Page 80 of The Chalet Girl

Vivian felt that cut like a knife. For a loving man he could be so clumsy. So steely.

‘Vivian has more time to oversee everything. You can pick and choose, as you always have.’

‘Yes but –’

Anastasia shook her head and suppressed her tears. She was so incredulous she couldn’t get her words out.Sheshould be the face of the Steinherr empire. How could her father show such favouritism, to wide-eyed naïve Vivian, who didn’t even have the balls to fire substandard staff?

‘Enough!’ bellowed Walter, shocking the entire room. He had lost his patience to the point that now seemed asgood a time as any to tell his daughters his other plan for the business.

‘While we’re at it, I’m going to put the Seven Summits chalets on the market.’

‘What?!’ Anastasia and Vivian both said in unison.

‘But Daddy, I don’t think they’ve appreciated at all in the past eight years. And you haven’t made any revenue from them,’ beseeched Vivian.

‘You’re just selling? Without consulting us?’ spat Anastasia.

‘The timing is right,’ Walter declared.

Anastasia shook her head and watched all her plans evaporate. The events. The high-end hire. The fashion shows. The private suites for her to escape to and conduct her trysts. The ridiculous wealth the family could have made from them. Thirty thousand francs aday.And her father was probably going to sell them at a loss.

‘Dimitri has drawn everything up…’

Anastasia shot her husband a look.

‘I’m going to announce it to Kivvi at the party myself,’ Walter said, defiantly.

Anastasia turned her wrath on her husband.

‘You knew?’

Lysander and Vivian exchanged a look. Dimitri remained steadfast.

‘I work for your father…’

‘You’re married tome!’ Anastasia barked, and stormed out. Out of the study, out of the wing, and out of the mansion, slamming the huge front doors in her wake.

Walter glanced between Lysander, Dimitri and Vivian, looking a little bewildered.

‘Well, that went well,’ quipped Lysander.

Dimitri stood up, excused himself, and went to see if the children were ready.

‘Daddy, I’m totally honoured,’ Vivian said, with an apologetic smile. ‘And I will make sure everything is OK with Anastasia, I promise. She can have any job she wants.’

Walter nodded, he knew it would all be fine in the end. He just didn’t know when his end would be. Dr Blitzer had said months– a couple of years perhaps if he took the chemo he was refusing– but not much time.

‘Right, let’s go to this party!’ Walter declared, sounding more jolly than Lysander could have predicted.

Chapter Forty-Seven

At 1pm Emme walked through swish automatic doors that looked like they might open directly into the mountain, but instead glided into a sleek lobby with several elevators, all of which were branded with the Kivvi engineering logo. Emme looked at the names above the lifts and pressed the one labelled Edelweiss, to a gleam and a ding.

In the lift she studied her reflection. Cat had loaned her a little black dress with a white Chanel-style collar and net ruched sleeves, which she wore with tights and black Ted Baker stilettos she had borrowed from Cassie, who was fortunately the same petite shoe size as Emme. Her hair was sleek, the top of her chestnut bob clipped out of her face with a black velvet bow, her skin and lips peachy and clear. She looked like staff, but she felt just about sexy enough that if Tristan were to be there, he would notice. Even if she couldn’t compete with his girlfriend.

The lift wasn’t moving and Emme couldn’t see a single button to press inside it. No door closing sign. No internal button that read Edelweiss. She poked her head out and looked in the lobby again, and felt rather silly, returning inside to just her reflection looking around for clues.

A man entered the lobby with crates of champagneflutes for the caterers, walked into the lift and nodded at Emme, still standing bewildered.