“It’s not about taking credit,” I tell them. “It’s about helping people who are struggling against the scum controlling them. People often picture trafficking as putting victims in cages and beating them until they do their bidding, and that’s often the case, which is horrific, but there is a lot more to it than that.”
I’m already on a roll, and I can’t stop the passion as the words keep coming.
“They use force, fraud and serious harm, but they also use coercion. Abusers often prey on people who want to believe them. They use promises and lies to snare people into situations they don’t see coming, and then they exploit them. The more people we let know about the vile methods abusers use, the more people will be able to identify where and how it’s being used around them, and for that we need to be able to educate and speak loudly. We need fundraising to support those in need of it, but we need the passion of ambassadors and volunteers to help win the battle.”
“Here he goes,” Ant says with a sigh, but my words must be having an effect, as both women are staring at me and nodding.
“We can all do our bit,” I continue. “We can all fight for the causes we believe in. Recognition for doing it plays no part for me in the slightest. I don’t need praise or accolades.”
“Yes,” Ant says. “We all know it.”
He shifts the focus by pointing out something to Cass on her menu.
“How about venison tartare to start, sweetheart? I think you’ll enjoy it.”
She gives Ant a nod and a smile, but her eyes come back to mine.
“I think what you do is amazing,” she says, with a gorgeous natural smile on her face.
“Me, too,” Janie says, with a sweet smile of her own.
Ant steers the conversation away from G.A.T.A. as we work through our starters and mains, asking Janie about their work at the wedding planners and their evenings at yoga and swimming every week. It’s nice to see how well Janie and Cass get on. I could listen to their tales and giggles all night long.
Their giggles get more dramatic as the De Chante flows, with more and more stories of their work events coming to the forefront. It doesn’t matter where passion comes from, for me passion is passion, and both of the women in front of me have a huge amount of care for the special days they help create for people. That in itself is a beautiful thing to see, and it’s an instant contrast to the work life I’ve become accustomed to. The energy from Cass and Janie is in a different realm to the team in Berlin. The group of people I work with are mainly there for the financial reward at the cost of anything else. Part of me wishes I’d given it up a long time ago, but I’ve managed to make my way high up the ladder – down to the incredible mentoring and support of Ant, that is. It helps in other areas more than he’ll ever know, since I never talk about it. Living and working with such an insanely talented professional as him means I can plough the vast majority of my income into helping the causes I believe in, and for that I’ll be eternally grateful. He’s helping G.A.T.A. tremendously, even though the topic bores the shit out of him.
The waiter offers us our dessert menus when the time comes, and I take mine with a thanks, already set on a slice of chocolate fudge cake with cream. Janie is scanning through her menu quite happily, with an excited smile on her face, but Cass leaves hers flat on the table without so much as a glance, just like Ant does.
Janie looks quite surprised at that, giving Cass a giggle.
“You not going for the knickerbocker glory?”
“No,” Cass replies. “I’m not really feeling like it. I’m going off sugar a bit.”
I look at Ant and he’s smiling, proud of her, which is the kind of thing about him that irritates the shit out of me. He can say all he likes that I’m the crusader and preacher, but he preaches just as strongly as I do, just a lot more subtly – advising people on everything from how they should think to what they should say. What they should wear and what they should eat, and pointing out every single thing he thinks they are doing wrong.
I push that aside, keeping the crusader side of me in check. Ant’s manner is his form of caring, and Jesus, how he cares about Cass.
Ant is fantastic with Cass and her friend, engaging and interested, and continually smiling at Cass with utter adoration in his eyes. I can tell Janie likes him too, smiling at them as they smile at each other. It’s a lovely evening with conversation flowing and not at all centred around Nevilles, which is the topic I’ve got used to engaging in for years on end in Berlin. It’s a welcome relief from the norm, and Ant is obviously enjoying himself, since he has a suggestion before we’re even done with dessert.