After All - Part Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

                “So my company are the new owners of this complex.”

As Dylan spoke to those gathered at the quickly rustled up meeting, Mattie’s eyes scanned the room of stunned faces. But he was nothing if not charming, and after the truce they’d called the previous evening, she could appreciate the positive side of Dylan Wallace finally.

                “Nothing will change, as far as I’m concerned. When I first came to the hotel it was to analyse it, to seek ways to improve it. I did that, and I really feel we have the makings of a first class, dare I say five star hotel? So once I’ve sat down and checked out the schedule with Matilda, then I will feedback to you what, and more importantly when things will be happening.” He smiled, pause in his pace of the room, and met the eyes of the staff head on, “I’ve always wanted to keep my business transparent. I don’t like subterfuge or secrets.” His eyes landed on her, Matilda felt herself blush. “So I will strive to keep all your teams, via yourselves informed, and am open to any questions. Please feel free to approach me.” He then gave a dazzling smile, “I will be at your monthly meeting without fail, though my business will take me back to the States quite a lot.” Again he smiled at her, “in my absence I have complicit trust in Matilda to run the place in my absence, and we’ll be in close contact, so any issues talk to her. Ok?”

The faces around the room all nodded, bewilderment still evident in their eyes, but no one looked disgruntled, Dylan had more than won them over.

As the managers filed out of her office, she looked up at him, “the Wallace charm works again!”

Dylan shrugged, she knew he was still raw about his mother the previous night, but she wasn’t about to remind him of that, or attack him. She was enjoying the security of her job being safe, about her new extended role in the hotel.

                “So are we going to discuss my job before you piss off back to New York?”

That shook him out of his reverie as he gave a nod. “We have a LOT to discuss.”

Two days later Mattie was genuinely sad to see Dylan leave for the US. They’d had two hugely productive days, now that they’d gotten over their anger, their animosity at the past, it wasn’t completely put to bed, but they were past hurting each other, resenting each other. The biggest plan he has was the refurbishment of the bedrooms, the only problem was that with the summer approaching they were at their peak of being busy. Matilda had assured him that if they worked on ten rooms at a time they could get by, as long as specific weekends there was no disruption as they were so busy. Mattie now had a week to speak to various contractors to take on that role. They needed the work done by their big celeb golf tournament in August. That was imperative.

There were other plans, involving all aspects of the hotel, but Dylan had given them a year to complete everything, a year before he wanted to be able to class themselves as five star. There were separate plans for the golf club and she’d set up meetings with herself and Dylan with Major Faulkner the rather obtuse President of the golf club committee, Fabio the manager of the club and gym, and also Tony Farmer, the club professional. It wasn’t a day Mattie was looking forward to with relish, but then at the moment she felt she could even deal with the cantankerous ex military man.

                “Lunch?”

She looked up from behind the computer to see Sarah leaning around the door, when she shrugged Sarah added, “I have barely spoken to you since I got back from Cyprus, be nice to catch up.”

Mattie logged off her PC with an enthusiastic nod, “can’t wait to hear more about the big day! How are the plans going?”

Mattie rued the fact that she’d been too busy to discuss the up and coming nuptials of her friend and colleague. Then she spotted the rolling of the eyes and realised that may have been a saving grace. As they walked to the restaurant Sarah linked her arm through Mattie’s elbow and grimaced.

                “Let me tell you that in the last three weeks my personal life has been reduced to a living hell!”

                “Yikes!” Mattie patted her hand and gave a sympathetic tap to her hand. “I know all about that. Tell me over pasta...I need carbs.”

They sat on the small patio overlooking the golf course and absorbed the late spring sunshine, sparkling water and fresh bread their aperitif.

                “So who’s causing the most hell?”

Sarah closed her eyes, turned her face to the sun, “Steve’s mother would you believe?”

For a moment Mattie remembered dinner earlier in the week, the extravagance that was Maggie...was she still Fredricks? When she’d married Dylan, a small intimate service in with just immediate family and a couple of friends, his mother had been almost insulted that she hadn’t had the society occasion she’d always imagined. Not that she was quick to show off her son at any other time.

                “I would definitely believe,” she sighed, “I remember it well. More a case of mother-of-the-groomzilla, hey?”

Sarah chuckled, “you have hit the nail RIGHT on the head.”

As they were served their lunch Sarah explained the difficulties with demands from family, Steve’s inability to stand up to his mother, and her sister’s mood over not being a bridesmaid.

                “I want a small wedding, you know? Firstly it’s expensive, and secondly I don’t like being the centre of attention.”

Mattie could understand that exactly, “I felt the same; we had twenty guests at our wedding.”

Sarah’s eyes widened and Mattie smiled as she commented, “‘we’? You’ve avoided all mention of Dylan since he arrived.”

Mattie nodded, “we’ve buried the hatchet, long overdue. But yes, we had a really simple but beautiful wedding, you can do it. People weren’t happy...but me and Dylan were. That was the important thing. Has Steve said what he wants?”

Sarah shrugged, “only that he wants his mother there! She wants dozens of guests, she’s talking about meals, hotels...when she said castle I walked out!”

Again Mattie could empathise, “Dylan’s mother is a much married wannabe social climber, she wanted a wedding to show off to the world. It killed her when we had a small room in a coastal hotel, my parents, brother, his mother and current step Dad. His real father had passed away a few months earlier, so he wasn’t in the mood for anything more. That worked in my favour.”

Sarah was sat back listening, “I bet you made a beautiful couple.”

Mattie shrugged, “we were happy then.”

                “What went wrong?”

It was the question that Mattie dreaded answering, but she couldn’t ignore the past. “I was the sensible one, working, paying bills, Dylan dreamed of the life he has now, and those dreams beat my practicality.”

                “You mean he hasn’t always been loaded, like he is now?”

She laughed, “ironically he’s made his fortune SINCE we divorced. Knowing how strong minded he is I should have known he’d get there in the end. He is very determined.”

                “How’s it working with him?”

Mattie laughed, “strange, but he’s promised me he’ll be away a lot. Give me room to breathe...We shall see I suppose.”

That evening Mattie had a phone call from her father, apparently the home he was looking at in the mountains with her brother didn’t have a phone line yet, so that was his excuse for a week with no contact. He was well, and wanted her to visit. In the past she’d made excuses not to travel. Her father didn’t know about her financial problems, she’d kept that from him, not an easy task. She’d blamed work, friends, anything on not visiting him in Thailand, but now that she had some disposable cash, it would be an option, especially if, as he’d promised he was going to ultimately move out there to live.

He was coming back in the height of summer, so she promised to visit him in the autumn when the summer rush was over but before the Christmas started. He was happy with that, and Mattie was smiling as she ended the call.

Half an hour later as she was looking into her empty fridge, there was a rap at the door. Opening it she smiled to see Andy stood there.

                “Had a BIG win on the horses today, come out for tea? “

Mattie laughed, “I was just trying to make a meal from an onion, an egg and an inch cube of cheese. Not really in a tiny omelette mood. I would LOVE to go out for tea.”

He grinned, “half an hour, get your glad rags on, we’ll go up town. Ok?”

It was just what she needed, Andy was a great laugh and they spent hours sitting in a sunny beer garden people watching as they ate huge burgers and thick cut fries, along with several pints of cold beer. A perfect way to spend a spring evening.

They walked most of the way home discussing everything from the coming summer to the horse that had won Andy two hundred pounds. He was starting a new course in September in a local college, so they discussed that too. Mattie was glad to talk about anything other than herself...and Dylan.

The next three days saw her making decisions on the contracts for the refurbishments of the rooms. Dylan was due back into London on the weekend and she’d guaranteed that she’d have the plans ready for him to peruse. Plus there was a two day golf tournament on the weekend, along with a wedding with two hundred guests. She wasn’t anticipating a day off until the following week.

In the past she’d feel resentful at the lack of life she had, but now, she didn’t mind. She loved working at the hotel, she knew that Dylan respected her and trusted her, and she wasn’t broke anymore! That was a huge bonus. It was late on Friday when she finally managed to send the plans, quotes and agreed designs for the guest rooms to Dylan via email. At almost nine o’clock she couldn’t be bothered to travel back in to the City only to be back in less than twelve hours, she hadn’t stayed in her office for a while. She was contemplating a bottle of wine and changing into her gym clothes for comfort when Hermione burst into the office.

                “I thought you’d left! Phew. We’ve got an issue at the desk...can you come and explain that deals made by Mr Simmonds no longer are valid?”

Mattie groaned, Paul had been a constant nightmare in that he regularly promised tables in the restaurants and often rooms to friends at reduced rates without telling anyone. It meant the reception staff constantly battling to manage the chaos, and even after he left this seemed to still be a problem.

Half an hour later she’d negotiated a reduced rate room with the couple, not the deal they were expecting, but a compromise, Mattie was just relieved that they had a spare room to offer.

                “So you partying tonight?” Hermione asked after thanking her gratefully.

Mattie shook her head, “working all weekend. Tempted to doss down in my office tonight as I cannot be arsed to go home for eight hours to just head back here again.”

Hermione groaned, “that was really our last room. You’re out of luck.”

                “I’ve slept on my sofa before now. May just get changed then a bottle of vino from the bar.”

Hermione looked pained for a moment, “you can’t sleep on a sofa, that’s ridiculous. You’re the manager. Why don’t you take the spare room in Mr Wallace’s suite? He rarely uses it now, and he’s in the States. I’ll put a request into housekeeping to clean it in the morning? He’ll never know.”

Mattie shook her head, whilst the receptionist was right, Dylan hadn’t been near the suite much in the last two weeks, at their last meeting he told her he wanted it available as he planned to spend more time at the hotel when he was in the UK.

                “It’ll be fine.”

It wouldn’t hurt for one night, would it?  Mattie sighed at the thought of a night watching TV, a hot shower, sleep in a REALLY comfortable bed.

                “Ok. Just this once. Will my key card work?”

Hermione nodded, “of course.”

Dylan was ultra impressed with the plans, Matilda had worked hard, that much he knew. He was still unsure how far to take this refurb and as soon as he’d got the plans, he had taken advantage of the time difference and got on the phone. By the end of Friday he’d had great success. There was a hotel interior design conference that was happening in Earls’ Court on Monday morning, and he’d managed to get hold of some of the most prestigious hotel interior designers and lined up a meeting for first thing Monday morning. If he left now, that would give them Sunday to plan things, debate his concerns, and agree on where they wanted to take things. He had stayed in lots of hotels and had SO many ideas, but then he also knew that his homes were at best decorated in a minimalistic fashion.   

So, the following evening, as he landed at Heathrow he called the hotel only to be told that Matilda had finished for the day. But then it was late. She deserved SOME life; fortunately they also informed him that she was working Sunday morning, the next day. That was good.

Half way to his London flat he had a change of plan and called to the driver to switch direction. If he wanted to meet with Matilda early in the morning then he’d be better placed if he stayed at the hotel, every moment in bed would count tonight, he knew that.

The wedding had gone well, another beautiful bride setting off happily into the world of marriage. For a long time weddings had upset her, reminding her of the waste that hers had become, the sadness the memories brought, but not for a long time. Now she just felt hopeful on their behalf. Some marriages lasted, look at her parents.

She’d stayed in Dylan’s suite the previous night, and it had been so much more comfortable than the sofa, that she could admit. She looked at her watch, almost nine again. The thought of a late night tube filled with Saturday night’s party goers or even worse drunks, filled her with dread. She had work to do in the morning, plus she’d promised to help supervise the opening of the golf club in the morning. Things weren’t due to end there until late, so the staff would be there well after midnight. Her being there by eight in the morning for the first players arriving relieved a little stress on the more senior staff.

With a sigh she took the lift to the top floor, she’d stay in Dylan’s suite again.

A shower that was what he needed. Dylan slid in the back door to the hotel and up the stairs to the six the floor, he didn’t need the hassle of people knowing he was there, and a good night’s sleep was the answer to all his travelling.

As he stepped into the suite he sighed, his feet, once divested of shoes, sunk into the deep pile carpet. He tossed his jacket over the back of a dining chair, the loosened his tie. Entering his bedroom he tossed his bag on to the bed, and followed it with his tie and shirt.

When he kicked open the door to the bathroom he was wearing just his loosened trousers, and froze dead in his tracks as he took in the steam billowing around the room and the shower on full force in the cubicle, as his eyes adjusted to the mist he saw a figure in that cubicle.

                “What’s going on?” he shouted half in anger and half in anxiety. Who the hell was in his shower?

And his question was met with a scream, "GET OUT!"