Three's a Crowd by Sophie McKenzie Page A

stood in the doorway, his hands on his hips, staring suspiciously at me. He glanced across at Ryan, still standing beside my bed in his boxer shorts.
    “Why didn’t you answer?” he barked.
    I gulped.
    “I was about to get in the shower,” Ryan said, nervously. “Er . . . sir.”
    Jonno looked back at me. “It’s Lance I need to see.”
    I could almost feel the relief radiating off Ryan. He turned and practically ran into the bathroom.
    I walked towards Jonno, hoping to keep his eyes away from my bed. He was looking round the room.
    “Bloody mess in here,” he snapped.
    “I know,” I said uneasily. “Sorry. We were gonna tidy up.”
    Jonno glared at me. Then his face split into a huge grin. “Yeah, right,” he said. “Anyway, that’s not why I’m here.” He rubbed his hands together. “We have to talk.”
    I nodded. What the hell was coming now?
    “My crèche manager tells me she found you with one of the girls. Is that right?”
    I nodded again. Oh crap.
    Jonno stared at me solemnly. “Do you remember my number one rule?”
    “Yes sir. Don’t embarrass the guests. Er . . . but I didn’t . . . there weren’t any. We were in the store room.” I suddenly remembered Eve was listening. “Not that anything happened, sir,” I added hastily. “It was all a misunderstanding.”
    “Stop, stop, stop.” Jonno grinned at me. “I told you, I don’t care who you shag on the staff. I know who the girl was. Between you and me I wouldn’t mind some of that myself. No, what I’m talking about is you getting your end away on my time. And upsetting my crèche manager. Running that rug-rat hellhole’s a nightmare job. I don’t want her walking out on me.”
    “No, sir,” I breathed. “It won’t happen ag— I mean. . .”
    “Relax.” Jonno clapped his meaty hand down on my shoulder. “What’s done is done. But apart from apologising to Pilar, which I want you to do as soon as I’ve gone, I don’t want you going near the crèche again. No more shift-swapping. Deal?” His eyes twinkled.
    I looked at him, uncertain if he really meant everything was all right.
    “And you do double shifts at the restaurant tomorrow to make up. Okay?”
    I nodded.
    “Good.” Jonno strode over to the door. He turned, his fingers resting on the handle. “By the way, you haven’t seen Eve, have you?”
    I blinked. “No, sir.”
    He pursed his lips. “Well, if you do, tell her we’re going out at eleven. See you later, Lance.”
    As the door slammed behind him I sank down onto Ryan’s bed, my legs suddenly shaking.
    Ryan peered out from the bathroom door, now fully dressed in his shorts and T-shirt. “Bloody hell, that was close,” he said. “What was all that about the crèche store room?”
    I glanced at Eve, who was scrambling out from under the sheet hanging over my bed.
    “Tell you later.” I glared at Ryan to shut up, then ran my hand through my hair. It was okay. Jonno hadn’t seen Eve. He wasn’t even that cross about me messing up my shift.
    I breathed out slowly. Relief flooded through me. We’d made it. I grinned, suddenly feeling exhilarated.
    “Thank God he didn’t see Eve,” I said. “He’d have gone ballistic at me.”
    “At you?” Ryan raised his eyebrows. “I was the one standing here in my freakin’ boxers.”
    We both started laughing.
    I looked over at Eve. She was standing in front of the bed, hugging her arms round her chest. Her face was as white as the sheet she had hidden behind.
    “What is it?” I stopped laughing and strode over to her. She was shivering. “Hey. Hey.” I pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay. He’s gone. Nothing happened.”
    Eve backed away from me. “Nothing happened?” Her lip trembled. “What about what he said?”
    I frowned. “Said? About what?” Oh God. “You mean about Catalina and the store room?”
    “Catalina?” Ryan said.
    I held out my hand, trying to shut him up. A tear was rolling down Eve’s face. “Eve? What is it? I told