Page 12 of The Making of Jonty Bloom
“There’s a parcel arrived for you.” She nodded to a small package on top of the printer. “You’re not supposed to have stuff delivered here.”
“I haven’t.”
She huffed. “Room Eight want a hand with their bags. They have two kids and a baby. You’d better take the cart.”
Jonty went up on the lift. He really hoped the parcel wasn’t from who he thought it might be from. He wouldn’t be opening it in front of anyone, just in case.
The door of the room opened as he reached it and he bit back his groan. No matter how many bags a family arrived with, they seemed to take twice as many home. Along with two cases, three soft bags, two animal Trunkis, a travel cot, mattress and a pushchair, they had buckets and spades, a kite, a windbreak, a half-deflated killer whale, a bucket of pebbles that looked a lot like gravel from the car park, and a whole load of other things, some bagged and some not. Jonty carefully slotted everything in place on the cart in a complicated 3D jigsaw, not helped by the kids trying to climb up the rickety mountain as he worked.
He came back into the hotel after helping load the family’s car—a work of art for which he received no tip—saw the Madisons and their bags at the desk, and raced upstairs to tell Maria, who was about to start on Room Eight. The parcel would have to wait and he wasn’t sorry about that.
“The suite’s empty now,” Jonty panted. “Can I help?”
“Strip bed while I start bathroom.”
They went up in the lift with the cleaning cart, and once they were in the room, Jonty took off his jacket, tucked his tie into his shirt and set to work. Fortunately, the Madisons had been reasonably tidy. The mess some guests made never ceased to amaze him. Did they drop used condoms on their own carpet and just leave them? Or vomit next to the bed and make no effort to clean it up? Or fail to flush the toilet for days?
The hotel was the biggest in the area, but it was old, and needed money spending on it. The majority of the furnishings made Jonty shudder. Heavy curtains with ugly bedspreads that didn’t match. Patterned carpets that didn’t match either and though they were good quality and didn’t show marks as easily as plain ones, they looked as if they belonged in an old-fashioned pub. He didn’t know a lot about interior design, but the mish-mash of the hotel décor was migraine-inducing. The pictures on the walls of the rooms had been done by the owner’s dead wife so he was never going to take those down, but they were awful.
The exterior definitely needed repainting. Sea air was corrosive and dark orange stains crawled down the walls below some of the metal balconies. Jonty imagined evil dripping from those rooms. It intrigued him that the stains weren’t under all the balconies.
But there was a relatively new indoor pool, heated all year round, and a well-equipped gym, probably because the owner, Hamish McAllister and his family, came regularly to use both. Hamish had given Jonty a job when it felt as if everyone else in the area had said no. Not the shifts he wanted, and it wasn’t really going to lead anywhere, but Jonty felt happy here.Safe.
The hotel had three guests who lived in the building full time, including the major and his dog, plus an elderly married couple who split the year between the hotel and cruise ships. Jonty loved listening to them talk about where they’d been, what they’d seen. He hoped that when he was old, he had enough money to live in a hotel rather than a care home. Though he suspected the moment those guests developed health issues, they’d be asked to leave. The major was a bit eccentric, but he walked on the beach every day with Dottie. Sometimes Jonty went with them before he cycled home, or took Dottie on his own if the major wasn’t up to it.
The two top floor suites weren’t as tired as the other rooms. They’d been remodelled a few years ago. Wave had a large sitting room with a TV, a bedroom with a huge bed and another TV, and a bathroom with a tub you could recline in and stare out at the sea. Or watch the TV because there was one in there too. Did people really come to a fantastic spot like this and only watch TV?
“The view is so good,” Maria said.
Jonty stood next to her and looked out at the sparkling water. “It is. Thanks for your help, Maria. I really appreciate it.”
“You welcome.”
“You’rewelcome.”
“Thank you. You’re welcome.”
When the room was done, Jonty pulled on his jacket, adjusted his tie, and went back downstairs to find Mr Impatient standing by the desk, tapping it with his long fingers.
“Your suite is ready now, sir,” Jonty said.
“About time.”
You utter prick. Why are you so good-looking? There is no bloody justice. Please be straight so I can go off you.
“Is there a lift?”
“Yes. We can also supply grappling hooks and crampons if you’re feeling adventurous and would like to scale the outside of the building.”No, no, no!“If you need advice on where to find mountaineering equipment, or a crag to climb, just ask. I’m happy to oblige.” That had not made his first comment sound any better. Plus, he had no idea of the whereabouts of any crags worth climbing, though he could google.
Sally-Anne handed Mr Difficult his key card. “Thank you, Mr Smith. If there’s anything you need, apart from mountaineering equipment, do give me a call.” She sat with her back arched, her breasts on display like a tray of food, admittedly under her blouse, but not completely hidden by it. Though they didn’t seem to be impressing their target, who was still gaping at Jonty.
“Do you need a hand with your luggage?” Jonty choked out.
“Why not?”
That sounded like a challenge.Fuck this up too, Jonty. Make some inappropriate comment about his car, his luggage, his arse.Jonty wondered if he had a set of weights in his case and it would be too heavy to lift. Or a dead body.Ha!
For a brief moment, Jonty wondered if the guy reallywasa hotel inspector, checking out staff reactions to surly, awkward guests, determining whether the hotel deserved its four stars. It amazed Jonty that it had that many. Though the food here was spectacular. Marcus, the chef, was a culinary genius, so everyone said, and the restaurant was always full.
