Page 8 of Elusive Embrace

I glance at my watch and see it’s nearly two. I need to finish up the order I’ve been working on and get it signed off before the meeting.

“Tell you what, can you take this to the shed and then check the paths in the woods? I’ll head to the office then to the meeting. We can meet back at the shed afterward and go over the vegetable plot with Chef to plan next season’s crops.”

“Aye Boss,” he says with a mock salute.

“Don’t call me boss,” I scold him though I’m not really mad. He knows I hate it which is why he likes to tease me. But with that cheeky grin of his it’s hard to stay annoyed.

“Okay,” he replies, walking off whistling. I know he’ll do it again.

The warmth of the hotel hits me as I step through the staff entrance. I walk down the long corridor past the kitchen and head up the back stairs which were used by servants back when this was a family home in the Edwardian era. Not much has changed in that sense, though we’re definitely treated much better than the staff back then.

Tommy’s a great boss and most of us love working here which is shown in our low turnover. I can’t really imagine working anywhere else. I was a bit worried when Tommy cut back his hours after getting married and having a baby. We all feared he might sell the hotel, but with Sheila supporting him as General Manager, they’ve found a way to make it work. For now, at least, there’s no sign of them selling up.

As I reach the office I feel a sense of contentment. Despite the cold, despite the work, I’m exactly where I want to be.

I share a small office with Linda who is Head Housekeeper, on the first floor but I don’t use it much. I mainly go in to work on orders and in winter it’s a welcoming place to get out of the wind.

“Hey,” Linda says as I walk in.

“Hi. It’s freezing out there.”

“I know! My kids are already praying for snow, convinced it means they’ll get off school,” she laughs.

“Bit early for that isn’t it? And when do we ever get that much snow?”

“Wishful thinking,” she says with a shrug, turning back to her screen.

I take off my jacket and hang it up while I wait for the kettle to boil. One perk of sharing an office with the housekeeping team is having a kettle close by, so we don’t have to trek all the way to the kitchen every time we want a cuppa.

I glance out the window at the dark clouds gathering over the lake. We might have to move our meeting with Chef indoors if it starts chucking it down. Leo and I don’t mind getting soaked but Chef’s not going to join us in the rain.

As I wait for the computer to boot up I fiddle absentmindedly with my silver necklace, pulling the bookworm pendant up to my bottom lip. It’s become a bit of a nervous habit. The chain stretches until it presses into my skin—not painful, but just enough to remind me it’s there. I’ve been doing it ever since I got it.

“Hope the meeting isn’t too long today,” Linda says, breaking the silence. “I’ve got to check all the Christmas decorations before the day’s out.”

I let the pendant drop back against my chest. “Already? It’s still a few weeks until Halloween.”

“I know but if I need to order anything I’ve only got until mid-November, then we have to start putting everything up. The first Christmas parties kick off on the eighteenth.”

“Where’s the year gone?” I sigh. It’s not just this year—every year seems to fly by faster than the last. Halloween always makes me think about that and it’s a reminder of the night Matt and I slept together for the first time. That memory has faded but when I hear a certain sound or see a glimpse of something that reminds of that night I remember the evening for a brief second and I think of him. I’ve banned him from my thoughts otherwise but at Halloween I can’t always battle those shadows from the past.

It's half past six by the time I take a seat on the bus back to Fellside. All I want is a long hot bath and some comfort food but I think Alastair said something about meeting his friends at the pub. I don’t really want to but when he has something in his head there isn’t really any arguing with him.

I met Al almost two years ago when the bank he works for had a Christmas lunch at the Greenview Manor Hotel. He almost ran me over leaving after the lunch. He shouldn’t have been driving as he’d had more than one drink and Tommy had to get involved and take his keys off him.

He came back a few days later with a bunch of flowers as an apology and invited me to dinner. I’ve had a few casual dates since my divorce but it never felt right and so I kind of gave up,but Alistair was persistent and I eventually gave into his efforts. It was only one dinner after all, or so I thought.

It quickly became more and I moved in with him last autumn. It made sense as he wanted me around all the time anyway.

The traffic on the way to Fellside is bad at this time of the day and it’s after seven by the time I get in.

“You’re late,” Al greets me. He is wearing jeans and a tight T-shirt that shows off his muscles. He looks good, but he always does. He’ll even style his hair to lounge around at home and play computer games.

“Hello to you too,” I sass and he raises an eyebrow at me. “Sorry.” Apologies come easy to me these days.

“Babe, you know I hate when we’re late and we promised to meet Caleb at seven thirty.”

“Would you mind if I don’t come with you?” I ask carefully. There’s a second of silence.