Setting foot in Heathrow airport wasn't a first for Sara. Many times before she had been there and it came in handy now that she and Camille had to rush towards the exit. Their plane had had a delay and now they were late. They would go to their hotel room first to drop off their bags and freshen up a bit before heading to the office of Vogue UK.
They would haul a cab that would take them to the city centre, which shouldn't take them more than forty-five minutes if the traffic was doable. If there was less traffic than expected, they could catch up with lost time a bit, but neither Sara nor Camille were counting on it.
"I can't believe we are going to be late."
"I can't believe they rescheduled the meeting to this afternoon, like two hours after we would have arrived. Thank goodness the hotel is a five-minute walk away, or it would have been a disaster. Now, with a bit of luck, the meeting will be pushed back two hours rather than more." They climbed into a cab and gave him the address of the hotel, situated next to Hannover Square, where the Vogue office was located as well.
When they arrived at the hotel, they quickly took their key-cards from the friendly receptionist and headed to the elevator. The hotel rooms they would be staying in were more luxurious than Sara was used to and there was a little note on the pillow.
'Welcome to London! We hope you have a great stay. If you need anything, call me.
Andrea'
Underneath a number was written. The handwriting was curvy and elegant. Sara placed it back down when she heard a knock on the door. Camille was done putting away her bags and was now standing in front of hers.
"Did you get a note?" Camille didn't seem to mind letting the meeting be delayed a couple of minutes more. "It is so sweet. I wonder who this Andrea is."
"Me too." Sara took her camera. "Let's go. After the meeting, we are going to go into the city. I really need a few pictures from London."
"Obviously." Together, Sara and Camille left the hotel for Vogue UK. The office was tidy and modern, but the people filling the rooms made it feel cosier. Some people were chatting with each other and the sound of multiple people typing away on their laptops and computers filled the area.
"Ah, you must be from France." The woman who had walked up to Camille and Sara frowned. "I'm sorry, let me rephrase that: you must be from the French department. I'm Andrea." The woman was pretty, her dark skin was flawless and her long black curly hair seemed as though it had been put into place without any effort.
"Ah, you're Andrea! Thank you for the sweet note! But yes, we are from France!" Sara extended her hand. "My name is Sara Dubois. It's lovely to meet you." Camille introduced herself as well and Andrea walked them towards the conference room. People were already sitting there.
"Thank you so much for pushing the meeting back a bit, we had a bit of trouble with our flight here." Sara smiled at Andrea and sat down on the chair she had been assigned to. She pulled out her notebook and pen and within an hour, Sara had filled five pages with notes.
"We will continue tomorrow. Camilla, Sara, thank you, have a great evening."
"Camille." Anton, the head of the meeting frowned, but a smile played around his lips.
"That sounds so much more French." They laughed. Camille was used to the French stereotypes whenever she would go on a business trip.
"We will see you guys tomorrow," Sara said as she picked up her bag with her camera on top and she and Camille left the conference room.
"Are you going to take some pictures?" Andrea, who had walked out after the two employees of the French department asked.
"Yeah, we wanted to go by some iconic places. Can you recommend some?" Camille rolled her eyes.
"You can also ask her to join." Sara chuckled, not sure whether Camille was serious or not.
"I'm fine with that. So if you want to, you are welcome to tag along." Andrea smiled.
"I would actually love that, I could make the pictures as well if you'd like." They agreed that Sara and Camille would get a coffee in a local café while they waited for Andrea to finish up at the office. Once she was done, she would pick the two girls up and they would go for some dinner and then go to some of the famous British places.
"So, tell me more about you." They sat at a table in a restaurant Andrea had said was to die for.
"You would have to be asking Sara for the most interesting answer. My life is pretty standard, apart from having one of the best jobs in the world." Sara glanced at Camille. She knew very well she hated telling her life story to someone, especially if she barely knew the person.
"Now I am curious..." Andrea grinned and made herself more comfortable in the chair she was sitting on, sipping on her glass of wine.
"I am from Belgium, I used to play badminton but stopped a few years ago. I married my long time boyfriend. Divorced him a couple of months ago." Andrea looked at Sara with wide eyes. Though Sara had been cryptic and had given very short answers, it was enough for Andrea to understand that she had been through a lot already.
"And you are how old again?"
"Twenty-three." Andrea puffed up her cheeks and blew out the air.
"They could write a soap based on your life." Sara huffed.
"I'd appreciate them not." Both Camille and Andrea realised it wouldn't be wise to continue on the subject, so they switched but Sara zoned out. She was done with people making a much bigger thing off the so-called drama she had experienced in her life. When her phone rang, she was more than happy to leave the table for a bit. "Hello."
"Ah, Sara."
"Anthoine!" She was happy to hear his voice again. "How are you?"
"Good, but I was calling to see if you were free tomorrow afternoon. I'm off for a change, so I'm good to go."
"They have been moving around meetings, so I am not really sure if I am off, but I'll ask someone who knows and let you know, okay? I really am looking forward to seeing you again." Sara could hear Anthione huff on the other side of the line. It wasn't in annoyance but some people huff a little when they smile. Anthoine did that some times. "Give me three seconds, we're at a restaurant, but I can ask my British colleague quickly. "Andrea." Sara stood beside their table. "Do we have a meeting tomorrow afternoon?"
"No, the one from tomorrow afternoon moved to the morning and the one from the morning to the one we had." She frowned. "Does that even make sense?" Sara chuckled.
"Enough for me to know we don't have anything tomorrow afternoon. Sorry, Cam, you'll be on your own, I'm going to spend the afternoon with Anthoine." Camille wiggled her eyebrows. "Still sorry to disappoint." She walked away again. "So, I'm free so I guess we are free to go and spend some time together."
"It's about time."
"It is. I haven't seen you in too long. Or Pierre for that matter. Last thing I know he was training way too hard for his first season at Red Bull." Anthoine laughed.
"He's not training too hard, don't worry about that. Call him, he'll appreciate it."
"Yeah, I should. But first, I'll have a lovely afternoon with you. I have to go now, I'm having dinner with a friend and colleague. Where do you want to meet? My hotel is in the middle of London, I don't know whether that is such a good idea?"
"I'll look up a rendez-vous point. I'll text you the details."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"As am I." Sara walked back towards Camille and Andrea.
"Sorry, that was a childhood friend I am meeting up with." The explanation was mostly directed towards Andrea as Camille was very well aware of who Sara was talking to.
"He's really handsome."
"And about to propose – I hope at least. Besides, I am not looking for a relationship so soon after deforcing my husband." Camille rolled her eyes.
"You go girl, you're good on your own." Sara smiled.
"Thank you. You see Camille, I don't need a guy."
"You could always go for a girl." Camille winked. "I mean, I'm single."
"You know I love you, but I'm pretty straight." They laughed. Ever since Camille and Sara had gotten close as friends, Camille had been joking about getting together. She had been fifteen when she had come out as lesbian and she wasn't ashamed of it.
"You know where to find me." Andrea laughed at the interactions.
"If Sara won't take you up on it, I might." Sara shook her head.
"Go ahead. But let's pay for the food and get some pictures. I am in dire need of some new ones. The last time I was here was almost four years ago, my pictures are outdated." They split the bill in three and left the restaurant.
"So, we definitely need to go to Trafalgar Square, I have always loved that place. I can just sit there and watch people all day."
"And from there it isn't a long walk to the Palace of Westminster. It would be an hour walking in total. Are you girls up for that?" Andrea looked at both girls.
"After a change of shoes, totally." Sara looked at the heels she was wearing. "I have enough healing blisters already."
"What are we waiting for. Let's go."