4
Olive
Olive was starting to unravel at a much faster pace. She needed to get some money and soon. Having swiped some fruit from the lobby during the night, she was sure she couldn’t reach a lower point. There was no more wine to help drown her sorrows, and now she was eating someone else’s breakfast.
She reached for her phone, then remembered she had been cut off. Just for a moment, she had hoped Emilio wouldn’t go through with his threats, but now she could see he was deadly serious and was gone from her life for good.
A tear blended in with her cornflakes, but it didn’t stop her snaffling the lot.
Olive straightened. It was time to get dressed and go outside. She couldn’t stay holed up forever. A job was needed. How hard could it be to find one? Lots of people worked. Her father worked. She could do just as well, she was sure.
‘Right.’ She headed for the shower. The Christmas tree wasn’t due till lunchtime, so between now and then, she’d go find a job, then by dinner, she’d be able to afford food.
She hadn’t washed her hair in days, so the pampering session hit all the marks, and a spring was soon back in her step.
With a pair of light-grey trousers and a frilly white blouse, she was certain she looked fit to manage a hotel just as well as the man with the enchanting eyes.
Olive stood at the lift door, wondering how she went about looking for work. Should she just knock on doors? Go to the people her father used to call his friends?
‘Goodness, no. They hate my guts,’ she mumbled, stepping inside the shiny lift. She stayed there for a while when it came to a stop at the bottom.
School had been one big joke, and Olive hadn’t been raised to be anything other than a socialite. Her father had always told her she didn’t need to worry herself with the likes of money or a career, as she would always be a millionaire and marry one.
Life was simple before her dad was a known crook.
Olive found herself face to face with a young woman at the front desk. ‘I’d like to see the manager.’
‘Is there a problem, Miss Farringdon?’
Olive wasn’t used to dealing with dilemmas. It was all too much. ‘If there was, it wouldn’t be any concern of yours. Now, get me the manager.’
The woman walked off to a back room, and Olive turned to face the ginormous tree in the middle of the foyer. It was the first time she’d paid it any attention, and now that she thought about it, it was the first time she’d paid any Christmas decorations any attention.
Staff would see to that sort of thing at her home. They saw to everything, from what she ate to what she wore when she was little. Not much changed as she grew. There was no mother to guide her into womanhood, just a nanny, a personal maid, and a cook. Her father was always working, and she was allowed to do whatever she wanted.
As she waited for the manager to arrive, she wished she had wanted to know how to live a life without an income. Perhaps that would have been a better life lesson than where to shop for the latest fashion.
‘Miss Farringdon?’
There was that soft voice again. She turned to see a serious expression mixed with a slight quirk in one corner of his mouth.
‘May I have a moment of your time, Mr Sullivan?’
‘Of course.’ He stepped to one side, showing her the way forward with one outstretched arm. ‘My office is just through here.’
Olive entered his personal space, thinking it drab and very much the office she imagined any hotel office to be.
‘Would you like some tea?’ he said, offering her a chair.
‘No. I won’t be long.’
He sat behind his desk, looking to be the one in charge, and that would never do.
Lifting her chin a touch as if to meet his height, which she pretty much did anyway, she said, ‘I would like your help.’
‘Is this about the tree for your room?’
Olive didn’t want to say what needed to be said. The words were clogging her throat, almost choking her.
Zach leaned closer. ‘Are you all right, Olive?’ he asked gently, and she took notice of him using her first name.
She went to ask for his help to find a job but burst out crying instead, which was far worse.
Zach rushed around to her side, squatting to hand over the white handkerchief from his suit, which she snatched to cover her face.
‘Excuse me,’ she sniffled. ‘I’m sorry. Please excuse me.’ It was no good, the tears fell thick and fast.
‘Take a moment,’ he said quietly. ‘Just breathe. Everything will be okay.’
She had no idea why he was saying that. What did he know about anything? Nothing would be all right ever again.
A glass of water was placed in front of her face, so she took the glass and had a sip whilst trying to catch her breath and steady her racing heart.
Zach pulled a chair over to her side and sat quietly.
It wasn’t long before her tears stopped and she could compose herself. ‘I’m not normally like this. I hardly cry at all.’
‘We all have our moments. Besides, better out than in, right?’
She shrugged. It wasn’t ladylike to breakdown in front of people. Her father had drummed that into her. ‘It’s not appropriate. And it certainly wasn’t what I came here for.’
‘Why do you want to see me?’
She gazed up through damp lashes, mesmerised for a moment by his blue eyes. ‘I need to find a job, and I don’t have anyone to help me.’
‘Oh, okay. I can do that. Let’s start with the basics. What qualifications do you have?’
‘I passed a few exams. Four in total.’ She dropped her gaze. ‘I didn’t take school seriously. I got kicked out of a lot. My father had me home-schooled at one point, but that didn’t suit me either.’
‘Right. Erm, what about interests? Do you have any hobbies? Something you’re really good at.’
Olive shook her head, as she didn’t need time to think.
‘You must have done something with your time.’
She looked up. ‘Shopped, partied, had a lot of holidays with my friends.’ It was the first time she’d thought about how she’d spent her days. ‘I could show you the best cocktail bar in every city.’ She laughed at herself. ‘Perhaps I could be a cocktail waitress. Do you need one here?’
‘There are no job vacancies available at the hotel.’
‘But you’re the manager. Can’t you get me one?’
‘It doesn’t work like that. You’d have to deal with the recruitment department.’
Olive sighed. ‘Where else would I go to find work?’
‘The job centre.’
‘That’s a place?’
‘Yep, and they might be able to send you on a course or something, because it’ll be hard for you to find work when you have no qualifications or experience.’
‘I’ll think about it.’
‘Meanwhile, you can claim benefits, and they’ll be able to point you in the right direction for housing.’
‘Who says I need somewhere to live?’
Zach lowered his head a touch. ‘I read about your dad online.’
‘Oh.’
‘Well, look. The good news is, you’re here until the end of the month, so I’m sure you can get something sorted by then.’
Olive wasn’t as optimistic as him, but she tried to smile anyway. ‘And you’ll help me?’
‘I’ll try, but I’m leaving at the end of the month too, and meanwhile I’m rather busy here with the hotel, plus Christmas, and I’m training someone to take over my role. He knows what he’s doing. I’m just helping him find his feet.’
Just when she thought she’d found a friend, she was back to square one. Alone. She stood, offered back his hanky, which he declined, then headed for the door. ‘I’ll figure it out. Like you said, I have plenty of time.’
‘I can still help. I just don’t have a lot of free time.’
She turned, giving him a genuine smile. ‘That’s okay. I’ll go to the job centre and let them tell me what I can do.’
Zach opened the door for her. ‘It’s a good place to start.’
She nodded, then headed off, and as soon as he closed his office door, she hotfooted it back to her room, as she really couldn’t face the world.
I’ll go another day. I have time. A few days to myself won’t matter. I can live off water and the fruit display. It’s fine. Everything will be fine .
She checked her purse to see a twenty-pound note. She could buy some food with that. Shame she no longer had a credit card. That was mostly what she used before. Had she known what was coming, she would have stashed some cash away.
She looked at the phone in her room. She could try her best friend again. It might cost her the note in her purse, but if Heidi gave her some money or a place to stay it would be worth it.
Olive sat on a chair, staring at the phone. One last chance. She quickly made a grab for it and dialled her friend’s number. If she begged, Heidi would cave, for sure.
‘Hello?’
‘Heidi, it’s me.’
‘Liv, oh, hi.’
Olive heard some mumbling in the background.
‘Listen, Heidi, I can’t speak long, I just—’
‘Oh, sorry, babe, can’t chat. We’re on our way out the door. Can’t be late for the flight. We’re spending Christmas in New York.’
Another voice was heard, and it sounded a lot like Emilio.
Olive had to be sure. ‘Is that Emilio I can hear?’
Heidi’s giggle sounded nervous. ‘Hmm, what was that? Oh, sorry, Liv, I’m losing you.’
Olive stared at the receiver as her so-called friend hung up on her. The worst part was, it wasn’t the first time. Everyone she thought had loved her had left her all alone.
She clambered into bed, fully clothed, and pulled the cover over her head. It was official. Olive Farringdon had been well and truly cancelled.