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Story: A Secret Escape

“This last award,” he says, “goes to one of our most valued Creative Directors in the business – he is someone many of you have worked with personally over the years, and his knowledge of the restaurant industry is second to none. In fact, he’s worked his way up all the way from a mere apprentice when he joined Catalyst over twenty years ago, to being our Senior Creative Director today, and he has been instrumental in making this entire night possible. Marcus Andersson, come on up here!”
I turn to Marcus, my heart bursting with pride. His expression has a nervousness in it that I haven’t seen all evening as he stands, smoothing down his jacket.
He hadn’t mentioned anything about getting an award. I wonder if he didn’t know about it, or if he had intentionally kept it secret.
I leap to my feet, clapping and cheering as loud as I can as several eyes turn to look at me.
Marcus takes the stage, shakes Howard’s hand and accepts the envelope before leaning in and whispering something in Howard’s ear.
Howard smiles, steps aside, and gestures for Marcus to take the mic.
Marcus looks out at the crowd, that gorgeous smile gleaming as his voice fills the room.
“Thank you, Howard, for this wonderful evening. And thank you to everyone here tonight. This event means so much to me. Catalyst is an incredible organisation and it has been a pure honour being able to work with all of you and partner with all the incredible businesses represented here tonight over the past twenty years. And to my colleagues who received awards tonight, I congratulate each and every one of you. Every one of you works so hard and every single person in this company deserves an award.”
He pauses, takes a deep breath, then looks right at me.
“Now, I know you’re all itching to get your desserts, so I promise I won’t hold you much longer, but I just wanted to say a few quick words and to present one final gift for the evening.”
He takes another deep breath, pauses, then looks directly at me.
“Lila, can you please join me on stage?”
Wait… what?
My heart stops.
A murmur spreads across the crowd as several heads turn to look my way, a slow round of applause rippling through the room as I stand, my cheeks burning.
I’m completely frozen inside, my brain racing.
What in the world is he giving me an award for? Why hadn’t he said anything about this?
But that smile –hissmile – guides me forward like a lifeline.
A spiral of thoughts rushes through my head as I make my way to the stage, trying to keep my legs from trembling. Marcus holds out his hand to help me up the steps as I glare at him, silently screaming ‘what the hell are you doing’from behind myfrozen smile.
He laughs, and up close, I can see there’s a clear nervousness in his eyes as he looks at me, but his smile beams brighter than ever, the bright stage lights illuminating his perfectly white teeth.
I stand, facing him, not knowing what to do as he takes my hand and turns to the audience.
“Most of you don’t know Lila. Some of you had the privilege of meeting her tonight. Lila works on the social media team, which is an often underappreciated role. Lila, and her teammates Angela and Carter, are the ones behind the scenes, making all of you look good online. So I want to say thank you to Lila, and Angela and Carter, for the incredible work you do.”
Marcus pauses as the room fills with applause and my face blushes an even deeper shade of red as I hear Angela and Carter’s cheers from the crowd. If this is an award about us… why amIthe only one on stage?
As the applause settles down, Marcus continues. “Now, most of you won’t know this, but a little over four months ago, I asked Lila if she would join me for lunch one day.”
He turns to face me and I notice his hands are shaking ever so slightly.
I’ve never seen him this nervous before.
“Since then, my entire world has changed. Over the past four months, you have brought me joy, laughter, support, and most importantly, a kind of love I never knew existed.”
He reaches into his jacket.
And pulls out a small black box.
My breath stops.