Searing heat, the Society of Authors and a short story set in Dubai
It's all here...
Burj Khalifa, the iconic skyscraper
Hello and a warm welcome.
This week in beautiful Herefordshire, the weather has been unseasonably hot with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees. Almost as hot as Dubai, where it often reaches in excess of 40 degrees, but because everything is so well air-conditioned, you hardly notice. Unless, of course, you are foolish enough to go outside in such searing heat. The glamourous, glitzy and luxurious Emirate of Dubai is another world compared to what I’m used to. I lived there while working for an American Law Firm some years ago, and absolutely loved it.
Due to the heatwave that we are currently experiencing here in the UK, I thought I would pay homage to Dubai with this short story. But before we dive into that, here is the cover of this quarter’s The Author magazine, produced by the Society of Authors, who are a brilliant organisation who offer help and support to authors at whatever stage of their writing career they find themselves at. I find them invaluable, especially their free legal advice relating to anything to do with writing.
We promote the interests of authors through campaigning, lobbying, negotiation and representation. We voice concerns about authors’ rights, the publishing and creative industries and wider cultural matters.
We work in partnership with other organisations and international bodies to ensure our messages are heard worldwide.
The cover of the summer edition of the Society of Author’s journal, The Author, by Tita Berredo, a Brazilian children’s book writer and illustrator based in Glasgow
I love the little guy’s expression, which just about sums me up while I am at my desk, writing. He looks so happy as he dances with his pen, etching words onto the page. It is a simple but effective design, portraying a very simple message. Happy writing. Which is why book covers are so important and what attracts a reader to a book in the first instance. More news on that soon!
Now to the short story which I posted a couple of years ago, but this version is almost completely re-written and very different from the previous one. I liked the character, Nina, so stuck with the main premise of a lavish party in Dubai. Enjoy!
Nina’s Party
Neil was nervous as he watched a waiter skilfully nestle a beautifully garnished platter of lobster tails into the centre of the oval table in the air conditioned dining room, making sure to press it firmly into the bowl of crushed ice beneath it. The party was due to start any minute and Neil’s team was focused one hundred per cent on making it a huge success; they all knew the stakes were high tonight.
‘Don’t forget, plenty of ice!’ he called out to no one in particular, mopping his brow with a white cotton handkerchief, remembering why the previous catering company’s contract had been terminated. This was the first party that he had catered for the Patels and, as the owner and innovator of Elite Dining, he knew how important it was to make a good impression. Competition was fierce in Dubai and a lot hung on the outcome of this event. The party was being hosted at the luxury villa of a UHNWI, whom he had never met. He had been dealing with the client’s wife, Nina, who was a formidable woman.
Right on cue, the hostess appeared, a vision wearing a scarlet creation that complimented her jet black hair, which was perfectly styled into an ornate pile of twists, curls and pleats. She wore an extravagant diamond necklace with a matching bracelet and ear-rings. The whole ensemble must have cost a small fortune and was almost certainly paid for by her wealthy husband.
“Neil, darling,” she purred as she approached him, teetering in her Jimmy Choo shoes. “Please make sure that all the guests are offered a glass of Cristal champagne on arrival and make sure it is the perfect temperature. And do we have plenty of choice of non-alcoholic beverages too? And lots of Lassi, you know how some of my guests love Lassi,” she cooed sweetly, “Especially the one with pistachio.”
“Of course, Mrs Patel,” he replied, perfectly aware of the procedure at such events. He had been doing this a long time and had primed his staff with the promise of a generous bonus to make sure that everything went according to plan.
Flitting off to make sure that her guests had everything they could possibly need, Nina was the perfect hostess and renowned for her lavish parties. Her usual caterer was no longer in business, having ruined her previous party by accidentally giving some of her guests food poisoning.
Surveying the incredible scene before him, Neil couldn’t help think back to the old days in London, when he had re-mortgaged his house to start up a high-end catering company, but it hadn’t been easy and the long hours had taken a toll on his marriage. That was when he had decided to take another leap of faith and moved to Dubai. The lucrative market of catering for UHNWI’s had catapulted him to a completely different level to what he had been used to, and he was making more money than he could ever dream of making in London.
During the six years that he had been in the Emirate, he had seen it all. Wildly extravagant celebrations and over-the-top birthday parties thrown for over-indulged kids. You name it, he had catered it, but that was one of the things that he loved the most about his job, apart from the money. The variety of the people that he worked for, and the increasingly crazy ideas that they came up with, which he found both interesting and challenging. From parties on super yachts to live acrobatic performances, from fancy beach parties to exhilarating water pistol parties, he had seen it all. His dream was to own a villa, just like the Patel’s, with its own rooftop pool in a prime beachfront position.
As he looked down onto the terrace, some of the most beautiful women he had ever seen were floating around, looking elegant and sophisticated, despite the humidity. More than anything, he dreamed of finding love again. A broken marriage and several failed relationships had left him emotionally bruised. Sadly, he was beginning to think that nobody wanted to share their life with him; he knew that he wasn’t easy to live with. A hard working, highly motivated entrepreneur, he had resigned himself long ago to being a bachelor for the foreseeable future.
The sound of a helicopter nearby broke into his thoughts and the next few minutes passed in a blur of activity as the party got well and truly underway with more and more guests arriving by the minute. The host was returning from a business trip to Abu Dhabi and Neil was certain that Nina had overseen the laying out of his outfit, so that her husband could join the party looking a million dollars, just a few minutes after he had so elegantly alighted from his private helicopter.
The immaculately uniformed front-of-house staff were milling around among the guests, making sure they had everything they needed, while Neil checked on the delicious appetisers, which he had personally created, and which had gone down a storm at the tasting sessions with Nina in the preceding weeks. Nothing could possibly go wrong; he had thought of everything.
To his horror, when he reached the kitchen, a scene of absolute pandemonium greeted him. A wild stray cat had somehow managed to climb on to the counter tops and had sent trays of hors d’oeuvres and canapes flying everywhere, scattering them all over the kitchen floor.
“Somebody get that cat out of here, now!” he growled as he leapt into action.
“What on earth’s the matter?” Nina exclaimed, suddenly materialising beside him. “Oh my goodness! What on earth…?” She threw her hands up to her mouth.
Neil was already clearing up the mess. “Don’t worry, Mrs Patel, I’ll sort it. Go and enjoy the party.”
“You better had,” she hissed, gaining her composure, before pirouetting on her elegant stilettos and making a beeline for her husband, who had just appeared at the foot of the sweeping marble staircase.
“What’s going on?” he asked, clearly perplexed as he looked over his wife’s shoulder.
“Nothing, darling. Everything’s under control,” Nina said smoothly, whisking her husband away out onto the terrace, where the happy couple skilfully weaved their way in and around the various groups of people, stopping to chat for just the right amount of time, making each guest feel just as important as the next. Everybody wanted an invitation to one of Nina’s parties. They were legendary.
“Watch your back!” Neil barked, as a passing waiter holding aloft a huge tray of filled champagne glasses careered towards Annabelle, Nina’s PA, who only just managed to dodge out of the way. Neil shot her a glare and wondered if anything else could go wrong.
“Here, let me help,” she said calmly, grabbing a nearby dustpan and brush and scooping up some of the canapes. “You stay here and I’ll go outside to see if everything’s going okay.”
Neil had only met Annabelle briefly, when he had been arranging the party, and had spoken to her a couple of times on the phone since. She had a calming effect and suddenly things didn’t seem quite so bad.
Thinking on his feet, he ran down to the chest freezer in the triple garage and checked on the contents. He knew from past experience that you can never have too many canapes and if he could keep the flow of delicacies already on platters moving, he could get the spares he had frozen defrosted safely to work on and serve later. Giving orders quietly and calmly to his staff, and with Annabelle’s help, they managed to pull things back on track. Several staff helped clean up the mess and the cat was shooed out of the kitchen. It had been a team effort.
The throng of guests, some of whom had gravitated onto the roof terrace now that the helicopter had safely departed, were blissfully unaware of the chaos in the kitchen. They were too busy listening to a string quartet playing dreamy Bossa Nova jazz, while being served delicious canapes and having their glasses topped up with the perfectly chilled champagne, Lassi or soft drinks. The party had started well, with the guests kicking back into relaxation mode after their hectic week in the crazy, but spectacular world that is Dubai.
Nina was not amused and inspected every single hors d’oeuvre with her beady eyes as soon as they left the kitchen. Neil held his breath and watched on, praying that he had done enough to please the picky hostess, but she was giving nothing away.
As the evening wore on, the atmosphere calmed down and the mood became more relaxed and as soon as he had the opportunity, he sought Annabelle out to thank her and to apologise for being brusque with her.
“No worries,” she smiled up at him. “I know how tough Mrs Patel can be…”
“This party was really important to her,” Neil continued, although he was having trouble concentrating, realising for the first time since meeting her, just how beautiful Annabelle was. “She’s trying to raise awareness of the plight of orphaned children around the world. It’s the first event that I have catered for her.”
“Yes, I know,” she said, smiling.
Neil felt foolish. Of course she knew.
“She’s an amazing woman. She chairs several high profile committees on a voluntary basis, as well as all the other work that she does and is also a great mother to her five kids. I don’t know how she does it,” Annabelle explained.
“I do,” Neil said, his turquoise eyes watching her intently.
Annabelle looked at him quizzically, shifting from one foot to the other. “What do you mean?”
“I mean she has you to help her. I’m sure she wouldn’t be able to manage everything so well without your help.”
“Oh, I’d never thought about it like that,” Annabelle replied coyly, blushing at the veiled compliment. “But she’s an amazing person. She’s so kind and wants to do good in the world. To put something back, as she says.” Annabelle picked a piece of fluff off her white trousers, caught off guard by Neil’s gaze.
Eventually, after no more mishaps, the party wrapped up and Neil made sure everything was cleaned down perfectly before he left in the early hours of the morning. He would await Mrs Patel’s call the following day and was pretty confident she would be happy with how the event had gone.
When the call came through, he was being summonsed back to the Patel’s villa that very afternoon. It had to be good news, surely? Mrs Patel probably wanted to thank him in person. That was it.
“My diamond earrings are missing,” she exclaimed when they were safely out of earshot of her staff. Her face was like granite and her voice just as hard.
Neil couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I’m sorry. Are you accusing one of my staff of stealing them?” he asked, perplexed.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t one of my staff or one of my guests,” she hissed. They were opposite each other in a stand off in a plush room elegantly designed for a busy working woman. Neil vetted his staff very carefully and couldn’t believe that one of them would be capable of such an act.
“Surely, you must have misplaced them?” he continued, determined to get to the bottom of the missing diamond earrings. All the while, he kept wondering how his business would weather this particular storm, if at all.
“I have looked everywhere!” Nina half shouted. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. I will settle your invoice for last night, but I will not be using Elite Dining again,” she said haughtily.
Neil felt as though the bottom had fallen out of his world. This would inevitably have a huge impact on his business in Dubai. Mrs Patel was a very influential woman and now he had had the misfortune of making her cross. Very cross indeed.
“Look,” he countered, “Let’s not be too hasty,” he said, smiling, trying to placate the angry woman in front of him.
“It’s too late. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she said again, this time standing up and opening the door. “I have work to do. Good day, Mr Martingdale,” and she waved her hand at him dismissively as she showed him out of her office.
Neil was flabbergasted and despite further protestations, backed out of her office and headed to the front door. Turning around, he asked, “Would it be possible to have a quick word with Annabelle, please?”
“You’ll find her in the kitchen. But be quick!” and she turned to go back into her room and slammed the door, a little too loudly for Neil’s liking.
He found Annabelle sitting at the island of the enormous kitchen where the chaos had ensued following the appearance of the mangy cat the night before, but you would never have known. She was contemplating a sandwich, but looked distracted.
“Hey!” she smiled when she looked up and saw Neil. “What’s up?” she asked as soon as she saw the serious look on his face.
When he had finished telling her what had happened, she gasped. “Oh, no. That’s awful. Why can’t we just call the police and let them investigate?”
Neil looked at her. “I don’t think Mrs Patel wants to involve the police. Besides, she’s made up her mind.” He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Anyway, I just wanted to thank you again for helping me out last night. You didn’t have to.” He looked at her wistfully.
“Is there any way Mrs Patel could have put the earrings somewhere and forgotten about them?” he asked, grabbing at straws.
Annabelle thought for a few seconds. “Well, as far as I know, she’s quite fastidious about putting her jewellery in the safe at night, but last night, it was rather late.” Annabelle frowned, as if remembering something.
“What? What is it?” Neil asked, willing Annabelle to speak.
She frowned. “I’m not sure, but…”
A glimmer of hope flashed across Neil’s handsome face.
Annabelle stood up. “Look, I’ll call you,” she said, sounding a little dismissive.
“Okay,” Neil said wearily. “None of this makes sense. It’s almost as if Mrs Patel is using the missing jewellery as an excuse.” He looked downcast again.
“I’m sure that’s not true. She’s got a lot on her mind, that’s all. I’ve got your mobile number. I’ll keep you posted,” Annabelle promised.
Neil gave her a half-hearted smile and left with a heavy heart, totally perplexed by the whole situation. He couldn’t believe that his staff were harbouring a thief, and despite it being the weekend, he called an urgent meeting insisting that everybody attend.
Just as Neil’s staff were filing out of the meeting, his mobile rang. He watched them walking out, heads down, muttering and murmuring between themselves. Some of them were shaking their heads, others were in total disbelief and there was an air of despondency hanging over them.
“Neil Martingale,” he announced, not recognising the number on his screen.
“Neil. It’s Annabelle. Can you talk?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Mrs Patel wants to see you. Straight away. She said it’s urgent. She would have called you herself but she’s on an important Zoom call to Los Angeles.”
Before Neil could respond, Annabelle had ended the call. Confused at being summonsed for the second time that day, Neil fired his black Porsche 911 into life and drove out of the basement car park of his apartment block, heading once again out to The Palm.
It felt like déjà vu as he sat opposite Mrs Patel in her swanky office.
“Before you say anything Mrs Patel, I called a meeting with my staff this morning after I left here…”
“Mister Martingdale. I owe you an apology,” Nina said, cutting him off mid flow, raising her hand to stop him saying anything further.
“That stupid cat must have jumped up onto the shelf in my dressing room and knocked the earrings onto the floor. My maid found them this morning when she was cleaning. We wouldn’t have heard it…”
Neil realised that the villa was so huge that Mr and Mrs Patel’s individual dressing rooms were probably bigger than the size of his entire apartment. Relief flooded over him.
“…I can’t apologise enough for accusing you and your staff,” she continued. “I should never have jumped to that conclusion. It’s not like me. I’ve got a lot on my mind at the moment. My mother is very ill and I will have to go to her in India.” She had a strained look around her eyes and her mouth was taut. Neil could see she was pre-occupied and cut her off, mid flow.
“The important thing is that the earrings have been found,” he said calmly and professionally. “I’m sorry to hear about your mother.” Nina nodded, a serious look on her face. Then he didn’t want to ask the next question, but knew that he had to. “Were you pleased with the way that the party went? Despite everything…”
Nina Patel smiled. She was an exceptionally beautiful woman. “I was. Thank you. I will tell all of my friends that you come highly recommended. In fact, you might be getting a call from the office of somebody very important soon. On my recommendation.” Her dark eyes sparkled. “Now, please check your bank account. I have paid your invoice in full, plus a generous tip for your staff as an apology.”
“There was no need, really…” Neil began.
Again, Mrs Patel raised her hand. “Neil, you don’t mind if I call you Neil?”
Neil smiled as he recollected the way she had addressed him as ‘Neil, darling’ the previous evening.
“Please do.” He smiled back at her and could feel himself relaxing for the first time since he had got out of bed that morning.
“And a generous bonus for you,” she continued. “For all the problems that I must have caused.”
“Really, Mrs Patel, there’s no need…”
Again she cut him off. “Please. Call me Nina.”
As he was leaving, Neil caught a glimpse of Annabelle in the pool on the terrace with some of the younger children. His eyes lingered on her for a second or two before he turned wistfully away.
“You have her number, I believe,” Nina called after him, smiling mischievously.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Finally, if you fancy some light summer reading, head over to Amazon where you can find my first two books, both of which are FREE on Kindle Unlimited and are only 77p and 81p to buy! Only slightly more if you want to buy a paperback or hardback edition. They make great gifts too!
Have a brilliant week,
