Page 62 of Too Busy for Love

‘I’m sure it is. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to talk about, though, does it?’

Once again, their eyes lock and I get the impression an entire silent conversation is playing out between them. I’m no longer interested, as I’m mainly focused on keeping my composure while I bid goodbye to Christopher. Abby is silent as she drives me, but I can practically hear her mind whirling. Knowing her,she’s already working out her next plan, but I no longer care. With just a few words, my bid to save The Mermaid is over. As the train pulls out of the station, I send Jock a message.

The pitch didn’t work. Sorry.

His reply comes instantly, and I read it through my tears of frustration.

Ah well. You tried.

25

‘You seem a little subdued today. Is everything all right?’ Reginald asks gently. We’re having tea in his small living room on the day after my disastrous meeting with Abby’s father; I’m sitting on the sofa as usual and he’s in his ‘whizzy’ chair, which I now know earned its name because it has a motor inside that lifts it up when he presses a button and makes it easier for him to stand.

‘Sorry,’ I reply. ‘The truth is that I’ve been working hard on a project for the last couple of weeks, but it’s all come to nothing and I’m disappointed.’

‘Of course you are,’ he says sympathetically. ‘What was the project?’

‘I was working with the owner of The Mermaid,’ I tell him. ‘I thought we could restore it to its glory days and reopen it.’

‘What a lovely idea. What happened?’

‘The owner’s father.’ I sigh deeply.

‘Oh. Perhaps you’d better start at the beginning.’

‘It’s not a very interesting story.’

‘I’m sure it is, and I don’t have anything else to do. Humour an old man.’

‘Fine. So you know the council turned down the planning permission to turn it into flats?—’

‘Dennis Mountford and his cronies,’ Reginald interrupts disapprovingly.

‘Exactly. But I know hotels, and I reckoned there was a good business case to reopen it.’

‘BudgetWise evidently didn’t think so, but they ruined the place anyway. Go on.’

‘I’ve done a lot of research, and there’s room in the market for a four-star hotel with a superb restaurant.’

‘People round here certainly like good food,’ he agrees.

‘I even found the perfect chef. Well, I didn’t exactly find him. I’ve worked with him before, and I knew he’d be just the right person for a place like this. I crunched all the numbers and they looked pretty good, so I honestly thought it was in the bag.’

‘So how did the owner’s father wreck it?’

‘They’re partners in the business, so she needed his consent to go ahead and he didn’t give it. It’s not his fault – I understand where he’s coming from – but I’m just frustrated that such a promising idea got shot down purely because he doesn’t understand the hotel industry and doesn’t want to learn.’

‘Oh dear. What happens now?’

‘I start job hunting. I put it off while I was working on the Mermaid plan, but I realise now that it was just a stupid fantasy and I need to focus on getting my career back on track.’

‘Will you stay here in Margate?’

‘I don’t think I can. Sorry.’

‘That’s a shame, but I understand. I’ll miss chatting to you, though. You’ve brought a lot of happiness to this old man while you’ve been here.’

‘I’ll miss you too,’ I tell him sincerely.

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