Philip took over. ‘And the winner is . . .’
* * *
Emma fixed her gaze on Jay. She couldn’t help noticing that he and Chloe were standing so closely together that she doubted anyone would be able to slide a piece of paper between them. The sight of them made her feel as nauseous as she had earlier that morning and she had to take several deep breaths to calm herself down.
‘Jay Williams!’ Philip said.
The room burst into spontaneous applause and Emma watched Chloe throw her arms around Jay’s neck and bounce up and down as she hugged him. Emma took a step backwards and clutched the back of Liz’s chair to stop herself from falling over.
* * *
‘Em!’ Liz jumped up to support her. She noticed that Emma’s gaze didn’t leave Jay and the woman beside him. She could understand why Emma suddenly looked so fragile. Even in the heat of the moment of winning, such a public display of affection didn’t seem fitting when the man’s girlfriend was in the audience. Especially when they were just supposed to be colleagues. The two of them separated, but Jay was surrounded by others wanting to congratulate him. If this was the Chloe that Jay wanted to employ while Liz was on maternity leave, then she had a very bad feeling.
Liz put her arm around Emma. ‘Come on, I think you need some fresh air.’
‘I can’t. I’m working.’
‘No one’s going to miss you for the next five minutes.’
‘No, probably not,’ Emma replied. ‘Especially not Jay.’
* * *
When they had made their way outside, Emma turned to Liz. ‘You must think I’m stupid reacting like that.’
‘Actually I don’t.’
‘I tried to convince myself it was just the competition and, to be fair, he’s been very attentive when he’s not in actual competition mode. But I got a funny feeling whenever he spoke about her and, now I’ve seen how they are together, I think I had good reason. I saw them in the kitchen earlier and it was just the same.’
‘I hate to say it, but I agree with you,’ Liz said quietly. ‘They definitely looked like they’d formed a bond, but I can’t imagine Jay would have done anything untoward. He’s just not like that.’
Emma nodded. ‘I know. He’s so against cheating.’
Liz squeezed her arm. She didn’t know what to say to make her friend feel better. She doubted there were any words that would. ‘It’ll be over after today.’
‘Their friendship won’t be, though.’
‘No, well . . .’
‘He told me that you’re thinking of taking her on as a chef.’
‘Jay did mention it a while back and initially I said I’d be happy to meet her, but now...’ She paused.
‘That’s yours and Jay’s decision. Not mine.’
‘Oh, Em! Don’t give up without a fight. You two are good together.’
Emma turned away and Liz suspected it was because she didn’t want Liz to see her cry. ‘I’m not sure, Liz. Sometimes I feel he’s with me because it’s easy for him. He says he loves me, but I find myself wondering if he’s trying to convince himself rather than me. I know how much he loved Susie—’
‘Susie is history.’
‘Yes, I know that. But I don’t think he’d be as devastated as he was when Susie left him if the same happened to us, and I wonder if I’m the rebound relationship.’
‘If you are, it’s lasted for a long time.’
Emma sighed. ‘Like I said, I make it easy for him.’
‘I think you’re underestimating both yourself and your relationship,’ Liz tried to reassure her. ‘But if that’s the way you feel, you need to tell him.’
