The rubbish had been removed, every surface shone and the carpet had been returned to its previously pristine state. The bed was freshly made, the white linens displaying not a single crease. The bed looked so inviting Evie was tempted to lie down on it herself.
“How did you do this?”
“Mandy is brilliant,” Abby said. “Just brilliant.”
“We worked hard.” Mandy patted the last pillow and placed it carefully on the bed. “And it helped that Abby is a genius with stains and blobs. Also full of great stories. When you have a moment you have to ask her about the mess she had to clean up at a hotel in Cape Cod last year. It involves guests who decided to barbecue fish on their balcony, the fire service and a dramatic rescue of a dog who shouldn’t have been in the room in the first place.” Mandy smiled at Abby. “Hilarious.”
“We made a note of the damage, but there’s nothing too dramatic. I’ll email you the list,” Abby said. “Apart from needing to replace one cushion from the sofa, and the pretty onewith the sea-bird that was on the bed, this room is ready to welcome the Grangers.”
“Thank you.” Evie felt weak with relief. “You’ve both done a great job. I’ll get those cushions and sort out a welcome basket and some fresh flowers.”
“I can do both those things,” Mandy said. “I’m about to dispose of the rubbish so I’ll do that afterwards.”
Evie wondered if she’d noticed the time. “It’s lunch—”
“Oh, we already agreed that we’re not going for lunch until we’ve finished here,” Abby said. “You’re okay with that, aren’t you, Mandy?”
“Definitely.” Mandy nodded and patted Abby on the shoulder. “Please tell me you’re going to be working in housekeeping the whole time you’re here. I hope I didn’t bore you with all my stories about how the hotel used to be when I first joined. It was a real trip down memory lane.”
“I loved hearing about it. This whole thing ended up being so much fun.” Abby frowned, as if that was surprising.
“It’s important to be able to have a laugh at work,” Mandy said. She gave the room one last look. “We’re done here. Where would you like me next, Evie? What’s the priority?”
Evie was still digesting the fact that Mandy had agreed to delay her lunch break. Whenever she gently suggested something similar she was always told that there was nothing that couldn’t wait until after lunch.
She pushed that aside and focused on Mandy’s question. “Connie is in the process of setting up one of our function rooms for a children’s party this afternoon. We’re expecting a balloon delivery any moment.”
“You want help with that? Point me in the right direction.”
“That would be great, thanks. And then I thought you might want to work alongside Edward this afternoon. He knows the hotel better than anyone, and you’ll pick up some useful informationabout the local area, so if a guest happens to ask you something at least you will have had some preparation.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Abby followed Evie out of the room. “Did things change for you with the staff when you were promoted?”
“Change? You mean our relationship? No, not at all. And that’s good and bad I suppose. They treat me exactly the same way they always have. Although I wasn’t exactly promoted in the traditional sense. It wasn’t a case ofhey, Evie, we think you’re brilliant so we’re giving you the big job. It was morehey, Evie, we’re desperate so you’re in charge of the ship for now and please don’t sink it.” And it was sinking. And it didn’t matter that she wasn’t responsible for how they arrived at this point. She was responsible for what happened next.
“But they must have thought you were capable of doing the job.”
Evie shrugged. “I was the obvious person. The only person. There wasn’t anyone else on the team with the same experience.” Was that a bit too honest? “I’m happy, obviously. I’m lucky to have been given this chance. But my position is temporary. I’m a caretaker.”
Abby angled her head. “Do you think Gerald will be back?”
It was a question that plagued her daily.
“I don’t know. I went to see him at home a couple of weeks ago and he didn’t look that well. Rhoda—that’s his wife—said he’d been sleeping a lot. He asked about the hotel. He’s worried about the place and Rhoda was frustrated that he couldn’t switch off.”
Would he come back? She didn’t know. And what would happen to her job if he did?
Would she really be able to step back into her old role, knowing what she now knew?
There were things she’d want to challenge him on, and shewouldn’t feel able to. She wouldn’t know how to. But holding it all in and carrying on as normal would be hard.
Still, there was no point in worrying about that now. “That’s tough on you,” Abby said. “I guess you don’t really know where you stand. You probably don’t feel you can make the job your own because it doesn’t feel as if it is your own. You have lots of ideas, but can’t make major changes in case Gerald does come back. And you must be wondering what your role will be if that happens.”
How did she know all that?
Since stepping into this job Evie had felt completely alone, unable to share her thoughts with anyone apart from her dad and the occasional indiscreet moment when she’d confided in Tristan. She hadn’t even talked to colleagues she’d been fairly close to before her promotion. They’d all be horrified if they knew she was contemplating leaving. They wouldn’t understand. She knew they had no idea how she was feeling or what she was dealing with.
But Abby knew. Abby had seen it instantly. Abby understood.
