Morningstar Manor

It was becoming a bit of a tradition for Emily to make Holiday goodies for the security guards and other staff of the Manor as thanks and best wishes. Despite over-working herself at La Fee Verte, she had managed to whip up a large, traditional fruit cake, all decorated and beautiful.



Wearing a Christmas red skirt and cute Mary Janes, she carried it from her apartment to the lobby, and presented it proudly at the security desk.

( Emily )

*

( Avery )

*

( Susan )

*

( Laura )

Emily laid in bed staring at the clock on her night stand. 07:31AM. She was relieved Vincenzo at least seemed to be sleeping, judging by the gentle snoring, but she hadn't had much sleep all night. She decided to finally get up to avoid disturbing Vincenzo's sleep, so she slowly inched herself from under the covers and from the bed.

She put on the knee-lenght robe to keep warm and cozy, took her cell phone from the night table, and left the bedroom as quietly as she could.

Taking care of normal groceries - food, cat food, coffee, hair spray and so on - something occurred to Emily's mind that made her stop and stare towards the liquor and wine department. She bit her lip thoughtfully for a while, but then she grabbed her shopping basket with determination and made her way to the wines.

Soon she was standing in front of the shelf with all the sparkling wines, and she was looking at the Champagnes especially, hesitantly lifting her eyes from the bottom shelf to the more expensive ones too.

While the rest of the staff had been taking care of lunch, the chef of La Fee Verte had been working on her own getting everything ready for a photo shoot. As planned, Emily had called up the photographer Andras Toth, who had readily promised to take the photos for the book she was writing. When it was almost time for him to show up, Emily ordered everyone in the kitchen to go one by one and change to clean jackets and comb their hair. She was the last one to do so, but before she went to the locker room, she told Thomas Avery supervising the dining room to recieve the photographer should he appear.

Laura, half-dressed, turned slowly around in her bedroom and stared at her tall dresser. She had checked it already once, but she could swear there was someone, or something, in there.

She walked with bare feet across the bedroom, carefully reached for the handles of the doors, and took a deep breath. It was just her dresser. She had already checked that it only held her clothes and a ridiculous assortment of shoes and boots, but she still felt strangely scared. After a moment of bracing herself, she pulled open the doors, ready to jump back from whatever she would find.

But no - it was just clothes, shoes and boots.

*

Susan was walking down a corridor with her cleaning trolley. She felt like someone had been following her for a while, but she still hadn't seen anyone. Unconciously she started walking faster with the trolley, glancing over her shoulder at the corridor behind her.

*

Emily felt strange - just like when you suddenly wake up from a terrible nightmare and you're still too scared to move or be alone in the dark, let alone go back to sleep. She was trying to load the washing machine with her laundry but she had to keep on looking around, feeling like something horrible was going to jump at her. Maybe it was just her imagination, or maybe Manny was playing pranks, or maybe Vincenzo was trying to be funny. In either case, it really wasn't funny.

Kris was at the Spa reception desk checking his appointment book and waiting for Gabe to finish a massage so he could resume teasing him about Sarah. It was a tough job but someone had to do it. Also Gabe expected it and would be disappointed if he didn't. It showed Kris cared.

###

Vincenzo was on patrol and had, as usual ended up on the roof. The builder's rubble was gone now, the gravel neatly raked and the planters loaded with fragrant flowering plants. He checked in with Frank then clipped his radio to his belt and went to check out the pool house.

It looked fantastic with russet and turquoise tiling, white and gold paintwork and lightweight arching Triplex panels. The water flashed and rippled as a couple of tenants swam leisurely lengths. At the far end where the walls drew back the hot tub seethed quietly.

"First chance I get," he promised himself.

###

Charlie and Nia were on their way home after a very successful shopping trip. Which meant that he was laden with groceries and Nia had a helium filled balloon that was - oh joy - shaped like a manically cheerful penguin.

She bounced it a couple of times making penguin noises then dashed forward with a squeak as the elevator door opened. Charlie followed her in and held the door for someone who was coming up behind them. "Going up?" he asked.

Thomas, wearing a grey suit with a dark blue tie, sat in the Mocha with a coffee cup and the newest issue of the Forbes magazine.

Emily parked the bright red Vespa in the garage, in its own spot. She took a few steps back while she took off her helmet, and admired the sparkling clean paint finish, straight from a thorough wash.

Susan was plotting murder. She didn't know who she had to blame for getting the task of polishing every single brass decoration in the ball room and the staircases, but while she was hard at work, she entertained herself with the vivid, imaginative pictures in her head.

Emily got off the subway train on the obviously named Botanical Garden stop, and found her way out of the station. She wasn't sure if she was at the right side of the building to meet Vincenzo, but at least she was on time. She found her cell phone from her purse, and since she did not see him around yet, she decided to give him a call.

Maybe ten feet away, but the other side of a group of tourists, the familiar thrum at the beginning of the Dr Who theme started. Amarie had put it on Vincenzo's phone for a joke and he'd never got round to taking it off.

It cut off and, "Hello - Em?" His voice came from her phone. "Where are you hun?"

Emily turned around trying to spot where she had heard the familiar ring tone. "I think I'm really close because I heard your phone ringing. ( Oh, oh I see you now! )

It was sheer luck, Vincenzo had been told, that a good friend of Emily’s had been going on holiday the very day they were due to arrive in new York. Incredible good luck - because he had willingly handed over the keys to his staff apartment waaaaaay up in the hotel and wished them a good vacation.

“So,” Vincenzo said as Emily let them in. he dropped the bags and waited until the door closed before he said another word. “So, all we have to do is pretend you’re considering taking over one of their shifts and everything with be at least three star? I think I can go along with that.”( Read more... )

Thomas was enjoying his summer holiday - or rather suffering. He had started the month-long holiday with a wine tasting with some of his colleagues, friends and contacts, and had only come back home on Friday morning. Having slept for a while, he was now looking very pale in the Mocha, nursing a cup of coffee.

*

Emily was definitely enjoying her summer holiday. She had decided to do absolutely nothing, except perhaps eat well, drink well, read something, sun bathe and, if she had the chance, flirt shamelessly with Vincenzo. Now she was in the gardens, sitting near the Angel statue and eating strawberries. She had a novel with her, but she wasn't reading it but actually just lazily people watching.

*

Susan was in the laundry room, longing to have a holiday or at least some time off. It was Rosa's day off, so she was in the laundry shift, and bored out of her mind.

Leo had tea and Jimmy had coffee.
Charlie chose a muffin,
Vanilla or banoffee.
Allan, all bruised,
And Vincenzo, off duty,
sighed as they glimpsed
Ms Vale's passing booty.
Nick scowled at Scruffy,
Scruffy wagged his tail.
Fin pieced together
some dog-spitty mail.
And finally Ruth, with her nose in a book,
didn't spare any of the above one look.
There in the Mocha, one girl and seven boys,
Trying to give Maru's pups a bit of choice.

Only a handful of chefs and a couple of waiters remained in the restaurant. It was already almost 3AM, but finally the thorough cleaning of the restaurant was finished. Everyone was tired, and especially the chefs were sweaty, dirty and a little cranky.

Emily let the others go, but she stayed back to check every oven, fridge, freezer, and double and triple checked that the gas was definitely turned off.

"Are you going to stay the night here, or what?" asked Thomas Avery, who leaned against the door frame, and held his black suit jacket hanging over his shoulder.

"No, no, I'm almost done," Emily answered, opened the oven doors, and took a final glance around. "Alright. Let's go."

( La Fee Verte closes for July )

Morning, earlyish, and Leo was in the Mocha drinking tea while he opened his mail. There was rather a lot of it - tea and mail both.

#

Mid morning and Allan dragged himself down to the lobby and stood blinking at the sunlight outside. "I shouldn't have gone to that shebeen las' night," he said. "I got a headache - an' my ass hurts."

"Too much information," Vincenzo said.

"Aww shit I don't mean like that," Allan protested. He scowled and rubbed his back just below his jeans waistband, hitching up his tee-shirt.

Vincenzo stared then looked hurriedly away. "I - er - wouldn't rub that if I were you," he said. "It's a scratch. Looks nasty."

"Ah, right. I'll get Leena to put something on it," Allan said and took a deep breath before plunging out into the goddammed sunshine.

#

Lunchtime and Vincenzo was in the conservatory eating a roll and snickering into his phone as he talked to Enzo. "No honest," he said, "he had no idea at all."

#

Gil crossed the Square, heading for the Flamingo Lounge. He was pale and had dark shadows under his eyes and was looking forward to being able to sleep again without dreaming of that bloody chunk of human flesh dripping in his kitchen.

He shuddered. wishing that he didn't have to be the capable, reassuring one. Sometimes being grown up sucked.

#

Charlie left the gallery in the early evening and paused to look up at the angel statue. The past two days he had worked hard and had caught up with about half the paperwork from the past week. Another two days and he could start on this weeks. There was a kind of satisfaction in that, if he studied it objectively.

Not much, but a little.

For the past week or so, Emily hadn't been talking about much else than The Book Project. She was clearly extremely excited about it, and kept on coming up with new things and ideas and people to contact and interview as she went on with her research.

"...so at least I got that bit written, and I updated my CV, but I just can't decide on which recipe to pick to be the first presentation one to send to the publishers," she kept on going as she was rinsing the dishes after dinner with Vincenzo.

Emily left the restaurant after a morning shift of talking with the owners and staff, making a lot of phonecalls and rummaging the storage rooms for anything to help with the book project. She hadn't even bothered to change to chef's whites - the kitchen staff was sure to handle the lunch without problems, and she had plenty of other things to worry about.

The large brown leather bag on her shoulder was stuffed full of books and folders that she needed to take a closer look, but first: coffee with Gregori. She entered the Auberge, and didn't need to look very hard to spot the big man in the delicate French-style coffee shop.

Fin had had to get up early to take a call from a friend in Zurich - silly bastard could never remember whether to add or subtract the hours for the City's time zone - so he'd left Andras to sleep and took himself out for a calming walk while he chatted to Gunther.

Call done, he decided to have breakfast in the Mocha. Savoury muffins, a slice of apple and cinnamon cake and a large pot of coffee. He also had the Sunday paper. Just about perfect.

La Fee Verte was going to close down for the whole of July, and there was only two weeks to go until then. New menus and lists for the beginning of August had to be tested and confirmed, shift lists to be made, vacation pays to sort out, and of course the clean up of the whole restaurant was looming ahead. The concern about keeping the two Michelin stars they had gained was also a big topic of discussion in the executive meeting of the restaurant - both of the owners, the Chef, the head waiter and the sommelier were all attending.

"Now, there's just one final thing to discuss," Mr. Lloyd said lowering the glasses on his long nose to look at the papers in front of him. "You all recall the thought about releasing a book about the restaurant we had some months ago? Now, it occurred to us that a perfect timing for it would be in late October, early November, right under Christmas and..." he turned to look at the Chef.

"Right after the release of the new Michelin guide," ( Emily realized, and grinned. )

Laura was window shopping in the Vine Square, with big sun glasses over her eyes, her platinum hair on a loose big bun on her head, dressed in black tight skinny jeans that accentuated her long legs especially with the strappy high heels she was wearing, and the light grey tube top was another way of showing just how lean and slim she was. A bag over her shoulder she walked along the street, stopping by the windows of the small shops. She wanted to go in to several of them, but it was too hot for her to even think of being in a small confined space.

*

Emily had spread a blanket in the gardens of the Manor and laid out on it with strawberries and a novel in the afternoon sun. She had spent a morning at work, and really felt like not doing anything with her feet (except perhaps have them massaged or bathed), so being mostly immobile in the warm sun was a perfect plan, she thought.

*

Lucas sat outside the Mocha doors in the garden, but still in the shade of the building and the trees. He was rolling fags and did his best not to look too shifty about it - he had put the special plant he had received from Nick as a thanks to some good use. While his fingers worked the thin little slips of paper he was thinking about calling Emma - he wanted to do something with her, but he had a feeling he needed to figure out something better than smoking joints.

Emily still had not seen Gregori even though he had moved in on Sunday - but then again, she had been working most of the time, and he had probably been busy setting up his apartment and the chocolate shop she had already heard so much about.

She finally got her chance on Tuesday, when she had a day off. Emily went out to buy a bouquet of flowers and a beautiful glass vase for them, because she firmly believed that every (new) apartment should have flowers to brighten it up. She saw Vincenzo in the lobby, and was happy enough to tell him first that she was going up to see Gregori, before she walked to the elevator, took it up to the 10th floor and finally stopped in front of Gregori's door.

Emily realized she felt nervous, so she took a moment to take a deep breath to calm herself before knocking on his door. The last time they had seen had not been in very good terms - she had rejected him, and his work offer, over another man, after all. Despite that, Gregori was her old friend, and he was here now. So she finally reached up and knocked on the door, hoping he was at home.