Page 25 of All Mine
‘You okay in there, Amber?’ Rosie said.
Amber nodded her head, then shook it.
‘Never again.’
‘That’s what you said last time,’ Wren deadpanned.
‘I found Etienne’s number in my phone this morning when I woke up,’ Isabella confessed, showing the women her contacts list. Amber managed to crank open one eyelid to look at the evidence.
‘He’s definitely keen,’ Rosie said.
‘Are you going to message him?’ Wren asked.
Isabella blew out her breath. ‘Nope,’ she said. ‘Two words, remember? Sex ban.’
‘Sex bomb more like,’ Amber’s blue lips said.
Three coffees later, all eyes were open, and hangovers were under control enough for Rosie to start talking about food.
‘I never did find out why you needed a night out?’ Isabella asked Amber.
Amber exhaled slowly.
‘I’m losing my job. As of the end of this month I’ll be unemployed.’
Rosie and Wren shook their heads, obviously already in the know.
‘What do you do?’ She couldn’t believe they hadn’t covered this the night before, although thinking back to the rate that Amber was downing Blue Lagoons, maybe she just didn’t want to talk about it.
‘I do a bit of everything at the rowing club. It suits me so well– and I’m going to be hard pushed to find something that means I can be there when Jayden gets home from after-school club.’
‘They’re making a massive mistake,’ Rosie said.
‘They don’t realise the half of what she does. . .’ Wren said to Isabella.
‘So, what happened?’
‘The club’s been bought by a fancy leisure company. They’re bringing in their own hospitality manager and so I’m not needed any more.’
‘But she doesn’t just do the hospitality side of things,’ Rosie said, sitting up straight for the first time that morning. She raised her hand and started checking things off on her fingers.
‘She runs the rowing meet schedule. . .’ Rosie.
‘She set up River Rats to expand the membership. . .’ Wren.
‘She manages stock for the outdoor café. . .’ Rosie.
‘She also does the staff rotas for the café!’ Wren added.
‘And she manages the membership fees too.’ Rosie snapped her thumb down at the last point. Both looked outraged. Amber blew them a kiss and smiled weakly.
‘Maybe I’ll let you help me write my CV. You make me sound fabulous.’
Isabella thought about Tutto Mio. How all these skills would be essential in the coming months. How things were starting to become overwhelming and she felt anxious when she went to bed at night. How she hadn’t even started to think about staffing the restaurant yet.
She remembered admiring Amber’s way with people the night before. The genuine way she listened. The way people reciprocated her smile.
‘I would have started looking around town today for vacancies, but probably not the best look!’ She pouted blue lips at them and laughed. ‘I’ll start tomorrow.’ She nodded to them all. ‘I’ll find something great.’
