Fire and Ice (5 page)

“The problem came when we took him
down into the village at about the time the pubs were emptying. We had met a
couple of young Quebecoise girls on the hill that day and suspected they’d be
in the pub until it closed. But just as they came out, Croc Blanc caught sight
of this rather over-the-top lady wearing a fox fur stole. He was normally such
a good dog, but apparently he had a thing for foxes. He shot across the road
like a bat out of hell, snatched the stole in one jump and was gone. We tore
after him, the lady screamed and called the police, the two women we were
interested in just disappeared and we spent most of the night trying to find
the dog and the rest of the season trying to pay off the ruined stole.”

He laughed fondly at the memory
and the others joined in. Kate sat back and took in the ambiance around her
with a smile. This was how a ski weekend in a chalet should feel, she thought.
Festive. Fun. Chocolaty. With the occasional moment of connection with the
dark-eyed man across the room from her, a sense of team.

Another little cheer went up and
she came back from her reverie to find her glass full again and five faces
turned toward her. She had a sudden image of her family in Ireland, the same
sense of fun solidarity.

“Hell, yes!” she said, echoing her
oldest brother’s favourite cry and joining the others. It was not going to be
an early evening.

Chapter Five

The next morning Kate woke with a
slight headache and a dry mouth. She had set her alarm early to prepare
breakfast in time for the skiers to take the first lifts, but she doubted that
any of them would be up before eight. The evening had wound down at two o’clock
and several rounds of whiskey had animated the discussion.

Despite her fatigue, she found
herself humming “Good Morning Starshine” as she stretched and rolled over to
turn off her alarm clock. Thinking of the night before brought a smile to her
tired face. Everybody had enjoyed themselves and laughed a lot, including her.
Including Sebastien. She felt like she had seen another side of him, glimpses
of something more real than the cold face he generally wore.  The trouble was
that this made him all the more attractive, the warm laughter in the dark eyes,
the roguish grin.

He was still her boss, she told
herself sternly. And she was lying to him. It was best to stop this little
fantasy in its infancy. But when she thought of the feeling of complicity
between them, the glances across the room, her heart skipped a beat. He was
irresistible when he turned on the charm.

As was Mickey the Rat, she
reminded herself darkly. She was a fool for roguish charm and mischievous
grins, particularly on such handsome features as those of Sebastien Pichard.
According to Mimi, he had been a player in his twenties with a taste for models
and actresses. No doubt he was well aware of the power he had over women’s
emotions when he chose.

She sighed and pulled herself out
from under the cosy duvet to look through the window. The sun had not yet risen
and the stars were still faintly visible in the lightening sky. The wonder of
the view still struck her each day and she was sure that she would never tire
of it, no matter how long she stayed.

Across the valley, forested slopes
ran up to open snow-covered meadows with higher peaks behind, their jagged
edges, glaciers and cliffs looking cold and unforgiving. Here and there the
bluish white was interrupted by the soft glow of chalet lights winking like an
invitation to warmth and safety.

She pulled on her jeans and a
sweater and padded up the stairs. In the kitchen she put the coffee on before she
laid the table for breakfast. The guests would be as grateful as she was for a
bit of a jolt to wake up this morning. She yawned as she pulled on her jacket
to fetch fresh croissants and bread from the bakery just down the road.

Outside, the cold air helped to bring
her to her senses. As she hurried down the driveway, she was surprised to hear
a voice.  She peered through the hedge to find Sebastien in the snowy garden,
walking around a large snow-laden pine tree and speaking on his mobile phone.

Just the unexpected sight of his
strong form was enough to send a thrill through her.  Watching him she thought
of a leopard padding powerfully and purposely, his gaze intense and his voice
calm but sure.

He was frowning into the phone
when he caught sight of her. He nodded briefly in her direction but kept
talking, absorbed in his conversation as he paced in the snow.

A wave of disappointment washed
over Kate and she continued along the driveway feeling foolish. Nothing had
happened, she reminded herself, just a social evening with business associates.
And she had been allowed to join in because it was her job to help with hosting
guests. Sebastien’s friendliness last night had been towards everybody, after
all. Today he seemed to be all business again.

At the end of the driveway she
turned downhill toward the main village. The entire upper village seemed to be
sleeping still, although traffic would pick up in an hour or so with weekend
visitors keen to enjoy good early-season snow. A bus rumbled by on the main
street below, collecting skiers to bring them to the main lift station.

The Fleur de Sel bakery stood on
the corner just before the road started to drop steeply into the centre. Inside
it was warm and smelled tantalisingly of fresh bread and pastries. Kate bought
two loaves and a selection of croissants and pain au chocolat, still warm from
the oven. She helped herself to one as she wandered back along the snowy
street, savouring the buttery pastry and melted chocolate inside.

The first rays of sunlight had
made their way over the wall of mountains to the east, reflecting blindingly
off the snow. The effect was dazzling and Kate smiled as she wiped the crumbs
from her lips with mittened hands. It was ridiculous to let her emotions be so
easily swayed by a man who barely noticed her. She didn’t want to let his
coldness ruin these lovely wintery days in the Alps.

The sugar helped to restore her
good spirits. It still seemed unbelievable that she lived here and was somehow
part of this mountain scene, the perched village in the perfect snow. And this
grand chalet, she thought happily as she turned up the drive. When she thought
of how dismal she had been feeling in London, she shuddered. This was an
opportunity to enjoy and she would not let Mickey’s distant shadow spoil her
sunshine.

She was her usual cheerful self by
the time the guests trickled down, enticed by the smell of coffee and warm
pastries. Kate had set out a typical Swiss breakfast, with breads, jams,
cereals and yoghurts, but she was also ready to prepare a hearty English fry-up
if anyone preferred.

The guests arrived sleepy-eyed but
smiling. Sebastien ducked his head in the door to greet everybody and to pick
up a cup of coffee.

“No rest for the wicked, I’m
afraid,” he apologised with a smile. “You’ll have to excuse my rudeness, but I
am leaving you in the capable hands of Michelle while I finish just a few more
phone calls.” He headed back outside, coffee in one hand and phone in the
other.  

“I’m not sure that wicked is the
right term for his “Simply Elegant” campaign,” Colleen commented sceptically,
reaching for a pain au chocolat.

“Unless he’s referring to the
amount of extra work it takes to do due diligence on the charities,” responded
Darren as he slid his chair up to the table. “I don’t suppose you’d have any
English breakfast tea?”

“Of course,” Kate said,
approaching with an old-fashioned tea-pot. “So what is this “Simply Elegant”
campaign?”

“Haven’t you heard of it?” Janet
asked in surprise. “It’s Sebastien’s idea for launching this year’s new watch
collection, which are all basically very elegant bracelets with watches set in.
Très chic, you know. And ten per cent of the profit goes to a good cause.”

 “He’s trying to find one where
the money is well spent,” Darren continued. “Which takes a lot of checking.
Geneva is the world capital for humanitarian organisations. He was down at the
Doctors Without Borders office last week and I think he might choose them. He
met some humanitarian workers just back from a war zone and he was impressed
with what they’d managed to do and how simply.”

“I think he likes the fact that
their office is just down the way from his,” Liam corrected him with a laugh.
“He likes to have things right under his nose w here he can keep an eye on
them.”

                Janet picked up another croissant. “I
could grow to like these continental breakfasts, you know,” she said, reaching
for the butter from the local dairy. “The celebrities like the set-up as well.
They get paid to model and they can claim to be doing it for a good cause.”

 “Which is why we’ve come to meet
with Sebastien,” Liam chimed in. “He’s making a push for more corporate social
responsibility in the high-end watch and jewellery sectors, sourcing the
materials, things like that. He’s trying to establish some new norms in
governance for the industry, and we want to link our business into the same
movement.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t seen
any of the ads,” Colleen commented. “Quite a few celebrities were advertising
for the Pichard campaign.”

Kate shook her head slowly and
glanced out the window at Sebastien. She felt a new respect for her boss as she
saw another side to his character. Under the cold and businesslike exterior at
least he did care strongly about something worthwhile.

She would have liked to ask more
questions, but Colleen had started asking her about shopping. She stopped her
musings about her intriguing boss and went back to her job of playing hostess.

“I could show you a few of the
shops myself, if you like,” she offered casually. “Although I don’t want you to
think I’m getting a commission or anything. None of them are owned by any of my
family members.”

Colleen laughed. “I would love
that. It’s always fun to have the inside scoop, and besides, I don’t speak a
word of French.”

Kate made a face at the reminder
of how little her own French speaking had progressed in her time here.
“Everybody in Verbier speaks some English,” she confessed. “In fact, many only
speak English, especially the ones working the shops and bars.”

“I’d still love your company, if
you don’t mind,” Colleen insisted. “That is, unless you had planned to ski with
the others.”

“Oh no,” Kate assured her hastily.
“I have things to do in town today anyway.”

The truth was that she didn’t want
Sebastien to see her on the slopes. Not simply because he had grown up on skis
and she was still obviously quite new to the sport, but for fear of being discovered.

As Emily introduced her to the
subculture of chalet girls and other seasonal workers, she was increasingly
sure that other people in Verbier knew the real Michelle. If Sebastien ended up
introducing her to people for any reason, there was a strong chance that they
might call her bluff.

No, it was best for her to stay
out of his way if she wanted to maintain her charade. And if she wanted to
maintain her resolution to stay away from men for a while. Her physical
responses last night to his subtle looks across the room were enough to send
warning signals through her brain. She knew herself well enough to recognise
the signals, and her awareness of his presence and of her own awkwardness in
front of him were warning enough.

Even as she thought about him, she
became aware of his return to the kitchen. She felt his gaze linger on her as
she and Colleen discussed which shops they might like to visit. Under his
steady regard she felt her skin growing hot and her focus disappearing.

Fortunately he didn’t stay long.
He had only sat down long enough to pick up a croissant and exchange a few
comments with his guests when his phone rang again. He made an apologetic
grimace and got back to his feet.

“Excuse me for letting business
ruin a good breakfast,” he said, directing an appreciative look toward Kate.
“But I promise I’ll be ready when the skiers are. Michelle, we’ll just be
coming by to shower and change between après-ski and dinner, so you’ll be free
of us until our night-cap.”

Kate nodded. Her crush on
Sebastien at least had the positive benefit of making her listen to whatever he
said, because otherwise she was having troubles remembering to answer when
people called her Michelle. Clearly, she would have made a poor spy. She
wondered vaguely if she could use this in her defence if anybody suspected her
motives.

Although people might suspect her
motives in a different way if they caught her staring at his firm backside and
square shoulders as he walked away. Unless they were busy staring at them as
well.

She forced her gaze back to
Colleen, almost regretting her offer to take her shopping. This balancing act
of impersonating Michelle and pretending to know what she was doing was tiring,
and her attraction to her boss wasn’t simplifying matters.

The skiers had gone back to their
rooms to prepare for the day, leaving her alone with Colleen. Of all the guests
here this weekend, she seemed the least accustomed to this lifestyle. Kate
decided to take a chance on the fact that Colleen didn’t seem to know the rules
any better than she did and slid into a vacated chair.

It was wiser to give into her
weakness for baking than her weakness for good-looking men, she decided,
reaching for a croissant.

Chapter Six

The afternoon sun was blinding as
it reflected on the crystal snow. Kate stopped in the shade of a thick fir tree
to slather more sun cream on her face. She pushed her sunglasses far back onto
her head, squinting at the brightness around her.

She was out for a walk on
snowshoes, using a pair that she had found in the chalet basement. She was
following a snowy forest track where she had already startled a fox and a roe
deer. After a morning on the ski slopes with the lively crowds of tourists she
was glad to escape to the quiet of the woods.