“That must have been rough on you.”
“It was. But I thought, you know, she needed me. I think she threw herself into work. She would take any assignment. I spent a lot of time in embassies around the world, never really getting to explore or see the countries we lived in. It wasn’t until she was much older and she retired that she decided she was going to live life a different way, you know? Enjoy it. That’s when she and I got really close.”
“I’m glad you got that time with her when you were older, when you could really talk. That must have been really special.”
I nodded and tried to blink away the tears at the same time. “Yeah, it was.”
“So, since I didn’t get to interview you, tell me, who is Olivia Ashong?”
I laughed then. “Well, my friends call me Livy, and there’s not that much to tell. Like I said, I was a diplomatic brat. Went to Uni, partially in the States, then when Mom retired and opted to settle in the UK, I transferred here to be with her and finished school at LSE. It was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I fell in love with London. I fell in love with travel and food and, I don’t know, it was just a very impressionable time for me.”
“Well, for a Yank, you fit in decently.”
I took offense to that. “What? I’m almost more a Londoner than you are. I doubt you know the London I know.”
He laughed. “I grew up in Downing Street. You don’t get more London than that.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Snooty posh London. Not the same.”
“What? You think I haven’t run around in South London in dodgy clubs and partied in East London so drunk off my arse I couldn’t see straight?”
“Yeah, still snotty rich London. You’ve got to see the really grimy bits. The markets, the people. I’ll take you to this Ghanaian restaurant which is so incredibly delicious. But you might want to leave the fancy threads at home.”
“You’re on. Is that where your mom was from?”
“She was the Ghanaian ambassador to the UK for years. And then to the United States, Japan, France for a bit, and Italy. All over, really. Dad was British, but I happen to have been born in the States while she was stationed there. And then I just went to international schools most of the time.”
“And you’re talking to me about being snooty?” His laugh was more conspiratorial than teasing.
“I’m not snooty. I hated all of that stuff. So, wherever we moved, I quickly found the nicest local I could and hung out with them as often as they’d allow. It was the only way I really learned about a place. It kept me grounded. So, I’m very down to earth. I watch all the best down-to-earth shows,” I joked.
He laughed then. “God, something tells me I’m going to be scared of your telly viewing.”
I rolled my eyes at that. “I’m sure you consider footie on ITV to be the end all-be all of what’s on television?”
He laughed. “Well, I don’t really have a lot of time for TV.”
“God, don’t you ever just veg on Sunday? Take a walk, do something that isn’t putting oodles of money in your bank?”
To my surprise, he laughed. “No, I guess I don’t.”
“I want to make you a viewing playlist immediately.”
He brushed a blond hair out of his face. “Oh, yeah? What’s going to be on it?”
“First thing that’s going to be on there is Turn Up Charlie. Idris Elba’s in it. He’s British and part Ghanaian. It’s excellent and hilarious.”
“It’s a comedy?”
I smoothed my hand down over my hair as a quick wind gusted through the square. “I can’t believe you’ve never heard about it.”
“I guess I’ve been living under a rock.”
“You have been. We’ll fix that don’t worry.” He was easy to talk to. Too easy. I could forget that he was my boss. Or rather my boss’s boss. I could almost forget how we’d met and that I’d blackmailed him into helping me.
Not blackmail when he bribed you.
“You are an odd one.”
“I think I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should. You can come off as so buttoned up. Almost sterile. Like in your office. Why don’t you have any pictures or plants or something?”
“I was taught you might need to be able to move quickly. Best not to unpack too much.”
“Yeah, I kind of guessed that. Always ready to run.”
“Something like that. Granted, running isn’t by choice most of the time.”
“If you say so.”
We rounded a corner and strolled through cafés and boutiques. As we were headed back to the hotel, I heard a screech. A lorry was coming around the square, honking its horn. It jumped the curb, and I squealed. “Oh, Jesus, he’s going to hurt someone.”
Before the words could even finish tumbling out of my mouth, the driver lost control of the lorry with a trajectory directly toward us.
I don’t know what possessed me. Ben was busy looking in the window of a cigar store, and he was turning a moment too late.
“Look out.” I shoved him hard, toward an alley. He didn’t budge much, but he did trip over the lip of the curb into what looked like a trough of water of the nearby florist.
“What the fuck?”
The lorry skidded again and then managed to right itself before careening off.
“Hey!” I shouted. “Come back.”
Ben blinked up at me. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry. The lorry—”
“Yeah, I saw it. But why did you jump in front of it and push me away?”
Was he serious? “I was trying to save your life.”
Several people had come over at that point to try to assist us. Someone had gotten the driver’s license plate. As we were relatively unharmed, there was no point in waiting for the police, really. With slippery hands, a couple of people helped me get Ben up out of the trough.
When he was free, he glowered down at himself. His shirt, vest, and trousers molded to every muscle on him, and I stared.
Focus. You just shoved your boss into a trough of water. He’s not going to be thrilled. “So, is this the moment when you realize I saved your life?”
His glare told me everything. This was not a life-saving event to him. I was so totally screwed.
Ben
I was soaking wet. And it was all thanks to Olivia Ashong, who was currently chattering a mile a minute as she followed me into my office.
“It’s fine. It’s just a little water.”
I kept a change of clothes in the office for such an occasion that I stained my shirt or something. I just hadn’t planned on doing a full change.
“I’m really sorry. I was just trying to get you out of the way.
“I’m just going to grab a change of clothes.”
“But oh my God. I’m so sorry. I was trying to help. And honestly the lorry was so close, and we could have been killed.”
“We weren’t going to be killed. And I like the idea of you jumping in front of danger to try to save me.”
“If I hadn’t, you’d be flat as a pancake right now.”