Page 99 of Only One Tour Bus

“Rob isn’t here right now. He stepped out to deal with some emergency or another. He told me to tell you he still wants to have the meeting when he gets back and to ask you to wait for him.”

“Grand.” Sounds like Rob, inconsiderate with everyone’s time but his own. “Did he say when that would be?”

“No. You know how Rob is.”

Yes, I do. Unfortunately.

“There are digestives in the break room, if you’d like,” Vihana says.

“Thank you. I haven’t eaten since this morning.” Asha rolls her suitcase past the desk and then through the maze of cubicles for the office staff, including the sales and marketing teams. She stops and says hi to most people, recalling details of their lives that I’ve never even known. Because she cares about people who are from this century. People who are alive.

We sit in silence in the break room, eating biscuits to avoid conversation. After about five minutes of that torture, five minutes that feel like an eternity, Asha stands up.

“I’m going to pop around to my flat and drop my bags off,” she says. “I’m not too far, and Rob can deal with it if I’m not here, since he’s already late to this meeting he called.”

I get it. She doesn’t want to sit here is silence while we wait for news on our fate. Professionally and personally, it’s excruciating.

“That’s a good idea. I’m too far, so I’ll stay here.”

“I’ll see you in a bit.”

“I’ll be here.”

Not that I want to sit here alone, waiting for Rob and Asha. It was somewhat less bad sitting in silence with Asha. No matter how awkward that was, at least I got to look at her.

I suppose I’ll make myself some tea and wait for everyone to come back.

CHAPTER 43

ASHA

The break is exactly what I need. I’m still a little nauseous at waiting for what’s going to happen, and my hands are shaking when I accomplish the task of opening my door, rolling my suitcase in, and opening the window to let some fresh air into the stale space.

I take a second to breathe in that stale air that isn’t great but is better than fainting from a distinct lack of breathing, a task I should be good at since I’ve been doing it for my entire life.

But then I remember how bad it would be if Rob gets back before I do. I shouldn’t even have left in the first place: he’s the boss and therefore allowed to be inconsiderate with my time.

I just couldn’t stay in the same room with Callum with things so unsettled between us. He would be able to read my nervousness in the way my heart would try to pound through my chest, and my shaking fingers and tapping feet. And then I would refuse to look at him, and then look at him too much. And all this with him not even wanting to commit to pursuing something until after we know more. That was a blow, because I want him no matter what, but he needs to see before he decides.

I take another deep breath, and then lock up my apartment again. I walk fast through the busy Edinburgh streets, worrying about every terrible way this conversation could go the entire trip.

Every bad scenario runs through my head, and I’m mad at myself that most of them involve Callum saying we’re over before we even start. I’m even more concerned about those than the ones that end with me jobless. And that is not a great independent woman attitude to have. So now I’m disappointed in myself, and mad at Rob/the universe, and still nervous.

Great.

I enter the offices again, and Vihana perks up. “Hey, love. Rob just got back—they’re both in his office. Go on through.”

“Thanks.” This is the last opportunity to run, but curiosity and my upcoming credit card bills compel me to walk past the front desk.

I take another moment outside Rob’s office and his slightly open door to gather myself so I look as unaffected as I can, when I hear what they’re saying.

“And the way she’s pushing these specialty tours when she can barely give her tours, it’s ludicrous.”

“It’s an optimistic idea.”

I flinch. I know the business idea might not be for everyone, but the pet rock was a business idea and that somehow took off for a while, so I think it’s fair to say that no one can guess what is going to be successful and the business world is pure chaos.

But to hear Callum agree isn’t the best. Because I know when he says optimistic, he means naive. Hazard of being fluent in Callum.