Page 13 of All We Want for Christmas
At lunchtime, Flynn walked out of his office while munching a bacon roll from a paper bag when he bumped into Lara.
‘Lara. H-hello.’
‘Hi there. Working lunch?’ She had an amused glint in her eye, which heartened him, although it quickly faded.
‘Literally. I’m taking it with me to the Ice House. The contractors have come to fix up the reindeer display on the roof. I might have been quite firm with them.’
‘That’s a relief!’ Lara replied. ‘I can’t wait to see it up and running. We havesomany bookings for the grotto already. It’s my worst nightmare that it goes wrong and the children are disappointed – let alone the parents.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ve made it a priority.’ He dropped theremains of the roll back in the paper bag and grinned, then became more serious. ‘How’s Henry – any updates?’
‘Fiona says he’s not in pain now, but he is being kept in for more tests and monitoring.’
‘He’ll hate that, surely?’
‘Oh, he will, but Fiona is just relieved he’s being treated. She also insisted the “show has to go on” and asked me to pass on her thanks to you and everyone for managing everything while she and Henry are away.’
‘No need. The last thing they need is to worry about the Winter Spectacular not going ahead or some maintenance issue. It’s the job I’ve been hired to do and I am going to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible.’ Tendrils of her hair had escaped its ponytail and she was pink-cheeked, as if she’d been hurrying. ‘But you must be even busier now that Fiona and Henry aren’t around.’
‘You could say that …’ Lara said. ‘The group tours are in full swing from now until Christmas, and there are a string of corporate events. For the next few days, it’s just me in charge.’
‘Not alone?’
‘No. There are four permanent guides plus half a dozen seasonal ones, and we’ve taken on a team of temporary stewards for the Winter Spectacular. How did you get on with Carlos and your new team?’
He thought before answering, picturing the dubious-looking faces when Lara had left him alone. ‘They were polite – perhaps too polite, and a bit quiet.’
‘They were probably scared of you.’
He chuckled. ‘Carlos wasn’t.’
‘I think it’s possible,’ Lara said cautiously, ‘that he feels a bit put out.’
‘Ah, so he’s upset that I took Gerald’s job? Or the job he’d hoped to have?’
‘Both, probably. He can be a spiky customer, but he’s actually quite insecure.’
‘Insecure? That’s one word for it. I’m going to have my work cut out winning him over.’
‘You’re more experienced than them. You’re used to a bigger set-up and you’re the one with the degree in live event tech.’
Flynn frowned in surprise. ‘Has someone shared my CV?’
‘I went on LinkedIn as soon as I heard you got the job. Impressive.’
He wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or not. It was sometimes hard to tell with Lara.
‘Most of what I learned came on the job. I had a screwdriver in my hand from the age of four.’
She smiled. ‘I can actually picture that.’
‘My parents ran a hotel in Newquay until they retired a couple of years ago. I grew up learning to be a jack of all trades, helping them fix the endless stream of maintenance problems that used to crop up on an almost daily basis.’ He folded his arms. ‘What else does my CV say? Or did you get bored and nod off?’
‘Not at all. I know that you trained as an electrician after you left school and did the part-time degree. Then you worked at various places in the south-west and Londonand eventually you ended up as technical manager of Kernow Park.’
He mimed applause. ‘Well done.’
‘So, you were born and brought up in Cornwall – but you have connections up here?’
