Learning to Fly -26

Chapter 26 - A Day on the Piste 

When the door closed behind Danica, Carly collapsed on the bed teetering a brink between hysterical tears or laughter. This was the most emotion ravaging day she'd ever experienced. How did people live their life like this every day?

Finally pulling herself back up to standing, she was bewildered and completely disorientated when the door burst open once more and Lucas and Camilla burst in.

When Carly looked at them both she felt those tears winning the battle, "I can't thank you two enough. And Camilla!" She pulled the other girl into a bear hug, "I cannot believe you did that for me!"

Lucas grinned, "believe it or not, that was my idea! We heard you coming and couldn't think where to hide everything! So i slid the hoodie on, the papers..." he lifted his shirt to show the wad of documents lying flush against his body, tucked into the waist band of his trousers. "Everything else is amongst Cam's discarded clothing!"

Carly hugged him too, "well I think that there's beer and burger's at Franz's bar with your name all over them?"

"So what's the next plan?" Lucas asked an hour later as he tucked into the large plate of burger and fries that sat in front of him.

Carly smiled, "well, it seems obvious to me that Jens wants to get rid of me!" She laughed at her own sarcasm. "So I'm thinking that if a very influential and very regular attender wants my assistance when he comes next month, then I'm virtually un-sackable. It'll give me enough time to work out my next plan..." she swept her coat across her face like a mysterious cloak and cackled like a witch, "...which will end in his ultimate downfall!" 

The three laughed, but Lucas agreed that asking Paul to return the favour and support her would only help her cause. But what was her ultimate desire here? What was she trying to prove? She knew that working here was now untenable, but she had to decide what she did want. A glowing reference and a decent severance package sounded great, but she'd not been there long enough for that security. Sighing she turned back to her two special friends and put the future out of her mind.

Later in the evening, Carly was sat with her back to the wall watching Camilla dance with some of the other staff, she wasn't in the mood to really let go. Lucas approached with two beers and slid one in front of her. 

"So what's the plan Carly? You can't drown in beer every night!"

A few weeks ago she'd have snapped at that comment, but now she laughed, "cheers Lucas! I notice how you're there enabling my every move!"

He placed a hand dramatically across his forehead, "I've failed as a friend!"

She chuckled, "I'm trying to think of the future, but I really don't know what to do. I can't stay here, that's obvious."

Taking a long sip of his beer, he thought for a few moments before he turned to her, "apply else where! There are other ski resorts, hell there are sunnier, warmer places to work! You're not the usual ski bunny here to hit the slopes and do as little work as you can!"

She shook her head, "I need this job...or rather a job, I can't see me going home..." She smiled at him, "I need to have a plan!"

He leaned back next to her and smiled, "So why do you need this job? That is a very interesting comment!"

"I come from a small town in Scotland, my parents worked hard all their life, but we never really went anywhere. I couldn't go to Uni, my chance to escape because my Dad lost his job...this opportunity was just perfect."

Lucas nodded, "you don't want to go back with your tail between your legs." She nodded, sensing he really understood. "There aren't many jobs that provide everything, home, food, life...but there are others. You shouldn't give up."

Carly thought about his words for a moment, "I'm going to head back. I don't need a fuzzy head tomorrow when I have to deal with round two!"

"Do you want me to walk you back?"

She shook her head and nodded towards Camilla, "keep an eye on her, she's crazy..." She leaned in close and whispered, "and you may get another view of her scantily clad!" 

Lucas swatted a hand at her and gave a laugh as she disappeared into the darkness of the night. 

The next morning, Carly decided to take the bull by the horns. She had a day off, and wasn't about to take things lying down. Up early she whispered her plans to a half comatose Camilla, then left her to sleep off her hangover.

Danica was sat in her office when she stuck her head in, and looking up she couldn't disguise the anxiety Carly's appearance caused. 

"Hi Danica. I don't want to cause  you to much hassle."

The older woman smiled, "no please come in. It's not hassle, I'm just not comfortable with the way things are!"

Carly nodded, closing the door behind her, "the last thing we all need is to rock the boat. I only want a little information." She placed the copy of the application for her promotion that Camilla had retrieved on the desk. "You hinted I'd need evidence to prove that Jens saw this. And I have it. I have no doubt he's going to strike again, I just want to combat that. Who am I best of contacting in the head office about this. Is there anyone that I can trust?"

Danica shrugged, "it's a pretty tight ship, and Jens is obviously the boss' son, saying that, Mr Konig Snr is less than enthralled with his wayward son, or so rumour has it." She sighed, "let me just look into this, ok?"

Carly nodded, "That's all I ask. Also Paul Carter is returning in three weeks. He has emailed asking if I'll resume my help with Millie when he arrives." It was a little white lie, she'd emailed him a shirt version of the situation, and he'd offered to help in anyway he could. "So he will be formally requesting that today."

Danica chuckled, "remind me to call you if I'm ever stuck in a hole! You are SO resourceful!"

Carly mock saluted, "I will be more than willing to come to the rescue!"

She spent the rest of the morning investigating employment law on her laptop at an Internet cafe, it was a minefield of jargon, but she was determined to keep herself informed of her options, and hopefully one step ahead of Jens.

By lunchtime, Carly had identified at least four counts of harassment at work that Jens was guilty of. So she started to pen a complaint letter to the area manager of the company, Danica had called to say he was a good guy, and had argued repeatedly with Jens. This was the sort of ally she needed.

She knew that she had to meet Jens, confront him about all this but not on her day off. This was for preparation...and hopefully some relaxation. So she was packing up when her phone beeped. Glancing at the screen, she read a message from Jens with a smile.

"Cam tells me you've been on the warpath today,hope you've done what you need! I'm here if you need me to cuddle any half dressed women...or maybe punch egotistical men in the nose!But am going boarding in an hour...if you want to play real sport with the big boys?Otherwise don't do anything stupid with out me being there, L"

Smiling, she tapped in a quick response, "been planning my next stage all day...amazing what you can learn on the Internet!But your offer of distraction is more than welcome. Can you loan me some equipment?"

Within an hour she was layered up and following Lucas onto the slopes. He knew everyone, and managed to jump queues for the ski lift. On a small slope at the top of one of the large pistes, he showed her how to strap her feet into the boots.  

Standing Carly felt immediately uneasy. The board was highly polished, the slightest shrug caused a shift in her footing.

"How the hell do you manage this?"  She reached out and clung to his arm. 

Laughing he jumped moving himself and the board to a position in front of her. "You just need to relax, and lean back!" Coaxing her to lean slightly, she found the board moved a little faster than she'd anticipated, and with a squeal she threw herself to the floor.

Lucas smiled as he pulled her to her feet, "relax...and trust me. Ok?"

They moved very slowly over a small area, each time she let go, Carly felt anxious, but Lucas was there to reassure her. She envied his ease on the snow, the way he leapt with the board attached to him, changing which foot led, which way he travelled. She could never see herself with that much confidence or ability.

"Look," he pulled her to her feet for the umpteenth time. "When you ski you're facing down the mountain. Boarding you crisscross the slope if you're not happy with a straight descent. And if you do go straight down, you're side on, so you have much more control. You'll see."

Thankfully snow was soft because Carly dreaded to think how bad her bruises would be if it wasn't. But after a couple of hours she was travelling fifteen, twenty metres at a time. Lucas insisted they take a break, and he bought her coffee and a sandwich at a cafe. 

"You're a fast learner Carly," he smiled, his hands crossed over his now full belly.

"Doesn't feel that way!"

He laughed, "I used to ski, for years, but as soon as I tried my first snow board, I was hooked. It's so quick. You're learning curve is huge for the first couple of times, but then suddenly you can do it!" 

Carly found his enthusiasm contagious, and the next few hours saw her improving no end. Her piece de resistance was a controlled descent down half the slope, landing in the arms of her ecstatic teacher.

"Brilliant!" he announced, hugging her, "but I think that should be where we stop. Though we should strike whilst the iron is hot."

She nodded, "that sounds like a plan!"

After storing the equipment, they made for their favourite quiet bar, taking a booth at the back.

"So!" She turned to Lucas, "Are you here in Austria just for the snow? So many are, but you seem to enjoy your job more than most."

He laughed, "I'm not a rich boy who can't be arsed to follow his father into banking yet and wants to piss around for a few years, if that's what you mean."

She shrugged, "I didn't think so."

"I..." he sighed. "I was a really promising footballer, youth team for one of the big London clubs, was verging on breaking into the first team." He looked into the distance with a longing for the past that she could immediately tell had been hard to manage. "I was a passenger in a car with another player when it crashed. I ruptured virtually everything in my knee, despite half a dozen operations I couldn't play."

She laid a hand on his shoulder, "that must've been terrible. All you dreams..."

He nodded, "it was all I'd ever known. From being a kid. I'd skied with school trips and a few holidays in my early teens, but had to stop obviously as that was a risk of injury and I was potentially looking at a multimillion pound career. Instead it ended with a few thousand pounds in compensation and no visions for a future." He smiled at her distressed face, "a friend encouraged me to come out here last winter and I fell in love with boarding."

"You've been here since?"

He nodded, "almost, I have some commitments back in London, I invested the little money I had. So I go back when I need to. But mainly I stay here and enjoy meeting people and being at one with nature!"

Carly appreciated his simplistic view on life, it must be so difficult when people expect so much. As a footballer he'd have had a wonderful lifestyle of fame and money. Here he was anonymous, how disappointed he must feel, how let down. 

"Hey Carly, come on! Cheer up! We've just had a great session on the snow. Now is not the time for either of us to rue the past. And if I'm not mistaken you have a stage two of Operation Ruin Jens to plan."