Chapter 1

I smiled as our aircraft turned onto final approach to land at Heathrow Airport.

London was quite resplendant in the summer afternoon sunshine and the approach path over the center of town really highlighted the historical buildings. It felt like a timeless moment, almost as if the entire pandemic had never happened.

Then we touched down and it was a jolt back to reality. The lines at immigration were easily an hour long, and despite that delay I still had to wait a further 30 minutes for my checked baggage to be delivered. And through all of this, my phone struggled to either pick up a roaming signal or to logon to the airport wifi.

I finally managed to get a signal as I waited at baggage claim.

“I fucking hate Heathrow!”, I texted to Richard.

Richard is one of my best friends. We were in university together, but then went our separate ways, albeit in the same specialised field. He chose to become a tech journalist covering the field, while I decided to become an entrepreneur in the field. We were both pretty succesful, which brings us back to the present.

Richard’s publication was hosting its big annual industry shindig (which had been cancelled the last two years because of, you know... ) and he had managed to convince me to be one of the speakers. I didn’t need too much convincing in the end. London in summer had always been one of my favourite places, even if it did bring back some memories.

The elephant in the room. I still wore my wedding ring sometimes, even though it was almost 18 months now since I lost Amanda to the dreaded virus. I was only 38, but starting over again still felt like somewhat of a betrayal of her memory. Maybe this week would give me a new perspective.

“Sorry mate”, Richard responded. “Got your bags yet?”

“Just coming out now”, I replied as I spotted it trundling around the edge of the conveyor.

“Great. I have a huge favour to ask though.”

“Sure what’s up?”

“Dave tested positive this afternoon so he’s out of commission. Could I volunteer you to help with the registration setup? Team drinks and dinner on us after!”

Ah crap. Just when we thought we were past the damn virus, it keeps raising its head.

“No worries. Give me an hour or so and I’ll be there.”

And so it came to pass that I found myself in the foyer of the conference center being introduced to the team by Richard.

“Everyone, this is George. Many of you may be familiar with him, or at least with his work, but don’t let that get to your head. He’s here today to muck in and help out like the rest of us.”

I nodded and tried to take note of a flurry of names that came my way, thanking the lord for the fact that everyone was wearing nametags anyway.

“Right”, said Richard. “Let’s get you to work. Your mission is pretty basic - just need to supervisor the contractor to make sure the registration area is properly set up. You have three interns with you as well and they know the layout and processes. You just need to be the adult in the room as needed.”

“Sounds easy enough”, I replied.

“Call me if you need anything”, Richard responded, but he was already halfway out the door to his next crisis.

I looked around at the three interns who were left with me and tried to give a friendly smile.

“Right then team, shall we have a quick round of intros?”, I suggested.

The first girl blushed a bright red. She seemed to be of Indian origin judging by her skin tone and facial features. She was dressed in a pair of dark slacks and matching blazer, with a bright orange blouse beneath it.

“Uh, hello Mr. Burdell”, she stammered. “I’m Shalini and I’m a big fan of yours!”

I smiled gently.

“Shalini, my name is George please! And while I’m flattered you are impressed with my past work, you may be less so once you realise how useless I can be helping you this evening.”

“Never!”, she retorted fiercely. “You are very capable George, I know it.”

She blushed an even deeper red as the other two giggled at her obvious fangirl moment.

“Hey George”, said the only guy in the group. “I’m Ronny. Honestly, I don’t know a lot about your work other than that you’re obviously a big deal judging by Shal’s reaction, but I look forward to working with you too.”

I laughed.

“Nothing like a reality check to bring me back to earth. Thanks Ronny!”

The third person spoke up finally. She was a blonde with hair just below her shoulder and an extremely cute button nose. Her shapely butt filled out her jeans nicely and I briefly thought that she was just the type that my younger self might fall for.

“I’m Megan”, she introduced herself, “but you can call me Meg. Unlike that heathen Ronny, I’m also a huge fan of your work and really excited to have this chance to get to know you better.”

There was something about the tone of her voice that made me look back at her and I could have sworn she half winked at me. I quickly shut my mind down as it began to wander to inappropriate places.

The next few hours were busy as the contractors put the finishing touches on the various booths and we set up the badges for the various delegates, as well as the backup systems for printing out duplicate or last-minute badges. It was nearly 8pm when Richard strolled back in.

“Wow, that looks great guys”, he pronounced. “I think we’re good for the evening. Let’s head on over to the bar for some drinks and a bite.”

The whole team was already at the bar by the time we arrived, but we managed to squeeze ourself into some space at the end of the long table. Richard took the drink orders - beers for Ronny and myself, wine for Meg and a fruit juice for Shal.

“Not an alcohol drinker?”, I asked Shalini quietly.

She blushed again.

“No, its just that I don’t think I should be drinking alcohol around him”, she said, gesturing towards Ronny with her eyes. “He tends to get a bit handsy at times and I need to be sharp.”

“Listen”, I said, “don’t let that get in the way of you having a good time. I’ll keep an eye out and step in if he tries anything. Go ahead and get whatever you want to drink.”

She gave me a grateful smile and changed her order to a white wine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ronny grin as well and felt a bit sick about that. I figured I needed to be ready to give the kid a lesson in life truths if it came to that.

The evening went well. It was great to just shoot the shit with old and new friends in person over a few beers after so long. Richard made sure to keep me involved in the conversations even though I only knew most of his colleagues casually. The interns were also having a blast, judging by the wide grins on their faces. Shalini was still nursing her first glass of wine, although Meg was on at least her third.

As I was heading back from a quick visit to the mens room, I spotted Ronny making his move on Shalini. His hand slowly made its way to her back as they listened to someone across the table, and then drifted its way downwards to her butt. Shalini elbowed him away and he raised his hands in a mock “what did I do?” manner. I decided to have a word.

“Hey Ronny, that’s not cool. You don’t just try to cop a feel like that out of the blue.”

“Shit dude, I didn’t do anything. My hand just slipped you know.”

“Whatever man, just make sure it doesn’t happen again!”

Shal scooted up next to me and squeezed my arm in thanks.

“Thanks George. Maybe that will keep him away for a bit!”

I put my arm around her and gave a gentle squeeze in return.

“There is absolutely no reason why anyone should do anything that another person finds unwelcome. That’s just a basic life lesson!”

Meg grinned and this time I was positive she winked at me. She gently traced her fingernails down my arm and whispered at me.

“There’s also good reason to do things that the other person might find very welcome...”

I gulped. This little minx was definitely making a play for me, and while my mind was still resisting, the rest of my body was keen! I sought out Richard for a bit of advice.

“Listen Rich mate. How old are those interns?”

He twigged on immediately and punched my arm in glee.

“I see that someone has already picked up groupies!!! They’re legal, don’t worry. Shalini is 18 and Meg is 20. Just make sure they show up at the reception desk by 9am tomorrow!”

I blushed.

“Seriously mate, I don’t know where this is leading, but I needed to check with you just in case. No HR issues or anything?”

“Nah, you’re not an employee or anything else. And it will be good for you. You haven’t uh, done anything like this since, you know, have you?”

I shook my head, thinking back to my late wife for a moment, but quickly shaking it back off.

The night slowly wound down around 11pm and people began heading back to their hotels. The interns and I were all at the same hotel just across the street so we strolled over there together. Meg was clinging on to my left arm quite possessively, while Shalini made it a point to stand the opposite side of Ronny.

We got into the elevator and I pressed the numbers. I was in a suite on the 5th floor, while Meg, Shal and Ronny had rooms on 5, 7 and 9 respectively. I chuckled inwardly that fate seemed to be really pushing Meg and I together.

As we rode up, I noticed Ronny edging over to Shalini again as she watched him nervously out the corner of her eye. The door pinged open for the fifth floor and I wasn’t quite sure I was comfortable leaving her in the elevator with him. Fortunately Meg had also noticed this and saved the situation.

“Hey Shal, you wanna come pick up that stuff from my room now?”

Shalini’s face lit up immediately and she played along as she followed us out of the elevator.

“Oh yeah, that would be great!”

Ronny was frowning as the elevator doors closed behind us, but I don’t think any of us gave a damn. Both Meg and Shal giggled.

“Checkmate!”, I said. “Well played Meg.”

She gave a small bow.

“We probably need to lie low for a while though. I wouldn’t put it past the creep to be hanging out on the seventh floor waiting for Shal.”

“Well”, I offered, “I do have a pretty sweet suite with a minibar. Why don’t we have another drink while he gets bored?”

We walked down the corridor, this time with one girl clinging to each arm. In the back of my mind, I was hoping that this wouldn’t throw a spoke in the wheel of whatever had been developing with Meg. She probably felt the same because I felt a gentle reassuring squeeze from her as we walked. I let my left hand gently brush over her lower back and butt in response. Just that brief contact with her firm derriere immediately had me turned on again.

I gave the girls a quick tour of the suite. There really wasn’t that much exciting to see anyway, at least for a regular business traveler like myself. There was a sitting room with a couch and two chairs in front of the TV, and a countertop in the corner with the minibar. The bedroom had a king bed with a bunch of pillows and throw cushions, with another TV. And finally the bathroom featured separate soaking tub and rain shower, alongside the other normal features.

The girls made themselves comfortable on the couch as I explored the minibar. We were lucky that it included two full size bottles of reasonably decent wine, one red and one white. The girls mutually agreed on the red so I poured three glasses and carefully carried them to the seating area. I handed over a glass each and took a seat on one of the chairs.