Page 36 of Dr. CEO (The Doctors)

“I don’t want a boyfriend. I’m happy with the way things are.”

She slides her hand over mine. “Things have been the same for a very long time now.”

“But if it’s not broken, why fix it?”

Granny rubs her thumb over mine in the same way she’s been doing for twenty-seven years. “Darling, it is broken.” I’m not sure what she’s referring to: me or Crompton. Her voice is gentle when she continues. “The earl should have sold the place years ago. He couldn’t afford to keep it up. I suppose he was holding onto something almost as tightly as you are.”

“Why wouldn’t I hold on tightly? I’m happy here. Isn’t it normal for people to want to be happy?”

Granny nods. “Of course. But there’s not just one way to be happy. Standing still isn’t always the best way.”

I pull out the papers Vincent gave me yesterday and drop them on the table. “He’s already offered me a job heading up the guest relations team in the hotel.”

I dismissed the idea when he mentioned it, but after my shift, I read through the description. There’s no doubt the role is a promotion. And it involves many of the things I like about my current job: lots of interaction with people, improving people’s days. But because of the transient nature of hotels, it’s unlikely I’d really get to know anyone, like I’ve gotten to know the regulars at the tea shop. I had one couple who comes every day of July and August and has been doing that for the last six years. They feel like part of the furniture now. There would be nothing like that at the hotel.

“That’s wonderful, my darling,” Granny says. “When do you start?”

“I haven’t accepted it.”

Granny shoots me a look of disappointment.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “You’re disappointed in me.”

“Oh gosh, not in you, my darling. For you. Are you not the teeniest bit excited at the thought of being the head of a guest relations team at a five-star hotel? I would have thought a job like that was right up your alley. You’d be fantastic at it. You love the estate so much, you can talk about it with real, genuine affection, and you’ve lived in the area most of your life. There’s no one better to help guests enjoy Crompton and the surrounding villages.”

“He’s only offering me the job to get me on his side.”

“I doubt that’s true and even if it is, who cares? You’ve got to grab these opportunities when they come up in life. You’d be good at the job and he clearly knows it. Frankly, it fills me with confidence that the man knows what he’s doing if he can see your potential.”

On the outside looking in, the guest relations job is a good opportunity for me. But it’s not a future I ever envisaged for myself. “I don’t know. I’m still hoping that—”

Before I have a chance to finish my sentence, Sacha comes crashing through Granny’s front door. “There’s things about the housing stuff in the library.” She looks from me to Granny. “So are we going or what?”

“Going where?” I ask.

“To the library. In the house. They’ve set up some…information or something. Apparently there’s a man answering questions.”

“What sort of questions?” Granny asks.

“I have no idea.” Sascha is practically vibrating with excitement. “But I might be getting my sausage dog.”

I’m still getting used to the new open-door policy at the house. When the earl was in residence, it was understandably off-limits. Now the door stands open every time I pass by. I suppose it’s no longer a home—just an office. A business. A place people come to work, not build a life.

We step through the doors into the lobby. Things look as drab and empty as they did when Vincent gave the tour.

“Gosh, I haven’t been through these doors in a long time,” Granny says. “It looks in dire need of some tender loving care.”

“At least he’s keeping the staircase,” I mutter.

“Of course,” Granny says. “The place is listed. They won’t let him get away with anything that destroys the history of the place.”

I try not to roll my eyes.

“In here,” Sacha says, practically tugging at Granny’s shirt.

Voices drift into the hall from the library, and the door swings open as we approach. Our trio comes face-to-face with Vincent.

My disloyal heart flutters at the sight of him. It must be his height. And those perfect forearms on display beneath rolled shirtsleeves. It’s like he’s trying to torture me.

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