by J. D. Chase
‘Stay calm, Belinda. I won’t be long. Make sure you inform Bobbi, Dean, Derek and Nadine . . . oh, and find Jones as soon as possible, or any one of them and have them exit the hotel and call me right away. And for God’s sake make sure that nobody let’s on to her that she’s been rumbled. Have you got that?’
‘Yes, except that Dean hasn’t come into work again. We’ve still not heard a word, have you?’
‘Um . . . no, nothing. Right, I’ll see you soon. Bye.’
Xander was looking at her quizzically. ‘Stay calm? What’s happened now? Don’t tell me, let me guess. I know, she was waxing Bobbi’s bikini line and managed to stick Bobbi’s legs together.’
‘I wish. According to one of our regulars, a hotel inspector has just checked in. Cue major panic.’
‘Fuck. I’d hoped we’d have more time.’
‘Yeah, me too. Oh shit, Xander. Bookings were taking off and all our hard work was paying off. There’s no way we’re going to get a decent rating yet. Our five-star rating will be gone for a start. At least she’s staying in a superior room. But with such a limited menu and no kitchen open yet, we’re fucked.’
Xander was quiet for a few minutes before clicking buttons on his display and saying a name Isla didn’t recognise. It soon became apparent that he was on the phone. A terse conversation followed that Isla couldn’t follow. As soon as he disconnected he really put his foot down, ignoring her questions about his phone call. Isla clung on, sure that at any moment flashing blue lights would fill the car and they’d be delayed indefinitely at the roadside.
She jumped when her phone rang. Her heart sank when she saw it was the hotel again.
‘Yes, Belinda.’
‘It’s Jones. Where are you? I understand you’re on the way to the hotel. What’s your ETA?’
‘Um . . . what?’
‘Estimated time of arrival.’
‘Oh, er . . . half an hour or so I guess. Listen, I don’t need you lot any more. I’ve resolved everything with Mr Rhodes. In fact, he’s with me now and will be coming back to the hotel. I want all of you gone by the time we get back, is that clear? Thanks for all your help. I’ll contact your office later.’
‘Are you compromised, Miss Hamilton?’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Are you acting under your own free will? Listen, I’ll call back in five minutes. If you don’t pick up, I’ll assume that you’re not and take appropriate action.’
‘I can assure you that I’m fine and in control of my faculties. There’s no need to call back.’
Jones’ voice was mildly exasperated. ‘If Mr Rhodes is forcing you to take this course of action, say “I understand”.’
‘What? No. It’s nothing to do with Mr Rhodes. I’m calling you off.’
‘I’ll call you back in five minutes. If you don’t answer, I’ll assume you’re compromised.’
The line went dead. Isla stared at her phone is disbelief before she began to laugh. At first it was a giggle, then it grew into a hysterical turn that had tears rolling down her cheeks until her ribs began to ache.
Xander asked her several times what she was laughing at but she couldn’t answer him. It was the sound of her phone ringing that finally silenced her. She snatched it up and told Jones in a very exasperated voice that she was not compromised and if they weren’t gone by the time she got back, they’d be very sorry. Then she hung up.
‘Compromised? What the hell was all that about?’
She filled him in briefly and he shook his head. ‘I told you they were OTT.’
‘Oh come on, see it from their point of view. They were hired with a specific brief and they’re just doing their best to stick to it. Yes, because of their former training, they’re probably a little more thorough than some security teams but they did their job. They kept you out of there and away from me.’
He looked at her with his eyebrows raised. ‘Yeah, and that’s why I’m sat here with you now. They did such a fabulous job. I bet they got dishonourably discharged and that’s why they ended up where they are.’
‘I meant they kept you away from me whilst I was in the hotel. I didn’t request them to follow me everywhere. In fact, I almost knocked one of them over when I left the hotel.’
He frowned. ‘Why did you leave exactly?’
Isla closed her eyes.
Should I tell him? He’s just given me the perfect opportunity. Or should I wait until I’ve seen Dean and see how he wants to play it? Xander will probably want to rip his head from his shoulders if he finds out. And I’m not even sure exactly what happened. Dean’s mysterious vanishing act is what’s making me think that it really wasn’t a bad dream, but what if it’s totally unrelated? Perhaps I should tell Xander the truth, that I don’t really know what happened.
She opened her eyes to tell him but the ridiculous speed that he was driving made her rethink. There was a good chance that he’d freak out, and she didn’t want that happening when he was driving at the speed of light.
No, better to wait.
‘Things just got a bit much and I needed to get out for a while. The Holden was sitting there, tempting me – I hadn’t driven for a while, and well, the lure of the open road was too great. Anyway, what was your phone call all about?’
He grinned. ‘All in good time, Red. All in good time.’
She huffed and then relaxed, as far as she could, given his driving style. By the time they’d reached the A4, she was still struggling with what to tell the staff. She was trying to think of something that wouldn’t reflect badly on her or Xander but that wasn’t easy. Telling them that she’d made a mistake made her look stupid, given the severity of the accusations she’d laid at Xander’s feet but she needed to absolve him of all of those accusations somehow.
‘Penny for them,’ Xander asked, when he’d noticed how quiet and fractious she’d become.
‘I was trying to think of what to tell the staff. I can’t think of a cover story that doesn’t make me look stupid or you sound untrustworthy and, as their management, that’s what we need. But either I made a huge mistake or you did – that’s the only way of looking at it.’
‘What exactly did you tell the staff? I know you said that you’d told them I was a criminal but what was I supposed to have done? All I got from the security gorillas was that I was no longer welcome on the premises and that they were there to keep me out. Then one of them told me that you’d asked him to tell me that you didn’t do business, any sort of business, with married men. I couldn’t believe it, I was there to tell you everything and that I was finally a free man but somehow you’d found out. I told him to tell you that yes, I was married but that my wife was pregnant and that it wasn’t mine so I’d left her after months of planning. I don’t suppose he bothered to pass that on.’
‘He tried but I cut him off when he said your wife was pregnant and that you’d left her. And even if he had told me that the baby wasn’t yours, I’d have thought it was just another lie.’
‘I didn’t lie to you Red. I told you I couldn’t tell you everything but that I wouldn’t tell you lies. And I didn’t.
‘Let’s not get back into all that again. Belinda saw the guards escorting you from the premises and came to see me, demanding answers. I had to think on the spot so I told her that we were going to co-own the hotel together but you never came up with the cash and then I found that you’d been helping yourself to hotel money so I’d had to take it over on my own. I told her to keep it quiet and that if she did, I’d promote her to head receptionist. But then she pointed out that others would want to know what was going on so I called them all in. I’m sure you can imagine the state of them.
‘Anyway, I told them that you’d bought it from Gerald but I’d found out that you were going to run the business into bankruptcy and turn the building into luxury flats. I led them to believe that they’d get no redundancy monies and that there was a police investigation and prosecution pending so none of them could speak with you. I also
told them that you were ruthless and that my safety was compromised. Basically, I scared them into not speaking to you. I didn’t want my dirty laundry being aired publicly and I knew you’d try to persuade them to get a message to me.’
Xander pulled up at a pedestrian crossing and looked across at her.
‘And that’s what you made up on the spot? You’re wasted, Red. You should be working for the Secret Service or something. Jesus. Hmm, well despite my aching balls, I think I can see a way to take care of all of that. Now that Janine’s going to be sniffing around, we need all staff to see her as the enemy. She’s now the one who could force the sale of the hotel and put them out of a job so, in order to put staff on the defensive where she’s concerned, we tell them that she tried to stitch me up, to frame me out of revenge because of a messy split. They don’t need to know the details, except for the fact that she’s out for what she can get and she’ll stoop to any low to get it. We’ll tell them that it is in fact she who wanted to sell to a developer and who was trying to steal from the hotel not me. That should be enough to absolve us and keep the staff on their toes if she comes sniffing around.’
Isla considered his words as he drove on. ‘I don’t know how easy it will be to convince the staff. They won’t know what or who to believe. And that doesn’t help with how to make sure that Janine doesn’t find out that the hotel is really yours. And we still don’t know why she suspects or how she knows about me.’
‘I’ve yet to think of the finer details of how to throw her off the scent but so far, I’ve thought of the main outline. We met because of your interest in buying a hotel and, as a seasoned hotel owner, I offered to help you because you were so reluctant. I helped you to get it off the ground; that would explain my presence at Rouge Passion as the GM initially, with you learning the ropes beside me until you felt confident enough to take over the role yourself. I helped you to formulate your action plan in order to bring the hotel up to standard on a tight budget. And, remember, as far as anyone at the hotel knows, our relationship has been purely professional. We need to keep to that. Janine will have a field day in court trying to wipe out any advantage I have because of her cheating if she can prove I cheated too. She’ll try to make out that I was seeing you way before she cheated, yadda yadda yadda. Her aim will be to make the judge think we’re both as bad so that he’ll rule a fifty-fifty split of assets.’
‘I can see merit in your plan but I think we need to give it some more thought. Meanwhile, we’ve got the hotel inspection to get through. Today is going to be a fucking nightmare. I can just feel it.’
‘Not if I can help it. Yes, that’s the priority but I’ll soon turn the charm on. I can be your assistant for today. Let’s hope she hasn’t spotted that neither of us is around yet but I guess we’ll soon find out.’
Isla was quiet for the final few miles of the journey. When they pulled into the car park, all looked peaceful and, normal. She breathed a sigh of relief that Smith and Jones and their merry band of action men had departed as per her instructions.
They got out of the car and walked towards the revolving door. Isla scowled in irritation when she noticed that there was no sign of Derek.
Unbelievable . . . there’s a hotel inspector inside and he goes AWOL! He’d better be carrying somebody’s luggage to their room.
The moment she exited the revolving door compartment, she was grasped roughly and pulled to one side. She cried out, losing her balance but strong arms held her up as they dragged her to one side.
She heard an urgent whisper. ‘Don’t panic, Miss Hamilton. I just need your assurance in person that you’re acting under your own free will.’
Jones! What the fucking hell is he doing here and just what is going on?
Xander’s voice was anything but a whisper. ‘Get your hands off her. Now. What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
‘Don’t move, Mr Rhodes,’ Jones said firmly as two other security team members who were built like tanks, stepped up either side of Xander.
‘Stop! Both of you, stop. Jones, thanks for your concern but yes, I am acting on my own free will. I was nefariously misled about Mr Rhodes. I don’t need your services so call off your men. Everything is fine. Honestly. Xander, calm down. Jones was just following orders.’
The two men glared at each other but eventually Jones nodded, released her and stepped back.
‘As you wish, Miss Hamilton. It’s been a pleasure to be of service to you. No hard feelings, Mr Rhodes,’ he muttered gruffly before striding into the revolving door, the two man mountains following him.
‘Well, that was a good start,’ Xander muttered, nudging Isla and jerking his head in the direction of the reception desk.
There sat Belinda and Derek, looking for all the world as if aliens had just landed right in front of their eyes. They were mesmerised.
‘Great,’ she muttered. ‘But believe me, it could have been worse. Much worse. Those guys don’t mess around.’
She strode across the lobby, tossing over her shoulder, ‘Belinda. My office. Five minutes.’
Xander strolled after her, giving the gobsmacked staff a lazy grin. Their shocked faces turned in unison to follow him as he passed by.
Chapter Eleven
Belinda tapped on the office door a few minutes later. She anxiously entered the room and stopped just inside the door. She looked from Isla to Xander and back again. Isla felt for her; the events of the past few days must be confusing for all the staff. Isla felt like her head was in a spin and she knew everything.
‘Take a seat.’ Isla gestured from hers behind the desk. Xander was perched on the side of it.
‘Belinda, firstly I want to apologise for disappearing like that and to congratulate you for keeping things in such good order in my absence. Especially under such difficult conditions. I know you must have a hundred questions going around your head right now so I think it’s only fair that I answer some of them. Do you remember what I’d found out about Xander on Monday?’
Belinda’s eyes shifted nervously to Xander and she didn’t look at all comfortable in his presence. She looked back to Isla and nodded.
Isla continued, ‘Well, it seems that I was wrong. In actual fact, I was misled. Deliberately. Xander has proved his innocence to me beyond any doubt. Somebody is trying to set him up. It’s a long story and one I won’t bore you with now, not since we’re up against it with the hotel inspector, but I promise I’ll fill you in. I’m so pleased with you for keeping everything that I told you in strict confidence. You’ve proven to me what a fabulous asset you are to the hotel. And, if we can get today over with successfully, I’m going to want to continue our discussion. But for now, it’s business as usual.
‘For the duration of the inspection, I’m the GM and Xander is the AGM, okay? I want you to forget she’s an inspector and to be the best receptionist that you can. You need to be ultra polite and professional if she approaches you. She will ask to see me tomorrow morning before she checks out. Don’t look nervous or surprised, just be polite and take her business card if she offers it and come to my office immediately. I’ll take it from there. Did you tell the others?’
Belinda nodded. ‘Yeah, Bobbi said to tell you that the inspector had taken one of the superior rooms that had been deep cleaned at the weekend, as per your instructions. Derek said she’d approached him and asked where she could get hold of a particular brand of moisturiser. He brought her over to the reception desk telling her that he could call her a cab to take her to Harvey Nichols but that he wasn’t 100 per cent sure they stocked that particular brand. I recommended an alternative that I know you can get from Harvey Nichols but she wasn’t interested. Then I called the store and checked for the one she wanted. They had it. She thanked us but she said she didn’t want a cab calling. She didn’t even go out. She spent ages looking through the information stand and she asked what time the bar was open. I told her that we had an emergency closure during the daytime today because safety work was being carr
ied out in the kitchen. I directed her to the restaurant next door for lunch but, as soon as she’d gone back to her room, I called them and warned them about her and I told them the story about the bar closure. If she starts asking questions, she won’t get very far. She has booked a table in our restaurant for eight o’clock this evening.’
Isla looked from Belinda to Xander and raised her eyebrows. ‘Belinda, you are a genius. An absolute genius. Thank you so much. You may just have helped us to avoid a total catastrophe.’
Belinda visibly glowed under the praise. Her face lit up and she looked like she’d won the lottery.
But then Isla gave a groan. ‘But what do we do about her dinner this evening? Oh God, she’ll spot that our menu is virtually the same as the restaurant’s next door. She’ll rumble us.’
Xander grinned. ‘Oh no, she won’t. Any minute now, the cavalry will arrive.’
‘What?’ Isla and Belinda asked in unison.
‘I’ve ordered a load of my staff over, including all of my kitchen staff. Ms Hotel Inspector will have her dinner cooked by a Michelin-starred chef. As soon as she goes next door for lunch, we’ll slip in her room and change the menu in her room.’
Isla’s mouth was slack. She recovered herself quickly.
‘If we pull that off, it will be a miracle.’
‘Do you have any better ideas?’ Xander asked, pointedly.
‘No. Oh and what about Dean? Is the bar covered tonight, Belinda? Oh God help us if she asks for a fancy cocktail or something. Carl won’t have a clue.’
‘My bar staff will have made themselves at home by then and it will be fine. All my front of house staff are well trained. They won’t let us down,’ Xander boasted.
‘Do you have any fit barmen?’ Belinda asked with a grin. She was obviously feeling calmer.
Xander shook his head. ‘By comparison with me, Belinda, they’re mere boys.’ He gave her a wink.