Page 48 of Things We Need to Say (Second Chance Love Stories #2)

Agreeing to have dinner with Nick had seemed like a good idea yesterday, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Despite the fact that she had told him she was only interested in friendship, and he had agreed, he was acting with a possessiveness that implied otherwise.

She hadn’t liked the way he put his arm around her when he greeted her in the courtyard and had managed to shrug him off as they walked into their accommodation.

He had immediately poured her a glass of wine, and kept topping her up as he talked to her while he cooked.

She’d been hoping to do some unpacking before they ate, but it was obvious that Nick had other ideas.

She didn’t want her life here to get off on the wrong foot, so she’d decided to be polite to him for now.

But as soon as they had finished eating, she’d make her excuses and escape to her room.

‘Right, nearly ready,’ he said. ‘Let me top up your drink.’

She put her hand over her glass so he couldn’t pour any more wine into it. ‘No, I’m fine, thanks. I’ve had quite enough for a school night. Early start in the morning.’

‘Oh, that’s a shame. I thought we could make an evening of it. Watch a film after we’ve eaten, maybe?’

‘Thanks, but I’ve still got a lot of unpacking to do. I barely made a dent in it last night.’

‘I could help?’ He spooned the risotto onto two plates and grated Parmesan cheese over it.

‘That’s enough cheese for me.’ She didn’t just mean the dairy variety, but she wasn’t sure he’d registered her meaning.

He handed her a plate and she tucked in. She was hungry and she needed to soak up the wine. The risotto was as good as he’d said it would be, but she was uncomfortable throughout the meal. This had been a mistake.

Nick broke the silence after a while. ‘How’s the food?’

‘It’s delicious,’ she said. ‘You were right. You do cook a mean risotto.’

He grinned at her. ‘I love cooking. I should have been a chef rather than a bar manager. Though, maybe I wouldn’t love it as much if I did it for a living. But there’s plenty more I can cook for you.’

‘So tell me, who else lives here?’ She changed the subject to avoid making any kind of commitment.

‘There are ten of us in total.’ He listed off the names of the other occupants and what departments they worked for.

‘You’ve met Mike the chef when we’ve been out for a drink, and there’s Holly who works in the restaurant, I don’t know if you’ve met her, but she can be fun. The rest pretty much keep themselves to themselves.’

Emma nodded, deciding she would get to know Mike and Holly better. Maybe she could socialise with them as a group rather than just with Nick.

‘We’ll all have to go out one night then, so I can get to know everyone else.’

‘Sure, although they tend to work late shifts a lot, so they’re not around that much.’

Emma nodded, wondering how she was going to avoid Nick. She didn’t want him arranging any more intimate meals for two.

When they’d finished eating, Emma insisted on washing up, and as soon as it was done she escaped to her room.

‘Sure I can’t offer you another drink?’ Nick said.

‘No, thanks, I need to get on.’

‘Coffee, then? I can make it and bring it to your room?’

‘No, I’m good, thanks. Better just crack on and then I can get myself organised.’

As Emma shut her bedroom door behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief. From now on, she’d make sure her door was locked at all times.

* * *

‘Are you okay, Jay? You seem a bit distracted,’ Liz said. They were sitting in her living room to talk about her upcoming maternity leave.

Jay shook his head to chase away his thoughts. He kept remembering how Nick had walked out of the hotel and possessively put his arm around Emma last night.

‘Sorry, I promise I’ll concentrate. I want to crack on with getting everything arranged.’

‘Perhaps it would help if you talked about whatever is bothering you first. Get it off your chest and then you might be able to concentrate a bit better.’

Jay sighed. ‘Maybe you’re right. Emma’s left me.’ He paused. ‘She’s moved into staff accommodation at the hotel.’

‘Oh, right.’

Jay looked up suddenly. ‘You don’t seem that surprised. Did you know?’

Liz shook her head. ‘Not as such, no.’

‘But you knew something?’

‘She mentioned it as a possibility, but I didn’t know it had come to anything.’

‘Right.’

‘Jay, it’s difficult. I’m friends with both of you. She told me in confidence, and, to be honest, I was hoping it would all blow over once the competition was over.’

‘I see.’

‘Don’t be like that. I’ve barely spoken to Emma since the night of the banquet because I don’t want to be in the middle of this. I was really hoping it would sort itself out.’

‘Well, that didn’t work.’

‘Look, I’m sorry if you think I should have said something, but I wanted to be a friend to you both. Whatever you say to me is completely in confidence, as is what Emma says to me too. That’s the only way this will work, don’t you think?’

‘Yes, I suppose so.’ Despite feeling hurt, he knew Liz was making a good point, and he would probably do the same thing if it was the other way round. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to be off with you. I’m just a bit unsettled at the moment.’

‘I can imagine. But I’m here for you, Jay. If ever you need a shoulder to cry on, or even just to talk, I am still your friend.’

‘Thanks for that. I appreciate it. But it’s over, so all I want to do is concentrate on work.’

‘It’s a good distraction, yes. But are you sure you can’t find a way to work it out? Look at me and Alex. I definitely thought that was over when there was all that business with Nikki, but there can be ways round these things.’

‘No, it’s definitely over. Emma’s made that very clear.’

‘Maybe she just needs some time.’

‘Nope. She’s making herself very busy. And I can’t compete with lover boy.’

‘Lover boy? What do you mean?’

‘So she hasn’t spoken to you about Nick, then?’

‘Nick? No, I’ve never heard of him. And I definitely didn’t get the impression there was anyone else in her life. She was too gutted about you.’

Jay could tell by the surprise evident both on her face and in her words that Liz was telling the truth. ‘Well, she didn’t seem very gutted last night.’ He told her what he had seen at the hotel.

Liz frowned. ‘And you’re sure they were together?’

‘It looked that way to me.’

‘It wasn’t just friendly?’

‘He met her outside the hotel, put his arm around her and talked about their dinner arrangements. It wasn’t the behaviour of someone she’s just friendly with. Besides, he’s got form.’

‘Form?’

‘Yes, I’ve seen them together before. He walked her home after a work night out and, if I hadn’t pulled up in the van next to them, I don’t know what would have happened. Well, I can hazard a guess.’

‘It just doesn’t sound like Emma to me.’

‘Nor me — that’s why I was so shocked.’

‘Okay, but just try not to jump to conclusions. You didn’t like it when she did the same with you and Chloe.’

‘That’s true. But she told me she needed time on her own, and the very next night she’s with him. I just don’t know what to think.’ He sighed. ‘Look, I’m fed up with talking about this. Let’s make some plans for the business.’

‘Sure.’

‘So, first things first. What are we going to do about Diva’s?’

‘I don’t know. Something weird is going on with Tia. Alex and Roberto have been trying to tie her down to a meeting, but she’s being elusive. I’m not sure I want to be involved with someone who’s playing games, not when I’ve got more important things to think about.’

‘Okay, well, let’s put personalities aside for the moment. When the contract comes up for renewal I think we should negotiate for the terms we want, but be prepared to walk away if we don’t get them.’

Liz nodded. ‘Good point. What terms do you think we should go for?’

‘Well, no rent for the kitchen — that’s for certain.’

‘She hasn’t really got a leg to stand on now that we’re only there for the prep of a function.’

‘Exactly, but I also think we should go for either an increase in our percentage or an increase in sale prices so that we improve our profit margins.’

‘With the cost of everything going up, we do need to keep an eye on the margins. I’ll do some costings to prove that it’s necessary. But in the meantime, are you sure you want to take on both Diva’s and our own work? We still need at least one other chef.’

‘Absolutely. And I’ve had some thoughts about someone else who might fit the bill.’

‘Oh, don’t you want me to interview Chloe?’

‘No, she phoned me the other day. She’s been offered a job with Angela Markham and she’s already accepted.’

‘Lucky girl. Before I started my own business I would have given a lot to work with her.’

‘I know what you mean. I’m really happy that she has such a good opportunity.’

‘And it will certainly make life for us a lot less complicated. So who else do you have in mind?’

‘There was another chef I worked with in the competition. Chen. He didn’t get through to the banquet and I think his nerves got the better of him. But he’s a good chef and we get along really well. He’s Chinese and does a lot of Asian-British fusion food, which I think would be interesting.’

‘I agree, and is he interested?’

‘I haven’t spoken to him directly. I wanted to catch up with you first. But I do know that he’s not happy where he is, so it might be the right time to approach him. And I’d certainly feel more confident, working with someone I already know.’

‘Give him a ring as soon as possible so we can see if he’s interested, otherwise we’ll have to start looking elsewhere.’

‘Will do.’

‘And in the meantime, how do you feel about considering Mia for the front-of-house position.’

‘Mia from college who works part-time?’

‘Yes. She’s just graduated. This might be a good opportunity for her. It would give her more responsibility than she would normally get in a graduate post, but she’s very level-headed and organised, and I think she’ll do well with a bit of guidance.’

‘Yes, I like her.’

‘She’s also social media savvy, so that could be good for generating business.’

‘It will. Why don’t you sound her out and we’ll see if we can meet up with both of them on the same day? The sooner the better.’

Liz smiled. ‘Great. I’d like to have plenty of time to train Mia up and then I can put my feet up for a little while before this one arrives,’ she said, touching her bump.

* * *

After Jay left, Liz changed into a hoodie and leggings, made herself a cup of tea and sat down on the sofa with her feet up on several cushions.

Her back was aching, so she shifted around to get comfortable as she flicked on the television.

She knew she needed to rest more. Her ankles were getting puffier by the day and Alex as usual was worried she was doing too much.

She was glad that she and Jay had managed to resolve so much today, and it was good to see he was once more focused on the business.

But she found what he’d said about Emma very worrying.

She was positive Emma hadn’t found someone else that quickly — she’d been far too distressed about Jay.

But Jay seemed certain about what he’d seen.

It was so sad. She’d always thought they were perfect together, but maybe people needed to go through these difficult patches to make them realise how much they cared about each other.

It had worked for her and Alex, and she only hoped it wasn’t the end of the road for Jay and Emma.

‘Now, that’s what I like to see — you with your feet up for a change.’

‘Just obeying my lord and master.’

‘Glad to hear it. How was your day?’ Alex asked.

‘Good. I had a meeting with Jay, which was very productive.’

‘How is he?’

‘Upset, obviously, but he’s focusing on work.’

‘Always the best distraction. So have you finally made plans for your maternity leave?’

‘We’re definitely getting there.’ She told him about their staffing plans. ‘And if we can get new staff in place, Jay is keen to negotiate the contract renewal for Diva’s.’

‘Oh, that’s good. I was thinking we’d have to find another company and that’s really a hassle we don’t need at the moment. But if Jay is happy to go ahead.’

‘Well, there would need to be certain conditions,’ Liz said carefully. She didn’t want to mention anything about costings yet, not even to Alex. She needed to get the figures together first to back up their proposals.

‘You mean Tia.’

Liz nodded. ‘I don’t know what she’s up to, but I think we could all do without her mind games.’

‘She is being very elusive but we do need to get this sorted. I’ll arrange a meeting date to discuss the contract renewal and if Tia can’t commit to it then Roberto and I will go ahead without her.’

Liz sighed. ‘I don’t mean to sound awful, but if Tia wasn’t around it would make things a lot easier.’

‘I know, but don’t count your chickens.’

‘Oh, where Tia’s concerned I don’t count on anything. How was your day?’

‘Not as good as yours, I’m afraid. The estate agent contacted me earlier.’

‘Not good news then?’ Although a revised offer on the house in Holland Park had been accepted and the survey done, they were still no nearer to exchanging contracts, let alone completing.

‘It’s not. Apparently there’s a delay further down the chain, which is holding everything up. The way everyone is dragging their heels, I can’t see us getting in there before the little one is born.’

Liz sighed. ‘Well, maybe that’s for the best. Maybe we should wait until after the baby arrives and take our time instead of rushing.’

‘As long as you’re happy with that.’

‘Of course I am. It’s not as though we’re living in a hovel, is it?’

‘No. But it’s not what you wanted.’

‘Well, I have you, and hopefully a healthy baby, so I haven’t got much to complain about.’

‘No, neither of us have.’ He leaned down to kiss her. ‘Now, you sit there and relax while I cook you dinner.’

She appreciated how lucky she was. ‘Sounds good to me. I’m starving.’

‘You’re always starving.’

‘It’s not me, it’s the little one.’

‘That makes a nice change from the start of your pregnancy.’ A frown creased his forehead fleetingly. ‘All I want now is a happy and healthy wife and baby.’

‘Me too.’