by Karen Abbott
Ah, there was Carys, standing awkwardly on the fringe of a group of young people, looking as though she wished herself elsewhere. Tricia was there also, her long hair scrunched into a riot of curls. Her sparkling eyes were laughing at something the young man at her side at just said. Eva smiled. Tricia would never be short of partners or someone to talk to!
Carys glanced up and smiled shyly at her. Eva returned the smile and moved gracefully across the room to the group of young people.
“Hello, Carys. I see you’re dried out now. What a pretty colour your dress is.”
Carys blushed a fiery red but she looked pleased to receive the compliment. “Thank you, miss. It’s my best one. I’m glad you like it.”
Eva turned to smile at the others.
“Hello, Tricia. Have you settled in your room all right?”
“Yes, thanks, Miss Cunningham. Did I thank you properly for giving me a lift? I’m afraid I just ran for cover when we arrived!”
“That’s all right. I don’t blame you. We were all a bit wet! I was happy to be of help.” She let her smile include the rest of the group. “I am looking forward to getting to know you all. Meanwhile, enjoy the evening.”
She moved on, exchanging a few comments when appropriate, or simply smiling an acknowledgement. About a third of the staff was new, like herself ... but everyone seemed to be at ease. As assistant manageress, part of her role would be oversight of the personnel. It was a role she enjoyed and she genuinely looked forward to getting to know everyone and ensuring that the organisation ran smoothly.
A prickling sensation around the base of her hairline made her pause. She glanced around. Some deep instinct seemed to be telling her that she was under close scrutiny from somewhere ... but where? She sipped her drink and casually swept her eyes around. No-one within range seemed more than casually interested in her. She moved closer to a large seascape picture on the wall, pretending to examine it more closely and then slowly swung herself around, her eyes once more sweeping over the gathering.
Her glance settled on the handsome face of a dark-haired man. It couldn’t be! A sense of shock paralysed her. Her brain refused to accept what her eyes were seeing. It seemed as though her heart stopped beating!
Surely fate wouldn’t be so unkind! With a sudden start, her heart began to thump erratically as the reluctant acceptance of recognition hit her like a sledgehammer.
It was Matt Talbot! The man she had divorced three years ago!
Chapter Two
Mesmerised like a rabbit caught in the car headlights at night, Eva felt unable to move as Matt raised his glass to her in mock salute. The muscles of her face were frozen, though whether in a smile or grimace, she was unable to determine.
To her horror, she realised that Matt was moving towards her, weaving his way through the clusters of people. No! She didn’t want to speak to him! Not without warning like this! She needed time … a chance to sort out what to say.
What was he doing here? She knew that hotel had been having problems. Had Matt’s role been to improve the efficiency of the management? To set the hotel back on its feet? Was his part over and done with, then? He wouldn’t be staying on in a managerial role, would he? She frowned. It wasn’t his name William Dagnall had said was the name of the manager. That was Philip Crawleigh, whom she had yet to meet. Maybe Matt was part of the consortium that had bought the hotel? That might be it. If so, his presence here today would be to launch the new season and, hopefully, he would be here for today only. That thought steadied her racing heart.
Matt’s progress towards her was halted by an immaculately dressed man of medium height who had laid his hand on Matt’s arm and was holding him in earnest conversation. A sense of relief flowed through Eva and her breathing gradually returned to normal. She was tempted to slip away but knew that it would only postpone the inevitable meeting … and she preferred their first meeting to be in public. It would limit any unpleasantness.
She moved to a position slightly out of his range of vision but from where she could safely study him unnoticed. A shaft of pain shot through her, though her brain instantly denied that the attraction was still there for her! She let her gaze travel over him, reluctantly admiring his physique. It was as if she had last seen him only yesterday. He was casually dressed in a light grey lounge suit; his shirt was white; his tie silver grey. She bet his socks were either grey, too! Long legs; slim hips; broad shoulders; a throat beautifully tanned that told of a recent spell in the sun; a firm chin and jaw line; lips that still seemed to exude sensuality, whilst, at the same time, being pressed together in obvious annoyance at what his companion was saying to him.
Hmm! Had Matt met his match?
She closed her eyes, remembering how silky his dark hair always felt and how she had loved to run her fingers through it. There was a catch in her breath as she remembered its softness … and his eyes, the shade of dark honey … his dark eyelashes tipped with gold. The mere memory was enough to set her pulse rate racing.
A touch on her arm pulled her back to reality and she realised with a start that both the men were now at her side.
“Miss Cunningham, I presume,” the shorter of the two men was saying. His fingers lingered on her wrist and she instinctively jerked her arm away.
“Yes?”
The man thrust his right hand towards her. “Phil Crawleigh, general manager, at your service, Miss Cunningham. So sorry I was unable to be at your interview … though Will Dagnall seems to have had a good eye in his head, hey?” He nudged Matt, clearly expecting his ‘one-of-the-boys’ remark to be reciprocated. He seemed oblivious to Matt’s frown.
Matt looked pointedly at Phil, an eyebrow raised questioningly.
Eva raised her own eyebrow. So, Matt wasn’t going to advertise their previous relationship! Well, that suited her. It was water under the bridge. Been there! Done that! And she didn’t want the T-shirt to remind her about it!
“Oh, of course! You two don’t know each other yet, do you?” Phil remarked. “Matt, meet Eva Cunningham, your other half! Miss Cunningham, meet …”
“Pardon?” Eva shot a startled expression at Matt. Other half? He hadn’t …?
“Nice to meet you, Miss Cunningham. It seems we are two halves of one position … assistant managers of this prestigious hotel.”
“Really?” Eva swiftly glanced from one man to the other. “That’s news to me! I wasn’t told that the position was to be shared!”
Phil Crawleigh made a brief conciliatory smile that only touched his lips, Eva noticed. “Ah, yes. A late executive decision, I’m afraid. Nothing personal at all, I hasten to assure you.” He touched her arm again with a familiarity that made Eva feel uncomfortable. “I tried to say it wasn’t necessary but I was over-ruled by the consortium. However, we’ll have to see how it works out, won’t we? I’m sure we’ll come to a satisfactory working relationship between us. Now, I have other people to meet, so I’ll leave you two to get to know each other a bit better and we’ll get together tomorrow for a top management meeting.”
With a backward salute of his hand, Phil moved away, heading for someone in the far corner. Eva was too concerned with Matt’s presence to follow his progress.
“What’s your game?” she hissed quietly, backing away slightly. The fragrance of his aromatic aftershave aroused too many memories. Memories she thought had been buried forever.
Matt smiled, seeming infuriatingly calm. “Game?” he echoed.
“You know what I mean! Following me here like this! How dare you?”
“My dear Eva, you flatter yourself. I had no notion of your being here until I arrived earlier this afternoon. I was as surprised as you are, I can assure you.”
His eyes softened and, for a moment, Eva felt a resurgence of the old magic that had been between them. She took a firm hold on her emotions and shook off the warmth his glance had started to create.
“Don’t take me for a fool. I wasn’t born yesterday!” Her eyes narrowed as she surveyed
him. “There’s more to this than simply a job. You, an assistant manager? Huh! Don’t tell me you’ve lost your touch … or your nerve!”
Matt’s right eyebrow rose. “I haven’t lost anything. You might call it a rest between other jobs.”
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you!” Her voice was scathing. It had to be. It was her only line of defence.
“Do you see me as rival? You needn’t.” He glanced around and then lowered his voice. “Just between you and me, it really is a stop-gap. I have a job lined up in London for later in the year … but don’t pass that about. Will Dagnall knows … and that’s sufficient.”
Eva bristled. “Then why tell me? I don’t want any secret allegiances with you. All that ended three years ago!”
“Yes. So it did.”
His voice sounded sad and Eva looked at him sharply but his face gave nothing away. In fact, he was now smiling at her.
“And what have you been doing these past years, Eva? Dedicating yourself to your career, I presume.”
“And what’s wrong with that? You have been doing the same. You sorted out the Masterson Group, much to everyone’s acclaim. And eased the demise of Billington’s ... to name but two.”
“Ah, you read about those, did you?” His lips twisted wryly. “I didn’t think you’d be interested in what I was doing.”
Eva felt her face flush. “I wasn’t,” she snapped, annoyed with herself for revealing her knowledge of his list of successes. “Well-meaning friends seem to think it’s their duty to keep me informed.”
“And what about you, Eva? You have reverted to your maiden name, I see. What successes have you got under your belt?”
“Nothing you’d be interested in!” She ignored the jibe about her maiden name and wasn’t about to disclose her months of depression following their divorce, nor the slow climb back normality. “I’ve just left a good position at Harrogate. I felt it was time to move on.”
“And your parents? They’re well, I hope.”
Eva dropped her eyes and glanced unseeingly around before replying. “Mum died … just over two years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
Matt sounded regretful, but she knew he wasn’t. He blamed her mother for many of their differences.
“And your father?”
“Dad remarried last October.”
She didn’t add any details. Their conversation was touching too many raw nerves. She needed to get away from him.
“I think we’d better circulate, don’t you?” she suggested.
Matt inclined his head in agreement. “If you say so.” He touched her arm lightly, to restrain her hasty movement away from him. “I hope we’ll be able to forget our past and work professionally together for my time here, Eva. This might be a stop-gap but it is important to me.”
“Of course. Your career, as always, must come first. Don’t worry, Matt. I will be as professional as you are. Our past is over … almost forgotten.”
Except it wasn’t, she silently reflected as she moved away.
She’d thought it was. She had forced the memory of him … and their marriage and divorce … out of her conscious mind. But meeting him like this had suddenly resurrected it all … and it threatened to overwhelm her.
Her emotions were in turmoil. She wasn’t sure what was upsetting her most. The memory of the ugliness of their estrangement and divorce … or the bittersweet memories of their whirlwind courtship and year of marriage. Whichever it was, she couldn’t deal with it now. She deliberately closed her mind to it as her professionalism came to the fore and she circulated from group to group, asking names and positions, showing a friendly interest in whatever the various people chose to share about themselves and sharing a little about herself in return … but not the part of her past that kept intruding into her mind. That must be reburied … or her stay here would be untenable.
Later, she was unable to recall who she had spoken to during the remainder of the time before dinner. Her mind had been on automatic pilot and she could only trust that recollection would come later.
The seating-plan for dinner raised a few eyebrows and Eva was amused to see Phil Crawleigh’s look of annoyance when he discovered that he wasn’t seated on the top table. His nearest neighbours at his place well ‘below the salt’ were one of the porters, a waitress and a kitchen hand. Her own seat was about six places to his left on the opposite side of the table.
Of the top management team, only William Dagnall was on the top table. Eva spotted Carys seated next to him, with a young man opposite her. Carys looked totally overwhelmed by her prominent place. Eva hoped those around her would try to put her at ease.
Much to Eva’s relief, Matt was placed half-way down the other long table adjacent to the top-table, the only disadvantage being that, as she completed her glance around, she found herself under his close observation and was unable to prevent a hot blush seeping over her cheeks. To her annoyance, Matt smiled disarmingly at her across the gap. Eva resolutely ignored him and turned to speak to the young woman on her right, discovering that she was called Bethan Owen, a local girl who worked on Reception.
“Ah, yes. You took Carys under your wing earlier on, didn’t you? Have you worked here long, Bethan?” She was hoping to discover some background information about the hotel.
“Yes, just under a year. I started at the beginning of last season.”
“Do you like it here?”
Bethan hesitated before she answered. “Yes. It’s a lovely place ... a real beauty spot in the summer. We get very busy in high season.”
Eva felt she had evaded her question. “And the hotel? You’re happy here?”
“Y..yes.”
“But?”
Bethan gave a small laugh. “Oh, it’s nothing.” She glanced down, as if making up her mind whether or not to say more and then raised her eyes again. “It’s just that I’ll miss Lowri, my best friend, that’s all. She … er … left at the end of last season.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you wish you’d gone with her?”
“No. Lowri hasn’t got a new job yet, so it’s no use trying to get one near her. Besides, I’m quite happy here and it’s handy for home.”
“I’ve already met Meriel Purvis and Tricia Gornall, a new receptionist. Is there anyone else on Reception?”
“Yes. Leanne Hart. That’s her over there, next to the other new assistant manager.”
Eva felt she detected some hostility in Bethan’s voice but couldn’t be sure. She followed the direction of Bethan’s glance and found herself looking at a younger woman, nineteen or twenty years of age she guessed, with long blonde hair scrunched into wild curls. She was speaking animatedly to Matt. Not wanting Matt to sense her eyes upon him, Eva turned back to Bethan.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know you all.”
Their starters had arrived, a fan of melon, with summer fruits and a raspberry coulis and most people stopped talking for a short while. In the lull between the starters being removed and the main course served, Eva heard a young man opposite her refer to the man at his side as ‘Chef’, so she smiled across at him.
“Are you responsible for all this?” sweeping her hand to indicate the food that was now being served with silver service.
“Not tonight. An outside catering firm has been engaged. Mr. Dagnall wanted everyone to be guests for the week-end.”
“Oh! That’s a nice idea! So, how does it compare to your standards?”
“Not even close!”
Eva laughed. “Professional jealousy, eh?”
He was a large man, who obviously enjoyed his own cooking. He smiled back. “Of course! Never admit that anyone can be as proficient as yourself, that’s my motto. And you are?”
“Eva Cunningham, assistant manager.”
“Burt Rawlins, head chef. Pleased to meet you, Eva. No doubt we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. You’ll have to let me know your favourite dessert. I’ll create a variation in your honour!”
&
nbsp; “Thanks.”
Eva laughed, but was already turning to her other side, where a lady of middle years was in earnest conversation with the young man on her left. She waited until there was a lull in their conversation and then introduced herself. “Hello, I’m Eva Cunningham.”
“Ah, one of our new assistant managers, aren’t you? I’m Mrs.Oliver, head housekeeper and my assistant, Mrs. Foster, is at the end of the top table over there. What do you think of the hotel, so far, Miss Cunningham?”
“Call me Eva, please. The hotel has a lot of potential, hasn’t it? I’m looking forward to the challenge it presents.”
“It does that all right, Miss Cunningham!” Mrs. Oliver agreed wryly, still using the formal title. “The previous owners were an elderly couple who, quite frankly, had lost interest in the place. They had let a lot of things slide. Mind you, I don’t totally approve of some of the ideas coming from the consortium! They took us over partway through last season and are far too radical, in my opinion!” She lowered her head conspiratorially. “Such as all this mixing us together!” she whispered. “It’s not the done thing, you know! Mr. Dagnall says we now have a chance to get back on our feet and reclaim our former reputation as a high quality hotel but I’m not too sure this is the way to go about it. What do you say, Chef?”
Burt made a wry expression. “We’d do it quicker if I was allowed to have more say over who my suppliers are to be. I can’t make first rate meals with second rate ingredients.”
“We’ve all had to lower our standards,” Mrs. Oliver pointed out mildly.
Burt made a dismissive gesture. “Then maybe it’s now time to raise them again.”
Neither of them seemed to want to take the argument further and Eva stored the information in her mind as a point to take up at the coming management meeting the following day. The standard of the meal was passable as a set menu but not as high as at her previous hotel. It would be interesting to see what Burt managed to produce when back in harness.