Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! Here’s another tease from my new novel, Hiding in Plain Sight. I hope you’ll check it out – this book is getting some really great feedback!

Keeping her eyes wide, she replied, “Oh, thank you, Erasmus. I hope it’s okay to call you that. I really didn’t mean to be a difficult customer, it’s just…” she tailed off with a shrug.

Erasmus gave a quaint bow. “You are not the difficult customer, madam. You have been a pleasure. And of course it’s okay to call me Erasmus. Please, if there is anything else you require, do not hesitate to let me know. I will be pleased to assist you.” He smiled, then turned and walked away.

Admiring the view of his backside until it disappeared out of sight behind the bar, Mallory grinned. Unless she’d been completely mistaken, there’d been a glint in his eye, and emphasis on the anything part. When she’d figured he might come in useful at some point, she’d been thinking along the lines of maybe pumping him for information, or potentially using him to gain access to areas of the hotel she wasn’t supposed to be in. But the more she thought about it, the more she leaned towards him being the perfect candidate for a little extra-curricular fun. Her target, whoever he turned out to be, was off-limits for the time being, at least. It sounded like he and his friends were about to be escorted from the bar, and given the amount of alcohol they’d consumed, they’d all be drunk for the next few hours at least, then hungover for several more hours after that.

Giving Mallory plenty of time to become more familiar with the layout of the hotel and its operations. Not to mention the members of staff.

One in particular.

Her grin grew wider.

Get your copy of Hiding in Plain Sight here: https://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/hiding-in-plain-sight/

Don’t forget to check out all the other blogs taking part!

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! Here’s another tease from my new novel, Hiding in Plain Sight. I’m sorry I didn’t post last week, but I’ve been on some really tight deadlines and things have been manic!

She watched the group, careful not to seem as though she was staring. She wasn’t yet ready to gain their attention. It was unlikely, she quickly realised. They were so absorbed in their own little bubble that she probably could have stripped naked and walked past their table and they wouldn’t have noticed.

With happy guests and word of mouth on her mind, she came to the conclusion that, although the gang was happy, there were plenty of other people in the bar that weren’t. The more champagne the group quaffed, the more their volume increased. And with that volume increase came plentiful sighs and glares from the bar’s other patrons. But, in their bubble as they were, they didn’t notice.

Mallory smirked as she watched one angry-looking man start to get up from his chair, only to be stopped by the woman he was with, with a hand on his arm and a shake of her head. Mallory didn’t blame her. This hotel might be the most expensive and exclusive in the Netherlands, but it didn’t mean drunken guests wouldn’t turn nasty or even violent if confronted. Really, management should be getting involved at this point. Maybe she could hurry things along in that department and see if it helped her cause any.

Just then, the waiter returned with her drink. “One Manhattan, madam,” he said, placing it on the table with a flourish.

“Great. Thank you.” She deliberately glanced over at the group, then back at the waiter, her eyes wide and innocent. Quietly, she said, “I don’t mean to make a fuss, but would it be possible for something to be done about those people? They’re totally ruining the ambiance in here. Not what you’d expect from such an establishment.”

The waiter—she peeked at his name badge; Erasmus—gave a tight smile. “It is already in hand, madam. We are working to rectify the situation with the absolute minimum of fuss. However, as an apology and gesture of our deep regret, your drink is free of charge. I hope it is to your satisfaction.”

Get your copy of Hiding in Plain Sight here: https://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/hiding-in-plain-sight/

Don’t forget to check out all the other blogs taking part!

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! As promised, here’s another tease from my new novel, Hiding in Plain Sight. I hope you’ll check out this sexy spy thriller!

Picking up the leather-bound cocktail menu, she used it to further obscure herself as she took in the rest of her surroundings. She’d already done a scan of the place in her peripheral vision as she’d made her way from the door to the table she now sat at, but before she fixed her attentions on her target, she wanted to make absolutely certain there were no other persons of interest in the vicinity. The last thing she wanted was to start eyeballing the group, only to discover they had some covert security bods in the bar, who were eyeballing her. She doubted it—their intel suggested that they only used hired goons when absolutely necessary—but it always paid to be cautious.

After a couple of minutes—luckily it wasn’t a huge area, and therefore she didn’t have to hold the menu in front of her face for too long, making her look suspicious or terribly indecisive—she was satisfied, and slowly lowered the cocktail list to the smoked glass table, then closed it with a slap.

As if by magic, a handsome waiter around her age materialised. “Hello, madam,” he said in Dutch, a language that she was, luckily, fluent in. He’d have switched to English with no issues—the Dutch were well known for their excellent command of English, and in a place such as this, being multilingual would no doubt be in the job description—but she’d blend in more effectively if she spoke the native tongue. “What can I get you?”

She hadn’t actually had time to read the menu, but it didn’t matter. Cocktail selections were almost the same the world over, unless establishments decided to give drinks different names, or put a new spin on an old classic. Even if they did, though, she’d never been refused an old classic when she’d ordered one, whether it was on the list or not. “Hi,” she replied, also in Dutch. “I’ll take a Manhattan, please.”

“Very good, madam. It’ll be with you in a few moments.”

“Thank you.” She treated him to a wide smile, as well as exercising her best manners. It certainly couldn’t hurt to establish a rapport with a member of staff. After all, there was a chance he might be useful at some point.

While she waited for her drink, she pondered her next move. The group was still there, still being loud and obnoxious, and had successfully managed to get their oysters and caviar. She rolled her eyes. That was one benefit to staying in such a high-end hotel, she supposed. There was serious money at stake, and the management would want to do anything possible to keep guests happy, knowing that word of mouth, particularly in circles with such funds at their disposal, was by far the biggest influence in bringing in more people. More people with money. And so it went on. Here, at least, money really did make the world go around.

Get your copy of Hiding in Plain Sight here: https://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/hiding-in-plain-sight/

Don’t forget to check out all the other blogs taking part!