Page 50 of Love or Your Money Back
CHAPTER
Freddy arrives at Kat’s offices with a lot more food than he intended. He got carried away and ordered half the menu. Usually, Freddy is a confident orderer, but he found himself second-guessing every food item, aiming for perfection.
Do vegetarians like mushroom pasta? Or are they sick of it? Kat will almost definitely like lasagne because of all the cheese, but she’s veggie. Is vegetarian lasagne good enough?
Freddy doesn’t have a pass to enter Kat’s new office space, but that doesn’t stop him from convincing the security guard to let him through. A twenty-pound note covers it, along with a white lie about the security guard’s weight loss.
Unexpectedly, when he reaches the Little Voice office space he finds Kat dancing on a table, blowing a noise maker and throwing shredded book pages over her team members.
‘We are the Champions’ by Queen plays from an air speaker, and Gabriela, Alan and Duncan shake their differently sized backsides to the music, whooping and cheering.
Ordinarily, Freddy would describe Kat as totally on brand. Dark hair loose around her shoulders. A sunset-yellow dress that looks both comfortable and slick. Accessories. A touch of natural makeup. Heels. Manicured hands. If she weren’t dancing on a table, she would be spot on.
However now, in Freddy’s strange, accidentally in-love state, he hears different words. Stunning. Glowing. Magnetic. A firecracker with newly softened edges.
‘WEEEEEE are the CHAMPIONS,’ Kat sings. ‘GO TEAM, GO TEAM, GO, GO, GO –’ She notices Freddy and freezes.
‘Hello Kat,’ says Freddy. ‘What’s with the celebration?’
Kat hops down from the table, cheeks reddening. ‘We just got nominated for European Small Press of the Year.’
‘But you’ve won loads of awards,’ says Freddy. ‘What’s the big deal?’
‘This is European Small Press of the Year
,’ says Kat. ‘ The
award. The award that means we’ve made it.’
‘Surely you decide if you’ve made it or not?’
‘No.’ Kat laughs. ‘The industry does.’
‘And what made the industry decide you were finally worthy of this award?’
‘It must have been the Book Haven deal,’ she decides. ‘The Small Press of the Year Award is all about improvement, and our profits have gone through the roof in the last few months.’
‘Awards are vanity, profits are sanity,’ Freddy intones. ‘But I’m happy for you. When will you know if you’ve won the award?’
‘At the Frankfurt Book Fair,’ says Kat. ‘They hand out the European Publishing Awards at the opening ceremony. It’s a long night.’ She glances at Freddy’s many carrier bags. ‘Exactly how much food do you have there?’
‘I bought a lot of food because we’re celebrating some other good news.’
‘What other good news?’
‘I’ll tell you over lunch.’ Freddy looks away, awkward. ‘I guessed you’d like vegetarian lasagne. But I have alternatives just in case.’
‘I do like lasagne. What’s wrong? You sound weird.’
Freddy gives a manly laugh. ‘Nothing’s wrong.’
‘Shall we eat in the meeting room? We have a nice one now that doesn’t smell of cement dust and tuna sandwiches.’
‘You like the British library, don’t you?’
‘Yes. Love it.’
‘I thought we could eat there. On the outdoor terrace.’
‘You can’t eat your own food on the outdoor terrace,’ says Kat. ‘Not unless you hire it.’
‘I did hire it,’ says Freddy. ‘Grab your stylish new bag. Let’s go.’