The Seaside Hotel

by Agnès Ruiz

  “Joanna, please. Don’t make things even more difficult than they should be.”

  “Of course. Of course. I should behave myself like a model citizen.”

  “You’re really impossible when you want to be, do you know that?”

  “So that’s what is going to resume our conversation? You’re going to speak to me and I can’t say anything?”

  “I want to talk. But I refuse to bicker. I’m not a know-it-all, but I’ve learnt a lot since we’ve rubbed shoulders.”

  “Us meeting... Was it by chance?” Joanna suddenly asked, suspicious.

  Guillermo hesitated and Joanna was convinced that the waiter’s arrival was a good pretext for him to find a deliberately thought-out response for when they would be alone again.

  In fact, Guillermo was more at ease, but his face reflected a seriousness that did not please Joanna.

  “I’m investigating the seaside hotel, Joanna.”

  “I think that answers my question explicitly.”

  “Joanna, I didn’t want to get to this point.”

  “And what did you want? What are you after?”

  “The truth. Sometimes it’s difficult to hear or to live with.”

  Joanna wanted to leave the restaurant without waiting much longer. Outside, it had started raining as the wind blew ferociously. The anticipated storm was about to pelt down on the Normandy coast.

  “We’ll stay here. Do your job... Or at least, that’s what you have to do and as for me, I’m taking advantage of my newfound freedom.”

  “First, I must tell you everything.”

  “You’re going off course. I don’t want to hear anything. Except if you suspect me of anything.”

  Joanna finally stood and folded her arms. Her look was hard. Inside, she was a wreck.

  “Sit down, please.”

  “You’ve ruined my appetite. I would prefer to leave.”

  “Don’t you want to help me find Mélanie anymore? Is that it?”

  Joanna had stepped back, but came back with his disturbing words.

  “Of course I do. But I don’t see how I could be useful.”

  “Me neither. But we never know.”

  Guillermo smiled. He was insistent, even holding out his arm to ask her to sit back down. Joanna surrendered. The waiter brought them the dish of the day and Joanna realised she was hungry, contrary to what she had told Guillermo, earlier. Never mind. He certainly wasn’t going to take note of that detail.

  Joanna had already brought the fork to her lips when Guillermo continued his secrets, far from the subject he had used to bring her back.

  “I was the one who went into your father’s office the other evening.”

  Joanna’s mouthful almost came back up with that information. She shook her head negatively, raised a finger asking him to wait a moment before taking a glass of water to help it all go down.

  80

  Lorelli had just arrived at her restaurant and was appreciating the building work done by a young company that she had hired. Mrs Flaque had been more reluctant, saying that they had little experience. Lorelli made it a point of honour that it was a strong point, on the contrary. They had offered her a preferential rate. She had established a verbal and moral contract with them. If their work measured up, she would give them a great reputation with her own customers as well as those of the hotel.

  She twirled around, a smile on her lips. The place was better than she expected. It was both warm and pleasant with hints of understated glamour.

  “What an achievement, my dear! I must say you’ve outdone yourself.”

  Lorelli turned around towards the newcomer and saw Rodolphe G. Gaspardin standing in the frame of the glazed double doors.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve come to see the fruit of our collaboration”, she heard.

  Lorelli grimaced. She had a terrible feeling and was happy her associate had not yet arrived to witness the jousting that was going to follow.

  “I’m not following you”, she went one further, carefully.

  Her ex-husband gave a faint scowl as he remained silent, observing the facades in detail. He moved closer to admire a fresco reproduced from an old photo of the Normandy coast.

  “I always liked this photo. It’s an excellent idea to have it on this wall.”

  Lorelli thought she probably should have asked his permission. After all, she had gotten hold of it from the Gaspardin family album. Rodolphe’s grandfather was clearly recognisable as well as his wife and three children who gambolled on the Normandy beach. The sea licking at their feet.

  “What are you doing here?” Lorelli asked again with insistence.

  She had moved closer as if she was afraid their voices would carry too far and fall upon indiscreet ears. She knew there were still some workers upstairs who were finishing the accommodation.

  “I think this room would be perfect for welcoming our guests.”

  “Rodolphe, you know full well I hate it when you talk like this. I do not understand a thing.”

  “And you don’t understand when I tell you an amount of money was taken from my drawers, either.”

  Lorelli lost her composure. She lost her temper, affirming that the money belonged to each of them.

  “The money in the joint account, I agree. And you have the right to use the chequebook. However, I would have appreciated it if you’d have spoken to me rather than come into my office like a thief.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “That’s all you have to say?”

  Rodolphe laughed loudly, joyfully laughing at Lorelli’s obvious anger.

  “Is it Joanna?”

  The astonishment was clear on her ex-husbands features.

  “Joanna has nothing to do with all that. And anyway, she’s too good to involve herself in your little tricks.”

  “At least you are finally giving her some credit.”

  “I don’t see why you are saying that.”

  “She hardly appreciated it when you told her she was nothing but a parasite, would you believe it!”

  “Oh, I see... She came to complain to you.”

  “Not at all. And you know very well. She’s not like that. You ought to be ashamed! Joanna works relentlessly and with discernment. She reminds me of you when you opened the hotel. You were as talkative and concerned as she is.”

  Rodolphe remained silent. Finally, he smiled.

  “You’re right. Joanna is a huge loss for the hotel.”

  “And what are you waiting for to tell her? You are too proud to recognise your own mistakes, you idiot.”

  Rodolphe brushed the insult away with the back of his hand.

  “She made her decision. I’m certainly not going to cry to get her to come back.”

  “You’re heading for a fall, my poor friend”, Lorelli persisted.

  “Cécile will soon be able to devote herself fully to the seaside hotel. And Joshua will help her to make sure we give the establishment new life.”

  “Well, I’m so pleased.”

  Yet, the tone sounded like a sentence. A terrible silence intervened. Lorelli was about to tell him he could leave, but she knew that they hadn’t finished. Rodolphe G. Gaspardin never went out for no reason.

  However, she felt quite strong. Wasn’t she on her own turf and not that of her husband?

  She regularly glanced at the entrance to watch out for Mrs Flaque’s imminent arrival. She must do anything to make her ex-husband leave.

  “What do you want, Rodolphe? I can’t pay you back at the moment. I’ve put everything into this restaurant.”

  “And I’ll tell you again, you have already done an admirable job. I don’t want you to reimburse me”, he announced softly.

  “I’m not following you.”

  “I want us to be business partners.”

  81

  “That’s out of the question!” Lorelli cursed, incredulous.

  “In that case, I’m going to have to file a complai
nt.”

  “And why?”

  “Let’s see, don’t be stupid, Lorelli. You broke into my office, don’t forget. And worse still, you stole from me.”

  “You have no proof.”

  “My office is equipped with a surveillance camera. You can be seen very clearly.”

  “I’ve seen no such thing!”

  Lorelli looked at Rodolphe. She felt broken with this information. Was he bluffing? She asked herself, desperate.

  “It’s well hidden, that’s all.”

  “And why did you feel the need to put in such measures?”

  Rodolphe preferred to remain silent on this point, but continued, affirming:

  “Do you really think I wouldn’t execute my threat?”

  “That’s blackmail, nothing more, nothing less!” railed Lorelli.

  “Not at all. Business is business. And I think we’ll be very strong with your restaurant and my hotel. After all, you have you shares in the seaside hotel; it’s only fair that I receive the same from your enterprise.”

  Lorelli felt defeated. However, a new idea grew in her mind. Before talking to Rodolphe about it, they agreed on the conditions of this new alliance then she shot:

  “So, you won’t find it inconvenient if we knock down this partition?” (she pointed out a wall that led directly to the lobby of the seaside hotel).

  “You’ve just had it painted”, Rodolphe objected, suspicious.

  “We don’t have to do it this year”, Lorelli said playing for time and showing unwavering willpower.

  “In that case, I think it’s a good idea. You should have a quick word with Joanna. She always approved of your restaurant idea.”

  “That wasn’t your case”, affirmed Lorelli. “What’s made you change your mind?”

  “Cécile, to be honest with you. She thought the hotel was missing something.”

  “At least that’s something to bring us closer together”, Lorelli argued with sharpness.

  “When do you intend opening?”

  “In one month, just before the peak season.”

  “Good. I have prepared the paperwork for our division of the restaurant shares. May as well get that done now, don’t you think.”

  Lorelli wanted to tell him she refused. But she understood that she was backed into a corner. She should tell Mrs Flaque about this last minute agreement. How was her friend going to react after all the horrors she had told her about Rodolphe G. Gaspardin? Particularly as she had exaggerated a little, making the situation with her ex-husband seem worse than it really was.

  Defeated, Lorelli held out her hand to take the file. She sat at a table in the corner.

  “I suppose you’ve brought a pen, too?”

  A predatory smile unveiled Rodolphe’s impeccable teeth. He held out his Mont-Blanc fountain pen. She took possession of it and turned it around between her fingers, admiring its quite seductive design.

  “I see you are still faithful to your habits”, she commented.

  It was she who had given him the luxurious pen. He always signed his contracts with it, even going as far as postponing the agreement if he didn’t have it with him, which was rare.

  A strange complicity settled between Rodolphe and Lorelli, as if their shared past resurged. Lorelli signed the double document without waiting any longer, appreciating the etched golden nib in her hand which glided along the paper. Memories surged in her mind; beautiful memories. She was surprised herself. Why now? She thought troubled. She held out a copy and they looked at each other, as if an invisible thread had just renewed itself.

  For a long time, there had only ever been bad blood between them. There, for a few more moments, it was soft between them, even tender.

  It was Rodolphe who was the first who pulled himself together, assuring her they would do good business with their hotel restaurant. Lorelli thought it unwise to correct his very intimate formulation. She would have the time to make things clear later. Why ruin these rare moments?

  Rodolphe G. Gaspardin already had his hand on the glazed door when she stopped him.

  “Was it true about the camera in your office?”

  Rodolphe remained unfazed before claiming:

  “What do you think?”

  He didn’t answer, but for Lorelli, it was everything. He had bluffed and she had let herself be beaten. There, that nice moment between them was already gone. Their feud reborn even more intense. As though confirming it, he struck her by saying:

  “We will hold the wedding breakfast in this room. It will be perfect. We’ll make it a great fanfare and invite some journalists.”

  Rodolphe left without waiting for a response from Lorelli. She had still not picked herself up when Mrs Flaque arrived to admire the restaurant.

  82

  Joanna got the phone call she was dreading. Guillermo told her everything. She knew her mother was going to tell her. Her brother Joshua had just been arrested, as had Cécile Burnier.

  “I’m coming”, replied Joanna.

  She was very close to the hotel where the scene had just taken place. She heard her mother vaguely protesting. She asked her why she didn’t seem too surprised. It wasn’t on the phone that she could have a clear conversation. Incidentally, she couldn’t really as she had just been devastated as Guillermo explained his intentions. He had tried to justify it but she refused to hear him out.

  She parked in front of the hotel and when she opened her door, a gust of wind took her violently. She used all of her strength to close the door which desperately attempted to go the opposite way. Bent double, she entered the lobby feeling a stark contrast as the glass double doors closed completely.

  The dismayed face of the receptionist welcomed her. There was no need for words to see she had witnessed the scene.

  “And the guests?” asked Joanna, worried about the image of the hotel.

  It was certainly pathetic, but she needed something to hold on to.

  “Nobody was in the lobby”, Sylvie informed her with a murmur.

  She nonetheless felt ill at ease; there was no doubt about that. Joanna patted her on the arm, encouragingly.

  “It’s going to work out fine. It’s clearly a terrible misunderstanding.”

  Joanna knew they were just empty words, but they were good to say under such circumstances. Sylvie shook her head several times.

  “Your mother is waiting for you.”

  Joanna turned her head and caught sight of her mother waiting in the small bar. She moved towards her as Lorelli noticed her. She fell into her arms.

  “Joanna! It’s obviously a mistake. Joshua has got nothing to do with it. I’m sure.”

  “I don’t know, Mum.”

  She was less sure now before her mother. With Sylvie, she had acted by instinct, as former personnel manager. Now, it was her family.

  Lorelli didn’t beat around the bush and reproached her for what at happened.

  “But you knew. And you didn’t tell us anything!”

  Joanna knew she should say something except found nothing to add. The report was clear and final. Her mother blamed her for her silence. Harsh words were pronounced and suddenly, she saw herself reproaching Guillermo Voily just as much. Had she gone too far as he was doing his job?

  She wanted to believe him. But they had history together. Her heart trembled more than it should at his side. Part of her couldn’t believe that their closeness was mere coincidence. He had cheated her since the beginning. There it was, she repeated to herself, so as not to dissolve into tears before her mother.

  “It’s your friend, that Voily who is behind all of this. Did you know he was a police officer?”

  “He is from Interpol, to be exact”, Joanna mechanically rectified.

  “Interpol, you say?”

  “Yes, Mum. Interpol.”

  “Even better! What has Interpol got to do with all this? I don’t understand anything.”

  “He was only doing his job”, Joanna defended.

  Why did she find it
normal to stand up for Guillermo? It was her family that was ruined. Lorelli reminded her vivaciously.

  “Joshua needs your support, Joanna. Not this man who cheated us with his nice ways, his smiles and I don’t know what else! He manipulated you to get what he wanted. And you didn’t see a thing.”

  “Does Dad know, too?” asked Joanna, wanted to get to the next step.

  “Of course he does. He has gone to the police station with Joshua and that schemer Cécile. If you want my opinion, she’s the one to blame for all this. She’s swindled your father and your brother. And now the seaside hotel is in an appalling scandal.”

  “Mum, please, don’t bring the hotel into all this.”

  “And what do you think? A journalist took a photo of your brother in front of the hotel; in handcuffs! It will be on the front page of papers tomorrow.”

  “What are you worried about the most? The hotel’s reputation or that Joshua is involved in some dodgy business?”

  “Joshua hasn’t done anything. It’s obvious”, protested Lorelli.

  “I’m going to see what I can do about the journalist.”

  “And for Joshua? You can speak to that Voily. You seem close. Too close if you want my opinion. I’ll say it again, he played with you. Clearly, you and men don’t mix well.”

  It was a harsh blow to Joanna’s heart. How could her own mother hurt her so much? Yes, she had made a mistake trusting Zoé’s father. And today he was long gone. Now, she wanted to trust Guillermo. He was still there, but he was investigating the seaside hotel. Why did it always fall on her?

  Joanna had come to comfort her mother. She realised that she’d made a mistake. She would be of no use judging by Lorelli’s attitude towards her. She nevertheless repeated that she would do her best to find out what had happened and tell her whatever information Guillermo supplied her with.

  “Can I count on you to take care of the hotel?” asked Joanna.

  “Of course.”

  Joanna felt her regain control of herself. She came back to being a business woman and put on a mask that could face anything. That must be a good thing. Joanna didn’t know.