Page 60 of A Billionaire for Christmas
‘I suspect it may be the kill circuit. Sometimes if the unit has been tampered with or overloaded, it can kick in.’
‘I have no clue what you mean.’
‘I mean, there are thousands of lights in the main house. It’s over-the-top ridiculous. Look at them. As soon as the generator kicked in it probably shorted immediately.’ Molly fiddled about at the back of the engine, muttering to herself. ‘Found it. Now, all I need is some starter fluid.’ She spotted a spray can and some cloths lying on the inside of the generator box. ‘Great, there it is.’ She took off the cover of the air filter and sprayed some of the liquid into the carburettor.
Within minutes, Molly had the generator running. They looked back towards the house to see the lights flickering.
Come on, willed Molly. She patted the generator. ‘It might be a bit temperamental to start with. That’s a lot of luxury lodge and a lot of unnecessary electrical demands.’
Except the massage chair. And the sauna. And the hot tub.
The lights flickered, went out again and then in a glorious blaze of colour, the whole house lit up like the Eiffel Tower. She could make out the family gathering at the window, waving in celebration.
Toby threw his arms around Molly, lifting her off the snowy ground. ‘That was awesome. I owe you big time. Especially after yesterday.’
‘Call it even for finding my cases,’ Molly managed to say. Toby was squeezing the life out of her.
‘I hardly think that makes up for the wine incident.’
Molly was confused. ‘What do you mean?’
Toby put her down. ‘I owe you for taking the fall for me last night.’
‘It was you who opened the wrong bottles of wine?’
Toby shrugged. ‘They all look the same to me. Besides, Lucca told me to get them from the crate.’
‘Why did you let me take the blame?’ Molly couldn’t believe her ears.
‘Because you’ve quit anyway. As soon as the pass is clear, you’re leaving. It made sense. Plus, Levi obviously likes you otherwise he wouldn’t have offered to buy another crate for the wedding.’
‘But he’s furious with me,’ Molly cried.
‘Sorry, Molly. I really need to keep this job.’
‘Aren’t you rich enough to not work here?’
Toby went bright red. ‘It’s not about that. Come on. Let’s go. I need to chop more wood for the fire.’ Molly watched Toby yank off his gloves and clip his boots into his skis.
She wondered why Toby was so keen to stay with the family, in a job that he didn’t need to do, for little or no reward. Molly wondered if it had something to do with Lucca.
‘No, don’t thank me,’ Toby was saying to the family members as they gave him a hero’s welcome. ‘I was just doing my job.’
‘You’re incredible,’ gushed Freda, kissing his cheek. ‘You’ve saved Christmas. You really have.’
Toby glowed under her praise as Molly stood aside to let them take turns patting his back. She marvelled at the gall of him. Men! Rich men! Rich, pampered, egotistical men!
‘How did you do it?’ Levi asked firmly.
Like a rabbit caught in the headlights, Toby visibly gulped.
‘So we know what to do next time,’ Levi said more loudly.
‘Well, actually…’ Toby kicked snow off his boot and mumbled. ‘It was complex.’
‘Pardon?’
Levi was like a dog with a bone. Molly was in awe. She would have done exactly the same thing if it had been her restaurant staff. She was all about fairness and respect in the workplace. None of which seemed in abundance here.
