Chapter Three
By the end of the day, Tamara felt more excited than ever about the retreat. She'd only started telling people that day, but she already had her quota of six. She was sure that she could reach ten people by the end of the week if she tried. She couldn't believe it. The idea had come to her about a year ago, but at that time, she knew that she wasn't yet ready to take on something so big. But the idea had stayed with her and had nagged at her slowly but surely. It was Wendy who had urged her to take the plunge.
"So, what if it doesn't work out? Then you try again. And if it still doesn't work out, well then, at least, you can say that you tried. You've got an amazing business. But I don't see why this wouldn't work. I think it's a great idea," Wendy had said.
"You sure? Would you go?"
"Of course, I'll go."
"Might just end up being you and me then," Tamara had said.
"So what? How much fun would that be?"
And so, Tamara had put the plans into action. She'd found an amazing place to have the retreat and had booked it, despite not knowing whether anyone would show. When she gave Wendy the dates, she was disappointed to find that it was the one week that Wendy couldn't make it. But she'd made the booking, and she knew that there was no turning back. The retreat was going to be for a full week, and she was offering yoga, health, and relaxation techniques throughout. She even organized a few people to come give talks on some of the days, as well as an amazing chef, who was going to teach people how to cook in a healthier way. Mostly, though, she wanted the week to be about getting away from the chaos of normal life. She wanted to teach people how important it was to relax and breathe and stretch. And she wanted them to walk away, having learned a few things about themselves and their bodies. Tamara was very good at planning, and she had made her way through her to-do list every day without fail. There was nothing much left to do now, other than make sure that she actually got customers. The rest was all planned.
After dinner, she got out her laptop to see if anybody had emailed her, and she was surprised to find that she had nine emails waiting for her. Eight were confirmations and one was a query. That meant she now had fourteen attendees! She couldn't believe it. She picked up the phone and called Wendy.
"FOURTEEN!" she yelled into the phone.
"What? Fourteen what?"
"Fourteen people have said yes to the retreat."
"Seriously? That was quick! You see, Tamara. I told you that people would be interested. I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks, Wendy. I had to phone and let you know! If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would've taken the plunge. Thanks for believing in me. Now, I just need to get through this first one."
"Once you've done one, the others will be easy. You're a natural at this sort of thing. People feel good around you."
"Thanks, Wendy."
Tamara smiled and put down the phone. But the moment she did, her phone rang and she jumped in surprise. She supposed it was Wendy calling to remind her that she'd be at the class in the morning. But it wasn't Wendy.
"Hello, I'm looking for Tamara Hope." The voice on the other end of the phone was female, and Tamara had never heard it before.
"Uh, hello, yes, this is Tamara speaking."
"Oh hi, Tamara. This is Geraldine Fisher. I'm an agent for the entertainment industry, working mostly with new celebrities. I came across your pamphlet today. Are you the right person to speak to about the retreat?"
Tamara was taken aback. She had no idea how her pamphlet had made it to an agent or why this agent was calling her, but she took a deep breath and tried to act as professional as possible. "Yes, absolutely, how can I help you?"
"I'd like to send one of my clients to you. Do you still have space?"
"We're almost at full capacity, but I do still have a few spots available."
"Wonderful! That's great news. Please, can you put down Thomas Winter as one of the attendees? If you can, send me an invoice tomorrow. I'll make sure it gets paid. I am very good with my promises - so I can assure you that payment will be made quickly and efficiently."
Tamara wasn't sure if she had heard correctly. Did Geraldine really just say that Thomas Winter was going to be coming to her retreat? "Thomas Winter - oh wow. For sure!"
"You know him then?" Geraldine asked.
"Doesn't everyone? He's quite the looker."
Geraldine laughed. "He is. And I'll let you in on a little secret - he's even better looking up close. Don't tell him that, though. I almost pretend as if he's not that good looking at all, and it drives him insane. He's got a big enough head as it is. I think this retreat is just what he needs, to be honest."
"Well, we're happy to have him. And yeah, this retreat should sort him out. We're all about looking inwards, rather than outwards. The world has enough of that going on."
"Thanks, Tamara. I'm going to let him know right now. I'll be honest. He hasn't given me the go ahead just yet. But I really want him to go onto this retreat, so I'm going to twist his arm. Please, can you email me all the details, so he knows where to go? If I don't have all the details, that boy will have no clue. I'll have to phone him on the day to remind him. He has his head in the clouds, but I'm used to it. I've had years of experience working with celebrities, and most of them are all the same. He's a good boy, but he just needs a bit of calming down."
"No problem at all. I'll have the invoice and the details sent to you first thing in the morning."
Tamara took down the details and then put down the phone. Even though she didn't want to, she couldn't help but let out a squeal too. Her very first retreat and she had a celebrity on board. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but it was exciting, nonetheless. She phoned Wendy.
"You sure you can't get time off for the retreat?"
"I wish I could. But sadly, not this time. Why? Are you nervous? Because you'll be fine, Tamara. You don't need me there at all. You've got this."
Tamara giggled. "Well? it's just that I got a call from an agent in the movie industry. Turns out, I have a celebrity on board."
"What? Who?"
"Oh, nobody special, just Thomas Winter."
"No way! Thomas Winter is going to be at your retreat? You're joking!"
"I'm not!"
"I'm so unbelievably jealous, right now. Hey, didn't you tell me the other day that you find him annoying?"
"I do. I mean, I don't know him. But from what I've seen, he's only interested in going out and partying. He looks drunk in almost every photo I've seen of him."
"So, why are you so happy?"
"Uh? because he's sort of beautiful," Tamara admitted.
Wendy burst out laughing. "Finally! You're admitting to liking someone."
"I don't like him. Not at all. In fact, I have a feeling he's going to drive me up the wall. But I can't deny that he's quite easy on the eye."
"That's putting it mildly. Wow - this is amazing. This is going to be great for you. Once people know that Thomas Winter was at your retreat, they'll be begging to go on the next one. I can't believe that a guy like Thomas Winter is going to a health retreat. I cannot imagine him doing something like that. I wonder if it's some publicity thing."
"Could be. It sounds like the agent is making him do it. Maybe she thinks he's getting a bad reputation. I wouldn't blame her for that. He really does seem to have gone a little crazy in the last few months. He's in every magazine I open."
"Tamara, I'm so jealous. You better get me his number!"
"You deserve someone better than him, Wendy. But I will take a few sneaky pictures and send them to you."
"You better!"
They spoke for a little longer, mostly about how insane it was that a celebrity was going to be at her retreat, and by the time Tamara put down the phone, she felt excited but nervous. Wendy kept going on and on about how nervous she would be that it made Tamara start to wonder if, perhaps, she should be just as nervous too. She went for a shower and then climbed into bed. No, don't be silly,
she told herself. Even though he's a celebrity, he's still a person. But she couldn't help it - she really was nervous.
The Retreat (A Clean and Sweet Romance Novella) Page 3