Because She Could: The unputdownable debut novel that spans the globe (The Osprey Series Book 1)

by Kaylie Kay

  ‘Of course,’ said Ali. ‘We can’t wait, Julie. Shame we have to do the flight first, but hey-ho.’

  ‘Fabulous.’ Julie seemed pleased with the response. ‘Well I’m going to go on down then. See you in the briefing, ladies.’ And she was gone again, leaving a waft of her perfume suspended in the air around them.

  The flight had been uneventful, as Hong Kongs usually were, and before they knew it they all sat in Julie’s room with a glass of champagne in their hands and music playing over the portable speaker that sat on her desk. The captain, Nick, and one of the first officers, Graham, had come along for pre-drinks, along with a few of the other crew and the atmosphere was bubbling with excitement. Despite the long flight it was only early afternoon at home and everyone had plenty of energy for the night ahead.

  ‘Have you seen this?’ Nicola nudged Olivia and signalled in the direction of the window where the captain was sat. Julie was already monopolising his attention, not that he seemed to mind, but Lisa, the blonde lady who had been working at the front, seemed to want some of it too.

  ‘They’re having a blonde-off,’ laughed Olivia, as she watched them compete. They were both of a certain age, both equally glamorous, and obviously not used to having competition on such a level playing field. The girls sniggered and turned away, leaving them to it. Olivia was intrigued as to how it would play out, suspecting that Julie would come out on top.

  ‘Drink up then, everyone, we can’t stay here all night.’ It was Claire, taking the lead to get everyone moving.

  Downstairs the bellman opened the doors to the taxis for them and directed the driver to take them to the mid-levels. A cocktail or two here would loosen them up nicely before heading down to Lan Kwai Fong. Olivia watched in amusement as the captain, with an inane grin on his face, was dragged by Julie into the last cab, away from Lisa, and she hoped that Lisa would do the best thing and step aside now before things turned ugly.

  ‘Oh my god, can’t someone tell her to give up?’ Ali was coming back from the bar with a fresh round of cocktails. The girls were highly amused by the ridiculous look on the captain’s face as the two blondes threw themselves at him. The threesome stood at the bar, almost glued to each other, and Olivia saw the fake smiles on Julie and Lisa’s faces as they pretended to like each other, in denial of the competition that was obvious to everyone else.

  ‘She’s going to make her life hell on the flight home if she doesn’t back down soon,’ said Nicola. The girls all nodded in agreement, knowing Nicola was right, that Julie would not take this lightly if defeated. Olivia suspected that it wouldn’t happen though, that Julie, like Sarah, usually got what she wanted.

  ‘He’s bloody married as well,’ Ali added. ‘I had his wife on a flight once.’ She shook her head. ‘What’s-a matter with some of these pilots? Can’t keep it in their pants.’

  ‘We’re not all the same, you know.’ They had forgotten Graham was sat on the table with them. ‘But in his defence, they are throwing themselves at him!’

  ‘Sorry Graham, I’m not suggesting you’re all like it but it just annoys me when I see stuff like that.’ She looked back at the bar.

  ‘No offence taken, but it’s hard for some to say no when it’s thrown at them, that’s all.’

  Olivia felt herself being dragged down, her thoughts going to a darker place, relating this situation to her own. Even Tom hadn’t been able to say no when it was thrown at him, but these guys were in this situation all of the time – Tom wasn’t, maybe his was only a one off. His sad face came into her mind, how sorry he had been. That was what made him different to Nick, who wouldn’t be caught, wouldn’t be sorry, and would do it again. Nick still had a wife, he hadn’t lost anything.

  ‘Right, we’re heading down the hill, see you in a bit,’ Nick called as he passed with Julie on one arm and Lisa on the other.

  ‘Catch you up,’ Graham called back, tipping his glass to show he still had some to drink.

  Another cocktail later and the rest of them linked arms as they struggled in their heels down the steep cobbled street. They were all very merry and Olivia bought the obligatory flashing headwear from the vendor, passing one to each of the girls. They stopped for photos outside of the bar where they were meeting the others before going in, and standing open-mouthed at the door as they saw Julie Margot swinging manically around the pole on the far end of the bar. The captain stood beneath appreciating the show, whilst Lisa looked poised ready to get up next and show what she could do.

  ‘Oh, Christ on a bike,’ said Ali, breaking their stunned silence.

  Chapter 68

  Jez laughed as Gabriella jumped up and down, cheering on her horse.

  ‘Come on, Haymaker,’ she squealed as the horses thundered past them heading for the finish line.

  The stands at Happy Valley race course were full of people, some still in their suits after a day at work, others out for the night with friends, all cheering on their nags. The skyscrapers surrounding the venue reflected their lights downwards, and Jez wondered if people were stood in their apartments watching the events from behind the thousands of windows. Rock music played over the speakers and stalls with awnings that advertised the beers they were selling lined up along the edges of the track. He had never been here before, and this was probably the first time that he had come out with Gabby without feeling nostalgic and being distracted with thoughts of Ness.

  ‘Yes!’ Gabby threw her arms up triumphantly and turned around to see if Jez had seen her victory. He raised his plastic pint glass and tipped his head to signal that he had.

  ‘I won!’ she cried as she walked back towards him waving her betting slip.

  ‘How much?’ Jez asked cheerfully, knowing that it would be very little.

  ‘Umm,’ she said, studying her slip, ‘fifteen dollars.’ She looked up happily, before doing the sums and realising that fifteen Hong Kong dollars was in fact only one pound fifty.

  ‘Drinks are on you then,’ teased Jez, showing her his empty glass.

  ‘Hmph,’ Gabby protested jokingly, before heading towards their beer stall of choice. ‘You can put the next bet on if you think you’re so good, off you go,’ she ordered, waving towards the top of the stairs where the betting took place. Jez did as he was told, chuckling to himself as he went. He and Gabriella had become close, she really did brighten his day.

  ‘Jez, these are some of the guys I work with.’ Gabby was stood with three men in suits when he came back from placing their bets. They shook hands and introduced themselves.

  ‘We’re going on to Lan Kwai Fong, you guys should join us,’ said Bradley, the youngest of the three. Gabby looked at Jez, grinning and raising her eyebrows. He wasn’t sure that it was really his scene, not that he had been there much, but he could see that she really wanted to go, and he wasn’t ready to go home alone yet.

  ‘Yeah, why not?’ he said, pleased with himself when he saw how happy she was. ‘I’ve got tomorrow off anyway.’

  They waited for their last race, finished their drinks and followed the lads to the taxis that were waiting outside of the racecourse.

  The pole dancing competition had ended abruptly when the captain had decided to take a turn, and been asked to leave by the angry Chinese bar lady. They had all left laughing, happy to go next door to Insomnia, another of their favourite haunts. The main part of the bar was open-air, spilling onto the bustling street. Doors at the back led into the where the band were playing, and a dancefloor, and more rock music blared each time someone went through them.

  ‘I love this,’ called Julie Margot, taking the captain’s hand and dragging him into the dark club. Lisa followed them, still not giving up.

  ‘Four lychee daiquiris please,’ Olivia asked the barman, deciding for all of them what their next cocktail would be.

  ‘Yummy,’ said Nicola approvingly.

  ‘Make that five,’ called Graham.

  ‘We need to go and have a dance after this one,’ said Claire. Olivia could see t
hat her friend was fighting the urge to play her air guitar, the inner rock fan in her trying to get out.

  ‘C’mon then,’ said Olivia, after handing the drinks out, which Graham had kindly paid for.

  They walked through the doors and took a moment to adjust to the loudness of the music. Five Chinese boys with various instruments played the songs that everyone knew, the singer without a trace of an accent, a huge smile that showed he loved what he was doing as he sang to his fans. They spotted the others at the side of the dancefloor and Olivia was shocked to see that Julie Margot had taken her hair down and was frantically waving it around to the music. Lisa’s short bob didn’t have quite the same movement and she seemed to be giving up somewhat as the captain moved closer to the competition.

  The girls laughed, always amused at how people behaved here, despite their everyday personas. In Hong Kong there were no inhibitions, no selfconsciousness, everyone just let their hair down, literally.

  The dancefloor was slippery with spilt drinks as they all jumped up and down and sang along, each of them feeling like the band was playing just for them. Olivia loved how happy everyone looked on the stage. Nowhere else, she suspected, would they get this level of appreciation.

  ‘My round, be back in a mo’,’ called Nicola, taking everyone’s empty glasses and walking off back through the doors to outside.

  Chapter 69

  Nicola came back ten minutes or so later carrying a tray with unknown cocktails balanced precariously on it.

  ‘Look who I just found out there,’ she shouted above the noise of the music, standing aside to let them see the pretty blonde that stood behind her.

  ‘Gabby!’ squealed Ali, rushing to give her a hug, followed by Claire. Olivia was confused, unsure why she didn’t know her when all of her friends obviously did. She moved forward to take her drink from Nicola and looked at Claire.

  ‘Oh blimey, sorry Olivia, I forget you weren’t with us!’ Claire apologised. ‘This is Gabby, we met her here last time.’ Gabby reached out her hand and shook Olivia’s. Olivia warmed to her immediately.

  ‘Lovely to meet you,’ she said.

  ‘This,’ Claire paused as she used her thumb to point to Olivia, ‘is our clumsy friend we told you about who should have been with us last time.’

  ‘Oh, that friend,’ Gabby nodded knowingly. ‘It was you who fell down the stairs.’

  ‘Yep, that was me.’ Olivia raised her hand in ownership as she sipped her drink through a straw.

  Someone tall walked up behind their new friend, but Olivia was looking down at her drink so she didn’t recognise him until she heard his voice.

  ‘There you are, I wondered where you’d gone.’

  ‘Sorry,’ Gabby apologised. ‘These are the girls I told you about ages ago, that I met down here, the flight attendants that I had such a good night with.’

  Olivia froze with her straw in her mouth; she wanted to look up but couldn’t, her stomach was flipping over and she couldn’t compose her thoughts.

  ‘Jez, this is Claire, Ali, Nicola and Olivia.’

  Olivia looked up slowly, knowing what she was going to see, Jez looking back at her with the same level of shock that she had felt. It hadn’t occurred to her, crossed her mind even, that she would bump into him. All thoughts of him had been buried underneath all of the other stuff that had happened recently.

  ‘Olivia, I can’t believe it’s you.’ Jez broke the silence. ‘How are you?’

  ‘You know each other?’ Gabby looked confused, as did Olivia’s friends who were all stood watching the pair of them struggling with how to act with each other. Olivia had never told even her closest friends about Jez; she had been ashamed of herself for how she had felt and what she had done.

  ‘Yes, we met once before. Olivia was working on a flight I came back on with Mum and the kids, then she joined us for Tilly’s tea party in the park.’ Olivia was grateful to him for explaining it all so innocently.

  ‘You never mentioned any tea party in the park.’ Claire was looking at her intently. She knew that her friend knew that there was more to the story, that she would have told her about it otherwise.

  ‘I love this song,’ said Gabby, handing Jez her glass to hold. He barely took his eyes off of Olivia as he took it from her. Nicola had put her tray down by now and followed the rest of them into the throng of people dancing, all except Claire hadn’t noticed or suspected that there was anything more than an acquaintance between them.

  ‘How are you?’ Jez asked again now that they were alone.

  ‘Good, thanks.’ Olivia felt sober, back down to earth, and still with this feeling in her stomach.

  ‘Shall we go outside to talk? It’s a bit loud in here,’ Jez suggested. Olivia nodded in agreement, feeling nervous as she followed him out.

  It wasn’t the night that Olivia had expected to be having but as she relaxed she began to enjoy Jez’s company again. She remembered why she had liked him before, only this time she was single, and she wasn’t sure how she should act and feel now that it was ok to be here with him.

  The others came in and out for more drinks, disappearing quickly each time back to the dance floor.

  ‘Oh, mate, you’ve gotta come and see what’s going on in there,’ Claire said, interrupting their conversation. Olivia and Jez both rose and followed her through the doors.

  It took a while to focus, to see what Claire had been talking about, until she saw the group of them in the middle. Julie Margot’s dancing had slowed down, and she was now dancing alongside Lisa, in alliance. The captain, meanwhile, had had all of his attention diverted to the pretty blonde who had joined them. Gabby was oblivious, lost in the music and the atmosphere, not noticing Nick gyrating around her. Olivia laughed, momentarily embarrassed for him, thinking he looked like a tropical bird trying to attract a mate with his complex dance routine.

  ‘I’m so sorry for my colleague’s behaviour,’ she laughed to Jez. He was laughing too, but not right up to his eyes, and Olivia guessed that not everybody understood this kind of situation.

  If she had been writing the story Olivia would have presumed that she and Jez would start where they had left off, but despite enjoying his company again something stopped her taking it forward. Neither did he push for anything more; the connection that they had both had before didn’t seem to be there this time. The drinks flowed and the conversation was easy, but when he said goodbye it was like they were old friends.

  ‘I had better get Gabby home, I think she’s had enough,’ he said as Gabby came out with Claire, hanging on to her and rolling her head.

  ‘It was lovely to see you again.’ Olivia hugged him, feeling his warmth and liking it, enjoying the embrace for that brief moment.

  ‘You too.’ He looked down at her, right into her eyes. Nothing more needed to be said.

  ‘Bye,’ called the girls in unison, waving the pair of them off.

  ‘My round,’ Olivia said assertively, needing to get back to that carefree stage she was at before they had arrived.

  ‘So, who is Jez?’ Claire asked accusingly.

  ‘I’ll tell you another time,’ said Olivia. Jez was no one, just an acquaintance.

  Jez put his arm around Gabby in the back seat of the cab, letting her lean against him, and kissed the top of her head gently. It was funny, he thought, he had held Olivia on a pedestal as the only one who could get him over Ness, but she wasn’t the only one after all. When he had seen that drunk pilot all over Gabby on the dancefloor he had felt protective, uneasy, jealous even. He hadn’t noticed how his feelings for her had been growing, he didn’t recognise them as they were so alien to him now, but here she was in his arms and it felt so right. Olivia had been the one to open him up to the possibility of moving on, but Gabby was the one he wanted to move on with. He smiled as he saw the light at the end of his long dark tunnel.

  Chapter 70

  The trip had been a blast. They had stayed out till sunrise, watching the tai chi in Victoria Park befor
e going to bed. They laughed through their hangovers the next evening as they wandered around the shops in Causeway Bay, and when the wake-up call rang on their phones the next afternoon Olivia felt lighter than she had in ages, ready to go home.

  The flight was long, and Olivia was on first break. She had slept so well in the hotel that she wasn’t tired, and she lay in her bunk with her eyes open, staring blankly at the light controls on the sidewall. For the first time in weeks she allowed the thoughts to come without pushing them away; she felt ready to deal with them, and as they came one after another she saw them clearly. She saw Tom, broken, sorry and so sad. She compared him to the captain and saw that they were so different. She saw Jez, how she too had made a mistake once, albeit smaller, but how she had resisted it this time, even though she was apart from Tom now. She played over the words of Sarah’s parents, and as she finally drifted off to sleep she went in her mind back to her home, her happy place and her happy life.

  ‘I’m just popping out.’ Olivia pulled up outside of Claire’s and opened the boot, only taking out her friend’s suitcase. Claire looked at her confused.