Ava couldn’t speak. Really, she had to stop from laughing. He clearly didn’t know she’d found out the amount he would be getting for the work she’d been doing at the hotel. A thousand pounds was an insult, and as for two extra days off? When would she ever get the chance to take them?
Brendon seemed a bit put out by her silence. ‘It’s an excellent opportunity, don’t you think? And once you’ve done a few more jobs, providing they are satisfactory, I can look at your pay again. In, say, another six months.’
‘I-I don’t know what to say,’ she admitted, but not for the reasons he was thinking of. His offer was appalling. She had worked there for nine years, and this was all he was offering?
‘Excellent.’ Brendon handed her a file. ‘I’ll amend your contract, and you can re-sign it. Then we can get you on with your next job. It will be Liverpool this time, for two weeks. Sameas this job, although I expect the hotel might not be as nice.’ He guffawed.
Ava left his office, her chin almost touching the floor.You handled that well, she mused, as she sat down at her desk.
‘Oh-oh,’ Nancy said. ‘I know that expression. What does the bull want you to do now?’
Ava explained, watching Nancy’s face go through a range of expressions until it stuck on an angry one.
‘He can’t do that, can he?’ she protested.
‘Technically speaking, no, as it isn’t part of my contract. But he’s getting a new one written up. He’s offered me a pay rise of, wait for it, one thousand pounds, to sweeten me up.’
Nancy’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. ‘I hope you’ve told him to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.’
Ava threw down her pen. ‘I said I’d think about it and get back to him.’
‘What? You’rereallythinking about it?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m thinking about how to say no without losing my job. You know what he’ll do if I don’t take it.’
‘He can’tdoanything. There are laws against changing contracts to suit or else we’d all be doing different jobs than we applied for. He should know better than that. You need to speak to a solicitor who specialises in Human Resources.’
Ava put her head on her desk. ‘Welcome back, Ava.’
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Jack was lost. He’d walked Graham but had missed Ava’s hand in his, alongside her constant chatter. He’d been out for a run on his own, but his mind was flooded with thoughts of wondering what she was doing. Was she missing him, too?
He went to the hotel, but he’d been disappointed because she wasn’t there. Instead, he called to see how Harry was going on with the cottage. After the funeral, they had got together to discuss what needed doing and agreed a price for Harry to complete it within four months.
The first thing he noticed when he got there was the skip parked in front of it, half full of kitchen remnants and rolled-up carpets. He stepped inside the chaos, the radio disguising his movements. He chuckled when he saw Eliza holding up an electric steamer, singing at the top of her voice as she worked. He hadn’t expected to see her there.
He waved to get her attention and then went through to the kitchen where he could see the back of Harry. After removing the sink and temporarily capping off the water supply, he was grappling with pulling out the sink unit.
‘Hey, how’s it going?’ he asked. ‘You certainly seem to be making progress.’
Harry turned his head. ‘Just the man. Can you give me a hand with this? I’d ask Eliza but I prefer to listen to her singing from a distance.’
‘I heard that!’ Eliza cried, stepping into the room. ‘And there’s me giving you free labour. No more French Fancies for you, Harry Healey.’
Both men laughed, and then Jack helped Harry to remove the worktop and carry it through to the skip.
Jack wiped his hands together to rid him of the dust. ‘I never thought I’d see the day that Eliza got down and dirty.’
‘I’m saying nothing.’ Harry smirked. ‘But it was a nice surprise when she offered to help.’
Jack shook his head in astonishment. Maybe this fixer-upper might be a good thing for both his sister and his friend. Or maybe the ways of his matchmaking mother were rubbing off on him.
‘Erm, I am in the room, you know.’ Eliza waved a hand in front of herself. ‘I thought it was the least I could do, seeing as I’m going to be living here once it’s finished. And of course, someone needs to supervise Harry to see that he isn’t slacking off.’
‘The cheek of it.’ Harry bantered. ‘She stops every fifteen minutes for a cup of tea.’
‘Did someone mention tea?’ Eliza smiled sweetly.
