‘No, I’m fine, thanks. I just want to go to bed. It was a long night last night and I’m shattered.’
He still didn’t move. ‘Are you sure? A glass of wine might help you sleep.’
‘I don’t think I’ll need any help, thanks.’
‘Oh, go on, just to be sociable.’
‘I really don’t feel like being sociable at the moment.’ She took a deep breath. Knowing that she couldn’t keep avoiding him, and seeing as he didn’t seem to be taking no for an answer, it looked like she would have to spell it out to him. ‘And as I’ve told you before, I’m not interested in any kind of relationship.’
‘I was just asking you for a drink, not a relationship.’ A hard note had entered his voice.
‘And I said I didn’t want one, so if you don’t mind I’d like you to let me pass so that I can go to my room.’
‘I was only being friendly.’
‘And if you are my friend, Nick, you’ll respect what I say when I tell you that I don’t want to be bombarded every time I step through the door.’
‘There’s no need to be like that.’ But he finally stepped aside and she was able to get to her room.
She locked the door firmly behind her. As she tried to slow her heartbeat back to its normal level, she thought that she would have welcomed a glass of wine. But she’d have to make do with the rather warm bottle of water in her bag.
She just hoped that her words to Nick had hit home and he’d finally leave her alone.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Two weeks later, Emma was back in the HR office at the hotel. All the staff were welcoming and she particularly enjoyed working with Jenny, but she’d quickly come to realise that office work was not for her. Helping Jay last week had reminded her of what she liked most about the hospitality industry. The preparation of a function and then bringing it all together at the last minute. Watching as people enjoyed the food that had been prepared for them and ensuring that their whole experience was enjoyable. Working in HR was a good insight into what was required to make sure the workforce operated like a well-oiled machine, but she wouldn’t be disappointed when her time here ended and she was back out on the ‘frontline’.
Last week had been difficult, though. Working so closely with Jay, and not being able to be with him as she was used to, had been hard. She’d lost count of the number of times she’d wanted to reach out and touch him, to be able to share the closeness that she’d taken for granted in the past. Sometimes she’d spotted him looking at her and had wondered if he’d been thinking the same as her, but she’d quickly pushed that thought to the back of her mind.
Emma stifled the urge to yawn as she continued to fill in the payroll spreadsheet that would mean all the staff received their correct payments at the end of the month. She needed to concentrate or she would get it wrong, which would cause a lot of unhappiness, something she didn’t want to be responsible for. Unhappy staff. Her thoughts drifted back to her former line manager as they often did these days. She wondered what Heather was doing, now that she was no longer at the Rosemont. The way Heather had left still niggled at Emma. It felt like unfinished business, something she needed to resolve before she could move on. Making sure that no one was watching, Emmapulled up Heather’s file, found her address and quickly wrote it down. She decided to pay her a visit, soon. Although she knew it might end in disaster, it was something that she instinctively knew she had to do.
* * *
Emma stood across the road from the block of flats where Heather lived. The area was down-at-heel — the kind of place where gangs of teenagers congregated. She was glad she’d decided to come on her day off, in daylight, rather than after finishing a shift.
For the umpteenth time, Emma wondered why she was doing this. But she was here now and, she decided, she was just going to get on with it. Heather probably wouldn’t even want to speak to her and she’d be back on the Tube within half an hour, but at least she could say she’d tried.
She received a few jeers from a group of teenagers as she walked past. She kept her head straight and ignored them, but her hands were clenched in her pockets with fear. Inside, the building smelled of stale beer and urine, and Emma immediately wanted to turn round and walk back the way she’d come. Instead she contemplated the stairs and the lift. Bearing in mind that Heather lived on the sixteenth floor, Emma decided to take the lift, even though she feared it might break down on the way up. She stepped inside and quickly pressed the button to floor sixteen. As the doors closed, she breathed a sigh of relief that she was alone and no one had followed her inside.
The door to Heather’s flat had once been painted red, but that had largely peeled off, revealing a grey undercoat. Before she could chicken out, Emma pressed the buzzer and waited. Nothing happened so she pressed it again, half hoping that she’d had a wasted journey. But then she heard footsteps, boltsslipping back and eventually the sound of a key turning in the lock.
When Heather opened the door, Emma tried her best not to reveal her shock. Even though it was the early afternoon, Heather was wearing a dressing gown that had seen better days and bore the stains of many meals. Her hair was lank and greasy, and looked as though it hadn’t been brushed in a long time. Her face was pasty and blotchy.
Emma stared. She didn’t know what to say.
‘What areyoudoing here?’ Heather asked.
‘I, um, wanted to come and see how you were.’
‘Come to gloat, have you?’
‘No! I was worried about you. I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.’
‘Help!’ Heather laughed harshly. ‘Don’t you think you’vehelpedme enough? You certainlyhelpedme out of my job.’
Emma tried to defend herself. ‘I’m sorry if you feel like that, but it wasn’t down to me.’
‘Started the ball rolling though, didn’t you? By snitching on me to management. That’s why I had to go off sick and that’s when they got me.’
