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Liv disappeared over to DJ twinkle-ears, leaving me and Xavier alone.
‘Are you looking forward to getting out on the slopes?’ he asked. ‘Will you ski or board?’
‘I’m not really sure,’ I shrugged. ‘What do you think I should do?’
‘Board,’ Xavier said without hesitation. ‘I can show you, if you like?’
This was already a nightmare. I had zero sense of balance; how was I ever going to be a credible snowboarder?
‘That would be amazing, if you’re sure you don’t mind?’
‘Of course! We can get you a board and a lift pass tomorrow once the Blanchets arrive. Trust me, you’ll be doing falling leaf by the end of the week.’
I’d be doing falling something.
‘Can you take me on the baby slopes first? I’ve never even stood on a snowboard before, and I don’t want to break my arm the first time I go out.’
‘The green slopes are for the skiers. It’s impossible to learn how to board on a flat surface. We’ll have to go up the mountain to teach you on the blues, but I won’t let you hurt yourself.’
‘And on the wine for the first meal – you think a Champagne and a Pinot Noir are fine? What about the other courses? Do they have dessert wine?’
‘You’ll see. They don’t drink excessively – they are the French elite. But Luca will brief you when he arrives. He’ll want you to surprise him without being too surprising. You’ll get the hang of it.’
‘Sounds like a Christmas cracker riddle,’ I said, befuddled. I was intrigued to meet Genevieve and Luca. What if they didn’t like me or my style? I’d only ever worked with Margot before; what if they liked things done differently?
‘You’ll be fine. They are good people.’
‘I just want to impress them,’ I said anxiously.
‘Don’t worry, we work as a team, you and I. We will impress them together,’ Xavier said. ‘They use the chalet to entertain important clients, so it’s about being attentive and thoughtful and making sure they can enjoy themselves and relax while they work.’
‘I do an excellent head massage,’ I said, flexing my fingers.
‘Well, that would definitely relax them,’ Xavier laughed, ‘but they are looking to us for their food and wine. They are extremely well-connected on the Paris restaurant scene, so you will always have a job if they like your work.’
‘And if they don’t?’ I countered, knowing the other side of that coin meant my French cooking career would be over before it started. No pressure.
Xavier left the question hanging as Liv came spinning back, dancing to ‘Country Roads’ with a red flush in each cheek.
‘More drinks?’ she asked, with a glint in her eye.
‘My round,’ I said, ordering the same again and downing another Jägerbomb. As long as I drank all my shots by midnight, I’d be absolutely fine for lunchtime tomorrow. I didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot – serving welcome Kir Royales with the hangover-shakes, stinking of booze.
Eleven
4th December
There was a faint beeping that was getting louder and louder on the horizon. Beep, beep, beep, beep, where was it coming from? Was a bin lorry about to reverse into our bedroom? I was unconscious. I was conscious of being unconscious. I was asleep. Was it my alarm? It was my alarm. Arghhh, it was my alarm. I woke with a start, fumbled around in the dark to turn the beeping off and snuggled back into my duvet for an extra ten minutes.
‘Time to get up,’ Liv called, leaping out of bed and putting on her swimsuit. ‘Fancy a quick plunge?’
‘Absolutely not,’ I mumbled, as she ran in the direction of the pool for her early-morning shock to the system. Horrendous. Much better to stay in bed where it was soft and warm and cosyyyy… zzz.
‘Holly!’ Liv’s voice travelled across the bedroom and smacked me in the ear.
‘Hmmm?’
‘It’s 11 a.m.’ I could hear her somewhere in the back of my brain. ‘Holly, it’s 11 a.m., you’ve fallen back asleep,’ she whispered in my ear more urgently, shaking me gently.
