Author's Note: The Solana gets a famous resident who takes more than a shine to Janice. Femslash. Short fic, probably no more than two or three chapters.
Annie Lewis was a multi-million pound entrepreneur, most famous for her high-end couture. She was the working class Lancashire girl done good that many northern women admired and revered. She had an unmistakable classic look about her, along with the Marilyn Munroe figure and many men couldn't help but fall over themselves to be within a foot of her company. Annie had been likened to peers such as Alan Sugar and Richard Branson and was unique in the fact that no other female had managed to be quite as successful. She had been awarded an MBE and there had already been calls for a Damehood from many influential celebrities who wore her clothes to the most prestigious events including the Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes. Despite her wealth she remained true to her roots and still did a lot of her own designing, sewing and hand-finishing. She was a woman of great mystery too, no one really knew a thing about her, only her childhood and working class roots, but she had quite successfully guarded her personal life and had managed to keep well and truly out of the public eye. There were theories and stories that appeared in the less than respected glossy gossip magazines and tabloid newspapers when it was a slow news day but nothing had been substantiated by fact so far. She had a close-knit entourage that catered to her every whim and it afforded her the protection and privacy she craved in this modern era of celebrity culture. Quite how she found herself incognito at the Solana resort in Benidorm was anyone's guess but whichever member of her staff had suggested it was in for a pay rise as Annie took in the atmosphere and quaintness of the place with a gentle smile on her lips.
Mick Garvey lightly dozed on his sun bed by the pool. He was sprawled out on his stomach and had his head pillowed on his hands. His back had turned a tinge red from the Spanish sun that had beaten down on his unprotected fair skin. His son, Michael, lay next to him and mirrored his position except for the fact that he was fiddling about on his mobile phone. At 13 years of age and on holiday alone with his parents he was bored and missing the company of his mates back home. His sister Chantelle was not only older than him but she no longer lived at home and had a family of her own. Madge Harvey sat on her electric mobility scooter with her head pillowed against a beach towel and a fag hung out of her mouth. She was a slight woman but had a personality that more than made up for it. She could be caustic and crass and she bullied her much put upon daughter, Janice, without a second thought. She thought little of her son-in-law and felt he was a waste of space most of the time. She had developed a fondness for her grandson as he had grown up and become her co-conspirator in a number of increasingly bizarre escapades that she found herself in. Her aforementioned daughter sat up on her sun bed with her legs outstretched in front of her. She wiggled her toes in the warmth of the sun and took the opportunity to glance out over the resort and watch the other holiday makers. Janice rarely said much that was on her mind, lest her mother thought it stupid and her husband found it uninteresting, but she found herself observing all these people year in and year out and had thoughts about them and their behaviour. There were the unapologetic sorts like Jacqueline and Donald who were completely themselves and honest about it. They were active swingers in their sixties who appeared to get a thrill from shocking their fellow holiday makers. Janice had been wary of them at first, not really understanding their lifestyle and being slightly fearful because of it. However, as the years had gone on and she had spoken to them on a more in-depth level she could see that they were actually a very sweet couple who were just as in love as the day they had married. Janice couldn't imagine there was anyone else they could be married to. There were outwardly self aware and confident characters such as Mateo and Kenneth who chased after sexual partners like it was a sport but Janice was more than certain that if someone actually wanted an emotional relationship with either of them they'd both run a mile. There was probably a lot of emotional history and hurt there that neither of them were willing to divulge. Janice looked past the youngsters playing in the pool and around the sides with inflatables and across the expanse to the woman in the dark swimsuit with gold embelishments and matching wraparound. She was new and Janice readily admitted to being nosy whenever there was someone she hadn't spoken to before. The woman didn't look far off her age, although most definitely older, and appeared to be on her own. Janice waged an internal war with herself whether to go over and make introductions but she thought better of it. It meant getting up and that would probably disturb the others. As she had been enjoying her rare few moments of peace Janice left it alone, for now.
Annie had been observing the people around her with interest. Despite being in Spain, a reasonable distance from home, she found herself in the middle of a Northern soap opera! She'd spotted and sussed out several characters already and she suspected that time would only serve to confirm her suspicions. She had heard that resorts like this were infamous for being a mini Britain away from home and the rumours weren't wrong. It was quite amusing and refreshing to be unrecognised amongst people who were practically her neighbours. Annie loved to watch people absently going about their daily business. She enjoyed observing at airports and train stations the most, with all the heightened emotions of those who were meeting or leaving loved ones. She scanned the resort with her eyes and they fell upon Janice looking right back at her. There was a moment between them where time seemed to stand still. It was difficult to say or do anything more than acknowledge each other and then move on. Janice played on Annie's mind for quite some time afterwards and she got one of her staff to subtly find out what he could about her.
Neptune's was the place to be of an evening if you were on holiday at the Solana resort. It was a nightclub-karaoke bar where most of the residents liked to gather and make spectacles of themselves. Everyone appeared to be having such wonderful fun as Donald and Jacqueline gave a raucous rendition of 'Islands in the Stream.' Janice had gone up to the bar to fetch her family some more drinks when she was collared by a tall, heavy-set bloke in a dark suit who looked rather like a security guard or bouncer in his dark shades.
"Janice Garvey?" The bloke asked with an extra deep voice. Janice half panicked at the thought of whatever she had done wrong to warrant such attention from the Secret Service style agent.
"Who's asking?" She tried the bolshy method at first, hoping to come across confident and like she had nothing to hide.
"My boss." The man said it like she should have known already.
"And who's that then?" Mr Big (or at least that's what Janice had privately taken to calling him in her head) stood aside and indicated Annie. The auburn haired woman was reclining on a chair as she observed the raucous fun taking place on stage. She was half-tucked into a corner, hidden away from most people, and nursed a flamboyant cocktail of some kind. Janice didn't think it was the sort of drink that Neptune's usually offered its patrons.
"Annie Lewis, you might have heard of her?" Janice's eyebrow's rose in surprise as recognition dawned on her. Oh yes, she and a million other British women of a certain age knew exactly who the revered designer was.
"Why does Annie Lewis want ter know my name?" No one ever thought Janice worthy of much more than a cursory 'hello' at the supermarket or when she was doing the school run. She'd been in part time employment for years but she'd never really made any friends. Even now that they had the sun bed shops she played an administrative role and left most of the staffing issues for Mick to sort out.
"She's got a proposition for you." Now that was something Janice had never expected to hear. What on earth could she do for Ms Lewis? She was a mere mortal, not one of those world famous actresses like Judi Dench or Maggie Smith. Bravado continued to keep Janice from acting like a teenage fan and jumping up and down in excitement.
"And she couldn't come and ask me 'erself?" Mr Big shrugged his shoulders. His job was to carry out orders, not understand the reason behind them.
"She's shy."
"I'll bet she's not that shy!" Janice couldn't deny that she was intrigued. A private audience with the designer and a potential proposition sounded too good an opportunity to pass up. "Okay, I'll speak to 'er. I need to see me family first." Mr Big clicked his fingers and another man dressed in black took the tray of drinks and nodded at his colleague. "Okaaayy…." Janice could see that they meant business and preferred not to chance anything happening. Besides, what could possibly happen in a run-down karaoke-bar like Neptune's?