Free A Slippery Slope by Emily Harvale

advantage of the terrain and the glorious weather. He
removed his skis and Verity wondered if she should invite him to join them for
lunch – or a drink at least.
    ‘I’ve been over to Val Thorens this morning. I’ve got a couple of
chalets there. All my chalets – except Marianne – have been run by the
same teams for the last four years so I know they’re in good hands. I just
wanted to pop over and say hello. I like to catch up with all my teams the week
before the first of the guests arrive but if I can get in some skiing at the
same time, that’s even better.’
    ‘So it’s only Lucy and I that you have to worry about then?’
    ‘After last night I don’t think I have anything to worry about –
as far as the chalet is concerned at least.’
    ‘That’s good,’ Verity said, seeing that strange look in his eyes.
‘What happened to the team at Marianne ? Why aren’t they back this year?’
    The smile immediately left Josh’s face and he raked a hand through
his hair. ‘I ... one of them moved on ... to better things and the other ...
moved away. I have to dash. Enjoy the rest of your day.’
    ‘I’m beginning to feel invisible when you two get together,’ Lucy
said as they both watched Josh march off.
    ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Verity replied. ‘That was a little
odd though, don’t you think? One minute he’s all sweetness and light, the next
it’s as if he’s been encased in ice. His demeanour completely changed when I
mentioned the previous team and his entire body stiffened. I wonder if there’s
more to that than he’s saying.’
    ‘I wasn’t studying him that closely. He did seem in a hurry to get
away though. Ooh! Perhaps he murdered them for failing to keep the chalet up to
his standards and he’s buried them in the cellar.’ Lucy laughed and shook her
head. ‘Honestly, Mum. One of them obviously got a job with a rival company and
the other left too. He’s pissed off about it, that’s all. Mind you, have you
been down to the cellar yet? It’s seriously creepy down there. It runs the
entire length of the chalet and there’re lots of nooks and crannies. I couldn’t
wait to get out of it. Maybe there is something buried down there ... apart
from the crates of wine and all the old furniture.’
    ‘Maybe,’ Verity said, still staring at Josh’s back and foolishly
wishing he’d look round and smile. He finally disappeared into the crowd and
Verity glanced at Lucy. ‘We’ll have to find out where they went, won’t we?’
    Lucy shrugged. Clearly, she couldn’t care less and as the waiter
brought them their lunch, she turned her attention to her food.
    ‘I don’t think it matters, does it? As long as they don’t decide
they want to come back that is. Let’s eat. I’m starving!’

CHAPTER NINE
     
     
    Verity
was beginning to think she’d hit a nerve by asking Josh about the previous team
at Chalet Marianne . They hadn’t seen him since that day. She was going
to ask Etienne about it, but they hadn’t seen him either and that surprised her
even more. She was sure that he was attracted to Lucy and she wondered again
whether something had happened between the two of them on that second evening.
    ‘I’m surprised Etienne hasn’t stopped by,’ she said as she and
Lucy were making the last of the beds. ‘We haven’t seen him since they came for
dinner on Sunday night.’
    Lucy shrugged. ‘He’s probably busy. I’m more surprised we haven’t
seen Josh since Monday at that restaurant. But I know he said he wanted to
visit all his other chalets so I suppose that’s why. I did think he’d come to
check everything was okay before the guests arrive tomorrow though.’
    ‘What happens about that? And yes, I did read the info pack where
it said that the guests are dropped here on Saturdays around four in the
afternoon, depending on flight times and traffic, but by whom? Etienne? Josh?
Or are the chalets booked via package companies? It didn’t mention