Page 33 of A Little Love Song in Seabury
‘Like she wanted me to get rid of Leah, okay?!’
‘WHAT?!’
The indignation that ran around the table was weirdly satisfying.
‘Yep,’ said Will. ‘She seemed to think that Leah was becoming a distraction.’
‘Huh,’ said Ewan lightly. ‘Who’d have thought?’
CHAPTER 12
LEAH
Leah opened her heavy eyes but didn’t attempt to sit up in bed. For a long minute, she couldn’t figure out why her heart felt like it was in a vice-grip.
The gulls were calling cheerily outside, she could hear the gentle lapping of waves against pebbles, and she was safe and warm in Doris’s little flat. There wasn’t anything she had to jump out of bed for—she was on holiday! So why did it feel like there was a broken-hearted elephant sitting on her chest?
Maybe it was because she’d just had the worst night’s sleep of her life.
‘Or, maybe it’s because Will clearly despises you,’ she murmured in a broken voice, sitting up and hugging her knees to her chest.
Of course that was it.
It had been as much as Leah could do to stop herself from heading straight for London the minute she’d arrived back from Seabury House the previous evening. The only thing that had stopped her was the simple fact that she’d been in no fit state to drive.
So, with a thumping head, Leah had half-heartedly thrown her belongings into her suitcase ready for the next morning, before letting the endless flood of tears carry her to bed.
Sadly, sleep hadn’t provided the sweet oblivion she’d been desperate for. Her dreams had been filled with Will—his stern, staring face and cool greeting echoing a thousand times throughout the night.
Leah still couldn’t believe he’d behaved like that towards her yesterday—not just once, but twice.
‘Well, I’m not giving him the chance to do it a third time,’ she muttered.
She’d get up, finish packing her things, and head straight back up to London. There were only two decisions she needed to make before setting off.
One—should she leave her resignation letter here to be passed on to Will? Or would it be better to wait until next week when he’d be back in London?
‘London. Definitely,’ she said, with a little nod.
As much as Leah knew her resignation was now pretty much a foregone conclusion, she didn’t relish the idea of dealing with any fallout over the phone. She’d wait until they were both on neutral territory, then do it in person.
Fast. Clean. Efficient.
Yeah. Right!
In the meantime, she’d make a start on the process of replacing herself and finish putting together the handover manual for whichever poor sucker had to run Will’s life next.
Leah swallowed down a sob.Poor sucker? Who was she kidding?They’d be the luckiest person on earth to inherit her beloved job.
Rubbing her eyes, Leah cleared her throat. She needed to stop… she’d already shed enough tears over William Pepper.
With that decision made, there was just one left before she could leave Seabury behind her forever. What should she do about the hire car? Should she commandeer it and just leave Will to fend for himself… or should she see about catching a train back to the capital instead?
As much as Leah was tempted to take the fastest and easiest route out of town, she was still Will’s PA, which meant his needs had to come first. She’d leave the car behind for him… even if she wasn’t sure he’d use it.
Leah turned to eyeball her phone on the bedside cabinet. She’d been avoiding it ever since she stormed out of Seabury House the previous evening. The last thing she’d wanted was to field angry calls from her boss. Or, even worse—no contact at all!
Well, it was time to face the music. She needed to hunt for whatever public transport made its way down into this sleepy seaside town. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to wait too long until she could make her escape.
