From the previous chapter
 
Unaware of what was going on upstairs in his bedroom, Igor had changed into a fresh chef’s jacket, and joined Catarina's family in the bar for a drink. He was delighted to see that the only chair available in the tightly squeezed group of ten was next to her. Within seconds of him sitting down, they were deep in conversation, the need to speak English abandoned.
 
     The ridiculous sight of Mazeija flying through the reception area as she attempted to pull her dress back over her head, made everyone in the bar crane their necks to try and see what all the commotion was about. Not Igor. As he stared into Catarina’s beautiful blue eyes, he was totally oblivious to everything that was going on around him…
   
Not having witnessed Mazeija’s hasty and undignified exit, Laura assumed Igor’s happy demeanour on Saturday morning was due to a night of passion. Although the thought disgusted her, Mazeija's surprise visit must have pleased him, because when he came through to the reception area after breakfast, he was grinning from ear to ear.
 
     ‘Well, you’re looking pleased with yourself,’ Laura teased after he plonked himself down in the chair opposite her at the desk.
 
     Igor sat back and stretched, as though his body was overcharged with pent up energy and emotion. ‘I in love…’ he told Laura. ‘Last night was best night of my life…’
 
     Laura didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The thought of super fit Igor being pinned to the bed by that atrocious woman wasn’t something she wanted to dwell on, however happy it made him. All her soppy, romantic aspirations for him were now a thing of the past.
 
     ‘Really?’ she asked, her disbelief sounding clearly in her voice.
 
     Igor looked serious for a moment. He didn’t want Laura to think he didn’t mean what he’d just said. ‘I knew the minute I look into her eyes. I theenk she the one I wait for all my life…’
 
     Oh God! Laura groaned inwardly as she tried to dispel the image from her head of Mazeija tripping down the aisle in a voluminous white dress with Igor on her arm. That vision was nearly as hideous as the thought of them having it off in his bedroom upstairs. Bearing in mind she only originally knew Igor had a girlfriend because she overheard him talking to her in the dry store after he ‘saved’ her at Carl’s birthday party, Laura decided to feign some ignorance regarding the relationship.
 
     ‘Have you known each other long?’
 
     The question returned Igor to the dreamy eyed state he’d sat down with. ‘I see her many times, but last night was first time we really get to know each other. Now I certain, she the one for me…’
 
     Over my dead body, Laura thought to herself. If giving Igor a bedroom in the hotel had resulted in such a catastrophe, and bonded him to that awful woman properly for the first time, then she felt responsible for it happening. If there was any chance that they got married, the thought of Mazeija taking up residence in the hotel made Laura feel physically sick.
 
     ‘Well, it’s early days, Igor. You don’t want to rush into anything…’
 
     The thought of Catarina filled Igor’s head with visions of happiness for years to come. When they’d talked for over an hour the night before, Igor could sense Catarina felt the same way. It was as though they had been in a little bubble of their own, and everything else that was going on around them seemed to pan out of vision. He couldn’t wait to see her again. That thought made him look at his watch and jump up from the chair. He’d arranged to meet her at the gym in an hour’s time, so he needed to get a move on.
 
     ‘You no worry, Boss, I take things slow… but I don’t want other man to get her heart before me.’
 
     Not much chance of that! Laura thought. She couldn’t imagine there were many men queuing up to ask for Mazeija’s hand, with the exception of a few perverts. She didn’t know what she could do to stop Igor from making one of the biggest mistakes of his life, but come hell or high water, she would think of something….
 

   

 
‘Honestly, you should have seen her,’ Laura moaned when Jenny came down from housekeeping and asked if she'd met Igor's girlfriend. ‘Not only was she huge, but she was wearing a dress that barely covered her arse, far less her boobs. They nearly flopped out on the desk when she leaned over to talk to me. Everyone who saw her started laughing. If I hadn’t got rid of her by giving her the spare key to Igor’s room, I reckon our reputation as a salubrious establishment could have been totally destroyed.’
 
     ‘She couldn’t have been that bad,’ Jenny chided. ‘I mean, Igor seems smitten. He couldn’t stop prattling on about her when I arrived this morning. In his eyes she’s perfect, so who are we to say otherwise?’
 
     Laura couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had hoped to enlist Jenny’s help in getting rid of the wretched woman and making Igor see sense.
 
     ‘Well, I don’t get it,’ she told Jenny. ‘He’s a good looking guy, and now he’s got a few muscles and got rid of his pot belly, he could probably have his pick of attractive girls. Why would he go for someone who probably weighs twice as much as he does, and dresses like a prostitute?’
 
     Jenny shrugged her shoulders and suggested it might be a cultural thing. ‘I mean, there are some countries where they actually fatten up the brides-to-be, because it makes them more attractive to their future husband. Maybe they’re like that in Poland.’

     ‘You think?’
 
     Jenny shrugged her shoulders. ‘No I don’t, but you’re the one asking the question. I’m only trying to suggest some possible answers.’
 
     Convinced that Jenny might be on to something, Laura did her usual and logged onto Google. Unfortunately the question ‘Do Polish men prefer fat women?’ didn’t show any results in the affirmative. What the exercise did do however, was show up Laura’s last search on Google, when she’d tapped in the question ‘How to get rid of ghosts.’
 
     Now, there’s an idea…’ Laura said, her mind creating a plethora of scenarios in her head.
 
     ‘What?’
 
     'Ghosts! If we could scare Igor’s girlfriend with ghostly happening in his room—that might get rid of her…’
 
     ‘But I thought you said he hadn’t said anything about ghosts in the two weeks he’s lived here?’
 
     ‘He hasn’t, but I’m sure we could think of something to suggest there is one.’
 
     ‘What, and scare off Igor as well? That doesn’t sound like much of a plan! Having Igor living in has been a godsend. You don’t want him to leave, do you?’
 
     ‘No, she didn’t, but Laura decided to think of a way she could scare off the revolting woman she thought was Igor’s girlfriend. The night before was a perfect example. Laura was sure she could do something ‘spooky,’ if the opportunity arose again…