Suzannah
I’d been staying in The Raven Suite for a number of weeks now, whilst Logan, my husband, had been travelling in the Far East for business. We’d been together for 11 years and married for 7 of them. It was an unconventional marriage, where we led separate lives for most of the time, spending so much time apart from each other, but it worked for us and we both felt free to do as we pleased.
We had met when we were young, at a business conference that my father was speaking at and we had been introduced with the intention of us getting together. My father was a self-made millionaire and Logan was an emerging star investment banker. My father wanted me to find someone to share a life with but to also invest my inheritance wisely. Logan seemed to be the perfect match, although there was no physical spark and our marriage was more of a business transaction than a romantic “happy ever after”.
I found myself developing my own interests and finding my own friends. The wives that we met whilst on business trips in the beginning seemed very shallow and only wanted to talk about the latest Botox trend or having their nails done. I really wasn’t into all that. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for looking and feeling your best, but these women were desperate to turn back the clock and look “forever young” for their husbands and I just found it all a bit superficial and fake. So, it soon became clear that I was better off leaving Logan to his business trips and keeping away from the investment banking WAGs.
You would think that we would have got divorced, being in a loveless marriage and spending time apart, but the situation benefited us both. I could do all the things I wanted to; have my own friends, interests and travel wherever I wanted to. Logan was free to travel where he needed to on business, but have me by his side as the doting wife at business dinners and important events. Despite us not being romantically involved, we did look good together, all suited and booted and we were a very convincing couple when we needed to be.
That was until Logan got himself a mistress. Part of me totally understood his reasons, as I was not fulfilling the physical side of the marriage and he’d remained loyal to me for some years. But everyone in our social circles knew about it and it made me feel ashamed and humiliated. Especially as I did nothing to stop it and appeared to just be the submissive wife. But I wasn’t angry. The only slight annoyance I had was who he had chosen to be his mistress. Penny, my best friend from college. We’d been so very close back then, but my marriage with Logan forced us to drift apart. I couldn’t help but think she’d agreed to be Logan’s mistress to get back at me. I guess one day I’d find out.
To keep my mind off the embarrassing affair Logan was having, I loved coming to London and catching up with my girl friends. We’d meet for drinks, brunch, shopping… honestly, I was in my element when I was around them. We were all very close, with shared interests and passions, so it was only natural to organise a secret “ladies only book club”. The perfect place to have it was in the suite, so I decided to call the Housekeeping Manager so that we could discuss rearranging the furniture and sprucing up the suite for a small gathering.
It wasn’t long before Victoria Roberts was knocking at the door to the suite. In my usual flamboyant style, I went to the door and opened it wide, offering her a warm embrace as I welcomed her in.
I liked Victoria. She was quiet and shy and all too eager to please, although I guess that was in her job description. She also seemed sad and very serious, as if something in her life wasn’t going great and so all her efforts went into her work. She also had this untapped sexy quality about her, like a cheeky minx that didn’t quite know how to come out. I suppose I liked her because she reminded me a lot of myself; keeping a lot inside, a lot of secrets. I wanted to help bring her out of her shell a bit, and something told me the girls and I would be able to help her release her wild side.
“Good afternoon Mrs. Flatley,” Victoria said politely as she walked further into the suite. “Cara tells me that you want to host a book club in the suite in a few days. Is there anything I can assist with?”
“Good news travels fast I see” I replied. I watched as Victoria’s pale complexion flushed pink. She turned to look at the floor, feeling a little embarrassed to know about my plans before I’d shared them with her.
I decided to continue, to avoid an awkward silence or further shyness her my part. “Yes, the girls and I fancied a gathering somewhere homely, so we thought the suite was perfect for our new book club.” I gestured around the living area with my hand. “I think we’ll need some additional seating as there will be five or six of us altogether. Do you by any chance have a chaise lounge available?”
Victoria paused to think for a moment and then suggested “I could bring one in from one of the other unoccupied suites?”
”That would be perfect!” I clapped my hands with excitement. My time with the girls was long overdue and I wanted the place to look perfect for them. “Also, could we arrange tea, cake and maybe some champagne for the afternoon?” “Absolutely Mrs. Flatley, no problem at all. Consider it done.” Victoria looked back up to look at me. Her eyes were the warmest chocolate brown I’d ever seen. I smiled. “Please, just call me Suzannah.” “Very well Suzannah,” Victoria replied “would you also like me to send Cara up for a spot of Spring cleaning and to help with any flower arrangements?”
“Oh, that would be delightful, thank you sweet. Could we perhaps sit and discuss more decoration ideas?” I pointed towards the sofa. “Of course.” Victoria smiled, and her whole face seemed to brighten up at the mention of more planning. This woman liked to be organised!
We walked over to the sofa and sat next to each other. Victoria took a pen out of her top shirt pocket, and produced a small notebook from her skirt pocket. Watching her do this made me notice her stunning figure, that was usually hidden under dull, ill-fitting clothes. For once, she was wearing a thigh hugging pencil skirt, which accentuated her hips and thighs, but the shirt was very masculine in style, and hung on her body like a bed sheet.
I put my hand on her knee, then leaned over towards her. She gasped at my touch, clearly showing she wasn’t used to anyone touching her, not even just her knee. I spoke closely into her ear, “ok, so, I would like an array of gardenias dotted around the seating. On side tables and the central coffee table. They are such beautiful flowers and smell divine, don’t you think Mrs. Roberts?”
She took in a deep breath and nervously uttered “Yes, they are very pretty, a good choice” as she started writing notes in her pad.
“Do you think we should we have five or six bottles of champagne, Mrs. Roberts?” I teased.
Again, she took a deep breath and offered “I would say that if you intend on having five guests, making six of you altogether, I would say five bottles would be enough.”
“Good advice Mrs. Roberts. Do you like champagne?” She seemed completely unprepared for my question.
“W-well, I don’t get m-much chance to drink.” She stuttered. “I am always on call here and my husband doesn’t like alcohol in the house, s-so I’ve never tried it. Oh, and please call me Victoria.”
“Well then Victoria, I insist that you be our guest of honour, making you person number seven in our group. You must try champagne. Every girl should.”
Victoria looked down at her feet, clearly feeling very uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable” I started. Victoria turned and looked at me. I still could not get over her incredibly beautiful eyes. “No, I’m not uncomfortable. I’ve just never been invited to anything before. I’m so shocked that you would even ask me.” “Why wouldn’t I ask? I might be staying in The Raven Suite and have a majorly successful husband, but I’m still a woman, that enjoys the company of others and having a little fun. And you look like you could do with letting your hair down and having a little fun.”
“In that case, Suzannah, I would love to come to your book club.” Victoria smiled. Something I don’t think I’d ever witnessed before this day. “Perfect, you’ll be the guest of honour as it’s our first one. And we’d better make it six bottles of champage, just to be on the safe side.” I smiled back.
Victoria stood up and started walking towards the door. “I’ll pop by later with Cara so I can show her the ropes and we can start getting the living area ready. She’s Melissa’s replacement and I need to show her what’s expected when she is servicing the suites anyway, so we can kill two birds with one stone.”
“Fabulous idea Victoria, you’re very efficient.” I replied and as she opened the door, she thanked me and left. Now all I had to do was stop thinking about those deep, sad but sexy eyes.
** Victoria **
As soon as I’d closed the door to the suite, I had to catch my breath. ‘What had just happened?’ I’d gone into Mrs. Flatley’s suite with the intention of helping her organise her book club and ended up being invited as the guest of honour to it! How? And why me? I’d hardly had any contact with her and had only seen her more often after Melissa had left to move to the states.
I tried to think what I had possibly done to be elevated to this new status in Mrs. Flatley’s estimations, but came to the conclusion that there was no plausible explanation other than she felt sorry for me. It was fine though, as nobody even thought of me that way either. In fact most people didn’t think of me at all.
I returned to the Raven Suite some time later that afternoon, taking Cara with me to show her around the suite and explain all the tasks she needed to complete when servicing the suite. We used our floor key card and announced “room service” at the door before entering. “Come in!” Mrs. Flatley called from the desk in the corner of the living area. She was sat down, apparently signing some papers from what I could see from the entranceway.
“Mrs. Flatley, I’m here to show Cara around and introduce her, if that’s ok?” I called over.
”Absolutely fine darling,” she replied “I’m just sorting some paperwork, so I’ll be well out of your way over here if you need me.” She responded, looking up over the top of her glasses towards us.
I nodded and then led Cara into the bedroom, I methodically took her through the different areas of the bedroom, bathroom and walk in closet, like a well rehearsed dance, explaining what cleaning would need to be done on both a daily and weekly basis, told her how many fresh towels to bring in, where Suzannah preferred them to be left, the location of the bins and the laundry hamper.
As we walked back through to the living area, Suzannah looked up from the desk. She looked at Cara, studying her appearance. “You’re a sweet young thing with the whole world to experience.” Cara bowed slightly and smiled at Suzannah “thank you Mrs. Flatley.” She responded and I felt proud that she knew to be polite but short with her replies. It reminded me how good I was at training these girls.
Then I noticed Suzannah turn and look to me. She seemed to study me, looking me up and down. But instead of making me feel uncomfortable, I actually felt good about the attention. I felt confident as her stare felt like Suzannah was really seeing me. The real me that was fighting to get out. The confident me, that only resided inside me.
“You pay close attention to Mrs. Roberts, Cara.” Suzannah commanded, “she’s an excellent Housekeeping Manager, with experience, dedication and pride in her work. You’ll learn a lot from her, and not just about being a maid.”
I could feel my face turning red immediately. No-one, not even my own superiors at the hotel, had ever paid me such a heartfelt compliment. I could feel Suzannah still looking straight at me.
** Suzannah **
I couldn’t take my eyes off Victoria. Even though she was diligently doing her job, I noticed that her eyes were distant and sad. I knew it was wrong to do so, especially in front of her trainee, but I stood up behind the desk, walked around it and made my way over to where both Victoria and Cara were, by the entrance to the suite.
“Victoria, darling. What is wrong? You look so sad.”
Victoria looked into my eyes, staring into my soul. It was like she was trying to answer my question without actually using words. She swallowed, as if she was trying to hold back tears.
“Sometimes married life just isn’t the fairytale you expect it to be.” I had no idea what Victoria’s personal life was like, but her words could very easily have been my own. What kind of relationship does she have? And why is it making her so sad? I wanted to ask so much more, but knew it would be prying and totally inappropriate in front of Cara. I decided to deflect her response, by simply replying “Don’t I know it, darling.”
Victoria’s eyes flashed with relief and I suddenly felt a connection between us. I reached out and put my arms around Victoria’s shoulders. At first she stood quite stiffly against my chest, but then I felt her muscles relax and soften. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around my back. Victoria then whispered into my ear “thank you, Suzannah” and pulled herself back from my embrace.
