Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?"
Check out the cover and excerpt below.One by Onelands Sept. 8 via Scout Press, and isavailable for pre-order.
Our sympathies are with the friends and families of the victims.
Credit: Gemma Day
The families of the deceased have been informed.
Eight survivors, also thought to be British, are said to be helping the police investigation.
This year has been marked by unusually heavy snowfalls.
Scout Press
I ignore Tophers hopeful looks and Eva, glancing over her shoulder at me.
It helps, somehow.
Instead, I let James Blunt drown them out, telling me Im beautiful, over and over again.
The irony of the statement makes me want to laugh, but I dont.
Theres something comforting in the lie.
It is 1:52 p.m. Outside the window the sky is iron gray, and the snowflakes swirl hypnotically past.
Snow is so white on the ground, but when its falling, it looks gray against the sky.
It might as well be ash.
We are starting to climb now.
I hope the bus has snow tires.
The driver changes gear; we are approaching yet another hairpin bend.
I shut my eyes, blocking them all out, losing myself in the music.
And then the song stops.
And its whispering a question that Ive been asking myself since the plane lifted off the runway at Gatwick.
Why did I come?
But I know the answer.
I came because I couldnt afford not to.
Three meters have fallen in the last couple of weeks, and theres more forecast.
A snowpocalypse, Danny called it.
Lifts have been closed, and then reopened, and then closed again.
Which is goodbecause on the rare occasions it does shut, were totally cut off.
Theres no road up to St. Antoine 2000, not in winter, anyway.
But the helicopters wont fly in poor conditions.
Its not just the snow; its a hundredweight of unwelcome memories bearing down on me.
But fortunately Ive got no time to stop today.
He shouts my name and then something I cant make out.
I call down, and he shouts again, his voice clearer this time.
He must have come out into the stairwell.
I said, Grubs up.
So get your lazy arse down here.
Yes, chef, I shout back mockingly.
Saturday is both the best day of the week and the worst.
At least Danny takes care of the kitchen, though he has his own to-do list.
Saturday night is always a big dinner.
Got to put on a show for the new guests, dont you know.
This soup is really good, I say.
I know my role here.
Danny rolls his eyes, in a Well, duh gesture.
If there is one thing about Danny, hes not modest.
But he is a good cook.
Think theyll like it tonight?
Hes fishing for more compliments of course, but I cant blame him.
Dannys an unashamed diva about his food and, like any artiste, he enjoys appreciation.
Im sure they will.
Its gorgeous, really warming and .
I am striving to pin down the particular savory quality that makes the soup so good.
Danny likes compliments to be specific.
Like autumn in a bowl.
What else are you doing?
Danny ticks the courses off on his fingers.
Then the truffled soup for starter.
Then venison haunch for the carnies and mushroom ravioli for the veggies.
Then creme brulee for dessert.
And then the cheese.
Dannys creme brulee is his showstopper, and its to die for.
Ive literally seen guests come to blows over a spare portion.
Sounds perfect, I say encouragingly.
As long as there arent any fucking stealth vegans this time, he says morosely.
I dont think hes forgiven Kate yet.
Kate was really clear, I say, cajoling.
One lactose intolerant, one gluten-free, three veggies.
It wont be, Danny says, still enjoying his martyrdom.
One of them will be low-carbing or something.
Well, if theyre a breatharian, they wont be bothering you, will they?
Theyve got all the air they could want up here.
I wave an arm at the huge window that dominates the south side of the room.
Today the visibility is poor, the clouds are low, and theres too much snow in the air.
But on a good day you’re free to see almost to Lake Geneva.
His accent is pure sarf London, though I know in reality he grew up in Portsmouth.
Im never quite sure how much is all part of the act.
The cheeky Cockney geezer he puts on for the guests is just one of them.
Not that I can talk.
Im putting on my own act.
We all are on some level, I suppose.
You get to have a fresh start.
I need to get it right this time, he says, breaking into my thoughts.
He puts a minuscule grind of fresh black pepper onto his soup and tastes it, then looks approving.
Cant afford another fucking Madeleine.
Katell have my guts for garters.
She likes us to greet the clients by their names right from day one.
Its what marks us out from the big chain operators, she says.
Only its harder than it sounds, week in, week out.
I run my finger down the list Kate sent through last night.
So its a corporate party this time.
Tech company called Snoop.
Nine people, all in separate rooms.
Eva van den Berg, cofounder.
Topher St. Clair-Bridges, cofounder.
Rik Adeyemi, head of beans.
Elliot Cross, chief nerd.
Danny snorts out his soup through his nose, but I carry on.
Miranda Khan, friends czar.
Inigo Ryder, Tophers boss.
Ani Cresswell, chief Eva-tamer.
Tiger-Blue Esposito, head of cool.
Carl
Foster, lawman.
Is that really what it says?
he manages, between coughs.
Tigerwhat the fuck else?
I didnt think Kate had a sense of humor.
Wheres the real list?
Are you shitting me?
he gasps, and then sits back, fanning himself.
Actually, I take that back.
Snoops that sort of place."
Youve heard of them?
Danny isnt normally the sort of person with his finger on the button that way.
Theres a lot of law firms, hedge funds, and Fortune 500 companies.
This is the first time Dannys heard of one of the companies and I havent.
What do they do?
Now its Dannys turn to look surprised.
Have you been living in a fucking cave, Erin?
No, Im justIve never heard of them.
Are they a media company?
I dont know why I chose that.
Media seems like the kind of industry that would have a Tiger-Blue Esposito.
No, theyre an app.
Danny looks at me suspiciously.
Have you really not heard of them?
You knowSnoopthe music app.
It lets youwell, snoop on people.
Thats kind of it.
I have literally no idea what youre on about.
Or maybe two cogs, its hard to see on the logo.
He presses it, and the screen goes bright pink, then black, blazoned with SNOOP.
Real people, real time, real loud in fuchsia letters.
This time the two os of the name are the wheels of a cassette tape.
And it makes your listening public.
Why would anyone want to do that?
Its a quid pro quo, innit, Danny says, sounding impatient.
Voyeurism for your ears is what Snoop calls it.
I can see what .
Beyonce is listening to?
If she were on there.
Celebs love itits the new Instagram.
Its like, it’s possible for you to connect, yeah?
But without actually giving away too much information.
I can actually kind of see the attraction of that.
So its basically famous peoples playlists?
Not playlists, Danny says.
Because the whole point is that its real time.
You get what theyre listening to right now.
What if theyre asleep?
Then you dont get anything.
So if youre snooping on someone and they pause a song to answer the phone
Danny nods.
Yeah, it just cuts off.
Thats a really terrible idea.
He laughs and shakes his head.
Nah, youre not getting it.
The whole point is .
He stops, trying to formulate something unquantifiable into words.
The whole point is the connection.
Youre actually listening to the same thing at the same moment as they arebeat for beat.
Well, its like that.
You and Lady Gaga, sharing her earphones.
its pretty intimate, you know?
But its not just celebrities.
Assuming you know his Snoop ID of course.
I keep mine locked down.
your feed is public, but no one knows its you?
Mind you, some of the most popular Snoopees are totally incognito.
Theres this one guy in Iran, HacT, hes called.
Hes in the top ten Snoopees pretty much every month.
Well, I say in Iran, but theres no actual way of knowing.
Thats just what it says on his Snoop biog.
He could be from Florida.
An alert pings on his phone, and he brings it up.
Ah, yeah, see?
Shes this French-Canadian chick in Montreal, she listens to some really cool punk stuff.
That alert was telling me shes come online and shes playing .
He scrolls down the notification.
The Slits, apparently.
Not sure thats my cup of tea, but thats the thing, it might be.
I just dont know.
Im not sure Im any the wiser really, but its sort of making sense.
Anyway, Danny says.
He gets up and starts clearing our plates.
Theyd think it was edgy or something.
I look at my watch2:17.
Ive got a couple of rooms still to do, then the pool.
Ill bring you one up.
I stand and stretch, working the kinks out of my neck and shoulders.
Its physical work, cleaning.
I never realized how much before I started this job.
Heaving Hoovers up and down stairs, scrubbing toilets and tiles.
Doing nine rooms on the trot is a workout.
**
Im finishing the pool when Danny comes in with a cup of coffee.
Hes wearing his usual trunksthe smallest, tightest ones Ive ever seen in real life.
Im not mopping again.
Come on, the bloody place is clean enough.
I havent Hoovered the dining room, but I dont know if anyone would be able to tell.
I look at my watch3:15.
The guests are supposed to arrive at 4:00 p.m. Im cutting it fine.
Oh, all right, then.
Its our weekly ritual.
I surface, spluttering, raking hair out of my eyes.
There is water everywhere.
I said no splashes!
Chill, Danny is laughing uproariously, the water like jewels on his dark skin.
Ill mop it, I swear.
Ill bloody kill you if you dont.
I said so, didnt I?
Ill do it while you dry your hair.
I should follow him, I know it.
There is plenty still left to do, jobs to complete, tasks to finish.
The sky is the exact color of Wills eyes.
I should get out, but I cant.
I cant look away.
I just lie there, my dark hair fanning out around me, floating, gazing up.
