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He’d said that before.
‘Well, I’m not French,’ I said, storming off down the corridor and slamming my bedroom door. I’d had enough of his bullshit. Could I force-feed him fish and chips and say it’s a British thing and continuously shrug like, duh, JFDI Luca? Thank God I hadn’t slept with him. Maybe I’d played it well? Living his luxury lifestyle for a couple of months and moving on before I had to add him to ‘my list’.
Liv was in bed with her eyes closed and headphones on as I crashed through the door. She must have been listening to her meditation app as she gave me a trance-like half nod and didn’t detect my anti-Zen vibes as I got changed and went angrily to sleep.
Twenty-Nine
22nd February
‘She has to go, Genevieve; she has become clingy and unprofessional. It’s for the best. We don’t need the extra help anyway. Xavier can manage by himself, and no one knows more about wines than me.’
I froze on the stairs, listening in, as Luca whispered frantically in French to Genevieve, the doors to the dining room slightly ajar. I was early for my shift as I’d decided – well, Liv had strongly suggested – some notable effort was required on my part, to go full-blown consummate professional. I had to accept there had been a cultural misunderstanding (due to out-and-outlies from Luca) and it was time to either crack on and enjoy what was left of the season or go home. Seeing George had given me the flashback I needed to discount the second option, so I just wanted to get on with my job, and the less I saw of Luca, the better.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Luca. I’m not sending another member of staff home because of your indiscretions. Pull yourself together. Maybe it is time for you to go home instead?’
I heard a quiet ‘boo’ in my ear and Xavier appeared beside me.
‘Who are we hiding from?’ he asked.
‘Luca wants me fired,’ I whispered, nodding towards the dining room.
‘It is not only your decision, Genevieve. We both own the chalet and we both make the decisions. Just because you are a minute older than me, does not mean you are in charge.’
‘Well then, we can toss a coin to decide,’ Genevieve said, as Xavier and I looked at each other in horror. ‘Heads she stays, tails she goes.’ There was a tinkle of coins, a moment of silence and the slap of a hand. And then nothing. The dining room door burst open and Luca ran upstairs to his bedroom, making Xavier and I both jump. I wasn’t sure if he’d seen us lurking in the corner, but we immediately leapt into action, walking into the bar together as if we hadn’t been listening in.
‘Bonsoir, Genevieve,’ I said, grabbing a sharp knife and a couple of lemons from the fruit bowl as Xavier faffed around with the hostess trolley.
‘Ah,bonsoir, Holly, Xavier,’ she said. ‘Holly, do you have five minutes? I need to speak with you about something.’
I nodded.Tails she goes. Fuck. I followed Genevieve into the lounge anxiously. I’d never been fired before. I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself. The teal, velvet sofa was brushed and immaculate, its acid-green cushions perfectly plumped and sitting to attention. It was too good to sit on, so I hovered at the edge.
‘Holly, I want to apologise to you on behalf of my brother and let you know that he will likely be returning to Paris this week.’
‘Oh right,’ I said, confused. ‘OK. And is he not planning to tell me this himself?’
‘He doesn’t know yet and it might happen quite quickly, so I wanted to give you, what do they say? A heads up. I didn’t want you worrying about what was happening.’
‘Thank you, Genevieve, that’s very thoughtful of you,’ I said, as she stood up, her cashmere wrap trailing on the floor. She opened the door to call for the others.
‘Xavier? Liv? Can you come in here please? I am calling a team meeting.’
The two of them came in and sat next to me, looking edgy in different ways. Xavier was clearly ready for a fight while Liv still had her headphones on and looked half-asleep.
‘Genevieve, before you say anything, I’m sorry but I couldn’t help but overhear some of your conversation with Luca earlier…’ Xavier started. I shook my head and tried to shut him up with my eyes. Oh God, this was excruciating.
‘Merci, Xavier, our conversations are no concern of yours,’ she cut him off firmly.
‘Understood, but Holly has done nothing wrong,’ Xavier said, ‘and on principle, if she goes, then so do I.’
‘And me,’ Liv nodded.
I looked on in shock. Were they really willing to give it all up for me? Nothing says I love you like a staff walk-out. I nudged into Liv, who knocked into Xavier, and gave them both a big smile.
‘Holly is not going anywhere, but it is good to know where your loyalty lies,’ Genevieve tutted. ‘And please try andhelp yourself from overhearingprivate conversations in the future.’
‘Apologies, Genevieve,’ Xavier said, smiling back at me.
‘And me,’ Liv nodded. I think she was still asleep and being remote controlled.
