Lisa upped her pace, making her way through the network of streets filled with bars and restaurants. She didn’t like to be hauled in and she didn’t like to feel forced to join long tables with rowdy strangers. It was a whole new world to her, and she realised then how sheltered she’d been. Not sheltered in the traditional sense; her parents weren’t strict or Victorian in any way, but she’d definitely always lived inside a comfortable, wealthy bubble of politeness and this was not a part of that life. She was not their kind, and they could smell it as they followed her with their judgmental stares. When she finally escaped the crowded streets, her anxiety rose to alarming levels, and she sank down on the pavement.Six more weeks. How am I going to survive this?
Taking deep breaths, she waited for the panic to subside as she held onto her chest. She rarely had panic attacks but her break-up, losing her job and months of worrying about paying rent and bills had made her vulnerable beyond belief.Get a grip, Lisa. You’ve been all over the world, for God’s sake. This is Benidorm, so calm the fuck down.
When she opened her eyes again, the white noise finally faded, and she saw that she was in a quiet alleyway. Opposite her, gentle Spanish guitar music was playing from a small tapas bar where they were setting the tables for the night. It felt daunting to go inside in her current state, but at least it was quieter and sitting out here wouldn’t get her anywhere either, and so she got up and peeked through the window.
“Buenos dias!” A tall waiter with a perfectly groomed goatee opened the door for her and spread his arms. “Our first customer ever.”
Lisa managed a smile as she followed him into the restaurant that only held about a dozen tables. “Ever? I doubt that.”
“It’s true. It’s our opening night.” He rubbed his hands together. “We need to make a good first impression, and that means you won’t find better Spanish food anywhere else in town tonight.”
“That sounds good to me.” Lisa sat down at the window table, after he pulled out a chair for her. The décor was rustic and basic and that was a welcome change after the neon-lit bars and kitschy restaurants she’d just passed.
“I’m Joachim. Give me a shout if you know what you want to order. That’s our menu,” he said, pointing to a blackboard. “We only have house wine, but it’s good house wine.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll have a glass of red, please.” Lisa scanned the board, mentally translating the dishes and already salivating at the look of it. “And can I have the Padrón peppers and a slice of tortilla to start with?” she paused, pursing her lips. “Oh, and a tomato salad and the grilled squid, please.”
“Of course.” Joachim wrote down her order and when he walked off, she heard him whisper something about a potential reviewer to one of his English colleagues. It made sense that he thought she might be from a magazine. She hadn’t seen many people here on their own and with her dark jeans, white shirt and trainers, she certainly looked different from the rest of the British women, who wore colourful dresses with rhinestones and were smothered in make-up and novelty jewellery. She sat back and thought of her ex-girlfriend, Sandrine, who used to nickname her ‘The Slayer’, after the notorious food reviewer. But then again, it could work to her advantage today. If the waiter didn’t ask her straight-up, then who was she to contradict his suspicions?
4
“Isn’t it a bit early to eat?” Stella asked as she followed Manuel and eight other team members to Hostaria, the new tapas bar Manuel’s cousin had opened.
“It’s never too early to eat.” Manuel waved at his cousin, who was smoking a cigarette outside. “Besides, this coño here was worried no one would show up, so he needs the place to look full. Drinks half price. Just tonight and only for us.” He patted the man’s shoulder, then stole his cigarette and took a drag before they hugged and exchanged some small talk.
While they caught up, Stella’s eyes were drawn to the window table, where a familiar-looking woman was dining on her own.Is that the grumpy woman from Paradise?She didn’t voice her thoughts, as she was worried Manuel, who had already consumed quite a few drinks, may crack a joke a little too loud, and official complaints about her team members was the last thing she needed.
“This is our bossy-boss, Stella,” he said to his cousin, patting her shoulder.
“Hello, Miss Stella. I’m Joachim and this is my new bar.”
“It looks nice.” Stella shot him a smile and held out her hand to let Joachim squeeze it, even though she couldn’t care less about male attention. “And it’s really nice to meet you. Congratulations on your opening and thank you for arranging the staff happy hour.” Her eyes shifted to the window again, drawn to beautiful Miss Grumpy. “Could we have a table in the back?” she asked, just to be on the safe side. The woman really was gorgeous, she decided then, and as she followed everyone inside, her stomach did a flip when her eyes met Miss Grumpy’s for a split second. They were blue and intense, her stare as cold as a winter’s morning, but there was also sadness in them, and something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Joachim, who had seen the brief exchange, leaned in and whispered: “I’m pretty sure she’s a reviewer. It’s cool, no?”
“Really?” Stella gave him a puzzled glance but before she’d had the chance to enquire any further, they were seated and Joachim began to serve everyone wine, followed by sizzling chorizo and bread with dips. It was the first night she’d been out with some of her new team members, and she told herself to forget about the woman and focus on her people instead. After all, in her experience, it was way easier to get them on board if they liked her. It had taken her years to build a well-oiled machine of staff members who always had each other’s backs, and although everything had fallen apart, she knew she could do it again. Even if it would cost her a good chunk of her wages.
“Drinks on me tonight,” she said, smiling at the party. “Now, why don’t you all tell me about your day. Who has a funny story to share?”
There was always something amusing to report, and with most staff members being Spanish, they were even more baffled by the English hotel guests than their English colleagues.
“Someone peed in the pool today,” a girl called Luciana said. “The new signs are big and clear, but there was still an accident and then the water went green.” She laughed. “I love these new chemicals, but it’s so annoying that everyone has to leave the pool for thirty minutes. It means they spend more time at the bar.”
Manuel shrugged. “They did it before too, it’s just that no one ever knew. And now…” He clapped his hands together dramatically. “Bam! Busted!”
Luciana burst out in laughter too, and they speculated about which guests may have committed the crime. The chemicals that turned urine green had led to a lot of hilarity when they’d first started using them, but now that the pool had to be cleaned more often, it was getting rather tiresome.
“I’ll see if we can get some better signs with a visual,” Stella said, turning to Luciana.
“As if that’s going to help.” Manuel rolled his eyes. “Everything changes, but one thing stays the same. The guests.” He sat back and took a sip of his wine. “Although currently, there is this woman who’s quite different from our usual crowd. She’s hot. In fact, she’d be super sexy if she just smiled for once. I swear, that woman is miserable on every level and she even—”
As soon as she put two and two together, Stella kicked Manuel’s leg under the table while her eyes shifted to the woman by the window, but it was too late. Manuel continued his rant of insults and the woman stood up, slammed some cash on the table and walked out.
“Wait, your food is ready!” Joachim called after her. “I can bag it up for you if you like…” He opened the door, but she was already out of sight.
“What the fuck, Manuel!” Stella shot him a glare. “I was kicking you. Did you not get the hint?”
“What hint?” Manuel frowned.
