Dimitria landed back on her seat with a thump. ‘What?’ Dimitria looked to Faye as if she was expecting some kind of explanation.
‘I am starving though. Thosecroque-monsieurson the plane aren’t what they used to be. Can we get some menus?’ Matthew started clicking his fingers in the air to get the attention of one of the waiters.
‘Where is Kostas?’ Dimitria asked Faye.
‘I don’t know.’
‘Is that the estate agent?’ Matthew asked, pouring himself a glass of wine. ‘The chap I’ve been dealing with is called Alexandros.’
Now it seemed neither Dimitria nor Faye knew what to say. But someone had to say something to get to the bottom of what was going on here.
‘So, let me get this straight,’ Faye began. ‘You’ve come here to talk to Dimitria about the offer for the hotel on behalf of the person who’s made the offer? One of your clients?’
Matthew laughed, picking up a piece of fresh bread from the basket on the table and tearing it in half. ‘No. I told you. I’m the person making the offer.’
‘O po po,’ Dimitria said, and she made the sign of the cross over her chest.
Faye’s own chest got tight. He wasn’t serious, was he?
‘Well, you could both look a bit more excited about the idea,’ Matthew said. ‘Alexandros said you want to go travelling, Dimitria. With the money you could, I don’t know, live it up on the Orient Express or… fly business class to Acapulco or something.’
Still Faye didn’t know what to say. Her whole body was thrumming, trying to work out how to process this situation. It couldn’t be happening. But if it really was, why?
‘I don’t understand,’ Faye said finally. ‘You are offering to buy the hotel from Dimitria?’
Matthew nodded. ‘That’s right.’
‘But why?’
‘Why?’
‘Yes.’
‘Because I think it’s a sound investment. I’ve looked at the outline figures, I’ve done my research and, obviously, I want to see much more, but I made my offer based on what I think the business and property is worth now plus a little more when I factored in potential.’ He smiled. ‘Because I’m a good businessman but also a nice person.’
Nobody said anything to that. Nor did they smile back.
Dimitria cleared her throat. ‘Matthew, this has come so out of the blue. In all the time I have known you, you never showed an interest in the hotel business.’
‘Well, business is business and sometimes you have to rely on the support of others who know all the minutiae. Faye knows the hotel business.’
What?
‘So, you are proposing that you will continue to run the hotel as a hotel?’ Dimitria asked him.
‘Of course,’ Matthew stated. ‘Why would I want to do anything else? It looks like you have the perfect little set-up here, making a good profit, and if there’s one thing I know about Faye, she’s very reliable and organised.’
That was two things. And Faye felt like she had been punched in the gut. What was he proposing? That he buy the business and she work for him? Suddenly she felt like she was drowning. Corfu was her home. For a long time it had been her sacred relaxation holiday place; yes, with Matthew by her side for some of it, but now it was entirely different. This was her life. And Matthew wasn’t part of her life any more.
‘Let me get this perfectly straight,’ Dimitria said, sitting forward in her chair. ‘You want to buy the hotel and run this exactly as it has been running, with Faye as the manager.’
Matthew nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘A po po,’ Dimitria said, blowing out a breath. Then she got to her feet. ‘I think the first conversation you need to have is not with me as a hotel owner, I think it is with Faye.’
‘What?’ Matthew asked. ‘Where are you going? You wanted to meet with me and hear my intentions, that’s what Alexandros told me. So, here I am and I have told you my intentions.’
‘You have stated your intentions about my hotel,’ Dimitria said. ‘You have not yet stated your intentions with regard to Faye. And that… it is not my business. But it is a concern. And we will have no further conversations on this matter until that concern is addressed. If we even have any further conversations at all. That will be down to Faye.’
