Page 26 of Another Lucky Number (Lucky Number #2)

Chapter Twenty-Three

‘ C ome here, you wee monkeys! ’

I’m barefoot, tearing across the grass in hot pursuit of my miniature assailants, when I hear someone shout my name.

Fuelled by the unwillingness to allow the little monkeys to escape, I ignore whoever is calling me.

That is, until I hear my name a second time and come to my senses.

Halting suddenly, I slowly turn in the direction of the voice and my heart sinks.

‘James, hi.’

I flush heavily from being caught in this compromising position, while probably once again modelling the look of the undead. I swipe at my under eyes and hope for the best.

‘What’s going on?’ He regards me with a quizzical expression. ‘You looked like you were ready to throttle those kids.’

‘No… I wasn’t… I was… Oh, what the hell .

’ I let out a peep of frustration. ‘Not sure you can judge me any more than you already are. They’re wee buggers!

Soaked me three times with their water pistols – and the third time was definitely deliberate.

They took aim and fired like they were a professional hit squad. ’

‘I see. That’s not acceptable. But… what exactly were you planning to do to them if you caught them?’

‘I… erm… don’t know. Is it not OK to grab them by the scruff of their necks and march them to their parents anymore?’ I decide that humour is the only way out of this one.

‘Pretty sure that would land you in a cell for the night.’ James’s mouth twitches with amusement.

‘Right, well maybe I’ll leave them be then.’

‘Probably for the best. Want to meet my mates?’

He jerks a thumb towards two blokes standing about twenty feet away, who seem to be watching our exchange with interest. I want to die on the spot.

It’s bad enough that James witnessed me in this compromising situation, never mind them too – and especially after their first impression of me wasn’t the best. James is at least familiar with my unfortunate habit of embarrassing myself in public.

‘ Shit . I can’t believe they saw that.’ I self-consciously swipe at my under eyes again.

‘They won’t judge you. Not too much anyway,’ he adds with a chuckle.

‘That really doesn’t help. Let me go clean myself up and I’ll see you by the pool.’

‘Good plan. Now can I trust you not to take off after those children again the minute my back is turned?’

‘ Too soon, James .’ I shoot him faux daggers – while stifling a giggle at my own expense – and stalk off towards the pool, my face burning with humiliation.

Once I’ve cleaned myself up for a second time, I make my way back across to Amber and Cat, noting with irritation that the woman who took my lounger has already vacated it. They sit up as I approach.

‘Where have you been?’ says Amber .

‘Are you OK, honey?’ Cat appears to spot my less than cheerful demeanour.

‘No. I’m having a crap afternoon.’ I plonk myself down on the empty lounger.

‘After those little brats soaked me here, some nasty woman dumped my stuff on the ground and stole my lounger. Then after I moved, the wee bastards soaked me again – on purpose – and I went after them, only to be caught doing so by James.’

Amber snorts with laughter. ‘You went after them? What were you planning to do?’

‘That’s exactly what James asked me.’ I huff.

‘And?’

‘I don’t know. Talk to their parents, maybe? Anyway, the point is… I’m not managing to relax at all, so shall we do my interview prep?’

Amber shoots Cat a look I can’t decipher and Cat seems to subtly shake her head.

‘What’s going on?’ I glance from one to the other. ‘ Tell me .’

Amber appears to weigh up what Cat was communicating to her before seemingly disregarding it. ‘Emma, I’ve got something to tell you that’s not going to improve your mood.’

‘Oh god, what now?’

‘I went by reception to ask about excursions for our remaining days after your interview and Charnice told me there’s been an error with our reservation. Apparently, she had been looking for you to talk to you about it.’

‘What kind of error?’

‘It turns out they’ve only got us booked in until tomorrow and the resort is full. They’re not sure how it happened, but it makes no difference because they’re moving us to another one.’

‘ They’re what? ’ I’m so shocked I can hardly take this in. ‘They can’t do that. We’ve paid for those suites. I have the paperwork to prove it. They should re-locate the other guests who are arriving, not throw us out. ’

‘That’s what I said.’ Amber holds her hands up in apparent frustration.

‘But apparently, they can’t. Or they won’t.

They are arranging a car to ferry you back and forth on the day of your interview though, and we’re getting a refund for the days they’re not putting us up – so that’s something, at least.’

‘I don’t believe this.’ I clamp my hands against my head. ‘I don’t want a refund. I want to while away my days on this resort, drinking champagne in The Cave, enjoying the amazing food and the surroundings, and… it means we’ll be on a different resort to James. Maybe we should speak to Sébastien.’

‘Do you think that’s a good idea?’ says Amber. ‘Because I don’t.’

‘Probably not. Ugh , this sucks.’ My miserable gaze lands on Cat who looks as pained as I feel.

‘ Ladies , how are you all?’

I look up and see that a grinning James has approached without us realising.

‘What’s with the glum faces?’ he asks.

‘It’s nothing.’ Amber waves his question away. ‘We’re good. How are you? Hi, guys! ’ she calls to James’s friends who are hovering behind him.

James beckons for them to join the conversation. ‘Lads… meet Emma, Amber and Cat. Ladies, this is Rob, and this is Tyler.’ He points out which friend is which, and they give a friendly nod and a ‘hi’ in return.

Rob is skyscraper tall and just as lean, with bright blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair.

He looks like he’d be successful as a basketball player or a high jumper.

Tyler is closer to average height like James, with dark afro hair and gorgeous espresso-coloured eyes.

They both seem up for some chat, which is unfortunate, given how disappointed I’m currently feeling from Amber’s revelation.

‘Good to meet you all.’ I attempt a welcoming smile, but it falls flat.

‘What’s up, Emma?’ James sits on the lounger beside me. ‘Are you still upset about those kids? Want me to buy a bigger water gun and get revenge?’

I chuckle hopelessly at his joke. ‘No, it’s not that. We’ve just found out there’s been an error with our booking and we have to move to a different resort tomorrow.’

‘ Huh? You’re kidding, right?’

‘I’m not. Charnice from reception spoke to Amber about it. They have our departure date wrong in their system.’

‘Mistakes happen, but throwing you out is bang out of order and not at all in the spirit of my employer’s relationship with Paradis Resorts. I’ll go and speak to—’

‘There’s no need for that, James,’ Cat jumps in. ‘Emma won’t want to make a fuss.’

‘She’s right, I don’t.’ I put a calming hand on his arm to emphasise this. ‘Not when I have my interview coming up.’

James sits thoughtfully for a moment, then shakes his head determinedly and gets up. ‘No, I’m sorry, I’ve got to sort this out. I booked this trip for you, and I’m not having this on my conscience.’

He strides off across the grass towards reception and I look to Amber and Cat to gauge their reactions, which are quite different to what I expected. Instead of Amber cheering James on and Cat looking deeply uncomfortable on my behalf, they seem to be caught in a bickering match.

‘Amber, this has gone too far.’ Cat sounds uncharacteristically furious with her. ‘You need to stop it right now .’

‘Stop what?’ My eyes narrow at Amber. ‘What have you done?’

‘All right, all right. Keep your knickers on, both of you.’ Amber rolls her eyes in exasperation. ‘Be right back.’

To my surprise, she hops off her lounger and takes off after James, only to return with him a few minutes later. He’s laughing and joking with her, which confuses me even more.

‘What on earth is going on, Amber?’ I demand as they rejoin us, then I remember James’s friends. ‘Rob, Tyler, please grab a perch on Cat and Amber’s loungers – or feel free to give us a wide berth if you don’t want to get involved with whatever this is.’

They grin at each other and shake their heads.

‘I only wish we had popcorn,’ says Tyler.

‘Your friends seem well-matched to you,’ I say to James, who simply shrugs in agreement. ‘OK, Amber, fess up. If the real reason we’re getting banished from this resort is because of your ridiculous antics, I want to know now.’

‘What? You think I’ve got us thrown out?’ she says. ‘That’s hilarious.’

‘But not altogether unrealistic, given your track record.’

James and his friends share a collective smirk, which I take as a point for me.

‘ Tell her ,’ Cat commands.

‘OK.’ Amber sighs as if we’ve pressured her into spending the rest of the holiday teetotal. ‘We’re not being relocated tomorrow. I made it up.’

‘ You made it up ?’ I’m flabbergasted at this admission. ‘Why would you fabricate a story like that?’

‘It was part of your interview prep.’

‘How is telling me a big fat lie, and making my already crappy afternoon worse, part of helping me prepare for my interview?’

‘It was for you personal development slot. I set up a few scenarios so I could observe you in action and then give you feedback.’

‘You were assessing me?’ I glance at James, who I can tell is trying his best to look appalled, but is clearly finding this all very amusing.

‘Amber, I was gutted at the thought of us having to move resorts. Especially after the crappy afternoon I’ve had already.

You didn’t think that maybe I’d been tested enough? ’

‘ Ahem …’ Cat clears her throat in a blatant signal to Amber, who this time seems to accept defeat.

‘I set it all up,’ she says. ‘The whole afternoon.’

My mouth drops open in shock, while James, Rob and Tyler look like they’ve been told a new national holiday has been announced to celebrate beer and football.

‘You mean the soakings from those kids? The woman who stole my lounger? Fiona? Wow … Fiona was one hell of an actress.’ I become momentarily distracted.

‘Who’s Fiona?’ Amber appears confused.

‘The woman who thought her husband was cheating.’

‘Ah, her. No, that was what I’d call a bonus roll. When I clocked you chatting with her, I sneaked across and eavesdropped on your conversation.’

She looks so proud of herself that I feel the urge to wipe the smug look off her face.

‘So, basically you ruined my day for your own entertainment?’

Her expression becomes defiant. ‘ No , that’s not it . As I already said, it was a live experiment to assess you in action. It was very carefully put together, and I got a lot of insight from it – insight that’ll help you prepare for your interview.’

I’m about to hurl back another biting retort, when I remember my delighted audience. No matter how misguided Amber’s actions were, I don’t want to come across to James and his friends as ungrateful and unable to take a joke. Instead, I take a deep breath, and aim for the moral high ground.

‘Fine. If you think it’ll help then I look forward to your feedback – which I’ll receive when?’

‘Attagirl.’ Amber smiles sweetly at me, making me want to throw her tiny arse in the pool. ‘We’ll do it over dinner.’

‘How about we go for a swim?’ suggests Cat, in a blatant attempt to move us into calmer waters (almost literally).

‘Good idea.’ James jumps up and pulls off his T-shirt.

My eyes land on his muscular chest and toned arms, and it’s exactly what I need to bring me out of my funk.

There’s nothing I want more right now than to be cavorting in the pool with him like all the other couples I was watching earlier.

Amber has crossed a line all right – but I’ll deal with her later.