***
Bryan closed the office door behind him, happy to take a break from the madness of Saturday night at the Langdon Mansion Hotel. It was still busy even though they weren’t fully booked. They should have been, but since that damn video had been uploaded onto HotelRater, the most visited hotel rating website, they had lost several dinner reservations, and even a few more in the hotel. Bryan was positive Nell Jones had uploaded that video. She must have known the woman who took the recording and got a copy or asked her to do it. Bryan was new to the area, having moved down for the job of deputy manager, but he’d heard that everyone knew everybody else in this place so it wasn’t out of the realms of possibility that Nell had got the recording and was using it to save her business, because from his perspective, they came out looking far worse than she did. Either way, they were losing bookings and Kevin was fuming.
Already in the office, peering at the screen of his laptop with a scowl fixed on his face, Kevin opened his mouth to place a manicured fingernail in for a chew. Bryan had never seen Kevin chew a fingernail and the effect was disconcerting.
‘Bry, I’m not happy at all about this situation.’ He shoved his chair back and began pacing around.
The bright lights from all the hotel windows meant Bryan could see the gardens outside almost as well as in daylight. A great big bush of rhododendrons blew in the wind and though the branches of the tress were mostly bare, the last few leaves that held on tightly were forced off and carried away into the shadows.
‘We’ve got to do something about this bloody video. The only good thing right now is that we’ve secured that massive holiday firm’s Enchanted Ball. Find the Sun are huge. They’re taking over the holiday business and if we hold this ball for them and do a good job, it could undo all the damage this bloody woman’s done and make us one of their top recommended. To fit them in we’re going to have to dump the mayor’s party and that’s not going to go down well locally.’
‘When are you going to tell them?’
‘Monday. I can’t be bothered before then.’ Kevin rubbed a hand over his perfect eyebrows.
Bryan nodded. ‘What are we going to do about Nell Jones? I’ve heard on the grapevine that she’s now hosting St Herbert’s Primary School nativity play or carol concert, or whatever it is. She’s making herself the darling of the town. And that’s in addition to this wedding fair that seems to be creating a buzz. I’ve had loads of people asking us when we’re going to do one.’
Kevin’s head shot round. ‘How did you hear that?’
‘My cousin goes to the knit and natter group she holds at the hotel and Nell was apparently quite open, asking them all if they thought St Herbert’s would like to hold it at Holly Lodge as she’s right nearby. Apparently, the hall roof has a leak.’
‘I don’t like this, Bry, I don’t like this at all. The Summertons went from us to her, we’ve lost loads of dinner bookings because of her.’ He shook his head. ‘We need to discredit her as much as possible. I think we continue with the bad reviews on HotelRater, but I want to get inside that hotel of hers and see exactly how much of our business she’s stealing.’
‘How do we do that?’ Bryan was a reasonably clever man, but he couldn’t see how they could get inside the inner workings of her hotel. She wasn’t taking on any staff, she didn’t have that many on the books and the ones she had probably wouldn’t be open to bribery. He’d heard that most of them had been with her since her parents ran the place and there was no substitute for family loyalty. Oh yes, he’d done his homework already and he told Kevin as much. His boss lifted his eyebrows, impressed.
‘Well done, Bry. Good work.’
He really did wish Kevin would stop calling him Bry. He hated it. But he didn’t want to get on his bad side. If Kevin was right about Find the Sun, he could find himself in a really good position when all this was done. ‘So, what were you thinking?’
‘What about sending someone along to this carol service? Surely, she won’t know who’s a parent at the school and who’s not. If we can get someone in there they might be able to sneak a look at her reservations and report on how this event goes down with the local community, find out what they’re saying about us and if they’re talking about the video.’
‘Good idea, but I’m afraid it can’t be me because I kicked her out of the restaurant. She’s seen my face.’
‘It can’t be me,’ said Kevin. ‘I’m too busy.’
‘Then who?’
Kevin went to chew a fingernail but after examining it decided not to ruin the paintwork. ‘Who served Nell that night?’
‘Tallulah Jacobs. Why?’
‘Damn it. She’s just come in asking me if she can train for reception too and get some extra shifts. Apparently, her dad has just lost his job and her mum’s stressed out about Christmas. She’s got quite a few brothers and sisters. Maybe they go to St Herbert’s Primary so it wouldn’t be amiss for her to be there.’
A sudden flush of excitement filled Bryan. ‘Shall I call her in? I mean, no one remembers their server, do they? I doubt they’d be able to recognise her.’
Kevin’s smile was enormous, bright and white. He had teeth that seemed to be two sizes too big for his mouth and where he had them artificially whitened at an extortionate amount it made them stand out even more. ‘Yes, get her in here. We’ll pay her some overtime for it.
