It was his custom to step out onto the veranda and take in the view. He believed he could never tire of seeing the sun set into the bright blue sea, with the yellow sandy beach in the foreground. It was just perfect. His attention was distracted by a figure running towards the car park; from the bright-blue polo shirt he knew it must be Lauren. Anyway the car she had just got into was clearly hers. This was the third time in the last week that he had seen her upset. Again the temptation to intervene gnawed at his conscious. He really treasured his anonymity on the island and had no wish to lose it. On the other hand he was not the sort of man just to stand by and watch someone struggling. Especially when he knew what was causing it.
The following morning he wandered by Lauren's desk in the reception area of the hotel. As usual she was staring into her iPad, which was resting upright on its case in front of her. She smiled and wished Leo a good morning. Leo looked into her big brown eyes and saw the strain and tiredness that lay behind them and that instantly made up his mind to act.
"Hi, Lauren," he said. "How about a cappuccino before you go? We should talk." He knew she normally left in about thirty minutes or so and grabbed a quick coffee before she went. Initially she refused, but he persisted, and in the end she somewhat reluctantly agreed. Her enthusiasm waned even more when he suggested they had the drink in his villa. Committed now, she felt unable to back out. However, Leo observing her car was parked right by his place, and so she wouldn't lose any time coming to his villa, did little to make her feel easier. She even wondered for a moment if he had been spying on her.
However, he did a good job of making her feel relaxed when they finally got to the villa. She parked herself in a comfy armchair. She watched him making the coffee and wondered for the first time about Leo. He seemed to live quietly in the hotel, no one took any notice of him, other than to serve him and she had seen him be charming to staff and guests alike. All in a quiet unassuming kind of way. For all that he was good-looking and athletic, although he was to her 19 years old eye's very old. She had no idea how old, but her eyes then saw a bunch of birthday cards announcing his fiftieth birthday. Wow that old she thought. Seeing birthday cards in a holiday villa was odd too; did he live here all the time?
The coffee was lovely and made to perfection in one of those top of the range Nespresso machines. Lauren's mum had one at home so it was extra nice, but it did remind her of home and the feelings of homesickness welled up inside her once again. Leo sat down opposite her with his own drink and smiled at her. His opening comment made her forget all about home.
"Lauren, you will probably think this none of my business, but you don't seem very happy." He said bluntly. She started to protest, but was shot-down by Leo explaining he had seen her in tears three times in one week. Again she started to be defensive, but was again stopped in her tracks by what Leo said. "I take it Margaret is giving you a hard time," he said.
Margaret managed the team of holiday reps in which Lauren was a team member. As the only new starter that season Lauren had been made to feel a complete outsider. All the other reps appeared to be Margaret friends. Margaret though had seemed to hate Lauren from the moment she met her. She was too posh, too pretty, too hard working. To Margaret being a holiday rep was about meeting lads, getting pissed and then laid. She wasn't about to tolerate some bloody outsider making her and everyone else look bad. Amazingly to Lauren, Leo had worked out what was happening, so had guessed what had occurred.
"Don't worry," he said. "Margaret always sends the ones she doesn't like to this hotel, after all its full of crinklies. No chance of getting shagged." The last sentence he said in a brilliant imitation of Margaret's accent, which made Lauren laugh. "That's better," he said. "Its good to see you smiling." That was when Lauren told him she had forty tickets to sell to a pub-crawl and nightclub trip that she was meant to organise. Of course she had been set up to fail, because no one in this hotel would be interested in something so clearly aimed at the twenty nothings, and she had no idea where else to go.
In a backhanded comment that made Leo laugh, she told him, "after all you are one of the younger ones at the hotel and you wouldn't want to go would you?" He protested that he might want a night out getting drunk, and they had laughed about what she had said. Leo, always a man of action, announced he was going to help her get rid of the tickets. Incredibly within two hours she had sold them all, but the two she needed to keep back. Leo was a marvel. He seemed to know everyone. He sent her to two hotels, where they snapped up the tickets in no time.
Margaret was clearly stunned when Lauren arrived at the office with the ticket stubs and money. Sadly however, Margaret's shock turned very quickly to anger, and Lauren was told she was, "on her own," she could run the evening herself. Margaret had been meant to have one of the spare tickets, Lauren the other and together they would host the evening. Now Lauren was abandoned.
"You had better fucking sell that spare ticket too," Margaret said, "and remember to get everyone to fill in a survey. I want to know if they had a good time and if they didn't then you are fired." Lauren left crestfallen, and once more trying hard not to cry. Thirty minutes later Leo was answering a knock at his villa door and consoling a distraught Lauren. It was she though who realised that Leo buying the spare ticket was the solution to all her problems. It was someone to help her on the night and she also got rid of the remaining ticket. As she said selling a single would be impossible. The way Leo had argued that he was not too old for such a night now came back and haunted him. He resisted valiantly for a while but in the end he handed over the fifty euro's for the ticket. He could not leave a damsel in distress could he?
Part two
When Leo opened his eyes they hurt, despite the curtains being pulled and the light therefore being pretty dull. So he closed them again. Where the hell am I, wandered through his mind, as he struggled to think. Realising he was in his villa Leo sat quickly upright, but that just made his head spin, so he flopped back down again. He had no memory of anything after playing drinking games at the third bar they had gone to. God knows how he got home, but he was relieved to see he was still dressed. He vowed never to drink again.
On the side were two big bottles of water and some aspirin with a note. It was from Lauren. She said that they had brought him home and put him to bed. He really had no idea who "they" were, but clearly Lauren had left the water and pain killers and for that he was very eternally grateful. Lauren went on to say that she hoped he would be okay, and there were lots of thanks and kisses. Also there was a comment that everyone sent their best wishes too, and that they had all had a great time. Leo imagined he had had a great time too, he just wished he could remember it.
It was mid-afternoon when he braved the hotel lobby and a cup of coffee. He was surprised to see a very happy Lauren walking towards him across the floor of the hotel.
"How are you?" She said, looking concerned. Leo smiled weekly and said he would live. "Good." She said. "Because here is your ticket to next weeks night out." Leo looked confused, then worried. "It was your idea remember?" She said. "You talked everyone into rebooking for next week too. Apart from the fact you passed out before you could pay for your ticket. But everyone agreed it would not be the same without you, and so they clubbed together and bought yours. And so here it is." Lauren handed it over, smiling at the way his hand was shaking as he took it. And at that point she kissed him on the cheek, her lips lingered on his skin for just a moment longer than necessary and her hand behind his back caressed him momentarily. She told him he was amazing and left.
He watched her tight little ass swaying across the floor. In the very tight, short grey skirts that was part of the holiday's firms uniform. He noticed for the first time the bright golden-coloured zip that seemed to go all the way down. Her shapely legs were nicely tanned and looked good even in the flat shoes she was wearing. He pushed the wicked ideas, which were making his cock tingled with expectation, out of his mind. She was too young for him, but there had been something in that kiss that made him wonder. He called for another coffee, if only to put the fire out down below.
While he waited for his drink, he tried to remember. He had a brief flashback on the coach, of Lauren begging everyone to fill in some survey. Somehow, despite the fact he was pissed, he worked out this was a Margaret thing. So he suggested they all rebooked to prove better than any survey that they had enjoyed the night. A few people were going home, but the others bought up any spares. He closed his eyes, thinking hurt, so he tried to relax and prayed once again for his hang over to pass.
