Page 6 of Hidden in Memories
“I’ve had enough,” Charlotte says. “I have never been treated so unprofessionally. Is this your first day in the job?”
Paul’s ears are filled with a rushing sound. Iris’s scornful smirk doesn’t improve matters. Suddenly his patience runs out.
“I’m doing my best!” he bellows. “Look around—you need to wait your fucking turn like everybody else!” He rips off his mask and slams it down on the desk. “Can’t you see we’re working as fast as we can?”
There is absolute silence, apart from the little girl’s sobbing. The guests are staring at him in shock. Paul knows perfectly well that he has stepped over the line, but he is so angry that his entire body is shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Erik from the concierge departmenthurrying over. Erik looks shaken, but he slips behind the desk and places a calming hand on Paul’s arm.
“Pull yourself together,” he whispers. “You’ll get a formal warning if the boss hears you shouting like that.”
At that moment, the key cards are finally ready. Paul hands them over to herr Aavik, who snatches them without a word.
“I’ll take care of your bags,” Erik offers quickly. “Don’t forget to put your mask back on,” he says to Paul before heading off toward the elevators with a heavy suitcase in each hand.
When Paul looks up, Charlotte Wretlind is still standing there, looking absolutely furious.
“This will have consequences,” she hisses, before turning on her heel and storming off.
4
It is dark outside the panorama window in the Silver Suite. Charlotte is sitting on the rust-colored sofa with a glass of red wine in her hand, trying to sort out the thoughts whirling around in her head.
She frowns; the way that guy at reception behaved was totally unacceptable. She might have gone a little too far, but you can’t lose your temper like that with a guest. It’s not okay. He must have serious issues with aggression, and Charlotte intends to pass her concerns on to his line manager as soon as she has time.
He really ought to be fired.
Restlessly she twirls the glass around in her fingers. The blood-red wine matches her nail polish. An unpleasant receptionist is the last thing she wants to waste her energy on right now; tomorrow is a big day. She doesn’t usually get nervous before public appearances, but presenting the Storlien project to the press is a big deal. Her PR team has established that there is considerable interest—all the significant media players will be there, either in person or via video link.
And tomorrow Henry arrives in Åre, and she will need to take care of him.
She groans to herself. Henry is a brilliant business partner, but something of a diva. She had to summon up all her powers ofpersuasion in order to get him on board with the project. Without his financial resources, the plans would never have gone through. Henry is a superstar in the Swedish property market, and his support has opened doors that would otherwise have remained closed.
Charlotte would like Stefan to be here too, but he is away with the family—two kids and his snippy wife, Ulrika. Charlotte pulls a face at the thought of Stefan’s wife, the high-court judge. They have met in social situations on a few occasions and greeted each other politely, but nothing more. Charlotte has never understood how Stefan, who is so powerful and charismatic, could possibly have fallen for her.
She hasn’t asked him, of course. Their discreet arrangement has suited Charlotte very well for many years, but recently she has begun to long for more. She is tired of sneaking around, of never being able to appear in public together.
As long as Filip was living at home, it was practical to keep her two worlds apart, but now that the apartment is empty in the evenings, she misses having someone there.
She leans back on the sofa, snorts derisively at her own feelings.
Stefan is never going to divorce his wife; he made that clear right from the start. Especially as it’s Ulrika’s family money that pays for their generous apartment and luxury vacations.
Charlotte takes another sip. She wonders what Filip is doing now. He still hasn’t replied to her text asking whether he is coming to Åre. It stresses her out. She hopes he won’t leave it until the last minute. She really wants him here when the world hears about her Storlien project for the first time.
She would never say it aloud, but she hopes he is proud of his mother’s successes.
Her phone buzzes with a text from Bengt Hedin. She hasn’t heard from him since yesterday, when he tried to back out. What now?
The message makes her furious.
The purchase of the land will have to be postponed. I can’t make tomorrow’s press conference.
Charlotte digs her nails into the palm of her hand with such force that she almost breaks the skin. He can’t do this to her. Not now. Quickly she types a response.
It’s too late to back out.
She remains still for a moment, then continues:
Everything you have accepted is documented. If you ruin this for me, I will ruin you.
