A SMILE IN A WHISTLE

Chapter 10. Friday 27th July, The Dash

The whole staff of Tilkon Companies were on time for their first work outing. At eight o'clock sharp, everyone was waiting outside the entrance of The Dash. Twenty employees were gathered up and already chatting away about anything but work. Despite the ridiculous advance payment that Sarah had not quite gotten over, her idea had come together nicely. Even the boss had put on a colorful shirt to celebrate the occasion. It must have been the very first time Sarah had seen John wear anything other than a white shirt. Tonight, it was a checked red, green, yellow and blue one! "A tropical summer shirt," as he called it. It certainly uplifted his usual cranky and bossy nature, and even highlighted his round, charismatic face.

Once their private room was ready, the team entered a dark trendy lounge of the club. Lights were flashing all over the place and the music was so loud that they could barely hear each other. It resembled a nightclub – a bit too much for Sarah, who had expected something a little calmer. Oh well, she thought, at least everyone seems to enjoy the atmosphere! Rebecca was taking thousands of photos to put on Facebook; Kevin, the accountant, was adding special light effects thanks to his new watch that glowed in the dark and flickered every minute; a few of his colleagues from the same department were laughing at his little gadget; the boss was already dancing to the loud electro music with the recruitment team; the guys from IT were playing drinking games; the designers were trying all the tidbits that existed on the Menu; and Sarah was... watching. With a glass of lemonade in her hand, she was happy to watch the scene unravel before her. She wasn't alone for long, Rebecca soon came over to show her all the photos she had taken.

"Shall we take one together?" she proposed.

Sarah simply nodded.

"Great, maybe we'll put this one up in the ladies' room!" said Rebecca.

"Excuse me?" asked Sarah, shocked by such a suggestion.

"Haven't you seen?"

"What?" she shouted over the music.

"There are great photos in there! In the toilets! People print them out and stick them as souvenirs on the walls!"

"Where do they print them?"

"At the bar. You're allowed to print one photo over there," explained Rebecca, pointing at a computer behind the counter. "Awesome, don't you think? We can leave a souvenir here. The toilets are full of them!"

"Oh, my! I'm not sure about that!"

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

Sarah didn't want to say no to Rebecca on their first outing, so she granted her wish – but wasn't looking forward to having her face up in the toilets! Once the photo was taken, Rebecca ran to the bar to have it printed out. In the meantime, Sarah continued sipping her lemonade while watching the boss dance in the most unusual way. The lower part of his body seemed to imitate the Irish step dance whereas his upper body took after the robot. Where on earth did he learn to dance like that? she wondered. John waved at her, inviting her to join the dancefloor. Sarah casually declined by shaking her head with a friendly smile.

"Want something to eat?" a guy from IT suddenly shouted in her ear, making her jump.

Sarah took a look at what he was offering... It looked slimy. This is definitely a weird club!

"Are they snails?" she asked.

"Yeah!"

"No... Definitely not!" she said, disgusted.

"If you change your mind, there's plenty more where they came from!" he informed, strolling off.

Sarah picked up a Menu. It was in French. Escargots de Bourgogne, that's what it was! ...Salt and Pepper Squid? Is that what that one is? she asked herself, struggling to remember her high school French. What a posh Menu! Sarah wondered why Ben hadn't told her all about this place. The advance payment, the posh French Menu, the photos all over the toilet walls... All this wasn't common for clubs in town. She was expecting cocktails and peanuts. That's probably why The Dash has such a reputation, she concluded.

Rebecca came back from the bar and proudly showed her their printed photo. Sarah's skin looked pale, whiter than ever, due to the flash. And Rebecca's rosy cheeks were shining like stars on a clear night. Other than that, her colleague was stunning: her pink eye shadow brought out her beautiful brown eyes and hair, and her tight gold sparkling dress made her look like a movie star!

"Very nice," said Sarah.

"Let's go put it up in the ladies' room!" shouted Rebecca, still not giving up on that idea.

"If we must...!" moaned Sarah.

Rebecca was right: there were thousands of photos all over the walls.

"It's actually quite impressive," Sarah admitted, without having to shout anymore.

They could only hear a faint beat in the distance when the main toilet door was closed.

"Where shall we put ours?" asked Rebecca.

"Where we can find a little space!"

They looked about the room.

"Here!" Rebecca pointed at a tiny spot in the left-hand corner of the room. She stuck it on the wall thanks to a bit of Blue Tack she found under one of the nearby photos.

"We are now part of the club!" she announced happily.

Rebecca was acting like a teenager, as if she was attending a party for the very first time in her life. She was over the moon to be part of The Dash's "wall of fame"! Her enthusiasm made Sarah giggle.

"Shall we get a glass of wine now?" Rebecca suggested.

"I think I'll use the toilet while I'm here," said Sarah.

"Okay, I'll wait for you at the bar!"

A few minutes later, when Sarah was doing her dark trousers up – she hadn't bothered with a dress – she noticed a bunch of photos behind the bathroom door. They were all very close to each other and a big heart was drawn around them with red lipstick. One woman was on every photo. And she was with a man. Sarah blinked a couple of times; she couldn't believe what she saw... It was Ben. That woman was always  with Ben. She took a closer look to check she wasn't imagining it. It was still Ben. He was sitting next to this very tall, blonde, gorgeous woman. Oh, and she had very long legs. Surely this big heart is a mistake. Someone must have drawn it on a drunken night, Sarah thought. Ben and the women were holding each other. It's just a hug, she said to herself. Don't go imagining things. She checked every photo, there was no kiss. She must be a good friend from work. That's all. He has been here many times, I guess they were bound to get a little bit tipsy sometimes. Sarah walked to the sink to wash her hands. Am I being naïve, or would it be paranoid to think there was something going on between Ben and that woman? The pictures were torturing her mind. Ben has never told me anything about her... I don't think. While drying her hands, she thought about everything her boyfriend had mentioned every time he returned from The Dash. At no time did he speak about a blonde woman from work, except a married one. All she remembered was his terrible hangovers the next day. There was probably a logical and friendly explanation behind all this. I'm sure Ben will tell me all about it when I get back tonight. As she grabbed the door handle to head back to the bar, she noticed one last photo just above it. It was Ben and that tall woman... snogging. Sarah took a step back. When was this? Was it just that night or were there more kisses? Sarah was overwhelmed by a million questions going through her mind at once.

And then the questions suddenly stopped. She walked back to the bar and sat next to Rebecca.

"How about that drink, then?" her colleague suggested.

"Let's make it two," replied Sarah.

END OF PART ONE.