In the photograph, Vuk appeared to be kissing Sara on the cheek. She was laughing, his hand rested on her shoulder, and her husband stood far in the background. By morning, the picture had circulated through every hotel staff group. Someone added a comment saying the events director had finally entered the social circle she had always wanted.
Sara had approached Vuk because he was a well-known festival organizer. For months, she had been trying to get his recommendation. When he recognized her at the reception and greeted her warmly, she leaned closer to hear him over the music. Her husband, Emir, was helping the hotel technician that evening because the sound system had broken down.
Vuk did not stay beside Sara for long. All evening, he was trying to reach Dijana, an investor whose foundation could fund his festival. He spoke too loudly and laughed before anyone had finished. His partner, Nina, watched him from their table and wondered when he had last listened so attentively to anything she said.
Dijana, however, was looking for Emir. She had heard that he had repaired the heating in a small home for adults with disabilities without charging them. She wanted to arrange work on another building. When she found him behind the stage, she took off her expensive shoes and sat on a case of cables. The photographer did not notice them.
Emir explained that they did not need new equipment, only a repair previous contractors had refused because the job was not profitable enough. Dijana wrote the name of the part on the back of her invitation. Later, she mentioned their conversation in her speech without naming him. Vuk applauded and imagined how her foundation could help him. Meanwhile, Sara adjusted the seating so that Vuk's team would be visible in the final photograph.
The next day, a relative sent Emir the picture of his wife and Vuk with nothing but a question mark. He did not forward it to Sara. He showed it to her over breakfast and asked what had happened. She explained, but paused when he asked why she had not come over to him once during the evening.
"I thought you were working," she said.
"I was. You could still have seen me."
At the foundation's next meeting, the circle closed. Dijana recommended Emir to Vuk as someone trustworthy, Vuk praised Sara's organization, and Sara realized she had spent the evening seeking approval from a man who was waiting for someone else's. No one's position was high enough to stop them looking over another person's shoulder.
She asked the hotel to remove the inappropriate comment beneath the photograph. Then she invited Emir to lunch. She did not show him her new contacts or explain why the reception had been a success after all. She asked about the fault he had been fixing and listened until he had drawn the entire sound system on a napkin. The napkin stayed among her business notes. Beneath the drawing, she wrote the date of their anniversary, without a guest list.