Page 97 of My Kind of Happy

‘It’s a Swiss company,’ I explained to Laura.

‘Flying in from …?’ she wanted to know, getting her phone out. ‘I’ve got an app for live flight information so I know if Hamish is going to be late.’

Marcia shrugged. ‘No idea, but they’re hiring a car from Manchester airport.’

‘Their office is in Geneva,’ I said, wishing I’d made more effort to find out their travel arrangements.

Laura shook her head. ‘No flights due in. There’s one from Zurich.’

‘That’s probably it,’ I said hastily.

She pulled a face and showed me the phone. ‘It’s already landed. No delays.’

‘That’s odd,’ I frowned.

Marcia flapped a hand and laughed. ‘Look at your worried little faces. There’ll be a perfectly reasonable explanation.’

‘There’d better be,’ I murmured, eyeing up all the flowers in the room, not to mention the ballroom next door and the other half of the delivery on its way from Holland as we spoke.

Marcia tucked her cigarette lighter down her bra and checked her phone. ‘It’ll be fine, it always is. The hotel business is always full of last-minute niggles: things go wrong, we sort them; customers complain, we pacify them. Welcome to my world. Tomorrow will be fantastic, don’t worry. I’d better get back to the front line. See you in the morning.’

And with that, she marched out of the room. Laura and I listened to her receding footsteps and pulled worried faces at each other.

‘I don’t like the sound of this,’ said Laura. ‘If I’m ever delayed for a business meeting I always make sure I ring ahead and let people know.’

Ditto. It was common courtesy. I felt a bit sick. I daren’t tell her that I still didn’t have a watertight contract from Edelweiss for the flowers. Besides, I knew from experience that having a written agreement didn’t automatically mean that getting paid by a client was problem-free. I remembered my old boss Bernie, tearing his hair out trying to get payment out of a Bulgarian paper mill once. We never did get the money.

‘Marcia’s right,’ I said briskly, ‘there could be a hundred and one reasons why they haven’t been in touch yet.’

‘And said they’re delayed. And taken money from guests for their hotel rooms …’ Laura raised an eyebrow.

I couldn’t think of anything positive to say to that so I picked up my bag and chivvied us to the door.

‘Just putting it out there,’ said Laura, pulling the function-room door closed as we headed into the corridor, ‘but can you reduce your flower order for tomorrow?’

I’d been thinking the same, but somehow I doubted it.

‘Some of the stock I ordered comes from Colombia,’ I said, pushing open the service door and stepping into the night air. ‘The cut-off time for cancellation went a long time ago.’

‘How much have you spent?’

I fumbled in my bag for the van keys and unlocked it. ‘Shush. Tonight you’re doing my donkey work, not my accounts.’

The van seats creaked as we both climbed in.

Laura frowned. ‘But—’

‘Goats butt,’ I cut in sternly, starting the engine. ‘And donkeys bray. Now let’s get you home; Mr Snuggle Bunny awaits.’

Hamish and Laura headed off as soon as we arrived back in Pineapple Road. I went inside with Scamp, feeling shaky with exhaustion and worry. My bed was calling but I couldn’t settle straight away. I tried the number I had for Edelweiss, hoping for some reassurances that all was well, but all I got was the automated response telling me that my call couldn’t be connected. As a last resort, I called Victor Sunshine on the off-chance that I could reduce my order as Laura had suggested. But it was as I feared; there was nothing he could do at this late stage.

My whole body was stiff with tension; I knew I wasn’t in for a good night’s sleep. But there was nothing else for it but to go to bed and hope everything would be coming up roses by the morning.