The Southern Belles, page 36
part #1 of Brighton Belles Series
Satisfied that the meal would be a disaster, Felicity walked back towards reception. Instead of taking the lift up to her room, she took the stairs instead, thinking of the exercise. When she was up three flights, she saw a lonely-looking fire alarm, a red box with plastic glass covering the button inside. Looking around her, up the stairs ahead and down the flight she’d just walked up, nothing. It was quiet and there were no cameras to be seen.
“Why not,” she said, punching the plastic glass with her fist. When the loud alarm sounded, Felicity walked innocently back down the flight of stairs she’d just climbed. When she arrived back in the reception area, she made sure her face looked suitably concerned. The hotel staff couldn’t trace it back to her, but she wanted to err on the side of caution, just in case.
*
“How’s it looking?” asked Evelyn.
“Relax, Evey,” replied Jamal, opening each cooker to find the turkeys mostly ready to carve. “They’re not overcooked. Why don’t you go and join Natalie, go and greet your guests and leave me and Liv in here. We’ve got this, Evey, I promise.”
“And you’re sure it’s all going to be ready on time?”
“It might be ten to fifteen minutes late,” he replied. “The fire alarm has set us back, but not by much. Now get going. Go and greet your guests.”
Wanting to stay and help in the kitchen, Evelyn watched Jamal and Olivia for another thirty seconds. When Jamal looked over at her again, she said, “I’m going, I’m going.” It felt like her heart had been racing all day. This was by far and away the biggest event she’d managed so far and she so badly wanted it to be successful. As she walked through the hired room, double-checking the tables were ready, she thought back to what the catering company owner had said, that someone had phoned and cancelled the caterers. That could only be one person: Felicity.
Natalie was holding a tray of champagne glasses by the door to the bar, so that each guest could grab one as they entered. Evelyn picked up the second tray of glasses and joined her. “Do me a favour, Nat,” she said quietly. “Keep an eye out for Flick, would you? I think she’s the one who phoned the caterers and cancelled.”
“Will do,” replied Natalie, smiling at a male and female guest who took a glass each. “But how could she know which caterers you hired? You carry your folder around, but you’re not careless enough to leave it lying around, are you?”
“Of course not,” she replied, stunned that Natalie would even think that. “I’ve only let a couple of people see it – Tom, Jean and Georgia.”
It was then that it dawned on her that the only person she didn’t completely trust was Jean. Then she shook her head. It couldn’t have been Jean . . . she was her friend?
Evelyn smiled and said hello to a group of five guests, who each took a glass of champagne. She was so nervous her hands were clammy. They only had forty-five minutes until the starters were going to come out. At least Olivia had them ready to serve.
“Well, she found out somehow,” said Natalie, between smiles.
She couldn’t believe it. Of all the people who could’ve been invited to this event. “Hello Suzy,” she said, allowing Tom’s ex to take a glass.
“Evelyn,” acknowledged Suzy.
Evelyn looked at Natalie, still smiling, but squirming inside. When Suzy and her boss, Nigel Jones, walked through to join the rest of the guests, she stepped forwards, closer to Natalie. “Why is she here?”
Natalie looked surprised at her question. “Her? I don’t know. She’s obviously Nigel’s plus one. Why? Who is she?”
“That’s Suzy,” she replied, “Tom’s ex. The one who threw a glass of wine in my face because she thought there was something going on between me and Tom.”
She watched Natalie looking over at Suzy and Nigel, sizing her up.
“She’s nice-looking,” replied Natalie, forever checking out the women. “And she’s got a model’s figure.”
“Yeah, but pass on the personality,” she added. “As in, she hasn’t got one.”
Natalie turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. “You’re jealous of her, Evey,” said her friend, teasingly. “You really like this Tom, don’t you!”
If only she could have seen her own face right then. It would have told her all she needed to know. “Don’t be silly,” she said defensively, “we’re just friends. Nothing more.” But if she didn’t believe her own words, how could she expect Natalie to?
Natalie’s face said it all. “Uh-huh,” she said with a smirk.
Evelyn gave up. “And so what if I do? He doesn’t feel the same way, so that’s that.” She smiled when another guest appeared in the doorway and waited for him to walk past.
“And have you asked him if he likes you?”
What a stupid question that was. “Of course I haven’t asked him, outright.”
“Then ask him,” replied Natalie, matter-of-factly.
“It’s not that easy,” she replied. “It’s not as easy for me as it is for you.”
Natalie’s face changed. “Why? Because I’m a lesbian? You think it’s easier for me because I’m gay? Evey, bless you, it’s infinitely harder for me, because I’m gay. Your only problem is that you’re too shy to ask.”
Her friend was right about that. She was wary of any conflict or possible rejection. She found it amusing that the tabloid press had made her out to be this really confident, wealthy heiress, but it was so far from reality as to be laughable. “Well, if you must know, I’m spending the day with him tomorrow.”
“Just you and him?” asked Natalie, to which she nodded. “You’re braver than I thought.”
Evelyn turned when she felt a tap on her shoulder. “Tom,” she said, feeling her face flush. “How long have you been standing there?” She gave Natalie a glance.
“I just got here,” he replied, catching his breath. “Right, where am I setting up?”
Everything was coming together. According to Jamal, the food was on schedule, the guests were arriving and Tom was setting his gear up. Evelyn was beginning to relax. Her heart wasn’t racing any more.
Olivia put the last ten glass dishes of prawns and melon on the tray. She’d spent the last half hour filling the little glasses, getting the starters ready to serve the guests. Jamal was busy preparing the mains and getting started with the Christmas puddings. “What time is it, Jammy?” she asked, picking up a tray and professionally resting it on her left hand.
“Quarter past four,” she heard Jamal say. “Time to get going, I’d say.”
Only six months ago, Olivia wouldn’t have been able to do this. She walked, or rather glided confidently, from the kitchen to the main event room, where the guests were all seated at their tables. She smiled sweetly at every guest as she presented the starters to the farthest table away. One guest indicated that she was vegetarian, which she stored in her memory, as her training had taught her.
Having served the first table and having made a start on the second, she returned to the kitchen to find Evelyn and Natalie with trays of glass dishes in their hands. “Suzy’s here?” she asked, having heard Evelyn and Natalie talking.
“Yeah, she’s on the table nearest the door with her boss,” replied Evelyn.
“Do you want me to accidentally spill this on her?” she asked, remembering how vulnerable Evelyn had looked soaked in red wine at Tom’s band’s gig. She didn’t like that horrible Suzy, almost as much as she didn’t like Felicity.
“Don’t you dare,” replied Evelyn, wearing a scowl. “I just want this event to go without any dramas, nice and simple. Drowning Suzy in prawns and melon won’t help anyone, OK?”
“OK,” she replied, secretly wanting to. In a perfect world she would take Suzy’s starter and pour the contents over her perfect hair. Or, maybe that would be Evelyn’s role.
“I mean it, be as polite as only you can be,” repeated Evelyn. “The football club could use the sponsorship money Suzy’s boss potentially has.”
Picking up the fourth tray, Olivia followed her sister and Natalie back into the dining room, where she served her partially finished table. There was a vegetarian on that table too. She would made sure the next tray she took out contained a couple of vegetarian starters .
On her way back, Olivia saw Suzy, who gave her a sly smile of acknowledgement. What she’d give to punch that woman in her smug face, or watch her eldest sister punch her. Or watch Georgia punch her, although she’d already seen that once. She missed Georgia so much. Her first two nights at the country manor, while she was lying next to Jamal, she’d quietly cried herself to sleep. The homesickness hadn’t abated for at least a month. Even now, six months later, she still missed her sisters, but especially Georgia.
When she reached the doors, Olivia saw a familiar face peering in. When she shouted at the woman, who hurriedly walked away, she vanished into the reception area. Instead of giving chase to the woman, who may or may not have been Felicity, Olivia marched into the kitchen to pick up another tray of starters. “I think I just saw Flick,” she said to Evelyn, who was just on her way out with a tray in hand.
“How’s it going?” asked Tom, watching Olivia and Natalie delivering plates of roast turkey to the guests’ tables. “The food smells good.”
“Jamal’s really come through for me,” beamed Evelyn. “We’ve had nothing but compliments from everyone. He’s really saved me today – he and Livvy.”
“Yeah, she’s quite something, isn’t she?” he said, watching Evelyn’s youngest sister confidently working the room. “She’s so confident.”
“If you saw her this time last year, you wouldn’t think they were the same person,” replied Evelyn proudly. “Hard to believe a change this big could happen in six months. Whatever they’re teaching her in that hotel, it’s working.”
Not having to blend the music, Tom had time to change the record from one to another seamlessly, without a noticeable pause. He found the right moment and switched turntables.
“She told me she saw Flick,” said Evelyn, watching the guests tuck into their main meals.
“What, here, in the hotel?” He was astonished.
“Uh-huh,” she replied. “She’d better watch out, is all I can say. Because if I see her, the way I’m feeling right now, I could strangle her with my bare hands.”
Tom was more astonished at hearing such passionate words coming out of Evelyn’s mouth. She never talked like that. “You? You wouldn’t hurt Flick, you haven’t got it in you.”
“Don’t you believe it,” warned Evelyn. “She’s gone too far this time.”
Having tried his hardest to avoid eye-contact, Tom looked over at Suzy’s table, where his ex-girlfriend was playing with her food, trying to catch his eye without alerting her boss to the fact. He couldn’t believe Suzy had been invited to this event, it was just sod’s law. He looked away when Suzy smiled at him. “Well, I wouldn’t want to be in Flick’s shoes when you catch up with her.”
Evelyn nodded in agreement.
“Aren’t the models supposed to be here by now?” asked Natalie, who’d finished serving the last of the guests. “I’m going to get the kit out of my car. You’d better find them, honey; they might be wandering around looking for us.”
Tom saw the worried look on Evelyn’s face. He saw her looking down at her mobile phone.
Evelyn’s calmer heart started racing once more.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” she replied. According to the voicemail, the modelling agency’s owner was angry at the event being cancelled at the last minute, and was still going to charge the football club for the models’ time, whether they worked or not.
“You look like you’re about to faint; you’re really pale. Do you want to sit down?” Tom asked when she returned.
“I’m fine, Tom,” she replied, “honestly, I’m fine. But I’ve got no models coming. Flick’s phoned the agency and told them the event’s been cancelled. I’ve got seven kits to show and no one to model them. What am I going to do?” Her voice was getting higher with each syllable.
“Whoa, calm down,” said Tom, holding her shoulders steady. “Calm down. We can sort this. It’s not a big deal. We can sort it.”
Wanting to burst into tears, she replied, “How? Where are we going to find seven models this late on Christmas Eve? I’m screwed, Tom, don’t you see? I’m screwed. Flick’s finally won; she’s made this a total disaster.”
“No, she hasn’t,” replied Tom. “She’s tried her damnedest to, but she hasn’t. You’ve overcome every obstacle so far, haven’t you?”
Evelyn nodded. It was true. But how could she get over this mammoth obstacle?
“And you’ll overcome this one,” he added, rubbing her shoulders.
Her mind was so focused on the negatives, she couldn’t think straight.
“I don’t know right now,” said Tom. “Let’s put our thinking hats on.”
It was no use. Nothing sprung to mind. She looked at Tom, wanting, praying for him to think of a solution.
“OK, so, we can’t ring up another modelling agency and request some girls. They’ll be closed by now any way.” Tom looked at her. “So, all we need is seven girls, right? We don’t actually need models, as such, true?”
“Models will be more professional,” she replied. “But I guess most girls could do a good enough job.”
“Alright,” said Tom, smiling, “so, we just need seven girls.”
Her brain sprang into action. “I know what to do!” Evelyn laughed, taking her phone out of her pocket.
*
A smile crept over Felicity’s face when she saw how desperate Evelyn looked. Her plan was working. Pretty soon, her ex-best-friend would realise her event was ruined and, by the looks of it, she already knew. She could see Evelyn talking to that coffee shop owner, who was doing a passable imitation of a DJ, but she looked pale, like she was about to faint or something. She wanted to laugh.
It was so worth paying for the hotel room, being able to see Evelyn fall apart, to see her desperately trying to save her event. Felicity couldn’t wait to see Evelyn destroyed, and when she truly knew it was a disaster, everything would be worth it. And there was Evelyn’s dumb little sister again, the only bimbo red-head she knew of. Waiting on tables was about all Olivia was capable of anyway.
She saw Natalie Harris walking towards her with a big box in her hands, and loitered in the background, pretending to be on her phone. Natalie walked past her and entered a room two doors down. Felicity figured the football kits that were going to be modelled must be in that box. She waited until Natalie had left the room, and then she crept up to the door and let herself in.
*
Georgia hadn’t enjoyed an afternoon this much in years. Granted, she’d drunk five pints of cider and eaten three bags of crisps and a bowl of cheesy chips, but the atmosphere in the pub was electric. Everyone was there to enjoy themselves, most of them knowing they didn’t have to work for at least ten days. Having never worked before, she now understood that feeling.
Surprisingly, Daisy was still compos mentis, which was quite remarkable considering how much she’d put away. Paul was looking after her, though, making sure Daisy drank soft drinks in between alcoholic ones. Carla, Demi and Dinah had booed Paul a couple of times, jokingly, making out he was a buzz kill, to which Daisy had agreed.
Sally, their manager had managed to stay for three rounds, which had stunned them all, as they were all sure she would leave after a quick drink. Georgia liked Sally, in spite of the occasional discipline she received from her. She mostly deserved it, though. Mostly.
It was Georgia’s turn in playing ‘Never Have I Ever’, when her mobile phone rang. She saw it was her sister and apologised to everyone for forsaking her turn. As she walked out into the street, she heard Daisy say she would take her turn. She couldn’t help smiling at that, as Daisy had done practically everything. “Evey, how’s it going? I’m going to be making my way down there in a bit,” she said, her voice sounding loud. She hoped she didn’t sound drunk. It was too early to be drunk, but she blamed Peter Austin, and the five pints of cider.
“I’m in trouble, Georgie,” replied Evelyn. “I need your help.”
Without hesitating, and sobering quickly, she asked, “What’s up? How can I help?”
“The models are a no-show,” replied her sister. “You’re out with your girlfriends from work, right?”
“Yeah, I am, but–”
“How many girls are you with, Georgie?”
Georgia had to close her eyes and imagine who she was with. “Six, and Paul,” she replied, after a longer than was needed pause. She really was away with the fairies.
“And with you, makes seven, yeah?”
“Yeah, but Evey, we’re all pretty pissed,” she said, feeling the cold evening air, which made her feel even more tipsy than she already was.
“Please, Georgie, I don’t know who else to ask,” came her sister’s desperate voice. “Can you ask them if they’d like to model for me, please.”
How could she say no to that? Evelyn would do anything and everything for her and Olivia, and already had. “I’ll go and ask. I’m sure they’ll jump at the chance. And if they don’t, I’ll blackmail them into it.”
Walking back inside the pub, Georgia meandered between different groups of revellers until she found her table. “Ladies, I have a favour to ask you all,” she shouted, slurring her words. “Who wants to be a model for the evening?”
All the girls cheered merrily. That was what Georgia had hoped would happen. “I think that’s a resounding yes from us, sis,” she said in to her phone. “We’ll leave here in a minute and be with you in half an hour, how’s that?”
“Thank you so much, Georgie, you’re a lifesaver,” said Evelyn’s relieved voice.
“Oh, and Evey, I think you’d better put on a pot of coffee,” she said, really feeling the effects of the cider. “We’re all pretty sozzled . . .”
