Up Close and Personal (26 page)

When they got there, Nicole was already waiting for them.

‘Sorry, we’re late,’ Juliet said as she swiped three Bellinis off a passing waiter’s tray and set them down on the table. ‘Yasmin insisted on going on the pull.’

Yasmin batted her eyelashes. ‘Honestly, Nic, you should see him … six-foot tall and abs you could bounce rocks off.’

‘Not to mention more make-up than Estée Lauder,’ Juliet added.

Nicole’s eyebrows shot up. ‘
Make-up?
’

‘It’s a long story.’ Yasmin gestured to Nicole’s beaded flapper dress and pink feather boa. ‘You look great, by the way.’

‘So do you,’ Nicole replied. ‘I wish I had the figure to pull off an outfit like that.’

Juliet sat down and pulled one of the Bellinis towards her. ‘So how are you? It feels as if I haven’t seen you in ages.’

‘Not bad, thanks – but I’d be a lot better if my husband was here.’

‘We were just saying what a shame it was Connor couldn’t make it,’ Yasmin said.

Nicole’s face took on a fierce expression. ‘I could cheerfully have throttled him when he told me he was going to the conference instead. He didn’t even have the good grace to apologize. And then this morning, as he packed his suitcase, he was in such a good mood. No doubt he was relishing the prospect of a break from his screaming daughter and his nagging wife.’

‘I’m sure that’s not true,’ Juliet said soothingly.

‘No? Then why hasn’t he been answering his mobile all afternoon? I keep calling him, but it just goes to voicemail.
I even tried phoning the hotel, but the receptionist must’ve put me through to the wrong room because a woman answered. Then, when the receptionist tried again, the phone just rang and rang.’ Nicole’s nostrils flared like a stallion’s. ‘I mean, what if it was an emergency? What if something had happened to Tilly?’

‘How is Tilly, by the way?’ asked Juliet. ‘Yasmin said she was poorly.’

‘Much better, thanks. She’s staying at my mum’s tonight so I’ll be able to stay out late for a change.’

‘That’s good.’ Juliet raised a querying eyebrow. ‘And how’s Bear?’

Nicole frowned. ‘I don’t know. You’ve seen more of him than me, I should think.’

‘Hmm,’ Juliet said. ‘It’s just that I saw you visiting his caravan the other week.’

‘Ooh, what’s this? Do tell …’ said Yasmin, leaning forward.

‘It was nothing,’ Nicole said quickly. ‘I just dropped by to give Bear some cake.’

Yasmin grinned. ‘Is that a euphemism?’

‘No!’ Nicole cried. ‘I was just being neighbourly. Bear’s new to the area; he doesn’t know anyone. I thought he might appreciate some home baking.’

‘All right, all right, no need to get your boa in a twist.’ Yasmin slid a Bellini towards Nicole. ‘Now get this down you. It’ll help you relax.’

Behind the banqueting suite’s thirty-foot bar, Dante was hard at work. As he poured gin and dry vermouth into a cocktail shaker for a classic martini, he could feel the
familiar adrenalin buzz returning. Around him, the other bartenders worked deftly, mixing, blending and shaking, and all the while keeping up a steady stream of good-natured banter. Dante couldn’t help grinning as he gave the cocktail shaker a workout … It felt good to be back where he belonged. The pay wasn’t bad either – nearly double what he was earning back in Aspen.

As the evening wore on, Dante found he was enjoying himself more and more. His cocktail-making skills were more than a match for the other bartenders’. In fact, his output exceeded that of his nearest rival by two to one – a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by his supervisor.

‘Good work, Dante,’ he said, patting his colleague on the shoulder. ‘You look as if you’re having fun too.’

‘I sure am,’ Dante replied as he spun a bottle of tequila on his palm before upending it into a jigger. ‘Just keep those orders coming.’

‘Could you do me a favour?’ the supervisor said, pointing to the end of the bar where a tray of cocktails was waiting to be distributed. ‘Take those drinks out onto the floor before the ice melts, will you? I don’t think those waiters can keep up with your lightning fingers.’

Dante returned the tequila to one of the glass shelves behind him and wiped his hands on a towel. ‘No problem.’

He picked up the tray and set off along the boulevard, pausing every now and then so that greedy hands could snatch drinks from his tray. As he walked towards the stage, he spotted Juliet chatting with her girlfriends. He was tempted to go and talk to her but, not wanting to appear unprofessional, he doubled back towards the bar instead.

Just then, a woman appeared to his right, pouting
outrageously as she helped herself to the last cocktail. She had long dark hair which waved in the right places and manicured fingernails, painted lilac to match her dress. Everything about her screamed
high maintenance
.

‘You’re a pretty young thing, aren’t you?’ she said, stroking the side of his face with her hand. ‘What time do you knock off?’

Before Dante could reply, a man appeared at her side. ‘Come on, Daisy, leave the nice waiter alone,’ he said, tugging at her arm. ‘You’re making a fool of yourself, as usual.’

‘Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport, Frank,’ the woman replied. She reached out and flicked the tip of his nose with her index finger. ‘How about if I let you watch. You’d like
that
, wouldn’t you?’

‘Now you’re talking,’ the man said. Grinning lasciviously, he turned to Dante. ‘How about it, fella? You give the missus a good rogering and I’ll watch from the sidelines. Sounds like fun, eh?’

Dante held up his left hand and waggled his ring finger with its wide platinum band. ‘Thanks for the offer, but I’m a happily married man.’

Scowling, the man pulled a fat leather wallet from his jacket pocket and waved it under Dante’s nose. ‘I’ll make it worth your while.’

Dante clutched his tray to his genitals, as if to protect them from attack. ‘Sorry, the answer’s still no.’

Keen to escape, he turned on his heel and headed back towards the bar. As he passed the Eiffel Tower, someone caught his arm. Wheeling round, he found himself face to face with a stunning young woman. She was wearing a
spangled leotard, cut high on the thigh and low on the bosom. A plume of pink ostrich feathers erupted from her rhinestone-embellished headdress and the spike-heeled silver sandals she wore made her almost as tall as him.

‘Sorry, madam,’ he said, holding up his empty tray. ‘I’m all out of cocktails, but if you tell me what you’d like I’ll have one of the guys mix it up for you right away.’

She fluttered her eyelashes demurely at him. ‘It’s okay, I don’t need a drink. I just wanted to say hi.’

Dante frowned. Something about the girl’s dark eyes seemed familiar. ‘
Orla?
’ he said uncertainly.

She nodded. ‘I look pretty different, huh?’

Dante hadn’t seen the maid since their first meeting, a few days earlier. He couldn’t believe how different she looked. ‘You look amazing,’ he said, unable to stop his eyes roaming her curves.

‘That’s good because I feel like a right muppet,’ she said with a sigh. ‘I wouldn’t normally wear something so revealing, but this was the last Moulin Rouge get-up the costume shop had.’ She gestured to Dante’s black suit and shoestring tie. ‘You’re looking pretty sharp yourself. I heard you were a cocktail waiter in a previous life, but I didn’t realize you still worked.’

‘It’s my first night on the job,’ Dante told her. ‘I guess you could call it a try-out.’

‘Cool,’ Orla said, sounding impressed. She nodded towards the dance floor, where Daisy and Frank were now dancing cheek to cheek. ‘I saw that woman all over you earlier. Was she propositioning you?’

‘Something like that,’ Dante said. ‘I think she was drunk.’

‘I’m not surprised – you’re a good-looking guy.’ She tilted her head to one side. ‘Is Juliet here tonight?’

He nodded towards the tables by the stage. ‘She’s over there with her friends. How about you? Who have you come with?’

She pointed to a noisy group occupying one of the plush scarlet booths. Dante saw that Leah and Charlie were among them.

‘I’m with that bunch of alcoholics,’ Orla explained. ‘Leah’s sister’s an auxiliary nurse at Granville Lodge and she gave her a load of free tickets. One of Leah’s friends couldn’t make it, so she invited me along instead. It was really sweet of her; I could never have afforded to come otherwise.’

‘I’m glad to see you’re making friends.’ Dante gave her a loaded look. ‘Although Juliet tells me you have family close by.’

She smiled. ‘You mean Nathan.’

‘It must be nice to be so well connected,’ Dante said wryly. ‘I bet he’s cutting you plenty of slack.’

‘You’re joking aren’t you? Nathan’s a real slavedriver; he doesn’t go easy on anyone at Ashwicke – not even his own sister.’

‘Are you guys close?’

Orla shook her head. ‘Not really. We’d never even met until my dad died two years ago.’

‘How come?’

‘Dad and his first wife – that’s Nathan’s mum – split up when Nathan was three. When she remarried a year later, Dad agreed to let her new husband adopt him and promised to disappear from their lives completely. I don’t know
why … I guess he thought Nathan would be better off without him. But when Dad passed away, Mum reckoned his son had a right to know about it, so she hired a private detective to track Nathan down.’

‘So brother and sister were finally reunited.’

‘That’s right,’ she said. ‘I’m an only child, so it was nice to suddenly acquire a brand-new brother. Having said that, we
were
living at opposite ends of the country at the time, so we didn’t get to see each other very often. We’d probably only met half a dozen times when Nathan told me there was a job going at Ashwicke. I was at a bit of a loose end when I graduated so I didn’t have to think too hard about it. Mind you, I didn’t realize it was going to be such hard work.’ She clapped her hand over her mouth. ‘Shit, that sounds really bad, doesn’t it?’

Dante’s eyes crinkled in amusement. ‘Don’t worry about it.’ He glanced towards the bar where several waiters were waiting for their trays to be replenished. ‘Look, Orla, it’s been nice talking to you, but I’d better get back to work.’

‘Sure, the others will be wondering where I’ve got to anyway.’ She raised a hand in farewell. ‘Enjoy the rest of your evening.’

Dante smiled. ‘You too.’

Orla watched him as he walked away from her. She’d never seen her employer’s rear view before. It was cute. Very cute. Sighing, she walked over to the booth to find the group downing shots of viscous green liquid.

‘What’s that you’re drinking?’ she said, sliding into the booth beside Leah.

‘Absinthe,’ replied one of Leah’s friends – a moon-faced
lad with a rugby player’s physique and black hair gelled into spikes. ‘They’re bloody lethal.’

‘Don’t s’pose you got one for me, did you?’ she ventured.

Leah flashed an insincere smile. ‘Sorry.’

‘No worries, I’ll get my own.’

‘Maybe you can get that waiter you were chatting up to bring you one,’ Charlie suggested.

Orla crossed one long leg over the other. ‘I don’t think I’d feel very comfortable ordering him around.’

‘Why not?’ Charlie said. ‘That’s his job, isn’t it?’

She gave him an arch look. ‘Because that waiter happens to be our employer.’

Charlie and Leah looked at her in surprise. ‘Mr Fisher?’ they said in unison.

Orla nodded smugly.

‘You two were chatting for ages,’ Charlie said in a faintly envious tone. ‘What were you talking about?’

‘Nothing much … Dante was just asking who I’d come with. Oh, and he said he liked my outfit.’

‘I bet he did,’ Moon Face said, looking Orla up and down.

‘
Dante
, is it?’ Leah said mockingly. ‘Only a week and you’re on first-name terms with the boss already.’

‘I’m only following instructions,’ Orla said calmly. ‘Anyway, I’m off to get that drink. See you in a minute.’

As soon as she was out of earshot, Leah turned to Charlie. ‘There’s something funny about that girl.’

Charlie frowned. ‘How do you mean?’

‘I don’t know; I can’t put my finger on it. I do know one thing, though – I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her. I think we should be careful around her in future. For all we know, everything we say is going straight back to Nathan.’

‘Who’s Nathan?’ Moon Face asked.

‘The general manager at work. You know, that bloke we’re always moaning about.’

‘So why would she go telling tales to him?’

‘Because she’s his sister,’ Leah replied.

‘Yeah, well, just because Orla’s brother’s a shit doesn’t mean she is too,’ Moon Face said. ‘She seems nice to me. I reckon you should give her a chance.’

‘You’re only saying that because you fancy her.’

‘He fancies anything with a pulse,’ said one of the others, cuffing his friend’s head.

Moon Face ducked away. ‘Hey, mind the hair.’ He turned back to Leah. ‘So if you don’t like her why did you invite her out tonight?’

‘I didn’t invite her. Yesterday at work, she came up to me and said she’d heard I had some tickets for the fundraiser. I told her they were all spoken for and that’s when she offered to buy one for two hundred quid.’

‘Christ,’ Moon Face said. ‘I bet you bit her hand off.’

Leah grinned. ‘Not quite. I told her I wanted three hundred for it.’

‘No way!’

‘She didn’t bat an eye; I should’ve asked for more.’

‘Three hundred quid,’ Charlie muttered. ‘How can she afford that on her wages?’

‘Fuck knows,’ Leah said, her face hardening. ‘Like I said before, she’s a sly one.’

As the evening progressed and the drinks continued to flow, the atmosphere became increasingly high-spirited. At the champagne fountain, several people had dispensed with
glasses and were now drinking directly from the gushing spouts, lapping up champagne as if it were water, while others engaged in heavy-duty frottage behind the trees along the boulevard. In keeping with the general mood of decadence, the stage show too was growing more risqué with each act. The band had been followed by can-can dancers and a bikini-clad contortionist – and now the audience was eagerly anticipating the finale.