Chapter 28
The SwissTok factory was built into the mountainside like a modernist cave, growing out of the rock as if it had always belonged there.
Floor-to-ceiling windows offered views across the stunning valley.
Rolling green hills dotted with chalets, Lake Geneva gleaming like hammered silver in the distance, and the majestic Alps rising beyond.
But now, I was here to learn what I needed to carry on her legacy. How she’d have loved this: research trips always made Mum giddy with possibility. Which only made me more determined to make every moment count.
“We’re so excited to have you here, Poppy.” Gabriel shook my hand. “I loved your mum, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, all grown up. Welcome to what we like to call, ‘the home of modern luxury’.”
Gabriel took us inside, then gestured to the production floor below.
He was impeccably dressed in a way that screamed Swiss precision: tailored suit, perfectly groomed beard, smooth skin.
I would lay bets that Gabriel had a moisturising routine.
“We don’t just make watches here. We create lifestyle statements for the digital age. ”
“Which is exactly the vibe we’re going for, too,” Eliza told him.
The last trip I’d come on with my gran — I must have been 18 — I’d sulked throughout, whining about the lack of Wi-Fi and how my gran dragged me on hikes up “pointless hills”.
“Each piece combines traditional Swiss craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology,” Gabriel continued, leading us down to the production floor.
“3D-printed titanium cases machined to tolerances of one micron, movements that sync with satellites for perfect timekeeping, sapphire crystal displays that can show biometric data.”
The workshop floor was a symphony of old and new.
Master crafters worked alongside robotic precision tools, hand-finishing components that had been shaped by computer-controlled lathes.
Holographic projections showed tolerance measurements while artisans used techniques passed down through generations.
“This is incredible,” I murmured to Eliza, watching a crafter use laser engraving to create microscopic details on a watch face while a computer mapped every stroke. “It’s like they’ve found the perfect balance between old and new.”
“And look at the packaging,” Eliza whispered, gesturing to the finishing station. “Each box is bespoke 3D-printed bioplastic, but designed to look like traditional Alpine wood. Sustainable luxury. We could do something similar with the Highlands.”
The presentation area was more like an art gallery than a showroom. Each watch was displayed like a sculpture, with interactive screens showing the owner’s journey: from initial design consultation through to final delivery by a white-gloved courier.
“Our customers aren’t buying watches,” Gabriel explained, his eyes lighting up as he got into his stride. “They’re buying into a narrative, into a moment.”
He pulled up a holographic marketing presentation that made my head spin with possibility.
“Social media integration, influencer partnerships, limited-edition drops that sell out in minutes. We never put things on promotion because we don’t need to.
These are bespoke watches which are now must-have lifestyle accessories for those who value time and something special in their lives. You can’t put a price on that.”
“How do you manage the demand?” Eliza asked.
“We have carefully curated waiting lists. VIP preview events. We build up, show customers their watch being made, give them a timeline, make it an event. We make people feel special for being chosen to spend a lot of money on a watch.” Gabriel smiled with the satisfaction of someone who’d cracked the code.
“Exclusivity isn’t just about the product: it’s about the entire experience. ”
That afternoon, we sat on the terrace of our hotel, spreading papers across the table as the sun began its descent behind the mountains.
Lake Geneva stretched before us, its surface broken only by elegant white sails and the occasional ferry churning across to France.
The view was so beautiful and familiar, it made my chest tight with old grief and a fresh future.
I pulled out my laptop and tried to focus. “We could integrate some of this tech — not the satellite syncing, that’s overkill — but maybe smart features that connect to phones?”
“And the lifestyle marketing, which you’d already identified.
He just made it come to life.” Eliza’s voice had an excited edge that made my stomach flutter.
“We’re not selling watches, we’re selling lifestyle.
Also, the story of the independent British woman who swooped in to save her family company, who values intricacy and quality in a throwaway world. ”
“She sounds like a nerd.” But I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
“She’s the coolest nerd I know,” Eliza told me. “Also, she doesn’t know it, but she’s beautiful and brave. I don’t think I’ve told you that enough. Taking risks is vital for any business, but it takes guts.”
I nodded. I was thrilled that Eliza thought I was brave.
And beautiful.
She had said beautiful, right?
But it did take bravery. I knew what was at stake. My future. My nieces’ future. Then a familiar panic began to creep in, the same anxiety that had plagued me since childhood. “But what if I bugger it all up? What if we spend all this money, and we fail?”
Eliza gave me a small shrug and a smile. “At least you tried.”
Dread slithered through me.
“What if we’re too successful? What if we take orders we can’t fulfil? What if we scale too fast and everything collapses and all those people who believed in us are disappointed? I can’t take Margot’s ‘I told you so’ look.”
“Pops.” Eliza reached across the table and covered my hand with hers, her touch warm and grounding.
I didn’t correct her when she called me Pops this time. She’d earned the right.
“You are a brilliant businessperson. You get people. Your mum and gran,” she looked around, “who may or may not be here, they’d be so proud of you.”
Her observation made me sit up. “I hadn’t even thought they might be here. I figured we’d be safe in Switzerland. But I guess spirits don’t have to book plane tickets to travel to another country, do they?”
“Not if all the movies are to be believed.” Eliza looked me direct in the eye. “But if they are here, they’re protecting you. Nothing more.”
I furrowed my brow. “Do I need protecting?” I shook off her hand and sat back. All my old fears about trusting people, especially Eliza, roared back to the front of my mind.
“I don’t think so?” Now it was her turn to frown. “I just meant, they’re looking after you because that’s what family does. It’s what they’d do if they were here. It’s what Margot wants, even if she thinks that means selling the company.”
“Has she told you that?” Eliza sounded very sure when she said it.
From being bold and brave, I was now a spiralling mess. This conversation had turned quickly.
She shook her head. “It’s no secret that’s what she wanted at first. But I think you’re causing her to reconsider.”
I wished she sounded more convincing. “Has she said something to you?”
But Eliza shook her head some more. “No, nothing.”
I puffed out my cheeks and squeezed my hands together. Suddenly, the weight of everything landed on me. What we were doing. What was about to happen with Roka.
Plus, we were here.
Switzerland was such a beautiful country. But for me, it would always carry so many emotions and memories. Love. Hate. Grief. Maybe Amina had been right to be worried.
I blinked back tears, my vision blurring as I looked out over the lake. I couldn’t meet Eliza’s gaze.
“Sorry, I’m being ridiculous. It’s just, sometimes, it all comes rushing back that they’re not here anymore. That I’m doing this alone.”
Eliza jumped up and sat next to me. She went to take my hand, but I shook my head.
“Please don’t be nice to me or I’ll fall apart. I really don’t want to do that when I’m here with you for work.”
She stared at me, her eyes shiny.
Dammit, she was beautiful. I’d always thought so. But now her styled brows and her perfect mouth held weight in my heart. She wasn’t just a pretty face anymore. My feelings went way deeper, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“You’re not doing this alone, Poppy.”
That was all it took for the tears I’d been holding back to start properly falling. I reached for a tissue. Thankfully, Eliza didn’t try to comfort me too much, and I was grateful. Too much sympathy would end me.
“I was here with my mum the year before she died.” My voice was quiet, thick. I daren’t look anywhere but straight ahead. “Gran was already gone, and Mum wanted to come back to the places we’d visited as a family.”
Mum’s favourite thing to do in the evening was wander through the village, get a drink and a bite to eat. Soak up the local atmosphere. She always far preferred that to a posh restaurant. She liked to support small, local businesses. Which was how Voss Watches had started out.
I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand, but more tears followed. I stared out at the lake, the one Mum loved the most: even more than Goldloch. I saw now that Switzerland had a lot in common with Scotland: the scenery, the beauty, the welcome. It was why they’d loved it here.
“Mum kept talking about how Gran would have loved to see how the villages had changed, pointing out things she remembered from our trips when I was younger. We sat by this same lake and she told me about all her dreams for the business. How she would love me to be involved. I wasn’t interested.”
My breath hitched. “Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I would take over when it was time. I thought we had years to figure it all out. And now she’s gone too, and I’d give anything to have them here now, to see what we’re doing.”