Chapter 5
5
BEATRICE
My, oh my, oh my, oh my.
What a stressful day this is turning out to be.
I had no idea Dee’s role here was so intense. I can see now why she didn’t think she’d be able to do it with an injured ankle.
I’m exhausted and very much looking forward to getting home for a rest, but I still have another hour to go.
All morning I was back and forth to the conference room, making sure they had everything they needed set up for their presentations, which involved rebooting the Wi-Fi and trying about fifty different cables to get their laptop to connect to the projector. Then I got caught up with checking that the drink and lunch orders were correct and were being delivered at the right time by the catering staff, who I had to pretend I’d already met and was friendly with, which got a bit sticky when I couldn’t remember what anybody’s name was. I just ended up calling them, ‘Lovely’ or, ‘Mate’, which was just plain weird because, unlike Dee, I never use terms of endearment.
Then, as soon as Jonah’s friend appeared not to need me any more, I sat down to check through a massive list of emails that seem to have been waiting, unopened, in Dee’s inbox for the last week. Not to mention the time I spent looking over the woefully inadequate marketing plan she’s been putting together to get some much-needed new business into the hotel.
She’s really not on top of it at all. It’s clear from the number of chasing messages, unpaid invoices and unanswered queries I’ve been reading through that she’s dropping the ball all over the place. My sister is a smart cookie in lots of ways – even though academia never suited her – and incredibly creative, but this is clearly not a natural role for her to fill. Her main problem is she doesn’t seem to have a system in place for handling any of it. It’s all a bit slapdash. It’s all a bit Dee .
After going to check on the delegates in the conference room and seeing that it’s now empty of people, I flop back down into the office chair at Dee’s desk and drop my head in my hands. I’ve not stopped, even for lunch, since walking through the door to the hotel this morning and bumping straight into Dee’s grumpy boss.
Who is scorching hot.
I’d expected not to feel anything in particular for Jonah Jacobson, not being a fan of ‘bad boys’ and having very little interest in rock stars, who all seem to come with enormous egos and bad social habits. But I have to admit, there’s something about the guy.
When Dee described him as ‘fine as all get-out’, I didn’t pay that much attention. Her idea of attractive and mine usually rank on entirely different scales.
But not this time.
She was right on the money.
Not that I’d ever actually be interested in him as a partner. I have more sense than that. Men with a reputation like his are only ever interested in themselves.
And I’m here for a very specific purpose: to make sure Dee doesn’t lose her job.
Speaking of which, there was an unnerving moment earlier, during that ridiculous back-and-forth about my ‘wig’, when I thought he’d rumbled me. He was staring at me with such a penetrating look in his eyes, I could have sworn he was reading my mind and was about to out me as a fraud.
But then it also felt like there was more subtext to that look as well. There was a strange, unnerving sort of connection between us, which made me wonder whether something less professional has been going on between him and my sister.
The idea of it – at least the notion of what it might be like to get cosy with him in that way – did something strange to my insides.
Which was extremely unsettling.
So, it was a relief when he snapped us out of the highly charged atmosphere by walking away, leaving me to get on with the job alone.
My legs had felt like jelly for a while after that and I spent the rest of the morning praying I wouldn’t bump into him again.
The best thing would be for me not to have to see him before I leave this evening.
Just as I’m thinking this – as if he really can read my mind – Jonah walks through the door to my office and comes to a halt in front of my desk, his arms folded in front of him, making his tidy biceps bulge, and his face set in an expression of quizzical expectation.
‘So?’ he asks, ‘how’s everything going here?’
I swallow hard at the sight of him, then for some reason feel compelled to jump up from my seat and stand in front of him, as if I owe him this deference.
Or maybe I just feel self-conscious, staring up at him.
Because I didn’t imagine it earlier; he’s just as striking as I remember, with his deep-blue eyes and strong-jawed, heavy-browed appeal. There’s something fierce about him too, which I guess is a trait he’s inherited from his famously imperious father.
Undeniable charisma.
Unfortunately, I think my racing inner thoughts must be showing in my expression because he frowns at me and to my utter shock says, ‘You’re not going to try and kiss me again, are you?’
My mouth falls open and I stare at him in confusion, before quickly pulling myself together when I remember he thinks he’s talking to my sister.
What the heck were you thinking, Dee?
‘No, of course not,’ I mumble, trying to force my expression into something that resembles jokey affront.
He frowns at my unconvincing response, then gives a small shake of his head, as if he thinks he’s overstepped a line.
‘Forget I said that,’ he says, shifting on the spot. ‘I shouldn’t have brought it up again.’
What’s going on here? I want to ask him. But I bite my lip.
Dee has got some serious explaining to do when I get home.
‘Um. Okay,’ is all I can manage. This is so awkward. I’m totally on the back foot and it’s making me twitchy.
I see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallows and I momentarily wonder what his skin would smell like if I pressed my mouth against his neck there.
What’s got into you, Bea! That’s the last thing you should be thinking about right now – especially with this guy.
He doesn’t seem to be aware of how much I’m spinning out though, thank goodness.
‘Well, Harry tells me things went smoothly today, so I thought I’d come and say thanks for your hard work.’
I feel myself relax a little at that. So Dee’s not getting fired today, at least.
Phew!
‘My pleasure,’ I say, with a smile.
He almost smiles back at me. But not quite.
‘Actually, Delilah, I still need to talk to you about your position here, I’m afraid.’
Uh oh! Perhaps I relaxed too soon.
‘What do you mean?’ I ask, aware of a quaver invading my voice.
‘I took a look at your marketing plans over the weekend.’
My stomach sinks. ‘Ah.’
‘We need to get more new business in over the low season and I don’t think your current ideas are going to cut it.’
‘Oh, I see, well, I?—’
‘You’re going to have to do better than this to pass your probation.’
I can tell from the look on his face he’s not expecting Dee to keep her job here for much longer.
My stomach lurches. I need to think of something fast.
‘I know the marketing plan you saw isn’t up to scratch, but I’ve only just started working on it so it’s nowhere near ready. I have lots more ideas,’ I say desperately.
I have to get Dee more time to pull things back. Now I know what’s required of her, I can sit with her in the evenings and work up a new marketing plan, which could turn things around here.
A memory from this morning flashes into my head and it suddenly occurs to me that I might have the perfect solution – in the short term, at least.
‘Actually,’ I say, holding up a wait-a-second finger, ‘speaking of opportunities, I was going to talk to you about this once Harry’s event was over. A good friend of mine’s partner, Jay, runs leave-no-trace festivals: Burning Man sort of style. They’re incredibly popular, but he’s struggled recently to find a suitable venue to hold them at. Most people camp, so he needs a lot of outdoor space. He texted me earlier to say the grounds of the place he booked for the next one, which is a few miles away from here, flooded recently and the new place he’s considering moving it to is incredibly expensive. Seeing this place—’ I shake my head, reminding myself I’m supposed to have been here for a few weeks. ‘ Knowing this place better now, I think it would be perfect for it. I’m sure he’d jump at the chance to move it here if we offer it. Apparently, he’s sold a lot of tickets and would be really grateful for a last-minute solution. It’s supposed to go ahead this Thursday. It’s a beat-the-winter-blues long weekend. I know it’s short notice, but I don’t think we have anything else booked in at the moment, not even any hotel guests.’
I suck in a long breath after I finish my monologue and look at him with hope swelling in my chest.
He continues to survey me with that intense stare of his and my stomach does another loop the loop.
‘Hmm. It’s not exactly the type of event I imagined we’d hold here,’ he says, then looks away, frowning up at the ceiling, as if all his concerns are written up there.
‘Jay’s incredibly strict about protecting the location so you’ll not even know the festival was here once it’s been cleared away, I promise.’
‘That’s quite a promise to make, Dee,’ he says with one eyebrow raised.
All I can think is he called me Dee, not Delilah , which I’m hoping means I’m – or rather Dee’s – back in his good books.
My heart thuds hard as I wait to see if I’ve earnt my sister a reprieve.
Finally, he looks at me again and gives a curt nod. ‘Okay. Let’s give it a try. We don’t exactly have a lot of other options right now anyway. Give your friend a call and see if we can come to an arrangement about cost.’
My whole body seems to sigh in relief and I feel my muscles begin to unknot.
‘Okay. Thank you. I’ll call him right now,’ I say, sitting back down at my desk and pulling my mobile out of my pocket. I busy myself looking up Pete’s number and when I glance back up, I realise Jonah is watching me with an intense, contemplative frown on his face.
I blink up at him, my skin rushing with tingles as the same unsettling feeling I felt under his gaze this morning washes over me again.
Before I can say anything else, he snaps his eyes away from mine and strides out of the room, leaving me sitting there staring after him, my whole body humming with a strange sort of tension.
I force the feeling down, then take a calming breath and tap on Pete’s number, once again crossing my fingers for a good outcome.
An hour later, I pull Dee’s car into a space right in front of my house and rush in on shaky legs, hoping to find my sister there to let her know about the – frankly pretty darn exciting – developments from the day.
I’m buzzing with adrenaline as I toe off my shoes and dash into my bedroom, finding her there, sprawled out on my bed. She’s sitting up against the headboard with her right leg propped up on one of my pillows, her phone in her hand and a look of nervous expectation on her face.
It takes me less than five minutes to run her through the events of the day, her expression changing from worry to exultation as I tell her that Jonah was pleased with the way his friend’s event went.
‘Phew! Thank goodness,’ she says, her voice light with relief. She sits up straighter and a flash of pain crosses her face as her swollen ankle shifts on the pillow.
‘How is it?’ I ask, realising in my excitement that I’ve not even checked about the outcome of the x-ray yet.
‘It’s not broken, but it’s a bad sprain,’ she says, her voice heavy with self-pity.
I force myself not to roll my eyes at her. She can be a real drama queen sometimes.
Not that I care too much at the moment. If she’s not able to go back to work for a while, it means I’ll be able to put my plan into action myself, which would be no bad thing since I already know how Jay’s festivals work, having been to one of them. So I say, ‘Sorry to hear that,’ in my most soothing voice.
‘I’m not sure how I’m going to get about. It hurts way too much to walk on it at the moment and it’s throbbing with pain even when I’m sitting still. According to the doctor, it could be up to two weeks till the swelling’s gone down and I’m able to walk around normally again.’
‘Okay, well, don’t worry. I can keep going in pretending to be you this week. So you can rest it for a few more days. Jonah didn’t seem to suspect anything today, so I think we’ll get away with it.’
I pause, considering how best to put what I need to tell her without worrying her too much. I decide to just go for it.
‘The thing is, Dee, he was talking today about you not passing your probation unless you pull your socks up. There’s quite a bit you’ve let slide and he’s not overly impressed with your marketing plan.’
At the look of horror on her face, I hold up my hand, trying to reassure her. ‘Don’t panic. I think I might have negotiated a bit more time to turn things round. You know my friend, Pete? Well, his partner, Jay, needs a venue for his festival this coming weekend – the place he booked had some flooding in the grounds so it can’t be used for camping – and I suggested we offer Gladbrooke House as a replacement venue, which both Pete and Jay thought was a great idea.’ I pause to check her reaction to this, but she just nods slowly and waits for me to finish.
‘It’s a relatively small festival, more of a big fight-the-winter-blues party really, so totally manageable to have it there at short notice. Anyway, I was thinking, if you’re not able to get around for a few days yet, perhaps I should keep doing your job till the festival’s finished, then you can take over again. Jay’s willing to pay a decent fee for the hire of the place, which seemed to satisfy Jonah. I think he’ll be reluctant to let you go when you’re bringing in business like that.’
‘When you’re bringing it in, you mean,’ Dee corrects me.
My face heats. I’m not doing a great job of being subtle about it being an opportunity she wouldn’t necessarily have converted and I’m worried I’m in danger of upsetting her. The last thing I want is for Dee to think I’m trying to muscle in on her job, but I’m actually quite excited about the idea of being involved in hosting the festival at the hotel now.
‘I can help you with your marketing plans, if you like? For when you go back,’ I say tentatively.
Dee’s not looking at me now, but is staring down at her damaged ankle. ‘Okay. That sounds like a plan. If you’re really sure you don’t mind doing that?’
‘I just need to clear it with Jem, but otherwise, I’m good for it,’ I reassure her.
Finally, she smiles again. ‘Okay then. Let’s go for it.’
I nod and try hard not to grin. It all feels like a bit of an adventure now, something I’ve not had in quite some time, and it’s… enlivening.
‘So how did you get away with your new hairstyle?’ Dee asks, nodding at my hair, which I’ve had tied away from my face all day.
Ah, yes, of course. That was something I’d need to deal with if I’m going to keep stepping in for Dee.
My stomach turns over.
‘I pretended I was wearing a wig to disguise a bad haircut.’ I take a steadying breath, finding it incredibly hard to say the next words. ‘But I’ll need you to cut it off for me. There’s no way I’ll get away with playing on that story for the rest of the week.’ I screw up my face. ‘And maybe it’s time for a change anyway?’ I finish lamely.
‘Really?’ Dee says, apparently shocked by my suggestion.
‘Yes,’ I say, with conviction this time, fighting my jitters. ‘Let’s do it.’
It does seem like a good time for a change. I’ve been hanging on to my childhood hairstyle for too long now and it’s probably time to try something new.
I’m not sure what’s made me feel like this, but I’m just going to run with it for now.
‘Ok-ay,’ she says, clearly not convinced I’m entirely happy with the decision, but willing to go with it anyway. ‘Grab the kitchen scissors and I’ll chop it off for you.’
Fifteen minutes later, I’m holding my now detached ponytail in my hand and trying not to cry as I feel a breeze tickle the back of my neck. Dee’s done a pretty good job of trimming it to make it as straight as possible, but I can still barely stand to look at myself in the mirror.
I look so different.
I look like Dee.
Oh, my beautiful hair.
I take a stuttering breath.
But it had to be done. And it’ll grow back if I decide I don’t want to keep it this short.
I reach up and tug at the freshly shorn ends, still in a state of shock about how different it feels.
My comfort blanket is gone.
All gone.
It’ll be worth it, though, if it helps to even things up with my sister so I can stop feeling so guilty about the advantages I’ve had through getting preferential attention from my dad.
Dee, who’s sitting behind me on the bed, shuffles forward and rests her chin on my shoulder. We both stare into the mirror at the double image.
‘Hey, look, we’re twins!’ she says with a twinkle in her eye.
I can’t help but laugh, even though I still want to cry a little bit.
‘We’re a couple of hotties, aren’t we?’ she says, when my face falls back into a slightly stricken expression.
I give her a weak smile this time.
‘Speaking of hotties. What did you think of Jonah?’ she asks, widening her eyes and waggling her eyebrows at me.
There’s a weird little flutter in my stomach at the sound of his name.
Then I remember the attempted kiss.
‘Ah, yes. I have a bone to pick with you. Were you ever going to tell me that you tried to snog your boss?’ I ask, one eyebrow raised.
Dee bats her hand at me. ‘Ah, that was just a misunderstanding,’ she says, but the look in her eye is suspiciously shifty. ‘I was just being extra friendly to try and shake him out of a bad mood and he took it the wrong way.’
‘Hmm.’ I’m not entirely convinced by this.
‘You’ve met him; he’s a total grump, right?’ she says, screwing up her nose. ‘A sexy grump, but very – what’s the word? – cantankerous.’
‘Hmm. I can see why you might say that.’ I really don’t want to get drawn into a discussion with Dee about how Jonah makes me feel. I’m not entirely sure I could describe it to her anyway.
‘Mind you, I’d be grumpy too if I was most famous for being the Reverse Darcy,’ she says.
I turn to face her, frowning in confusion. ‘The what?’
‘Reverse Darcy,’ she repeats, as if I should know what that is.
‘What’s—?’ I begin to ask, but I’m interrupted by a knock on the door. ‘Come in,’ I call.
Jem walks into the room. He stops abruptly when he sees the two of us, sitting side by side, looking at him expectantly.
‘Whoa!’ he says with alarm in his voice. ‘What happened to your hair?’
I lift my fingers to the shorn ends, remembering all over again how we’ve just butchered it. To my horror, tears well in my eyes, but I quickly blink them back.
‘Sorry, Bea, that was rude of me,’ he says, with an apologetic grimace. ‘It, er, looks nice.’
I have to give him credit for at least trying to sound convincing, even though he’s way off the mark.
‘Just trying something new,’ I lie.
He nods, but doesn’t press me further. ‘Okay. Well, I’m going to head off. There’s nothing I need to tell you from today. It’s been quiet.’
‘Oh, good. Yes. Sorry, I was about to come and check in with you.’
‘No problem,’ he says.
I realise he’s not looked over and acknowledged Dee once since he came in. I hope she’s not got in his way today.
I slide off the bed and stand up, gesturing for him to leave the room with me.
Once we’re in the corridor, I turn to him and say, ‘Thanks again for being so understanding about letting me have time off. Dee really appreciates it too.’
He frowns a little at that, but doesn’t say anything.
‘Her ankle is pretty badly damaged, it seems, so she’s going to struggle to get into work this week.’ I take a breath, then plunge straight in. ‘Could I take the rest of the week off, do you think?’ I wait with bated breath to see what his reaction is going to be to the request. It seems he’s already anticipated I’ll ask for this – again – and folds his arms, before giving me a reluctant-looking nod.
‘I thought you might say that. Dee’s already given me the full run-down on her injury .’ He says this with a level of sarcasm I’ve never heard from him before. So I guess she has got in his way today then.
‘I’m really sorry about all this, Jem.’
‘Um-hm,’ is all he says.
‘Just this week, then I’ll be back.’
‘Yeah. Sure. Okay. I guess so. Not that you’re giving me much choice.’ He raises his eyebrows pointedly.
‘You’re a good friend, you know that?’
Finally, he smiles at me. ‘Yeah. All right, there’s no need to patronise me.’
I cuff his arm gently in jest. ‘Seriously. Thank you.’
Again, he just nods. ‘Well, anyway. I’m heading off. I’ll see you next week then. Do you want me to check the builders don’t need anything handling before I leave each evening, or will you be back in time to do that?’
The question makes another snag pop into my head. ‘Actually, Dee’s going to need to stay here for a little while, in my room, till she can climb all the stairs up to her attic flat again safely. It’s probably easier if I stay at her place till she’s mobile again. I’m sure it won’t be for long. So she can do the check-ins and be on hand if they need anything.’
He visibly stiffens, then gives one last curt nod. But as he turns away, I could swear I catch him rolling his eyes heavenward.
I ignore it though, and the sinking feeling of apprehension. I can’t worry about that right now.
Hopefully, Dee will keep well out of his way this week and I won’t come back to find them at each other’s throats.
The last thing I need is my sister and my best friend falling out with each other.
Things are complicated enough as it is.