Page 22 of Things We Need to Say (Second Chance Love Stories #2)

By the time the second function was over, Emma felt like a wrung-out dishrag.

Her legs and back were aching and all she wanted to do was to go home, take off her shoes, get into her pyjamas and drink a very large mug of hot chocolate before going to bed.

But when everything was cleared away, Faye asked, ‘Fancy a drink in the bar before heading home?’

Emma nodded reluctantly. That was the last thing she wanted, but she didn’t feel as though she should turn the invitation down.

‘That would be nice.’

The lounge bar was relatively quiet and Emma sat down at a corner table as Faye brought over two large glasses of white wine. The smell turned her stomach and Emma immediately wished she’d asked for a soft drink, but after the first few sips she began to feel a little better.

‘You did well, today,’ Faye said after a few moments.

‘Thank you.’

‘You seem to have a natural flair for running functions.’

‘I don’t know about that,’ Emma replied with a chuckle. ‘But I’ve had plenty of practice.’

‘Have you?’ Faye raised an eyebrow in surprise. ‘Not here though?’

‘No, I’ve only done one function here on my own before today.’ Emma decided to take a risk ‘I don’t think Heather trusts me enough to do anything other than the most menial of tasks.’

Faye frowned. ‘I see. But you have previous experience?’

‘Yes. While I was at college I worked part-time for a private chef, Liz Sinclaire, or Cartwright as she was then. For the bigger functions, I’d organise the front of house while she prepared the food.’

‘Does Heather know this?’

‘Oh, yes. A few weeks ago, we did the christening for Lord Weatherton’s grandson. Heather was keen to hear all about it.’

‘You did that?’

‘Yes, we originally catered for his daughter’s engagement party, so he asked us back.’

Faye raised her eyebrows. ‘That was in Hello! magazine, wasn’t it? Very posh do.’

‘It was and it put Liz on the map. She and my boyfriend, who’s also a chef, went into partnership and they combine private catering with the functions at Diva’s restaurant in Fitzroy Square.’

‘Isn’t that run by Roberto Bianchi?’

‘He’s a partner in it, yes, along with Liz’s husband, Alex Sinclaire, and Tia McIntyre, the interior designer.’

Faye drank the rest of the wine in her glass and got up from the table. ‘Do you want another?’ she asked. Emma shook her head. She’d only drunk half of hers and didn’t want any more.

When Faye came back from the bar, she asked, ‘So if you have all these connections in the catering industry, why did you choose to work at the Rosemont?’

‘I don’t just want to do functions, I want to learn about all the aspects of hotel management. I suppose I could have done that at Alex’s hotel. In fact, he did offer, but I wanted to do something on my own merit, not through my connections.’

‘Well, that’s good. And what have you learned so far?’

Emma paused, and thought carefully before answering. ‘Some of the paperwork has been quite interesting.’

Faye frowned as though she was trying to remember something.

‘Tell me, the health-and-safety database. Whose idea was that?’

Emma hesitated again and Faye answered for her. ‘By your silence I can only assume it was yours?’

Emma nodded.

‘And the recommendations following the collation of the customer-feedback questionnaires?’

Emma nodded again.

‘And did you know that Heather passed them off as her own?’

Emma tried again to formulate a diplomatic answer. ‘I suspected she might have done.’

‘I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but she’s done you a great disservice. She’s had us all believing that you are lazy and difficult to work with.’

Shocked that Heather had been bad-mouthing her so much, Emma took a large gulp of her wine and decided that it was now or never.

‘I don’t know what I’ve done to turn her so against me, and I don’t like to speak ill of people when they’re not around to defend themselves, but she’s the one who’s been difficult to work with.

I’ve been unhappy for a while, so I’ve kept a notebook of all the things she’s said and done that have made me feel uncomfortable. ’

‘You should have said something.’

‘I didn’t like to and I was hoping that, if I worked hard, things would get easier. But ironically, today she accused me of being a bully, so I decided to do something about it. I told her I was going to take the book to the general manager.’

‘But you didn’t?’

‘No. I needed to calm down first, so I went to the staffroom and that’s where you found me.’

‘And Heather suddenly developed a migraine.’

‘I suppose so, yes.’

‘It’s all beginning to make sense now,’ Faye said. ‘Thank you, Emma.’

‘What for?’

‘First of all, your professionalism tonight under what must be difficult circumstances. But also for your honesty. You may not have felt comfortable speaking against your line manager, but these things needed to be said.’

Emma didn’t know how to answer that, but Faye finished her wine and patted her on her arm.

‘Come on, it’s late and you must be shattered.

Let’s get you a taxi home on account. It’s far too late for you to be getting on the Tube on your own.

And just for the record, I suspect things are going to be very different for you from now on. ’

* * *

As she sat back in the taxi, Emma contemplated the day. It had certainly been a day of challenges and surprises, but it had been good to stretch herself and to earn respect from other staff, particularly Faye. But for now, she was more than ready for her bed.

When she walked into the apartment, a light was shining from under the living-room door and she could hear the rumbling of the television. Although she was tempted to go straight to bed, she opened the door and went in.

Jay sprang up from the sofa. ‘Emma, at last! I thought you were never coming back!’

‘The function I was working dragged on,’ she said, not wanting to mention the drink she’d had afterwards. He’d probably jump to the wrong conclusion.

‘Oh, I see. Well, I’ve been waiting for you because I wanted to say I’m sorry for last night and I’d really like us to talk.’

She sighed. ‘I’m sorry too, Jay, and don’t take this the wrong way, but right now all I want to do is go to bed.’

‘Oh.’

‘I know we need to talk, but I just can’t do it now. I’m dog-tired.’

‘Okay.’

He looked so crestfallen, she tried to reassure him. ‘Look, let’s forget about last night. Maybe we both overreacted. Let’s put it in the past and concentrate on the future.’

‘So you still want us to have a future?’

She crossed the room to him and gave him a hug. He hugged her back tightly. ‘Of course I do. We just need to work out how we can manage it around everything else we have going on in our lives. Right now, though, I just need to sleep.’

‘All right. I understand. But you’re sleeping in our bed, right?’

‘Of course.’

‘Good. I really missed you last night.’

‘I missed you too.’