‘The hotel.’
Renee goes to protest but he reassures her with a kiss and sends her on her way. ‘I won’t be long,ma cherie.’
He follows Manon to a table in the dining room and sits. She motions for me to join them. ‘It’s come to our attention that you’ve made enquiries about the hotel and are subsequently trying to win it back, even though you were the one who agreed you should get the apartment.’
‘I was railroaded, so we’re going to appeal; but how do you even know this?’
‘Lawyers talk.’
It’s all I can do to keep from screaming at him. But I trust Manon. She must have an ace up her sleeve. ‘And one other thing I found interesting is that you knew your family would bury Anais in paperwork that her lawyer would have to respond to, costing her a fortune in legal fees.’
He grins. ‘So?—?’
‘Well, I find your family’s support rather surprising after all the things you’ve said about them over the years.’
‘Like what?’ he asks.
Ah, now I see where she’s going with this. I say, ‘You said to me many times that “for well-educated prominent lawyers they are dim-witted and dull”. That they’ll always bail you out because they’re “easy to manipulate” and they can’t tell when you were lying right to their faces. Whosaysthat about their own family?’ And why did I not run when I heard him speak in such a way? I’d put it down to him feeling spiteful about their success and his lack of it but now I see it for what it is. Calculating and cunning behaviour.
‘So? They are all of those things and more. Successful,oui, but boring and brainless. All I have to do is run home with a pained expression on my face and yet another dilemma is fixed by Père, who has no idea it’s his money I’m after.’
‘So you admit it?’
‘Oui.But who cares?’
‘We care,’ I say. ‘We care about this hotel and everything inside of it. You’re not getting it back.’
‘Wait and see,’ he smirks.
‘I don’t think so.’ Manon sends him a cold smile. ‘Just so you know’ – she points to a camera above – ‘we have cameras situated in here for the safety of our guests and I’m sure we’ve got what you said on record and I think it’s best if we shareit with your family, so they know exactly what they’re dealing with.’
‘You wouldn’t!’ He finally loses his composure, his face turns puce with worry.
‘We will if you try to take the hotel back. It’ll be the very first thing we do. We’ll send the video to every single person at your parents’ firm, so theyallknow what they’ve been dealing with over the years.’
‘Fine, fine! I’ll stop. You can have the hotel. But promise me they’ll never see that video? They will disown me and then where will I be?’
‘Where you deserve,’ Manon says. ‘On your own.’
He deflates. ‘I’ll go. But not before I tell Anais how much I love?—’
‘Save it,’ I say.
After he’s gone, I ask Manon, ‘How did you come up with that idea?’
‘True crime podcasts. They catch them all the time like that. Wasn’t that fun?’
‘I’m not sure if I’d call it fun but I must admit it was a little thrilling to see him cave so fast. He’ll be terrified of his family finding out all those things he’s said about them over the years. We might have seen the last of him!’
‘And now I get to run the hotel! We’re keeping it?’
I grin. ‘We’re keeping it!’
46
CHRISTMAS EVE
‘Shoes for Santa?’ Noah asks.
