The Flat on the 7th Floor

by E. L Barry

  “I’m so pleased for you, Josie,” Kim said, as she walked alongside.

  “Thank you, I can’t wait to get started. I’ve heard the clients really know their stuff, so I better be on my game and learn everything I can.”

  “If anyone can do it you can,” Kim smiled, as she continued, “Remember me when you’re rich.”

  “Ha ha,” Josie retorted and playfully elbowed Kim, “You’ll be married off before I get there.”

  Kim laughed, “Talking of marriage, are you going to the wedding next month?”

  A colleague at another branch was getting married and had invited everyone to the evening reception.

  Josie had sent her RSVP two months ago to say she was going with a plus one. It felt a bit strange at the time, but ever the optimist, Josie didn’t want to assume she would still be single. She’d read somewhere that you had to ‘make space’ for a significant other to enter your life, so she thought why not and gave it a go. She knew Nicholas was the kind of man who looked good in a suit, but whether he was a ‘going to a wedding’ kind of guy, or even if it would be serious enough by then to invite him, Josie had no idea.

  Coming back to reality, Josie replied, “Yes, I’m going to the service then I will disappear for the afternoon and drop back in at some point in the evening. What are you doing?”

  “Yeah, I’ll go in the evening if you are. I don’t think anyone else I know is going so I don’t want to turn up on my own.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine. And we’ve got the conference at the end of next week to practise our small talk and networking skills.”

  “I don’t think I’ll like that either, unless there is someone I know,” Kim said, reluctantly.

  Kim seemed uncomfortable about being alone, which surprised Josie, as she came across as confident and outgoing when they were out.

  Still, weddings were a different event entirely, and the rules could knock even the most confident off their game if they didn’t have someone to go with.

  Josie realised later that night that she had forgotten about the background check for Michael. She didn’t usually work in the evenings, but it was bothering her, so she logged on to the tablet and read the report. There was no address history before five years ago and he hadn’t even had so much as a late payment. And everyone has a late payment!

  Chapter 9

  It had been a quiet week leading up to the conference that Josie, Kim and Gareth were attending. The office was being covered by other staff members so they could all learn more skills and progress their careers. Josie and Kim were surprised that Gareth was going to the conference, but on the train travelling up they found out that he had spent the last year studying outside of work to learn more about financial planning and property development.

  “I’m seeing everyone else do it and I thought if they can do it then why can’t I?”

  Kim and Gareth continued to talk as Josie turned away, barely listening, as she gazed out the window, watching the countryside pass by.

  She had a lot on her mind and was worrying about the future. Even with the conference and taking on more responsibility at work, she found herself questioning whether she would be able to do it and what would happen if she failed.

  Her mum’s words came to mind from when she was younger and she had fallen over, or something hadn’t worked out as she had wanted it to. “If you don’t try, how will you learn? You can often learn more through what doesn’t work than what does. It’s all experience.”

  Josie was afraid of making mistakes, but her mum’s words encouraged her to be brave and keep learning and to try her best no matter what happened. Josie took comfort knowing that, for the most part, her mother’s words had been true so far and not too much had gone wrong. And yet, there was still a nagging feeling that Josie hadn’t done enough, that she wasn’t there yet, and that there was still more to achieve and to do to fulfil her potential.

  When am I ever going to learn?

  Kim was still chatting away to Gareth, “When my sister broke her leg, she was off school for ages.”

  “I didn’t know you had a sister. Kim,” said Josie, joining in the conversation at last.

  “Yeah, and she still lives with my parents. I escaped as soon as I could. It was hell at home. What about you Josie?”

  “Sadly, I’m an only child,” she replied, wishing that she had siblings to share things with.

  The hotel where they were staying was a perfect conference venue with modern décor and plenty of space needed to host hundreds of people. Josie could see the meeting rooms were already set up as they walked through the entrance to book themselves in.

  The registration area was lined with lanyards and names of people from all over the country. Josie arrived at the reception desk first, having only one suitcase and a laptop bag, whereas Gareth was helping Kim with her two suitcases and overnight bag, while also carrying his own rucksack.

  Once checked in, the three of them sauntered towards the lift and agreed to meet back downstairs ten minutes before the introductory drinks’ reception started.

  Kim got out of the lift on the second floor and had managed to figure out a way to carry all of her stuff. She waved cheerily as she looked forward to getting party ready.

  Gareth had noticed that Josie hadn’t been talkative on the train. “Is everything alright? You’ve been quiet,” he asked with concern in his voice.

  “Yeah,” Josie replied, unconvincingly.

  “If you want to talk, I’m here,” he replied.

  The lift door pinged and opened up. The two of them stepped out. Gareth looked at his key card and checked the wall for the room number sign.

  “I’m this way,” Gareth said, pointing left, “see you later.”

  Josie checked hers. “Me too,” and followed him down the corridor. A few moments later, they both stopped at the same time, arriving at their doors, which were opposite each other.

  “I’m here if you need me,” Gareth reassured her again.

  “Thanks, see you downstairs later,” Josie replied and went into her room.

  There was nothing nicer than walking into a hotel room with fresh sheets on the bed, a tidy space and the little coffee sachets.

  Showered and dressed, Josie was ready to meet and greet the new people that she would be working with over the next few days. Once she had her ‘small talk’ brain switched on she was confident and sociable. Nothing was going to get in the way of her enjoying this time with her colleagues.

  They were meeting by the statue in reception, apparently along with everyone else who had made that their meeting place too. Gareth was already there, on time as usual, and Kim was nowhere to be seen yet. Fifteen minutes or so later, Kim still hadn’t arrived, so Josie went to look for her. On the way to the lift, she saw Kim coming towards her.

  “Everything okay?” Josie asked Kim as they met.

  “My room was changed last minute so I’m down here now. Something about ground floor security and it took forever to get it sorted. I’m sorry I’m late,” Kim rushed through her words and looked flustered. She continued, “I’m not sure what security had to do with it but the guy who changed the rooms gave me the creeps. Anyway, I’m here now. What have I missed?”

  Josie put her arm around Kim’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything, we’re just about to go through. Gareth is waiting for us.”

  The room where the drinks reception was being held was set up with tables of eight, covered in tablecloths. It wasn’t busy and the refreshments hadn’t been served yet. Without music playing, the room felt cavernous and didn’t have any atmosphere.

  One of the downsides of being on time, Josie thought, as she caught Gareth’s eye and he pulled an ‘I know’ face, as if he had read her thoughts. Josie smiled.

  The three of them made small talk while they accepted the complimentary drinks handed to them on arrival. They clasped their glasses, not wanting to drink too fast while they waited for others to come in and join the
m. In the next twenty minutes, the room filled and the music started. Josie relaxed as she spotted someone she knew across the room from a previous conference. Excusing herself, Josie left Kim and Gareth talking as she weaved her way through the room.

  From the corner of her eye, she spotted a waiter, who, from behind, looked like Michael. It can’t be, she thought as she dismissed the possibility.

  The night was pleasant, and the usual pre-event awkwardness reduced as the drinks continued and the welcome talk and agenda told everyone where they needed to be and when. The organisers said it was up to them if they wanted to stay at the hotel or to go out locally after the reception.

  Whoever decided to make the break away from the hotel was brave though, as usually what followed would be too much drink, getting back in the early hours and then being half-asleep for the first part of the morning.

  Josie, along with Gareth and Kim decided to stay for one more drink and have an early night. Kim, being on the ground floor, didn’t have far to go, but, ever the gentleman, Gareth insisted he see her to her door.

  “How sweet,” Kim gushed as she linked arms with him for the last few metres to her room.

  “Good night, Kim. See you at breakfast.”

  On the way upstairs, Josie talked with Gareth, “Thanks for keeping Kim company.”

  “No worries, she’s good fun and we had a good night. Hope you enjoyed it too?” he asked.

  “Yeah, it was great to catch up with people I’ve met before. They have done well so it’s a mix of awe and jealously coming to places like these,” she sighed. “Did you get a chance to talk to anyone?”

  Gareth paused, “I don’t feel like I belong yet. I’ve spent so much time doing the maintenance side of property, I’m not sure I understand half the words that everyone uses in sales.”

  Without thinking Josie put her hand on his arm and reassured him, “You’re the most intelligent person in that room and I bet none of them know how to read boiler instructions, let alone fix one.”

  They both laughed, which felt good.

  Outside their rooms and still laughing, Josie’s phone rang.

  What was someone ringing her this late for?

  “Sorry, Gareth, I’ll need to get this,” she apologised, as she took out her phone. It was a withheld number.

  “Hello, Nicholas? How did you get my number?” As she struggled to find her room key, Josie noticed Gareth’s look turn to one of disappointment as she waved goodbye and rushed into her room.

  “Sorry, I didn’t think you would mind me calling you. I missed seeing you this week.”

  Josie was surprised by the call and confused by her mixed feelings in that moment. Her thoughts couldn’t override the familiar flutter in her tummy.

  “No, no, that’s okay, it’s just that I didn’t give you my number, so I wasn’t expecting your call. How did you get my number?” she asked again.

  “Can I see you soon? When are you back?” he asked her, ignoring her question.

  “Not for a couple of days. I’m at a conference for work,” Josie replied. “Why won’t you tell me where you got it?”

  “Oh, it’s a long story and I’ll tell you when I see you. I’m thinking of you a lot. What are you wearing?” he asked in a hushed tone.

  Josie wasn’t satisfied with his answer, but she could wait until she got back to talk to him about it again. She was glad that Nicholas couldn’t see her at that moment.

  She smiled trying to decide whether to answer literally about what she was wearing or to play his game. It hadn’t taken her long to get ready for bed while talking, and the answer of a strappy top and pyjama bottoms wasn’t likely to be the answer that would keep the flirtatious mood going!

  If I had known he was going to call, I may have packed something different!

  Josie dodged the question and agreed to see him when she got back. Lying in the darkness, Josie couldn’t settle for a while as she thought about what her next meeting with Nicholas would be like. She was worried about how he knew her number but eventually fell asleep.

  A breakfast, Josie spotted Gareth reading at a table by the window. He had saved seats for her and Kim to join him. Josie couldn’t see Kim there yet, but she brought two coffees over to the table for when she did arrive.

  “Morning, Gareth, can I get you anything while I’m up?” she asked, putting the cups down.

  Gareth looked up and replied, “No, thank you, I’ve got what I need,” and continued reading.

  Josie felt awkward but wasn’t sure why. He hadn’t exactly been rude to her, but things didn’t feel as friendly as they had last night when they had been talking. The focus for the day was now to learn everything she possibly could and put aside her thoughts and worries about her father’s illness, Nicholas and now Gareth.

  Today is all I have to make a difference. Today is going to be the best day ever. I can, I will, I am going to be successful, Josie told herself over and over again.

  As she returned to the table, a police officer was standing over Gareth, who looked pale.

  “Gareth, what’s wrong?” Josie asked.

  “Kim is in hospital.”

  Chapter 10

  Staff members came and went hurriedly through the ground floor as Gareth and Josie followed one of the police officers back to reception to talk in private.

  “I’m Detective Newton and this is PC Hinton. We would like to know all of Kim’s last movements and how she has been in the last couple of days.”

  Visibly shaken, Josie spoke, “We took Kim to her room last night. She’d had a bit to drink…”

  “How much?” PC Hinton asked.

  “About three cocktails from what I saw,” Josie answered, as she looked at Gareth to see if he could add anything more. He nodded.

  Josie continued, “She has been fine and there was nothing that I can think of that would be out of the ordinary. What’s happened? Is she okay?” Josie asked again, as neither of the officers had replied earlier.

  “Please just answer the questions,” PC Hinton said firmly.

  Josie looked confused, “Are we in trouble?” she asked, trying to think if there was any possibility that they were being considered as suspects.

  Surely not!

  “So, what time did you last see Kim?” PC Hinton continued.

  Gareth spoke at this point, “Just before eleven. I remember, as that’s when Josie got a call from her…” he tailed off not sure what to call Nicholas.

  Josie chimed in, “Yes, that’s right I have the time on my phone when I was up in my room.” She pulled out her phone with the time of the call clearly visible.

  PC Hinton looked at her and asked, “Is there any chance that she went out of the hotel to meet someone?”

  “No, I don’t think so, and she hadn’t met anyone at the conference and doesn’t know anyone in this area.” Josie paused. “There is one thing that she mentioned about the guy who changed her room being a bit creepy. Has he got anything to do with this?” Josie enquired.

  Detective Newton looked up from his notepad.

  “What room change?”

  Gareth and Josie looked at each other and then back at the officers as they explained that someone had arranged for Kim to move to the ground floor for security reasons.

  Detective Newton stood up abruptly and commanded, “PC Hinton, you come with me. You two stay here,” then the officers left the room.

  What felt like hours later, PC Hinton returned and Kim was with him.

  Josie and Gareth leapt up to give her the biggest hug. Kim was taken aback and asked, “What is going on here? I’ve just been woken up and told that someone’s in hospital and it was the person who was in the room that I was supposed to have been in?”

  PC Hinton explained, “We’re investigating what has happened and are now searching for the security footage from yesterday to see who made the room swap. Someone is seriously hurt, and we don’t know who that is now. If there is any reason why anyone would want to hurt you please le
t us know.”

  PC Hinton paused again allowing time for them to comprehend and then said,

  “You can continue with the conference, and there will be an officer available for you to talk to while we search for the suspects and motive. We can’t say more at this time, but we may need to speak to you all again, so don’t leave the hotel.”

  “That poor person,” Kim whispered, “that could have been me.”

  Josie led Kim out and they sat on the wall outside, taking in everything that had happened. Josie suddenly felt very protective of Kim and promised that she wouldn’t let her out of her sight for the next two days. The lingering thought remained with them all. Who was the creepy guy that had swapped the rooms?

  Adapting to the increased security at the conference didn’t take long and everyone seemed to focus on the seminars and group activities.

  While Josie and Kim stuck like glue to each other, Gareth was invited to a group that had a mix of people across the industry.

  He looked like he was enjoying himself and for the first time Josie noticed that he had a quiet confidence about him and that he worked well in a team. It reminded her of the time when she had bumped into him at the café where he was coaching.

  Josie found herself wondering what else he did in his spare time and then considering why she didn’t do more with her free time too. It seemed as though the possibility of losing Kim had given her a jolt about how important friends and colleagues were, and that time should never be wasted. She was lucky she had great colleagues, a roof over her head, clothes, money, a promotion, new opportunities and someone who wanted to take her out when she got back. It was all okay in the grand scheme of things.

  The conference went well, and Josie was pleased that she had been able to network and learn some new things that she could try when she got back to the office. It seemed pointless to spend this amount of time out of the office and then get back and carry on just doing what she had always done, so she picked one thing new to do and one thing to stop doing.