Chapter 16
ROMEO
‘What?’ Samantha shouted and a sharp pain shot through my chest.
Clearly, she was just as shocked as I was.
When my phone rang during that conversation where I stupidly told Samantha I thought that she was beautiful (which was true, but an inappropriate thing to say about a guest), I was glad for the interruption.
But when I answered and heard the concern in Victoria’s voice, I knew something was wrong.
Victoria told me that she had sent me several messages, but I had been so focused on the guests that I had not seen them. I went straight to see her and she told me the news.
‘Come to Victoria’s office and we will explain.’
‘I… he’s gone ?’ Samantha stuttered. ‘Has he left for good? Was it something I said? Something I did?’
‘No.’ I shook my head quickly. ‘You did nothing wrong. Here we are.’ I knocked on Victoria’s door.
‘Come in,’ she replied.
‘Please.’ I opened the door and gestured for her to go inside.
‘Hello, Samantha.’ Victoria got up from her desk and stretched out her hand. ‘I’m Victoria, the Love Empress here. I’m sure Romeo has told you, unfortunately Edward’s been called away.’
‘ Called away ?’ Samantha repeated.
‘Yes. There’s been a family emergency which meant he had to leave straightaway.’
‘Oh, no! What happened? Is whoever it is okay?’
My heart squeezed. That one question said a lot about Samantha.
She immediately focused on the wellbeing of that person and not on what this meant for her and the rest of her holiday. She was a good person.
I had misjudged her when we first met. Samantha had a kind heart. I noticed how thoughtful she was earlier today in Alberobello when she took the time to carefully choose gifts for her friends and family.
‘We don’t know. He said it was a health-related issue, but didn’t elaborate and it wasn’t our place to push him on such a personal matter.
He was probably upset and focused on getting back to London.
We’re hoping that once the situation has stabilised, he’ll return and we’ll assess the situation again then, but in the meantime, this obviously presents some challenges for your time here… ’ Her voice trailed off.
‘But I’ve paid to have a match! I’ve spent all my savings coming here. And taken two weeks’ holiday.’
‘I completely understand. The Love Hotel takes both your financial and emotional investment very seriously, so we’ll do everything we can to rectify the situation. And you will receive compensation for any inconvenience.’
Samantha was right to be upset. I was glad that at least she would get some money back.
‘I know that you can’t control if guests have personal issues.’ Samantha softened her voice. ‘It’s just frustrating, that’s all.’
‘I agree.’ Victoria nodded sympathetically. ‘I appreciate that you’ll need time to process this, but in order for me to consider the options available, I need to ask: would returning to London early be a possibility? Then perhaps you could return for the full two weeks again once Edward is able?’
My eyes bulged. I had not had the chance to tell Victoria about my earlier conversation with Edward. If she heard about the disgusting things he had said about Samantha she would not even consider inviting him back to the hotel.
‘No,’ Samantha sighed. ‘I’ve already booked the time off.
The company made arrangements to cover my holiday and I wouldn’t get the time back.
If I went home now, I’d just be sitting around doing nothing.
I don’t get much annual leave, so I can’t afford to waste it.
I definitely couldn’t take another two weeks off anytime soon. ’
‘I see. I needed to ask.’ Victoria took a deep breath.
My shoulders loosened. In my opinion, the only reason Edward should be allowed to return would be to apologise to Samantha face to face.
‘This has never happened before, so forgive us for not having all the answers right now,’ Victoria continued.
‘For all we know, Edward could call to say everything’s fine and be back here tomorrow.
We just don’t know. So perhaps in the meantime, you’d consider staying?
We’ll keep in contact with Edward to see if there’s any developments we can share. What do you think?’
‘So, if I stayed, I’d still go on the trips, but by myself?’
‘Essentially, yes,’ Victoria confirmed. ‘But you’d still have the other guests around you because this week it’s couples activities in a group setting and of course, Romeo will be there, so you wouldn’t be completely alone.’
I smiled and nodded to help reassure her, but inside I was conflicted.
Of course, I was disappointed for Samantha. She had come here with such high expectations and her experience at the hotel so far had not been a good one.
I wanted to do whatever was needed to make it better, but I was concerned.
I had enjoyed spending time with Samantha, more than I should have. With Biscotti’s health scare, I had not been feeling great these past few days. But today I had laughed a lot. More than I had with any woman in a long time. Which was probably why I slipped up earlier and called her beautiful.
Alberobello was a short and low-intimacy excursion, but the trips scheduled for the rest of the week would not be as straightforward.
This was a couples holiday and everything was carefully planned to stimulate romance. That was why spending so much time with a guest that I was starting to realise that I found attractive would not be ideal.
‘Okay. It’s not like I really have a choice,’ Samantha huffed.
‘I admit, the options right now are limited, but like I said, I’ll be speaking to management and seeing what else we can do. Okay?’
‘Yeah,’ Samantha sighed, then stood up to leave.
‘Thank you again for your patience and understanding. Romeo will let you know as soon as we hear from Edward.’
‘Thanks.’ Samantha gave us both a weak smile before leaving. ‘See you later.’
A few moments after Samantha left, Victoria squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head with disappointment.
‘I feel so bad for her. Samantha seems lovely and although I’m sorry that Edward has some family issues, he’s put us in an impossible situation.
If it got out that a guest spent the holiday without a match, it’d damage our reputation.
People won’t care that his absence wasn’t our fault.
They’ll just see an opportunity to tear us down. ’
I understood Victoria’s concerns about the hotel’s reputation, but I was more worried about Samantha.
Whatever was happening with Edward’s family was of course terrible, but I still did not like the guy.
The way he spoke about her was disrespectful. And if he had to leave, he could have called or messaged Samantha in the taxi or airport to tell her personally.
He had not even attempted to contact me. The only reason Victoria found out that he was leaving was because the receptionist called to alert her that he had requested a car to take him to the airport and she knew it was not in the schedule.
Perhaps I was being harsh and unsympathetic, but I just did not trust him.
When I relayed my conversation with Edward this morning and told Victoria about his behaviour at dinner, her face fell.
‘I agree that is unacceptable.’ She blew out an exasperated breath.
‘But if he had stuff on his mind about his family, perhaps that’s why he was drinking heavily.
We still need to give him the opportunity to explain himself and when he returns, we can have a serious conversation with him, and take it from there. ’
‘If it were up to me, I would tell him not to come back. He does not seem interested in Samantha.’
‘I understand your concerns, but we have to do our due diligence. It’s not unusual for a guest to believe their match is not their type, but as we’ve seen, when they spend more time together their perceptions can completely change.
We have to persevere and show Samantha that the hotel has done everything possible to help. ’
As much as I hated to admit it, Victoria was right.
‘I believe that Samantha understands that it is not the hotel’s fault. How we deal with the situation now though is important,’ I said. ‘We will have to work even harder to make sure she is happy.’
‘Absolutely. Obviously, I’ll need you to make an extra special effort with her during every trip so that she doesn’t feel left out.’
‘Of course.’
‘Do you have any other suggestions?’ Victoria asked.
‘I know that she likes our prosecco, so perhaps we can send a special bottle to her room with some chocolates?’
‘Good idea.’
‘Actually, we can do better. I will call the spa to check their availability for a full-body massage and facial. A full pampering session will make her feel good, then when she returns, we will have the prosecco and chocolates waiting in her room. With a bouquet of flowers,’ I added.
‘And a handwritten card apologising for the inconvenience. It cannot compare to having her match here, but perhaps it will help.’
‘Those are all excellent ideas!’ Victoria beamed.
‘I will make the arrangements straightaway.’
‘Thank you, Romeo. You’re a credit to the team.’
My chest filled with pride. One of the many things I liked about working at the Love Hotel was that initiative was appreciated by the management. I hoped that Victoria would remember this when I applied for the opportunity in California.
‘ Prego .’
‘Please do everything you can to make Samantha happy. No expense spared. Do whatever it takes. I have no idea how things will go with Edward, particularly given everything you’ve told me about him.
We can’t control that, but we can ensure that Samantha is well looked after.
We need to make sure she leaves here with a smile on her face and with nothing but praise for the hotel and our team. Understood?’
‘ Sì .’
As I left Victoria’s office, I swallowed hard, pushing away the illicit thoughts creeping into my mind about ways that I could make Samantha happy .
But like I had said to her earlier today, relationships with guests were forbidden.
I was Samantha’s Love Alchemist and I could never be anything more.
Victoria, the hotel and the entire team were depending on me.
And I would not let them down.