Page 16 of Wistful Whispers

"I should tell you to walk away from me because I don’t know how this nightmare will end but I don’t think I’m strong enough to do that.”

“We’ll be fine,” she promises, though we both know this might not be true.

“You have me," I say fiercely. "You always have." This is a truth I can offer. Whatever happens, as long as I breathe, I’ll be hers.

I rub my sweaty palms over my jeans before knocking on the dark wood door.

“Come in,” Lisa’s voice calls out. Lisa is executive assistant to Tommy, the owner of the Greenview Manor Hotel. He shares her with Sheila, the General Manager, especially since he doesn’t spend quite as much time working as he did before he got married. He’s still one of the hardest working people I know and I couldn’t ask for a better boss, but all of us are glad that he found some happiness that ensures there’s more to his life than just the hotel.

“Hey, Lisa. Is Tommy in? Or Sheila?”

Lisa studies me for a second. I don’t often come up to the big boss’s office so I am sure she knows it’s important.

“You better not be resigning,” she points at me with a grin.

“What? No, of course not.” I shake my head.

“Alright, hang on.” She strolls to the door leading to Tommy and Sheila’s office and briefly knocks before pulling it open.

“Jake’s here, can I send him in?” I can’t quite make out the answer, but I can hear that it’s Sheila who’s replying.

“You can go in,” Lisa smiles and steps away from the open door.

“Hey, how’s Hannah?” Sheila greets me from her seat behind one of the two impressive dark wood desks. The lake is visible behind her through the large window. It looks ominous in the dim light of this cloudy winter day.

“She’s okay, thank you for giving me the time off.” I take a seat in the chair Sheila pointed to.

“Oh, I’m glad. I remember how every little twinge can make you panic when you’re pregnant. If you need more time off let us know. You have plenty of leave. And you know there is also shared parental leave.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t even thought about that especially since we’ve only been a couple for a few days. “I, well—”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed. I thought you were the… oh, did I get that wrong?” She blushes deep red.

“I’m not the father but Hannah and I are… in a relationship so I’ll think about it.” I keep it to that.

“Sure. If you have any questions, speak to Anna in HR.”

“Thank you Sheila.”

“Not at all. So, what can I help you with?” she leans back and waits for me. I take a deep breath. I don’t like talking about my private life or my past but this is too serious now not to. Hannah was right.

We went to the police a week ago. I was interviewed by an inspector and he took Grant’s details. I asked if I should call Grant but I was told to wait until the police had made some enquiries. I’ve yet to hear back from them.

They installed an alarm system at Hannah’s cottage and gave us both panic buttons. They promised to increase the patrol around the cottage, but let’s face it, it’s Fellside. Increasing patrols means one car drives past the cottage once at night.

We then told Hannah’s family. Ols almost lost it and for a second I thought he was going to kick me out of the house. I get it, I’ve put his sister and his niece in danger. I am painfully aware of that but now that we’re in this situation I can’t just walk away. Hannah was right to say that there’s no guarantee Grant will leave her alone if I leave, especially if he’s trying to use her to get to me. No, I need to know that she’s safe.

“Sheila, I need to warn you about something—” I hesitate.Do it! Just rip the plaster off and tell her everything.I take a deepbreath and then let it all out. What happened in the past and how Grant got in contact again. And most importantly what the police said.

“I’m sorry I’m bringing this to the hotel. If you want me to resign or—”

“Don’t even finish that sentence, Jake.” Sheila pours a glass of water and hands it to me. “Where are all these bellends suddenly coming from?” she asks with frustration before catching herself. “Oh shit sorry, I shouldn’t have used that language.” She grins at me sheepishly.

Another team member has just been through hell with her ex-boyfriend and is currently staying in the top floor flat at the hotel. We seem to be attracting violence at the moment.

“Give me a photo of this Grant guy and I’ll make sure all staff are briefed, especially Sebby and his night team.”

“I can email you one.” Hannah found a photo from the court case online. It’s not the most up-to-date but he hasn’t changed much.

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