to listen to my own music via my Airpods and MP3 player, but that didn't turn out to be particularly easy either, because Selene had a never-ending repertoire of topics to talk about, all of which she wanted to share with me, her best, long-time friend during our inevitable stay in the vehicle.
After our latest stop at the motorway station, where we'd paid an insane amount of money for some lukewarm fries, a rather questionable piece of haddock drenched in drippings, and a soda that tasted more like water than our chosen flavour, the three of us decided to set off on our way again hoping for the best while in good spirits. We climbed back into the old Ford to hopefully take on the last leg to our travel destination. Normally, the 188-mile journey from Bristol to St. Ives in Cornwall should take around 3 to 4 hours, but Google Maps navigation soon informed us, after we rejoined the motorway, that our estimated time of arrival would be delayed by approximately 1 to 2 hours even though we were still on the quickest route.
All three of us groaned in frustration as Michael eased the bus into the middle lane while tapping his fingers on the dashboard to the beat of Holiday Road by Lindsay Buckingham, but not before giving Selene a scrutinising, slightly irritated look over the rims of his sunglasses, as a silent protest against the choice of music playing, despite the fact that for a change it wasn't ABBA.
Anyway, meanwhile, after 2 hours of driving we had left the overcrowded M6 and switched to the A30, the main road in Cornwall. We had passed and left Exeter behind and based on current traffic conditions we should reach our destination in just over 2 more hours. The problem was that these 2 hours seemed to dissolve into nothing again shortly after we had passed NewQuay, because from here all holiday travellers were backed up one after the other once again due to another high amount of road works.
"Hey, according to my absolutely cool weather app, the weather is supposed to be great in the next few days, Eve. Do you know what this means? We can go surfing!" Selene suddenly yelled enthusiastically as she turned from the passenger seat towards me, as I once again was sitting in the back. She flashed me one of her 100 megawatt wide grins whilst practically holding the display of her phone directly in front of my nose.
"Can you even surf at all, Sel?" I managed to ask, not sounding particularly convinced by the suggestion. Just the thought of stepping into the cold waters of the Celtic Sea made me shudder so much that I immediately felt a thick layer of goosebumps spreading over my entire body.
"No, of course not, but that's not the point, silly! They have surf schools everywhere. You can learn that there. It must be great fun!" exclaimed Selene, who had already turned to face forward after realising that sitting in a rear-facing position while driving was not a good idea, because her stomach had started to protest with nausea.
I raised an eyebrow suspiciously and then glanced at Michael who looked at me in the rearview mirror grinning at me with mischievous eyes over the top of his sunglasses. I shook my head and then leaned it against the cool side window while letting my gaze wander over the vast fields and meadows.
When we finally, almost 4 hours after leaving Bristol, drove into the small town called Hayle and finally rounded the last small traffic island, past a small supermarket whose parking lot was hopelessly overrun with tourist vehicles whose occupants had apparently all had the same idea, to do their shopping at this time in order to ensure self-sufficiency in their rented holiday homes, chalets, tents, caravans or holiday apartments, I breathed a sigh of relief when Michael announced that the street, on which the decrepit, slightly unsteady, battered-looking and no doubt exhausted 16-year-old Ford now struggled upwards, was none other than the access road to the holiday resort where we had rented our small holiday apartment for the next 2 weeks.
Our holiday stay was located directly in the dunes of Saint Ives, with a fantastic view out to sea surrounded by seagulls, dune grass and the finest sandy beach this side of Cornwall and only a maximum of 15 minutes’ walk through the resort's own dunes down to the beach close ensuring direct access to the mostly crystal clear water. At least, that's what the prospectus Michael and Selene had used to persuade me to take this trip with them had said.
Selene clapped her hands enthusiastically and even I could no longer hide how much I looked forward to the arrival and the end of this long, never-ending traffic jam-ridden car journey.
When Michael finally turned left, down a small driveway planted with half-tall trees adorned with bushy canopies, we came to a halt behind a large motorhome parked in front of a lowered barrier, apparently waiting to be waved through.
***
Meanwhile, the three of us looked at the surroundings from inside the bus. Directly to our left was a small Minigolf square and a little further up Selene could see the first rows of medium sized wooden lodges, undoubtedly the first of about 400 holiday apartments.
Straight ahead inside, a path meandered around a small roundabout and then went in two directions. We couldn't see one of them very well because the mobile home in front of us blocked our view, but the path to the right seemed to lead into the lower dunes, where the first impression was that campers were staying there. At least I could see several colourful tents of various different sizes standing there between bushes and fences.
When the motorhome in front of us finally started to move, Michael let the bus roll forward until it came to a stop again right in front of the barrier. The friendly helper at the gate welcomed us three newcomers after a short round of introductions and then asked us for the documents of our reservation.
After a short hectic search by Selene in her oversized dramatically chaotic handbag, she finally held them up into her friends face, accompanied with an embarrassed grin that left her blushing up to the tip of her ears, earning her a grumbled, "How can someone looking so adorable at the same time be so unorganised" from Michael, who then turned back to the window, handing the documents to the resort employee with an apologetic expression, probably hoping to arouse some sort of sympathy from the man across from him, who I assumed must be in his mid-forties, if the silver-grey hair that ran through his otherwise dark blonde was anything to go by.
The helper grinned pitifully and took the papers from Michael, nodded to Selene and me and shortly afterwards disappeared inside the small square building next to the barrier.
Through the window, we watched as the man entered our information into the computer at his desk.
"It won't be long now, ladies, and soon we'll be able to get out of these boring city clothes and put on our bathing suits and then it's down to the beach! Well, what do you think of that?" Michael fired up the euphoric mood of the holiday feeling that was gradually becoming noticeable.
Selene grinned broadly; her big blue eyes wide open as she looked back at me as if to share her delight. I, on the other hand, didn't look at her at all. Instead, through the side window of the car, I watched the employee who was busy working on his computer in the small reception, stopping again and again, obviously irritated by what he discovered on the flat screen and then finally picking up the phone.
"I think there's something wrong," I murmured, which inevitably caused my friends to turn their attention back to the small office. Michael abruptly dropped his sunglasses, which he had just been balancing between thumb and forefinger, and Selene sat up straight as she leaned forward to look past Michael through the small building's window and inside.
"What do you mean? Everything looks normal to me. They'll probably check our data and then bring us the key in a moment," she countered after a quick examining look, before she leaned back again, flipping her long, golden blond hair back over her shoulders.
I, on the other hand, wasn't convinced and when the employee, after he had put the phone down again, gathered up the papers and left the office, I felt my innerside form a solid knot of concern. I watched tensely as the man approached the vehicle with a pained looking, clearly worried expression on his face before he then stopped by the driver's side window.
"Well Mr. Meiersen, it seems there has been a slight problem with your reservation. Uh, I, I've already tried contacting our booking hotline and, uh, we're obviously trying to rectify this mishap as soon as possible, only the problem is, uh, right now we... well, uh..." he stuttered nervously, the documents vibrating in his hands which were slightly shaking.
"May I ask what exactly the problem is?" Michael's calm voice broke the uneasy silence that had spread across the car, while retrieving the documents so the attendant no longer had to hold them, which resulted in him holding onto the lower door frame of the driver's door with both hands instead.
All three of us now looked expectantly at the man who was visibly uncomfortable in his position.
"Well, the documents show that the three of you booked a holiday apartment together and," a cough, that indicated the middle-aged man felt extremely uncomfortable if not to say embarrassed and uneasy, interrupted his explanation before he then rushed to continue, "Well uh, well and there's a problem right there regarding the accommodation arrangement."
He scratched his head, looking around and then, just a moment later activated the mechanism for the barrier locking mechanism so that it went up and cleared the way so that we could drive onto the site.
Michael looked ahead suspiciously before finally turning his gaze back to the employee expectantly, but the man just waved him through with the words, "Drive in and turn left at the first roundabout. Then drive up the small hill and keep to the right and park your car in the small parking lot directly in front of our valet service. Take the documents with you and then everything will be clarified for sure. My colleagues there can certainly help you better than I can."
Michael looked in the rearview mirror and saw 3 large mobile homes pull into the driveway followed by a line of cars from other park guests and nodded with a deep sigh. He started the engine and then drove through the open barrier following the directions we had just been given until we finally came to a stop directly in front of the service office.
All three of us exchanged dejected looks before preparing to leave the vehicle. Nobody said a word. We all were lost in our own thoughts as we now marched towards the building, each of us clearly tired and exhausted and undoubtedly not the least bit keen on having to deal with any troubles regarding our booking right now.
All we actually wanted, after this long dreadful, exhausting journey was to unpack our car, have a proper meal and then relax a couple of hours at the beach.
Michael, however, grabbed the handle of the glass door and held it open for us so we could enter the foyer first. Then we all went to the counter together and asked for clarification on our booking.
Finally, 45 minutes later, we returned to the parking lot with a small packet of documents that would help us find our way around the site. Among other things, we also received directions that would take us to our accommodation. With that and the promise of the resort service staff member that everything in their power to compensate for the inconvenience caused would be taken care off, the three of us stood in front of the still fully loaded Ford Transit on our first day of vacation almost 5 hours later than what we had expected, completely exhausted, hungry and with the prospect of not having been accommodated in a holiday apartment together.
"Come on girls, let's go there first and then we'll see. It's no use, we can't do more at the moment. You heard it. They want to get in touch with the management department again on Monday, but nothing further can be done right now," Michael tried to calm down both of us women until we finally all sat in the car together again and, following the directions, drove to the apartment where Selene and Michael were booked.
"You know what? I don't care what they say! Honestly, I'll sleep on the couch, we'll just squeeze you in. That won't be a problem," Selene said stubbornly, her hands clenched into fists.
Michael looked over at her and nodded in agreement, but I, once again sitting in the back, shook my head. I was the only one looking ahead at the moment, seeing the small log cabin that seemed to be the accommodation for the two.
"That makes no sense. It's really nice of you to offer but look. We'll never all fit in there together. We would keep tripping over each other. We'd be in each other's way all the time," I explained in a matter-of-fact, calm voice, which caused Michael and Selene to look ahead again.
We parked the car in front of the wooden lodge and got out. I unlocked the door while Michael, packed with the first travel bags and utensils, followed me inside. Selene had her bag in hand and stepped in behind us as well.
In the middle of the small hallway, the three of us stopped and looked around, but it didn't take much thought, effort, or speculation.
What I had said earlier was true.
The log cabin was too small for 3 people.
The entrance hallway wasn't much wider than the Ford bus, so there was barely room for all three of us to stand next to each other, even if Michael wasn't currently laden with our luggage. Directly adjacent to the hallway was a combined kitchen and living room and on the other side an equally small, narrow hallway led to three doors, one of which was obviously the bathroom, whilst the other two undoubtedly were the two advertised bedrooms.
That was it. It was a lodge designed for two people and couldn't fit more.
I turned to face my two friends, who gave me regretful looks, obviously feeling uncomfortable and responsible even if they couldn't do anything about the current mishap. I smiled at them bravely and encouragingly as I put a hand on each shoulder after Michael set down his load, telling them in a certain voice,
"Listen, you can see for yourself, it can't be helped right now. Apart from that, the resort would certainly not like it if, despite the occupancy regulations, there were more people staying in the house than intended, which could result in them evicting us from the resort."
Selene and Michael nodded in understanding that protesting and getting upset would lead to nothing at this point, which still didn't change anything about their gloomy mood.
I plopped down on the sofa in the small living-dining room and sighed in surrender, while Selene rushed over, kneeling in front of me, both her forearms folded on my knees while she rested her chin on them, looking up, trying to comfort me.
"You just have to sleep there. We do everything else here, together. We'll be out and about doing something most of the time anyway, and we'll come back so late in the evening that we only have to go to bed, ok sweety?"
A tortured laugh that got stuck in my throat escaped my lips before I finally stroked aside a long blonde strand of hair on Selene's face before I hugged her tightly.
"Sure, that's how we'll do it. At least until the staff fixed our booking."
Both of us girls hugged each other tightly until a throat cleared behind us, reminding us that we had an attendant who was still busy unloading the car.
"I'm very sorry and really don't want to disturb you girls," Michael panted while carrying another large bag into the hall, "but could someone give me a hand, please?"
Both of us jumped up, feeling slightly embarrassed for letting him do all the work alone. Selene quickly rushed to help him, but I hesitated, looking at the door.
"Never mind, you don't have to unload my stuff. You know what, while you're settling in here, I'd best go over to the house and meet my roommate. Let's see how that person ticks and then I'll come back and then maybe you could help me for a moment, Michael, and drive my things over, okay?"
Michael nodded as he put the large bag down, but I had already gone out the front door and was now walking around the log cabin, following the directions, up a small embankment and then along a narrow gravel path until I came to more log cabins higher up.
Curious as to which of the houses would be my accommodation for the next few days, I carefully studied the house numbers until I finally reached the end of the path, standing there a little helpless and clueless.
The house number I had been told, down at the office, was not there. Confused, I stared at the note and then picked up the large sheet again, on which a map was drawn showing where the various holiday homes were located. Then I looked for the house number in which I had accidentally been accommodated.
It took a moment but then I found my way and looked up from the map. I turned and then walked around another hill until I stopped, perplexed and speechless when I found the cottage my reservation was about.
The house was in no way comparable to the simple, standard log cabins that my friends and I had actually reserved. Pretty much the absolute opposite.
This was a large luxurious standalone cottage and from what I could see from the outside it offered just about every comfort one could spontaneously think of.
I checked again to make sure I had actually deciphered the correct house number from the resort employee's handwritten note, but there was no doubt. I was standing right in front of the holiday accommodation I had gotten into through an erroneous booking process.
My heart was pounding madly in my chest whilst I climbed the stone steps to the front door of the gorgeous cottage, and it took me quite a bit of bravery and effort to ring the bell. Then I turned my back on the door, nervously clenching my hands and squeezing my eyes shut, trying desperately to pull myself together and not let the sinking nausea that was building in my stomach from the current tension and excitement get the better of me.
After a short while I heard footsteps approaching the door and then the unmistakable sound as the key on the inside turned in the lock now unlocking the door.
I held my breath.
The door opened and a breath later, I heard an insanely deep, velvety, baritone voice calm but with an edge of – was that irritation?
Annoyance?
Confusion maybe?
asking, "Can I help you?"
"Well," I took a deep breath, hoping that the voice behind me, was the only thing that was going to make my knees go weak, whilst turning around with the words, "Um, well, so it looks like I'm..." and then my voice broke and was gone because there was a man standing there In front of me, whose appearance knocked the breath right out of my lungs.
A man staring at me with probably the darkest, deep brown eyes I had ever seen which in turn were surrounded by deep black, thick eyelashes set low under a balcony of well-groomed, shapely, full dark eyebrows and belonged to a face that could not have been more impressive.
It was a striking, sharp-edged face with a concisely masculine chin, high cheekbones, a dominantly present nose over voluptuously curved, full, plump lips, which appeared to be twitching slightly at the moment while their owner appeared to be chewing on the inside of them with his teeth.
This masterpiece of a face was framed by enviable, dark brown, almost black, shoulder-length, wavy hair, strands of which falling over his broad but not too high forehead.
His tall, broad shape took up almost the entire door frame, and without realising it, I had lifted my head to look at his face, for at first my eyes had fallen head-on on his chest because he was standing so close in my stance.
But neither the fact of his broad shoulders, his muscular arms nor his wide chest over which his black t-shirt stretched were the reason what had caused me to lose my voice.
Out of all that my eyes had been able to perceive in such a short time, the fact that I was facing the man I had hoped I would never have to meet again in my life left me open-mouthed.
Chapter 02
Birmingham, Exhibition centre,
Saturday June, 16th, 2018
The exhibition centre was insanely full, even though my friend Selene and I had already arrived punctually at 10am in the morning, hoping to avoid the large crowds.
All the gates in the large main entrance hall were open and the visitors stood tightly packed in a total of 8 rows waiting for their bags and entry tickets to be checked.
"Phew, who would have thought that a sports and fitness fair would be so well attended,"
Selene moaned, while she fanned the air with her baseball cap in a nonsensical attempt to cool down a bit, because it was already quite warm and the entrance area neither covered, nor that it otherwise offered any form of shade.
I shielded my eyes with my hands and stared ahead at the gates.
"Mhm, it doesn't really surprise me, but look at it this way, if everyone here is only interested in sports and fitness, then maybe not as many go into the area of security and locking systems, which will ensure me to get about my interviews much faster."
Selene just gave me a pitying look and then put her baseball cap back on her head whilst tightening the straps of her backpack to buckle it tighter and thus relieve her back. We both had packed a backpack with food and drink, because the catering at such fairs was outrageously expensive and for simple students like the two of us it was hardly affordable.
After a good half hour of waiting, we both felt the sun gradually roasting us whilst standing on the light sandstone asphalt as the crowds in the queue pushed us slowly and lazily forward, like roast chickens in a grill going around in circles almost hypnotising.
Selene and I finally got our turn and willingly presented the contents of our backpacks to the security checkpoint and then moments later were in the first big hall of the exhibition.
The hall was extremely noisy as the many different voices of the crowds merging into a single impenetrable mixture of murmurs and whispers, coupled with the sound of footsteps echoing on the floor, either from sneakers, training shoes, booties, high heels or other heels and everything together resulted in a fairly loud background noise that could hardly be ignored, which to make matters worse was also accompanied by many different musical melodies, since pretty much every booth played its very own selection of music while presenting their products to interested parties or offering them to try.
Selene and I initially stood a little helplessly on the sidelines so as not to be swept away by the masses. With the help of the trade fair app on our phones, we were busy getting a rough overview of where we were at the moment and how we could take the shortest but direct route to get where we most wanted to go, because of course we didn't intend to see the entire fair.
After a short time, I noticed with a slightly grumpy expression on my face that the much smaller exhibition for access time recording and security technology was housed in Hall 7, which in turn was located almost at the end of the entire exhibition grounds.
Selene, on the other hand, was happy because there were a few booths at the fitness fair that she wanted to look at because she hoped they would give her new insights into her sports fitness program.
On the one hand, the fair was aimed at entrepreneurs who were looking for new equipment for their fitness studios, sports programs or leisure activities in a wide variety of areas. For example, there were different stands that presented the latest and most up-to-date sports and fitness equipment, but there were also many different stands that offered different things to their customers and above all individually different types of sportswear depending on the sport for which they were used and required.
In addition to various stands with different leisure and sports accessories, there were stands from the various well-known fashion labels that presented either their clothing or shoe collections.
The most diverse exhibitors lined up next to each other in hall after hall, all carefully assigned to the respective subject areas by the trade fair organisers, so that visitors could quickly and easily find the providers who best met their needs, which basically made the packed crowds more relaxed from hall to hall.
However, individual stands were crowded with so many people that Selene and I were barely able to get closer to some of them. Time ticked by and finally, when lunchtime was already two hours past, Selene announced dramatically that if she didn't get something to eat right then and there, she was going to drop dead right here in the middle of the trekking and hiking enthusiast's hall.
I grinned and pulled my friend over to a space where several chairs and tables were set up for visitors and guests to sit down for self-catering. We were lucky because since the usual main mealtime had already gone past, there were actually a handful of free seats and a short time later, we were both eating our homemade sandwiches.
"God, that was so badly needed. My stomach felt like it was going to eat my insides at any moment as it was growling like that for ages," Selene groaned.
I shook my head in amusement while taking a sip from my water bottle. "I can't believe we've already been here for 5 hours. I really have to make sure I get over to Hall 7, otherwise the exhibitors there will be in such a bad mood at the end of the day from all the visitors with their endless questions that they won't be willing to answer mine."
"Don't worry, with your charm, who can resist you? Apart from that, the exhibitors at such fairs are usually quite receptive to students because they hope to recruit them for their companies when they graduate. If you tell them why you are interested in them, they would be pretty stupid not to give you any information, right?" Selene countered and tried to cheer me up that way, so I tried to muster a little more confidence, even if only moderately convinced of what she said.
It was no secret that I was generally very worried and nervous when it came to talking to others who I hoped could help me with something important to me. It didn't matter if it was fellow students at the university whom I asked for their help whilst gathered together in a study group preparing for an upcoming exam in for example procedural programming language or if I visited my professor in his office to ask him for an assessment needed for my qualification.
I was always excited, nervous and always needed a little friendly nudge from my two closest friends, Selene and Michael, who had stood by my side since I had become a student at our mutual university in Birmingham.
When I came to the campus, I was overwhelmed by its magnitude. I hadn't had a clear idea of what to expect once I started my studies and so, when I arrived, seeing the large buildings and multiple pavilions it was like a completely strange, unknown world that I would now have to dive into and find my way around. To be fair it had to be said that the University of Birmingham did not leave its students out in the cold, but took great care of their newbies in particular, assigning them with a personal tutor who would remain with them throughout their studies, supporting their academic progress, helping them in developing their transferable skills and welfare issues.
However, it was one thing to have an assigned "caretaker" to give you advice when you were stuck, but it wasn't a substitute for having friends you could really rely on when you felt like everything was slipping out of your hands.
On the very first day of our orientation week at the university, the three of us got to know each other and hit it off right away, although it made no difference that all three of us had basically taken completely different courses. During the orientation week, we took advanced courses in the basics of mathematics, learning methods and communication together and therefore spent most of our time together, especially at the beginning.
Selene Riley was a year older and about a full body length taller than me, as I only came up to Selene's shoulder at 5'7". She was slim but not thin, had long golden blonde hair that reached to her waist, which she usually tied in artistically braided pigtails.
She had crystal blue eyes and always a light tan even if it was the deepest winter with snow and ice without either going to a tanning salon just once or using something like self-tanning cream.
She was the kindest person I had ever met, often a bit freaky in her otherwise endearing manner, and able to draw the attention of a table party in a short amount of time, drawing everyone into her lane so that hardly anyone could have been averse for a long time.
She just had a character that most people got along with right away and I had never seen her in a bad mood or aggressive for a single day.
Michael Meiersen was a slightly different nature in this combination. Witty and charming, the young man clearly suffered from a little too much self-confidence, considered himself particularly irresistible and was firmly convinced that there was no better future engineer for chemicals than himself.
The fact that this had yet to be revealed didn't particularly bother him. What he lacked in knowledge he made up for in hubris, arrogance and an endearing sense of humour and charm, making Michael by no means an awkward fellow. Anyone who gave him the opportunity to warm up to him quickly realised that he was a really lovable guy who basically had a really soft core in his hard-looking shell.
Michael didn't like his name very much, as it always caused the same boring jokes at the various student parties with regard to his namesake with a serial killer known in the horror film genre. But most of the time, after a certain amount of alcohol, Michael was able to overlook these minor blemishes and have a great time.
In any case, I was now sitting at the table, biting into my sandwich thoughtfully and studying on my smartphone the best way to get from the current hall to Hall 7.
Finally, I looked up and placed the device on the table in front of me.
"You know what, I'm going to be on my way now. Can you do without me for a while? I just want to look around and see what kind of exhibitors there are and then get an idea of which companies I want to interview. Let's see how it goes. I think I'd better do it alone first. If I can't get any further or need moral support, I can come get you, right?" I explained in a hopeful tone.
"Of course, Eve. You know where to find me. I wanted to go over to the hall where they have all the bikes on display and see what the new mountain bikes are like that BMC are going to release this summer. I swear to you, maybe not with my first and not with my second, but with my third paycheck I'll buy myself a BMC bike and ride it in the Scottish mountains. That must be awesome," Selene explained, full of vigour and enthusiasm and I couldn't help but laugh.
It was so heartfelt and engaging how Selene could get excited about a bike, whereas I didn't even understand exactly what the difference was between this luxury bike of bikes, at least if you went for a price tag of £3500 upwards, and a run of the mill mountain bike from the discounter. But I had given up letting my friend explain it to me, who looked horrified every time I just shrugged my shoulders helplessly and didn't even try to cover up my complete lack of understanding. Instead, I now got up, gave my friend a kiss on the cheek, grabbed my backpack and then walked into the crowd to make my way to Hall 7.
About half an hour later, I, a bit exhausted and out of breath, reached the hall where the exhibitors for access time recording and security technology were located. I did not understand the reason why this small group of exhibitors shared the date with the large sports and fitness exhibition, but I was grateful and happy to see that my assumption from the beginning of the fair was true and that the rush in this hall was not in the least comparable to that in the other halls.
After only a short time, I had a comprehensive overview of the existing exhibitors and selected three companies that I wanted to interview one after the other.
***
Time passed and soon I had filled several pages on my notepad and was now standing in front of my last candidate. Actually, I had assumed that the interviews would be easier for me from time to time, but unfortunately that was not the case, especially not because my last interviewee was a real disgust who, although he had agreed to answer my questions and to discuss their company philosophy and business concepts with me so that I could get an idea of it and decide whether the company was suitable for a possible internship for me, he had then been quite grumpy, arrogant and unfriendly.
In addition, I had had the impression throughout the interview that the other person was more interested in my appearance and hadn't even tried to hide it.
Now I was standing in front of the SANDERS Technology LTD booth trying desperately to get my nervousness under control by taking deep breaths several times.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" a deep, rumbling baritone suddenly asked, appearing to be standing far above me, causing me to raise my head in surprise and look up,
and up,
and up, until my gaze met an extremely deep dark brown pair of eyes that looked at me questioningly and that now contracted slightly as if to capture me even better.
My gaze darted frantically over the man's features, which only made my tongue feel like it had become completely knotted and lost all ability to speak. I swallowed hastily, hoping to get rid of the lump in my throat and prayed to heaven I hadn't blushed nearly as red as I assumed if the sudden heat, I felt in my cheeks was anything to go by.
The young man standing in front of me, who seemed to be so tall, that I was convinced I'd barely reach his chest in height, was still looking at me expectantly but I couldn't help but stare at him, my eyes wandering over his impressive appearance.
Apart from being tall, very tall, he was broad-shouldered, dressed in an all-black suit which was completed by wearing a black shirt instead of the usual white, combined with a shiny black tie without looking overly pale.
On the contrary, the dark clothing brought out his expressive face even more, whereby I was fascinated by the brownish-black, slightly wavy hair that reached down to the base of his neck framing it in thick, curly waves like a cloak.
I immediately felt the urge to slip my fingers through it and therefore tried to look away, but it was almost impossible. He towered over me, his gaze almost piercing as he looked at me from deep dark eyes so that I spontaneously thought of "Tall, dark and handsome" undoubtedly being the perfect slogan for this guy.
I could hardly imagine that I could possibly react even more strongly to his presence until he convinced me otherwise by now tilting his face slightly, causing his gaze to become even more intensely before he then turned to the side to clear the way for me, while he gestured with an outstretched arm for me to come closer.
"If you're interested in our access controls, you are welcome to come to our stand and take a look around."
I just nodded and took a deep breath as I forced on a nervous smile whilst stepping onto the red carpeted booth.
"My name is Adam Grant. I'm a sales assistant and software programmer for the area of access control and time recording," the extremely attractive exhibitor, as I realised as the observation time increased, introduced himself whilst holding out his enormous, large hand to me in greeting, which I only noticed embarrassedly after a couple of long minutes had passed.
Somewhat clumsily, I frantically shifted my backpack onto my back, positioning my notebook in my other hand and then grasped the proffered one and shook it.
"Eve. Uh, I mean, Revan Faith, but everyone actually just calls me Eve, uhm, I'm a third semester software development student and interested in the area of access detection systems and their programming, and uh... well, I'm now looking for interesting companies here at the fair that might be willing to give me the opportunity to do a student internship."
Adam nodded while listening to me attentively and with interest while setting us both a cup of coffee on the small round bar table. I watched his every move with great attention and was fascinated by his large, impressive hands. I instantly felt a special from of heat flow through me as I imagined for a moment one of those large hands gently sliding down the side of my face through my hair until it reached the back of my head, holding me there securely and protectively just before then slowly and gently pulling me towards his body where he would then capture my lips with his full, velvety looking, plump ones.
"I'm sorry, what?" I heard the sound of his voice reach my ear as if through a thick woolen blanket and instantly I snapped out of my daydream back to reality where I looked into his slightly frowning face, his eyebrows furrowed a little, his head slightly tilted waiting for me to explain or repeat what I had just said while I became embarrassedly aware that I myself had no idea what I had just told him.
Adam's expression relaxed immediately as he lifted his cup from the coaster and brought it to his mouth, which again only caused my gaze to follow the movement until my eyes were on his lips again and I felt my heartbeat pounding in my throat at the same time.
"Unfortunately, the coffee doesn't come close to being comparable to the truly amazing freshly ground bean coffees on offer in Hall 6 at Daniel's Coffee Bistro, but it doesn't cost £4 either," Adam explained, trying to take some of the tension out of the conversation while he carefully eyed me over the rim of his cup.
My eyes fell down to my own cup before I burst out laughing heartily before picking it up as well and taking a sip of it.
"It's way better than the black stuff that we mix together at home in the dorms from cheap, reduced instant coffee beans. No matter how much milk and sugar you add, the nightmare only gets worse, but it keeps you awake if you sit up till 3 o'clock in the morning bent over your homework that has to be on the table of your lecturer for algorithms of data structures the next morning or if you and your team spend a whole weekend around the clock setting up a working demonstration of hardware-related programming while your network connection keeps crashing or your firewall keeps giving you data usage problems."
I smiled.
The more I talked about my work at college, the more secure I felt. That was my field, I knew my way around. Numbers, data, facts, these things gave me security, stability. It was not an easy degree, the topics in applied mathematics, be it algorithms, analysis, stochastics or statistics, each of these focal points had always been a challenge but compared to business law or later also IT law, I would always prefer Maths.
"Could you tell me a bit about your company, Mr Grant?" I asked, my eyes wandering away from him over to the large information boards on which eloquent slogans were emblazoned that briefly brought out the strengths of the company, but I wanted to know a little more about the company from which I hoped to be able to do an internship for a period of 6 months in order to add practical experience to my personal portfolio.
"Adam."
"Pardon?"
"You can simply call me Adam," he explained, in a low, deep voice without smiling or showing any form of emotion. It was a simple piece of information he passed on to me and before I could think about if he was basically so aloof or if it just seemed that way because he appeared so impressive but at the same time intimidating, he started to speak.
"Well, in case you've informed yourself about our company in advance, you will know that SANDER Electronics offers a wide range of solutions for all kind of different industries when it comes to electronic security, cashless payment systems, electronic tickets to provide access which can be used both for admission control and for time recording."
He took a sip from his coffee, waiting for me to grasp the rough summary of the company's structure.
I thought about what he had said for a moment and nodded. It was true, I had previously researched the companies I wanted to approach and that were exhibiting here today and SANDERS Technology had been my absolute favourite, which was also the reason why I had come here at the end hoping to appear a little calmer and more composed after I had talked to the previous two companies, but I hadn't known then with what kind of counterpart I would be conducting my last interview. I took a deep breath and then wrote down a few notes in my notebook, carefully aware that Adam was watching my every move.
"Well, as I told you, I am a Software Development student in my third year and of course I'm slowly starting to put out my feelers taking an interest in companies where I can use and deepen my knowledge. I'm particularly interested in the area of security control, building access detection and the protection of personal data. How does SANDERS Technology go about this? Can you tell me more about that?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound too brash or too curious and didn't give the impression that I was interested in information that he couldn't give me, as a non-employee of the company.
All of a sudden, I felt like a journalist chasing after a hot story and thus was really getting on my victim's nerves. The only thing was I couldn't say for sure if that was the case with Adam, because his face was completely emotion- and expressionless. It was impossible to judge him and that only made me more insecure.
After what seemed to me like a painful, uncertain eternity, he finally explained matter-of-factly, "As I mentioned before, we have many different modules and solutions that can be integrated in both, in already existing as well as complete new processes. Our technology offers its customers specifications adapted to individual needs and customer-oriented expectations. I think it goes without saying that public access entries vary highly compared to more sensitive areas such as high security locking systems in banks, financial security buildings or special safety required industries so we offer easy access systems that operate with a fast fundamental frequency pulse and a quick pass frequency when used in public areas such as for example access to exhibitions, theme parks and similar opportunities while we offer far more complicated, delicate entry restrictions for situations where more authorization control is needed. Here we offer, among other things such as simple PIN code requests, biometric scans such as a retina scan, thumbprint, temperature recording and weight control or even a combination of all variants is possible here. Basically, comparable to a digital Fort-Nox,"
I was overwhelmed by the amount of information he was willing to share and had to be meticulous about keeping up with my notes. Our conversation lasted 45 minutes, and when we reached the end, I didn't have the impression that so much time had passed when Adam suddenly sat up, looking at his watch and then gave me an almost regrettable look.
"I'm sorry, but I have to take care of a presentation right away on the screen. We are presenting our modernised access registration systems. I have to network the projector and laptop accordingly and make a few more preparations. You are very welcome to watch the presentation if you care."
My eyes widened with excitement. I would love to see that, but when I realised how long I had been in this hall and noticed then that I had left Selene alone for almost 3 hours, I shook my head.
"I'm really sorry, I'd really like to but I'm not alone here and most likely I'm already being looked for or I managed to upset my companion so much that I now have to drive back home all on my own only to then find out that all the locks have been changed so I can't get in and so will have to spend the night at the train station on a bench outside. I really have to go but thank you for the really interesting interview and introducing your company," I explained hastily and a bit overdramatically, which caused my conversation partner opposite me to raise his eyebrows in astonishment and smile in amusement.
'God, he looks amazing when he smiles, even if it's just faintly. What must it be like to witness a full smile plastered all over his remarkable face!' - I thought to myself, quickly trying to refocus on what else was on my mind.
"Um,...may I,... I mean, would it be ok if I leave you my application?"
I held out my hand to Adam in parting and for a moment I wasn't sure if he would take or ignore it, but then he slowly reached out and took it. The moment his hand enveloped mine, I flinched instantly as I suddenly felt a rushed tingling sensation pulsing through my whole arm.
Adam hesitated for a moment, but then gradually shook my hand and, without letting go, leaned a little closer to me.
"I also found it very interesting, and I will personally submit your documents to our administrator."
I felt my hand literally glowing in his and when he finally let go of me, I immediately suffered a heavy feeling of loss from the lack of contact. I was now sure that I must have turned bright red and so I hastened to hand him my portfolio, while at the same time hastily rising from my seat, nearly knocking over the bar stool, and then hurriedly walked away, but not without another hasty:
"Thank you".
In search of Selene, I quickly walked along the still heavily busy lane, calling my friend as soon as I was sure I had put enough distance between myself and SANDERS Technology LTD after realising that I had a total of 24 absence messages on my phone.
"My God, where have you been the whole time? I assumed you went home without me. I've been everywhere, in every hall and I couldn't find you anywhere," Selene raged into the phone while I tried to give my friend an explanation, but the problem was that Selene didn't even let me get a word in edgeways.
"Do you have any idea what can happen at such large trade fairs? There have been people gone missing! What if someone had kidnapped you and now you were bound and gagged in the back of some dodgy looking small dingy van with foreign licence plates somewhere towards God knows where on the motorway? You can't imagine how worried I was about you!"
I grinned and hurried to reach the Hall 7 exit.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that you just made it all up and that nobody at a fair like this has ever suffered a similar fate as you just described, but I'm still touched that you worried about me," I countered and immediately started to continue talking because I heard my friend start to interrupt me again. "But if you had searched for me as vehemently as you say, then you would have come to Hall 7 and since this is quite clear in terms of the number of exhibitors, you would have quickly found that I was at SANDERS Technology LTD and that's where I probably had the most exciting, best, life changing, greatest, absolutely brilliant interview that you can imagine."
I suddenly jumped in horror, squeaking loudly when someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind. When I turned around, I looked at my friend's broadly grinning face and rolled my eyes.
"Good Lord, you scared the shit out of me! Do you have to sneak up on me from behind like that?"
"Oh shut up and tell me, who was this hell of a guy you did the interview with that you rave about it so much whilst turning as red as the most ripe tomato ever harvested in the Netherlands?" Selene asked undeterred while pulling me by the arm to the next best table, where we both then had an overpriced Diet Coke from a near-by vending machine.
Meanwhile, I opened up about my interview, about SANDERS Technology and of course about Mr Adam Grant, the sales assistant with the most incredible hands in the whole universe.
When the day finally came to an end and more and more visitors left the fairgrounds, Selene and I also decided to return home. We had agreed that we had walked enough steps today that it was reasonable to order a large pizza topped with tuna, pineapple and ham and eat it with relish in front of the TV whilst watching our favourite TV show.
However, before we went to the exit of the fair, this time at the back exit, from which we had only a few minutes' walk to the next underground station, I suddenly stopped.
"Wait here for a moment, okay? I would like to go back to the stand and say thank you again. I really hope that I can do my internship there, I think that would be a really good opportunity for me," I explained excitedly.
"Do you think you can fool me? You just want to go there because you want to see the hot guy again and say goodbye, come on, hurry up and then let's go," Selene encouraged me and I realised once again that my friend just knew me too well and, as so often, was able to see right through me.
Heart pounding, I made a beeline for the SANDERS Technology LTD booth and walked past the counter looking for Adam Grant. As I paced the stand and looked around, I finally heard his distinctive voice close by and turned around, but as soon as I saw him my heart sank. He was on the phone with his back to me.
Thoughtfully I leaned on the small bar table not far from him and decided to wait a moment. Maybe his phone call wouldn't last long, and I would still have a chance to say goodbye to him.
While I was standing there, I played absentmindedly with a wrapped packet of sugar cubes, which then fell out of my hands and onto the floor due to my nervousness.
'Typical clumsy me' - I thought to myself before bending down to pick up the packet of sugar, my gaze falling on a small round metal wire waste bin from which my application folder was unmistakably protruding.
Suddenly a heavy, queasy feeling spread in my stomach area as I walked towards the basket and initially stared at my documents as if frozen in the bucket. Only then did Adam's words gradually reach my ears, as I now heard the content of his conversation almost too clearly behind me.
"Impossible! Honestly, believe me when I tell you, she's not worth the slightest bit of effort. Just absolutely unbearable. Totally naive and silly. We can't use someone like that in the company, not even as an intern, just taking up our time. Someone with views and attitudes like that has no place with us. I can't believe how much time I wasted on this silly girl. She should urgently reconsider her plans and definitely reconsider her studies, in my opinion a total waste of time and absolutely unsuitable."
His voice sounded completely different from an hour ago and I felt like everything was spinning around me.
Dizzy, I grabbed the counter next to me, while squatting behind and then got my folder out of the bin. The folder was slightly creased but not particularly damaged, so I smoothed it out and clutched it to my chest while wiping my sleeve over my eyes, angry at how easily I responded emotionally.
I gave Adam one last look over my shoulder, who was still standing behind a partition with his back to me, talking on the phone, but I had long since stopped listening to the highly derogatory description of myself.
With unsteady steps, I walked away from the booth and then moved in the opposite direction towards the wide exit of the hall, where Selene was already waiting for me and immediately gave me a worried look while hastily walking towards me when she saw in what woeful state, I was in.
"Oh my god, Eve, what happened? Are you crying?"
"Nothing. It's nothing. I'm fine. Let's just go. Let's go, shall we?" I sniffled, still clutching my portfolio.
Selene nodded understandingly and was just about to hook my arm when suddenly a strange woman appeared at our side, visibly excited.
