Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Remember, if you have your hand up right now, it means you’re in favor of everyone in staff accommodation being evicted—”
“And rehoused,” shouts a voice.
“And people losing their jobs,” I say.
“And being retrained to do other jobs,” Rio says.
Hands remain in the air. It’s clear most people are in favor of what Vincent is trying to do. But I want to know who is on my team. “Hands up if you’re against Vincent trying to destroy Crompton.” I raise my hand and see Sandra raise her hand. I glance around and it’s clear we’re the only two people who aren’t taken in by Vincent’s charms. “Come on, people, did he bribe you all or something?”
“We’re just being realistic, sweetie,” Mindy says. “There’s no alternative. Better to go along with things and make the best of it.”
My heart falls in my chest and clangs against my rib cage on the way down. This is it? Everyone is just giving up? The last twenty years of stability will be gone in the blink of an eye?
“Make the best of it?” Rio says. “This is an opportunity. We’re all being given a fresh lease on life alongside Crompton House.”
My gaze settles on the floor. I just can’t bear to hear this.
“You’ll probably end up the manager,” Rio says. “You’re a bright woman, Kate. Could have gone to university.”
“I don’t want to be a hotel manager,” I say.
“Why not?” asks Meghan. “You’re more than capable of doing. . .more.” She’s leaning on the bar and says it quietly. Most of the room won’t have heard, but it still feels like a betrayal.
“Or maybe the restaurant manager,” Basil says. “If you want less responsibility.”
Why are people so focused on me? I’m concerned about Crompton. About keeping things the same. “I don’t want to be restaurant manager,” I say. I like things as they are.
“You can’t imagine it?” Amarjit says. “Vincent says it’s going to be a five-star hotel. I bet staff lunches will be brilliant.”
“I’m perfectly happy with a slice of Sandra’s Bakewell tart,” I say.
“But this could be better,” Amarjit says.
“I don’t want better.”
“But we do,” Basil says. “I’m sick of the weeds crawling through my walls and the lack of central heating. And like Rio says, the uncertainty of not knowing if our jobs are safe or what’s going to happen next. It won’t be like that anymore. Kate, we all love this place, but it can’t stay as it is. Every year has gotten progressively worse—no pay rises, less money for plants and feed and equipment, the houses falling further and further into disrepair.”
Tears sting my eyes. The way Basil describes life at Crompton is so different to the way I see it. It’s such a happy place for me.
“We’ll still all be here, Kate,” Basil says. “It’s not like he’s getting rid of us. And you’re just as much a part of this place as any of us. You won’t be going anywhere either.”
He makes it sound so simple. So obvious. They don’t understand my life outside Crompton was nothing but misery. Before my mother’s death and even those few months away at university—nothing outside of Crompton worked. At least, not for me.
“Right, time’s up,” George bellows from behind me. “Get out or order a drink. No moping around.”
People start to murmur, obviously deciding whether to stay for a drink, and I slide off the bar, defeated.
Meghan comes over. “I know this is hard. Crompton is your whole life, but this could be good for you,” she says.
I shake my head. “Not for me, but for everyone else maybe. That’s what I’ve got to focus on—that it’s going to make everyone important to me happy.”
Meghan and I move out of the way so people can get to the bar. I head to the till and find my apron. “You want me to do your shift?” she asks.
I shake my head. I want this bit—the time before my life is upended—to last as long as possible. I don’t want to skip shifts.
“Hey, doll,” Sandra says as she slips her hand around my waist and squeezes. “This is going to be okay. I promise.”
There’s no way she can promise that.
“I’ve known you since you were a little girl, and you’ve always been bright and happy and full of confidence.”
Sandra didn’t know me before I came to live with Granny. She’s only known me at Crompton. And at Crompton, I am bright and happy and full of confidence. But that’s not the same me who existed outside these grounds.
“This could be such a great opportunity for you. Basil’s right. You’re bright and could do anything you want.”
“It seems like people think it’s going to be a great opportunity for them,” I say.
“You can’t blame them,” Sandra says.
“People have been worried for years now. You know they have,” Meghan says. “Now people’s minds are at ease. They know they’re not going to lose their jobs or be thrown out of their homes.”