Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
It’s part of the reason I haven’t told Darcy that Deacon and I have split. Also, I know she would be sad for me but secretly pleased I don’t have anything to keep me in New York. And I wonder if part of her would have seen our breakup as inevitable. It’s not like I’ve ever been the girl who got the guy. That’s not been my story. Not ever.
But also, I just can’t bear the thought of telling Darcy and not being able to have her wrap her arms around me. I’d rather just deal with it myself, and when I’m feeling better, I can tell her that it didn’t work out.
“I’m sorry,” Avril says. “You’ve been working really hard. You’re probably tired as well.”
I nod. I don’t want to say anything else in case my voice comes out a strangled yelp.
“How are things with Deacon Black?”
I shake my head. “Oh, that’s…that’s not anything. Not anymore.”
Poppy shifts her chair closer to mine. “What happened?”
I try and steady myself. “It’s fine. It just didn’t work out.”
Avril’s expression of sympathy and concern is going to pop my bubble of professionalism and have me completely lose it, so I look away and focus on my hands in my lap.
“Really?” Poppy says.
“And I don’t want to mess you around about the general manager position. I don’t think I can take it. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, and I’ve learned so much. But I just want to go home.”
I can feel Avril and Poppy sharing a look, but no one says anything for a long time. Or at least it feels that way.
Avril speaks first. “Look, I know we’re technically your bosses, but we feel like we’ve built the start of a friendship while you’ve been here. I want to take my boss hat off and say screw the job, let’s just focus on you. I know you’re trying to shrug off this breakup as no big deal, but it’s allowed to be a big deal. You clearly had chemistry, and if you were prepared to come to us to tell us about it, then it can’t have been nothing.”
“We’ve all had breakups. We know that it’s awful,” Poppy says. “So take your time. We wouldn’t have asked you about the job if we’d have known you and… It’s not a good time to be making decisions.”
I shake my head. “I’m not going to change my mind about the job. I’m sorry, but I just can’t stay here.”
Poppy nods. “We’re not saying this to put pressure on you. We’re saying this because in the wake of a breakup, everything feels hopeless. You want to retreat and spend the day in bed watching horror movies and eating ice cream.”
“Horror movies?” Avril asks. “Who watches horror movies after a breakup? I want to watch nature documentaries. Anything factual. Anything on Bravo. Cooking shows.”
“I like horror movies,” Poppy says.
“I’ve known you my entire life and I didn’t know that,” Avril says.
“Horror movies wouldn’t be my go-to either,” I confess, sufficiently distracted from my heartache to participate in the off-piste debate. “For anything. But definitely not for a post-breakup healing.”
“Real Housewives?” Avril asks.
“Maybe. But anything so long as I’m in bed with my best friend, Darcy, calorie-loading.”
“Amen to calories,” Poppy says.
“We should organize another girls’ brunch, or afternoon-in-bed-eating-ice-cream day or something.”
They’re kind to be concerned. Having these two as bosses is very different to the carousel of bosses I’ve had during my time at The Rookery. “I’m going to be fine. Honestly I will.”
“Of course you’re going to be fine,” Avril says. “I have no doubt about it. But it’s okay not to be fine right now. You’re a long way from home. You probably feel isolated.”
“What are you doing tomorrow night?” Poppy asks. “We could go over to Avril’s place and watch a movie.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I say.
“We know we don’t. We want to. So that’s agreed. We’ll do it on Thursday, your next evening off.”
“And don’t think we’re doing this because we want you to change your mind about the general manager position either,” Avril says.
“Well, we do want you to change your mind about that, but that’s not what a movie-and-ice-cream night is all about,” Poppy adds.
“I’m not going to change my mind,” I say. I don’t want to give them false hope. I’m counting down the days when I can go back to England. I might not have been delighted with where things were heading, but I wasn’t miserable. And I’ll take not miserable over how I’m feeling right now.
“That’s okay,” Poppy says. “But the job offer is on the table until you step foot on the plane to go back to the UK.”
A little bit of the darkness that had settled in me lifts. Even though I haven’t known Avril and Poppy long, and I don’t know them well, it’s nice to have people in my corner. Nice to be treated with kindness and empathy. I’ve enjoyed almost everything about working at Hotel on Ninth Street. If only Room 325 had been occupied by a different guest.