THE STORY SO FAR: It was unlike chef Carrie to throw caution to the wind, but the last-minute offer of a job at Sparkle Reef, a lavish Caribbean mansion, had been too good to resist. Thankfully, the welcome from the other staff had been as warm as the weather. And while her experience of past multimillionaire employers had left her fearing it might all be too good to be true, her new boss, the elusive Mr Rock, had turned out to be both down to earth and charming when he finally flew in from the UK. Now, all eyes were on her as she faced the challenge of catering for Sparkle Reef’s Christmas party, the highlight of the glamorous Barbados winter season.
As the days ticked down before the party, Sparkle Reef was a hive of frenzied activity. The lawn was so immaculate, Carrie swore the gardeners must be measuring every blade of grass with a ruler. The marble floors were polished until they shone like diamonds, and woe betide a hapless speck of dust daring to fall on the elegant banisters.
The phones never stopped ringing, and it made Carrie smile to hear the soothing tone that Monica the housekeeper adopted when speaking to the ‘gold hair, gold shoe brigade’, as she described the rich crowd of socialites who descended on her island every winter. They could be very demanding.
One morning, popping into the kitchen for a quick cup of strong coffee, Monica answered a call. ‘Yes, ma’am,’ she
