I didn’t mind so much digging every last scummy hair out ofall the shower and bath plugholes. (‘If I see even a single pubic hair, you’lldo the whole thing again,’ Lila warned me.) It was scrubbing the grouting andwashing down the tiles in all the bathrooms and polishing them to make themsparkle that took hours. And then, when I finally finished and reported back toLila as she’d requested, she didn’t even bother to check my work. Instead, shejust grunted and said, ‘Follow me. I’ve got one more job for you.’ In the staffroom, she pointed to a gigantic spider high up on the wall and shuddered.‘Remove that, please. I can’t bear spiders myself. And I’ll be checking to makesure it’s gone.’
Tired and pushed beyond my limit, I finally snapped. ‘Lila,is thisreallyin my job description? Getting rid of massive insects inthe staff room?’
She glowered at me. ‘You want me to give a good report ofyour work to the manager, don’t you? Just do it!’
She vanished and I stared up at the ‘job’. I’m not so keenon the hairy-legged creatures myself, but I had no option but to stand on arather wobbly table with a glass held at arm’s length and capture the thing.Holding my hand over the glass, I managed to get down off the table and throwthe spider out of the window without too much fuss.
But by the time I got home, I could feel a migrainethreatening. Dad greeted me and saw immediately how exhausted I was. He’dassumed I’d gone out somewhere straight from work because he was back home longbefore I was. He despatched me to bed as soon as I’d eaten, and even though itwas still only seven-thirty, I fell asleep almost immediately, with just enoughtime – before I drifted off to slumberland – to plot a deliciously wicked revengeon Lila...
*****
My mobile rings just as I arrive in the spa hotel carpark. It’s Maddy.
‘Hi there. How are you?’ I ask.
‘I’m good. I just wondered how you are. How’s the jobgoing?’
‘It’s fine. Lila’s really got it in for me, but apart fromthat, it’s perfect.’
‘Oh, hell, that bloody woman gets everywhere.’
‘Do you think it really was my fault that her fiancé calledoff the wedding?’
‘Did she tell you that? The cow. No, I heard through thegrapevine that Sean, bless him, had been trying to screw up his courage forweeks to tell her it was all off. It was absolutely nothing to do with the missingfront teeth. Sean just finally realised he was letting himself in for alifetime of misery.’
‘Well, good for him.’
‘I know. He was always quite shy and a bit of a mummy’sboy. He was probably flattered that Lila was attracted to him. But thankfully hesaw sense in the nick of time.’
I snort. ‘And Lila said it was all my fault.’
‘Well, you can rest easy on that score.’
‘Good. By the way, how’s Primrose?’
‘Why?’
‘I just thought she seemed a bit... offwhen I saw her that night at the cafe.’ I decide not to mention her walkingaway and leaving baby George behind.
‘Well, funny you should say that, but I’m actually quiteworried about her. I phoned her and we arranged to meet for a drink one nightlast week, but she didn’t show up. And when I phoned her to see what hadhappened, she acted like we’d never made the arrangement and she didn’t knowwhat I was talking about. It was weird. I think she’d just completely forgottenabout it.’
‘That is odd.’
‘I’ll talk to the girls. See what they think. She mightjust be tired, I suppose.’
‘Maybe.’
We end the call and I sit there for a little while,thinking about Primrose. It’s more than tiredness, I’m sure of it...maybe I should have tackled Sam when I saw him with that woman?
When I walk into the hotel, most of the staff are therealready, gathered in a function room. My eyes flick around and zero straight inon Logan. He’s standing by a table that’s laid out with refreshments, in deepconversation with the manager, each with a coffee cup in hand.
Everyone looks relaxed at the thought of a day off work,although the manager – when he calls everyone to attention – is keen to pointout that it’s also partly a work day and he’d like everyone to meet back hereat two, after lunch, so we can talk about how the new developments will affectthe day-to-day running of the hotel.
‘The Celestial Cafe represents a huge investment in thefuture of the Swan Hotel, and I’d like everyone to work as a team to make surewe hit the ground running when it opens. I’m sure Logan here would appreciateany support or ideas you have regarding getting the news out there in time forthe April launch.’
Logan nods, looking serious. And I can see he’s inbusiness mode. The likelihood of grabbing a chat with him on his own is lookingunlikely in this setting.
The manager is now talking about the facilities the spaoffers, and at the mention of the swimming pool, I feel a pang of dismay. I wasso focused on Dad this morning, before I left home, that I completely forgot topack my swimming gear.
