Page 63 of Snowed In with You

‘Is that why he didn’t make a pitch to come on the Zermatt trip? Let Fran take all the credit for his work?’

‘Of course,’ said Sasha with a shrug. ‘It felt too risky. Obviously it’s better for both of us if nobody knows.’

Lucy realised that the bitter taste in her mouth was nothing more than jealousy, and she was angry at herself. She’d let Nate get under her skin, despite knowing that he had something going on with Sasha. She’d convinced herself that it must be a casual thing between them, because that made it permissible for her to take what she wanted from him in that moment. But there’d been something else that she couldn’t quite put a name to – a kind of connection between her and Nate, a tiny breach in the fortress she’d built for herself. Even though they’d used each other as a port in a snowstorm, it still hurt, somehow. She couldn’t explain it, but it did.

‘It’s fine,’ said Lucy, holding up her hands. ‘I’m not planning to tell anyone. It’s none of my business.’

‘Right. Thank you.’ Sasha looked mightily relieved. ‘Is there, you know, anything—?’ Lucy realised that Sasha was offering to repay her silence and loyalty, and she could ask for pretty much whatever she wanted right now. A promotion, a pay rise, a job in the Paris office with a view of the Eiffel Tower. But in her world those things were earned, not acquired through blackmail.

‘No,’ she said quickly. ‘Let’s move on.’

Both Sasha and Olly gave her a look of absolute respect, and Lucy knew that this wouldn’t be forgotten. It was a moment of female solidarity; understanding that they would back each other. Lucy had just banked the mother of all favours, and everyone in the room knew it.

‘Fine,’ said Sasha, all business again. ‘I actually came down here to make an announcement to the team. But I wanted to tell you first.’

‘What announcement?’ asked Lucy.

‘Nate isn’t coming back.’

Lucy felt like the air had been pushed out of her lungs as she looked up at Sasha in question. ‘Really?’

‘Really. He’s in London with Alex, who it turns out is extremely well connected. There are all kind of discussions going on – TV appearances, record deals, festivals.’

‘Wow,’ said Lucy, her genuine happiness for him mingling with her own disappointment, creating a murky soup of feelings in her stomach that tasted like sick. ‘Good for Nate.’

‘It’s now or never for him,’ said Sasha briskly. ‘Right now there’s a window for him to launch himself as a singer/songwriter, but that window won’t stay open forever.’

‘A songwriter too?’

‘Yes. He’s got all kinds of stuff filed away.’

‘I know,’ said Lucy, her mind drifting back to their conversation on Saturday morning, over coffee and a stale pastry. What was the song he’d told her about? Something in French that meant dream big.

‘. . . lots of conversations about the best route for him,’ continued Sasha, snapping Lucy back into the room. ‘But it all needs to happen quickly, while he’s hot property. Him being here is just going to hold him back.’

‘Yeah, I get that,’ said Lucy, still wrestling with how inexplicably gutted she was that he wasn’t coming back. Would she ever see him again? ‘Where’s he living right now?’

‘At my place in Chiswick, at least for now. But obviously, nobody outside of this room can know that.’

‘No. Of course not.’

‘I’m about to announce his departure to the team,’ said Sasha, gathering herself and standing up.

‘Have you told Fran already?’

‘No. She can find out at the same time as everyone else. I don’t have time to brief everyone individually.’

‘Well,’ said Lucy, wiping her damp palms on the upholstery. ‘I appreciate you giving me a heads up.’

‘Hmm,’ said Sasha, already thinking about what was next. ‘You’re going to get a lot of questions.’

‘Yeah, I already have. I’ll just say I haven’t spoken to him and I don’t know anything, which is true. I was going to message him later, actually.’

Sasha paused, then sat down again. ‘This is an incredible opportunity for him, Lucy,’ she said. ‘But he’s not the most confident, as you know. There’s a lot of work to do to make him ready for this, and he’s going to need all kinds of support. But it’s what he’s always wanted, and we need to help him look forward, not back. Make sure he doesn’t lose his focus and get distracted.’

‘Right,’ said Lucy, noting the unspoken leave him alone. Maybe Sasha knew more than she thought, or maybe she’d just guessed. You didn’t make it as far as Sasha had in advertising without a certain amount of gut instinct. ‘Understood.’

‘Good,’ said Sasha. ‘I’ll leave you to it, then. Agency briefing in twenty minutes.’ She picked up her bag and left the room, Olly giving Lucy a wave as he closely followed behind her.