Chapter One

As always on a Monday evening, Kate sat alone in a cosy dimly lit room of her humble terraced house, with a bottle of Shiraz and Coronation Street for company. Her mind wandered during the commercial break. She wondered whether she had made the right decision, to leave behind the stability of a once loved career in the hospitality industry after a decade of hard work as Senior Wedding Organiser. But having achieved the qualifications she had desired for so long it seemed a waste not to put them to use.

* * * * *

It had taken 4 years of evening study and the sacrifice of endless weekends and socialising for Kate to become a qualified Beauty and Holistic Therapist. She had enjoyed every class she had attended at college. Receiving regular treatments from fellow students during the practice sessions meant that she looked better now than she had ever looked. This had been noticed by many of her male acquaintances, one in particular Stefan Gabrielle, her boss at The Castle Hotel.

Stefan had allowed Kate to offer her Beauty and Holistic services to clients and her treatments had been built into the wedding packages offered by the hotel. The Brides and their mothers couldn’t resist the treatments on offer. They took one look at Kate’s own perfect appearance and the decision was made. It had been a successful part of her career and had earned her some much needed extra cash to clear debts and credit card bills.

It had only been within the last few years that Kate had made the conscious effort to be careful with money. The threat of redundancy had reared it’s head on more than one occasion, as more luxurious hotels popped up in the City Centre and the competition for Kate and the Castle team became hard work. Gone were the days of buying designer handbags and spending ridiculous amounts of money in the Riverside Champagne Bar, much to the dismay of Kate.

Kate had managed to save a substantial amount of money which she had been putting aside each month in a high interest savings account. It seemed that opportunity knocked one day as she was walking the wet cobbled streets towards the hotel. She almost missed the sign as she shielded her well-groomed hair from the torrential rain with her umbrella. But she glanced towards the well known salon to see the For Sale sign prominent and bold, tempting her to stop and take notice.

Of course Kate had thought about having her own business, but not in great detail, or very seriously. She didn’t know much about running a business but she had learned enough during her course to know about the relevant legislation and what it would take to run a good salon. As she stared up at the sign in front of her she knew this would be the ideal location for her to build a successful reputable business, and as the property was already used as a salon it seemed ideal. She didn’t know when the next opportunity would arise and quickly entered the necessary contact details into her mobile phone.

She hurried to work that day with butterflies in her stomach and a grin on her face. Her mind was working overtime as she thought about quirky names which would be suitable for a trendy sophisticated new salon, she thought about marketing strategies and promotions she could offer, maybe she could continue to work with The Castle Hotel too. Full of ideas and exhilaration she set to work on a client file, confirming menus with the kitchen, ordering the flowers, ensuring that the bridal suite was booked for the evening, calling the DJ to confirm details of the requested music chosen by the happy couple and finalising a copy of the file for Stefan.

Putting the excitement aside, Kate wondered whether to mention her idea to Stefan at this early stage. They had spoken in the past about Kate’s future and he had always supported her and encouraged her to be ambitious regarding her career. As she knocked the entered his office, she failed to hide her excitement and it was apparent to Stefan that she was bursting to tell him something.

“Hey gorgeous, you’re looking rather pleased with yourself today.” He grinned at her in the admiring way he always did.

“Well, that’s because I have something on my mind. Can I talk to you about it? I mean, it’s only an idea at the moment but it could be a life changing one.”

Intrigued, he listened to Kate without interrupting, nodding at the right moments and smiling at her obvious excited enthusiasm. As she finished her speech, he got to his feet and slowly walked around to the chair where she sat, still with the client file on her lap. He leant to kiss her.

There had always been a flirtatious chemistry between Kate and Stefan, but learning from past mistakes with work colleagues, Kate had never let it get any further than daily flirting and friendly banter. He was her boss after all and she believed it would only end in disaster if she were to get emotionally or sexually involved. Undeniably it was in the back of her mind that if she were to successfully open her own salon, they would no longer be colleagues. Kate responded to his kiss, as Stefan pulled her to her feet and held her close.

“That’s my girl! You know you have my full support and I will help you in any way I can.”

Stefan was 11 years older than Kate, and had just celebrated his 40th birthday. Some people misread his confidence as arrogance and thought him to be a bit of a sleazy ladies man, a player. He knew he was good looking and as assistant manager of The Castle Hotel he earned enough money to own a swanky riverside apartment in the city and drive a Mercedes sports car. Kate’s girlfriends had always encouraged her where Stefan was concerned, constantly telling her they would look so good together, with her long dark hair and pretty face and his Italian smooth looks. They would make beautiful babies.

Kate was 29, and a lot like Stefan in many ways. She took pride in her appearance, she was ambitious, she enjoyed male company and she was a merciless flirt. She was however prone to periods where she lacked confidence in herself. She had a complicated background, she was often unhappy with her weight and up until recently she had been very disorganised regarding her personal financial situation, coming close to declaring herself bankrupt after several years of partying, overspending and being irresponsible with money. As her working relationship and friendship with Stefan developed, her lack of confidence had not been as frequent as it once had been.

Kate’s pulse was racing after Stefan loosened his hold on her. It had been a moment she had imagined happening for so long. Stefan ordered the hotel bar staff to bring a bottle of champagne to his office, and asked Kate to join him and talk more about her plans.

The working day had come to an end quickly and Kate had gone home with indisputable determination that she was going to get what she wanted, in the form of the salon, and quite possibly a new man.

Kate had been single for just over a year now. She had gone through a messy break up with a long term boyfriend after living with him for 4 years. Since he had left, she had dated numerous men and had a few meaningless one night stands, but often convinced herself that she was going to end up like Bridget Jones and start her thirties as a single woman with no prospects of love or commitment from any man.

Now, as the Shiraz heightened her senses and emotions, Kate lounged in her dressing gown trying to rid herself of the last minute nerves she was experiencing. It had been 4 months since the day she had seen the For Sale sign which had presented her with an amazing opportunity, and she was now looking forward to her last day at The Castle Hotel at the end of the week.