Page 17 of Things We Need to Say (Second Chance Love Stories #2)

‘Right, you’re on paperwork duties again today,’ Heather said as soon as Emma walked into their shared office. Her heart sank. What tedious last-minute job did Heather have in store for her today? As she took off her coat, she looked across to the towering pile of paper dumped on her desk.

She gingerly picked up a piece of paper from the top of the pile. ‘What do you want me to do?’

‘Customer feedback,’ Heather said with a satisfied smile. ‘It all needs to be collated into a spreadsheet. Management wants to see how we’re doing.’

‘Okay,’ Emma said. There was no point arguing with Heather.

She was sure the woman had been storing this up for ages and like the health-and-safety documents had sprung it on her at the last minute, no doubt hoping that she wouldn’t finish it in time.

She knew the spreadsheet she had designed had gone down well with the management team, but she was certain Heather would have claimed it as her own.

It didn’t seem fair, but she’d just have to grin and bear it, and hope that eventually someone noticed the office was being run a lot more efficiently now that she was in it.

And somehow, subtly, without putting Heather’s nose out of joint, maybe she could make them see that it was actually herself who was responsible for the changes.

For now, though, she’d just have to get on with the task in hand.

‘You can grab yourself a coffee before you start if you like,’ Heather said. ‘Can’t have you deprived of your caffeine now, can we? And you can get me one while you’re at it.’

Emma smiled to herself. Of course. She might have known her boss was too lazy to get her own coffee.

‘So how did your chef get on yesterday?’ Heather asked when Emma returned with the coffees.

Emma stifled her surprise at the question. ‘He did really well. He’s got through to the next round.’

‘Ah, that’s good,’ Heather said. ‘So what are we going to be tasting next?’

‘I don’t know. He hasn’t had the brief yet. Although I’ll be glad not to eat pie and mash for a while, as lovely as it was.’

‘I’m sure you will. If he gets much further, he’ll really be going up in the world.’

‘I suppose so.’

‘You’ll have to watch yourself.’

Emma twisted in her chair to face her boss. ‘Why?’

‘Stands to reason, doesn’t it? With his success he might not want to know the likes of a trainee junior hotel manager.’

‘I’m sure our relationship is stronger than that.’ Emma turned back to her desk so that Heather couldn’t see the tears she was struggling to blink back. Because whether she knew it or not, Heather had struck right to the very heart of Emma’s own fears.

On the night she’d met Jay’s mum and nan, she’d thought they’d grown closer and their relationship was stronger, especially when he’d opened up to her about his family’s relationship.

But since then, he’d become distant again.

She knew this competition meant so much to him, and he was putting every ounce of effort into making sure he was successful, but it was all he seemed to think about.

Yesterday had been a huge achievement. She was so happy for him, and she’d assumed they’d celebrate his success together.

Instead he’d gone to the pub with some of his fellow competitors while the meal she’d cooked for him had congealed in the oven.

And when he had come home, it had been to give her a blow-by-blow account of the day and the praise he’d received from the judges for his food, not even stopping to ask how her day had been.

She’d put it down to him being high on adrenaline.

She knew she’d have to be patient with him while the competition was all-consuming, but Heather’s comment had struck a nerve, even if it had been said to taunt her.

Emma shook her thoughts away and focused on inputting customer feedback onto the screen.

Several hours later, when Emma felt as though she was going cross-eyed, Heather got up from her desk and announced she was going to a meeting and would be back in an hour.

When she was sure she was gone, Emma leaned back in her chair with a sigh, glad that she had the office to herself for an hour.

As she’d been going through the feedback, she’d been developing ideas on how things could be improved in the hotel.

Now that Heather’s beady eyes were off her, she opened up a new document on her laptop and began to type them up before they slipped from her mind.

Perhaps she could find a way to bypass Heather and send her ideas through to higher management herself.

It was the only way she could think of to get herself noticed.

Five minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Nick popped his head round.

‘Room service.’ He produced a cup of coffee and a sandwich. ‘I’ve just seen the wicked witch gossiping with Sandy from the spa and thought you’d be hard at it.’

Emma laughed, and took the mug and plate from him gratefully.

‘Thank you, Nick, that’s very kind of you.’ For the second time that day she felt tears welling in her eyes. What on earth was wrong with her?

‘My pleasure. I do have an ulterior motive, though. How did Jay get on yesterday?’

She smiled. ‘Great. He got through to the next round.’

‘That’s brilliant news!’

‘Yes, it is, isn’t it?’

‘Isn’t it?’ He sat down in Heather’s chair. ‘You don’t sound so sure.’

‘Oh, don’t listen to me.’ Emma waved her hand towards him. ‘Of course I’m pleased for him. I’m just being silly.’

Nick frowned. ‘In what way? If you don’t mind me asking?’

Emma paused. She wasn’t sure she should confide in someone she hardly knew, but she couldn’t speak to Jay about it and Liz had her own problems at the moment.

‘Oh, I’m just feeling a bit pushed out, that’s all. Like I said, silly. And I really do want him to succeed.’

‘Of course you do. And I don’t suppose it helps having to work with her ladyship.’

‘She doesn’t make things easy, that’s for sure,’ Emma said with a sigh.

‘Tell you what, there’s a bunch of us from here going for drinks tomorrow night. Why don’t you join us?’

‘Yes, I’d love to,’ Emma said. She was on a day shift tomorrow and a night out could be just what she needed. Jay was working, so she’d only end up sitting in the flat on her own. Again. And it would be good for her to get to know some of the other staff, too.

‘Great, I’ll let you know the details, then.’ Nick stood back up and put his hand on her arm. She looked up. He was staring down at her intently. She’d never really noticed before how green his eyes were, but the way he was looking at her made her feel uncomfortable.

* * *

The morning after the competition, Liz came into the kitchen, where Jay was already working. ‘So come on then, tell me all about it.’

‘No, you first,’ Jay said. ‘How did you get on yesterday?’ He watched as the smile spread across her face, and felt a wave of relief.

‘It was wonderful. Do you want to see a pic?’

‘Of course I do,’ he said. She reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope containing a black-and-white photograph.

Jay made out the shape of the baby and grinned at her. ‘So everything’s okay, then, is it?’

‘Couldn’t be better.’

‘I’m so pleased for you.’

‘There’s still a long way to go, and I am a bit worried about Alex, but it is a relief to know that there are no problems so far. Now, enough about us — tell me all about yesterday.’

Jay launched into everything that had happened the day before and heard her gasp when he told her about Louis being a judge.

‘How on earth has he managed that?’

‘I don’t know, but it does feel as though the other judges don’t like him very much. They did contradict him quite a lot yesterday. And they weren’t very impressed when Ben and I declared our history with him, especially as he hadn’t said a word himself.’

‘I bet they weren’t. Are they going to do anything about it?’

‘Yes, they’re going to inform the sponsors. With any luck they’ll kick him off the judging panel.’

‘That will certainly make life easier for you. What did you think when he walked into the room?’

‘That I wanted to run away. But I’m glad I managed to calm myself down and I think I impressed the other judges.’

‘Too right. Who were they?’

Jay watched Liz’s mouth drop open as he told her.

‘Oh, Angela Markham has always been an idol of mine.’

‘Me too. And she’s so nice, but I am a little bit in awe of her.’

‘I bet you are. I’ve always thought that Philip Saunders was a bit of a silver fox. Is he as good-looking in the flesh?’

Jay grinned. ‘Oh, I should say so.’

‘So what’s next, then?’

‘Well, the rest of the heats need to take place until sixteen people have been selected. And then we’ll all go into more intensive heats to get down to eight and then the final four. But that won’t be for a while yet.’

‘Sounds like tough competition.’

‘It is. Who knows if I’ll get through, but it won’t be for want of trying.’

‘I’m sure it won’t,’ Liz said. ‘And I’m backing you all the way.’

‘Thanks, Liz. Looks like we’re both starting on a journey.’