The Visitors(38)

She’d applied a few dots of concealer to mask her lack of sleep, and then brushed on a little mascara and bronzer. A touch of dark pink lipstick and, she had to admit, she looked almost passable. Perhaps even like the kind of person Markus’s boss would want to employ.

‘Wow,’ said Markus when she returned to the table. ‘You look knockout.’

‘That’s a bit of an exaggeration.’ She’d rolled her eyes but felt secretly pleased at his compliment. ‘But at least I don’t look like I just spent a sleepless night in a local drugs den.’

Markus had grinned. ‘It will soon get better, I promise you.’

Again she wondered why he’d given her the impression before they left Nottingham that everything was organised and in hand. Again she quickly dismissed the thought, deciding not to challenge him now that things seemed to be improving at last.

Markus finished his coffee and paid a visit to the bathroom himself.

When he returned, she’d glanced at her watch.

‘We still have ten minutes,’ she’d ventured. ‘What line of work is this guy Brendan in?’

‘Hospitality, I suppose you’d call it,’ Markus had said, surprising her with his willingness to talk at last. ‘He owns several bars and restaurants dotted around Manchester and further afield. He needs people he can trust for all kinds of jobs. I’ve been helping him with his social media presence.’

Holly knew Markus was skilled-up when it came to IT. He’d been involved in all sorts of initiatives at school and had told her he didn’t need a part-time job as he made lots of cash in hand from designing websites for people and organising online advertising and communications for small companies.

She’d felt a frisson of excitement. ‘Sounds like there’s a good chance he might have some waitressing or bar work I can do, at least to get me earning something.’

‘Absolutely. In fact I’ve already mentioned this to him and he seemed quite keen.’

Her mood had instantly lifted. Suddenly a very bad start seemed to be turning into something altogether more positive.

Markus had been right after all, she reassured herself. It was all going to work out just fine.

Except, of course, it didn’t.





Chapter Thirty





Holly





It was late on Thursday afternoon that, out of the corner of her eye, Holly saw a suited young couple approaching.

‘Looks like we have some late customers.’ She sidled over to Emily, hoping to ignite a little camaraderie for once. But Emily merely glanced at the couple and grimaced.

‘Time-wasters,’ she hissed, turning her back. ‘This is the third time they’ve been in this week, supposedly looking for a suite. They’re both on teachers’ salaries, obviously well out of their league in here.’

‘Hi,’ the man said as he reached them. Holly smiled but Emily didn’t look around. When he saw Emily’s obvious lack of interest, the man’s cheeks began to colour up, matching the pale red of his hair. ‘We’d like to take another look at that corner suite in the window, if that’s all right.’

‘You mean the Brooklyn suite you looked at yesterday?’ Emily replied frostily. ‘The one that’s priced at nearly eight and a half thousand pounds?’

‘That’s the one,’ the young woman replied pleasantly. ‘It’s such a lot of money to spend in one go and we just need to be sure, you see.’

‘You know, you’d probably find something quite similar for a third of the price at one of the chain furniture stores on the edge of town,’ Emily offered bluntly. ‘No doubt there’ll be pieces there that are far better suited to your budget.’

Holly cringed inwardly as the young woman’s face dropped.

‘Excuse me,’ Emily said brusquely, brushing past. ‘I’ve just remembered an urgent call I need to make.’

Holly and the couple looked at each other awkwardly for a moment or two.

‘Sorry about that,’ Holly said, a little over-brightly, noting their disappointed faces. She held out her hand. ‘I’m Holly. I’m new here but I happen to know all about the corner suite you’ve got your eye on. It’s a beauty, isn’t it?’

Josh had taken her around the showroom and given her a brief overview of everything currently for sale, but she had to admit she hadn’t taken a great deal of notice, as there had been so much information to absorb.

The woman’s smile returned. ‘Thank you, Holly, we’d appreciate your help. I’m Alice and this is my husband, Luke.’

They shook hands, Holly smiling but silently praying she didn’t mess up her first big sales opportunity.

‘I’ve done nothing but think about this suite ever since we first set eyes on it.’ Alice’s pale, drawn face was suddenly glowing and animated. ‘It would look so beautiful in our new apartment.’

‘It really is very special,’ Holly agreed. ‘Let’s take another look together.’

They walked over to the outsize three-piece silver-and-bronze suite that sat regally in the window. Holly checked the information sign in front of it.

‘So, here we’ve got a crushed velvet grand corner sofa complete with eighteen cushions, a double snuggle chair and a large studded velvet footstool. And the total comes to…’ she glanced at the price card at the side, ‘eight thousand four hundred pounds.’