‘I know. Only Soraya could have so much champagne that she dragged us into a car with the wrong chauffeur who didn’t speak English, and not one of us was any the wiser.’
‘Oh, no. Well, that’s a story for your book, then.’
‘Yeah, except my laptop is now being held hostage in the lady’s apartment.’
‘She took it from you?’
I explain how I left it behind in my rush to leave, and once again, my Mysterious Mancunian of Monaco is eager to save the day.
‘Look, my French isn’t too shabby. We’ll go together. I’ll explain you need your laptop back and say how sorry we are for the confusion. We’ll get your laptop back, so don’t worry.’
When Elias says it like that, so calm and confident, I start to believe him. I don’t think I can face the lady on my own, that’s for certain.
‘Would you mind? I’m so sorry about this.’
‘Of course, I don’t mind. You’re my favourite damsel in distress. I’ll meet you at the apartment block in twenty minutes.’
Is that what he thinks of me? A damsel in distress? I feel pathetic for the situations he has found me in since we met.
Twenty minutes later, I stand outside the apartment block and watch Elias as he comes bounding along towards me with a big smile on his face. I could burst into tears again with the relief of seeing the only friend I have here. As always, he is calm and kind; with no faffing about, he puts our plan straight into action.
‘Right, we’ll obviously have to speak to security first and ask if we can get upstairs. You’re lucky you came in with the driver to get access when you first arrived. Hopefully he’ll recognise you.’
Elias chats in French with the security guard and explains that he needs to speak to the lady of the apartment. I gasp as the security guard points at me and waves his finger around.
‘Non, non, non!’ he says.
Elias places both hands on my shoulders and talks quietly.
‘I’m so sorry, but he says you’re banned from the building. She’s given him strict orders that you’re not to come anywhere near here. She says if you do, she’s instructed him to call the police.’
‘Oh no. What am I going to do?’ I try not to cry in front of Elias, but I am truly panicking that I may never see my laptop ever again.
‘I’ve explained the situation to the guard, andI’mnot banned. I’m going to see if I can speak with her and try to get the laptop back. Look, I’m sure she isn’t going to want it hanging around. Security’s calling her to ask if I can go and pick it up. We just need to give them a minute, but you’ll have to wait outside the building, I’m afraid.’
‘Yes, of course. I don’t want them calling the police.’
‘No, indeed. I won’t be long, okay?’
I do as I am told and stand outside. Time seems to stand still as I wait for Elias, and I keep checking my phone in case he has any updates. I watch as convertible sports cars and Italian mopeds whizz by me whilst I stand on the pavement like some kind of fugitive.
Ten minutes later, Elias walks out of the building clutching my laptop in one hand and a pair of flesh-coloured pop socks that I use for my ballet flats in the other. Mortified!
‘She said you left those too.’ I blush as Elias hands over the pop socks and quickly smuggle them into my pocket. Then he hands over the laptop to me.
‘You, Elias, are an absolute superstar, you know that? How on earth did you manage to convince her?’ Instinctively, I throw my arms around him and give him the biggest hug. For a moment, it feels as though neither of us want to be the first to let go. Then, finally, he speaks.
‘Ah, I smiled charmingly, gave her my best French and explained what a terrible mistake this has all been.’
‘That easy? I don’t believe you!’
‘Well, no. She did have a bit of a rant. She explained that her chauffeur, who was called Franco and not Paulo, was instructed to collect a new housekeeper from the airport. Now he’s been questioned and admitted that three women ran over to him, and he picked them up, assuming his boss had asked for more staff and didn’t think to question anything.’
‘Oh no. Now she realises it wasn’t just me staying at her place.’
‘Yeah, I know. She went ballistic when she found out there were others. But she’s checked everything and can see nothing’s missing. But, anyway, the fact is you were in the wrong apartment, and Franco should never have let you in. He’s been fired and is to blame for the fiasco. It seems the housekeeper who should have arrived never showed up for the flight, so she’s also demanding compensation from the agency. I tried to appease her by telling her that you’d tried your best to keep the place looking nice. Unfortunately, you’re all still banned from the apartment block though.’
‘Oh no. I wish I could help Franco. Poor man. It was partly our fault, too, that we just went bounding over to him. I feel so awful. I wish I could explain.’
