Thirty-three

Her heart stopped at the sound of the opening door. She heard the light footsteps echo on the floor of the study, before the door was clicked shut. With her fingers crossed, she edged further into the small space under the table and just foolishly hoped that she would still be owning a job when this was over.

"Here is the paperwork you asked for," she heard Mr Furler speak. There was some shuffling as she carefully listened in for the sound of approaching steps.

"How is the loyalty program coming along?" she made out what was undoubtedly Dexter's voice; except it sounded clipped and businesslike. Exactly how he had been with her the first time they met.

"It has been making a massive difference, mostly on backpackers as well as families. The discounts and loyalty gift cards have certainly been attracting more guests but..."

A few seconds of silence followed and Anelia gulped apprehensively.

"There seems to be a dip in the revenue generated from business travellers," Dexter suddenly spo