Page 119 of The Chalet Girl

‘Breakfast is served from seven am over there in the restaurant,’ he said with a genial smile as he gave the guests their key cards and called for the bellhop to take the couple and their cases to their room. As he spoke he saw Emme come through the doors crying, eyes red and face flushed. She slumped into an armchair in the corner of reception.

‘Are you OK?’ Tiago asked, rushing over as soon as he was free.

Emme covered her face and sobbed.

‘I have nowhere else to go!’ She knew she could have gone to Cat but she wasn’t ready for Cat to be right.

Tiago perched on the arm of the chair and put an arm around Emme.

‘Hey hey, you’re OK here. What’s the matter? What’s happened?’

He moved to the chair opposite and sat down, squeezing her knee as he rubbed it.

‘She hit me!’ Emme sobbed.

‘Who? Who hit you?’

‘My boss, Lexy, she slapped me!’ Emme shook her head.

‘Are you kidding?’ Tiago looked around. ‘Are you OK?’

Emme looked shell-shocked, and shook her head.

Tiago whistled to the restaurant manager, and asked that she watch the front desk for a second.

‘Sure,’ she nodded.

Emme sobbed. She wasn’t OK. Tristan had got the former nanny pregnant and her boss had just slapped her.

‘Not really.’

Tiago leaned his elbows on his thighs.

‘Why did she hit you?’ He could see the redness from Lexy’s slap on her cheek.

‘Because she’s a psycho. She turned all weird on me because… because of…’ Emme looked like she might be sick. ‘Because of Tristan.’

Tiago frowned. He didn’t approve of the guy, but he wouldn’t slap anyone over it.

‘I don’t know what to do. I can’t go back there. Not until Bill’s home. I don’t want to be on my own with her.’

Then she realised she’d probably lost her job after what she’d said.

Could she go to Vitreum and wait there until Monday?

No chance.She thought of Vivian Steinherr running out of the Kivvi party in tears. She had already known Tristan Du Kok wasn’t a safe bet. She shook her head and cried. How could she be so stupid?

‘Hey, I can see if we have a room here?’

Emme knew that rooms at the Steinherrhof cost at least 400 francs a night.

‘I can’t …’

‘You can. If there’s one available I’ll put you on the manifest, you don’t have to pay for it, and my manager, he won’t know. But I gotta check we have a room first, I’ve only just come on shift…’ Tiago walked over to the desk, thanking the restaurant manager for covering, who went back to the bustling restaurant.

He scrolled the screen with his syrupy gaze while he concentrated. Then he beckoned Emme over.

‘Room 319, easy.’