Chapter 81
CHAPTER 81
I t had been years since Gemma had cried over a man, and she desperately didn’t want to now. But she couldn’t help it. It was like all the emotions she had allowed herself to feel for Kent needed to escape her body, and tears were the only way that could happen. How had she been so foolish to fall for a man so quickly? And one she had worked with, no less. Now, he had taken so much from her in one fell swoop. Sure, her heart was broken, but hearts healed harder and more guarded than before. She had already learned that.
But the café—he had taken that from her too, and for that, she would never forgive herself. He had taken yacht clubs from her, not that she ever went to them normally, but he had also taken Hay-on-Wye, that one place she had always been desperate to visit. Now, she would never think of that tiny little village with all its quaint bookshops and half-crumbled castle without thinking about Kent, too, and she despised him for that. As she wiped the tears from her cheeks, she drew in a long breath. This was a lesson she would learn from. A lesson that would make her stronger in the long run—she knew it would. But finding that strength would have to wait until tomorrow because, for now, she was just going to cry.
Gemma had sent Sophie a message straight after her conversation with Kent, saying what she had done. After that, she put her phone on silent, but that didn’t stop the constant buzzing, which only increased as it reached evening. She was certain that Sophie would have told people the news, and everyone in the book club would know. That was most likely what the messages were. But she didn’t even open them. She didn’t have strength. At the back of her mind, the reality of money and bills and looking for a new job constantly whirred away, but for now, she was going to ignore it. It couldn’t wait forever, of course, but a couple of days wouldn’t make a difference.
The next morning, Gemma remained in bed, staring at the ceiling. Would Kent have already found someone to replace her or at least got someone to work out front? Dawn had agreed to cover for a couple of days, but Dawn was notoriously unreliable. Then again, who knew how long it would be until Coffee-X took over. Maybe her leaving would have just helped matters move more smoothly. Gemma’s heart ached as she thought of the customers. How would they find out? She doubted Kent would tell them in person, but Sophie would, as long as she had enough warning.
It was just gone nine when Gemma’s phone began ringing and Sophie’s name flashed up on the screen. Groaning, she rolled over and ignored it, but it had barely stopped when it started again. This time Gemma cancelled the call, but that didn’t stop Sophie. Gemma barely had time to flop back onto the bed when it started ringing again. Her first instinct was to turn her phone off entirely, but then there was a good chance Sophie would just turn up on her doorstep.
With a loud sigh, Gemma answered the call.
“Dawn’s coming in today,” she said, before Sophie could get a word in. Her head throbbed, and her throat was scratched dry from crying herself to sleep “I quit, remember.”
“Dawn’s here. That’s not the problem,” Sophie said.
“Well then, why are you ringing me?” Gemma’s voice sounded sharper than she’d expected. It wasn’t like Sophie was to blame in any of this, but she should have known that if Gemma was ready to talk about things, then she’d have let her know. Besides, anything to do with the cafe was no longer her concern.
“I’m ringing because there’s a strange man in our kitchen,” Sophie said.
“What do you mean, there’s a strange man?” Gemma didn’t want to get drawn into cafe talk, but it was difficult. Saying she had cut ties was one thing, making her emotions do the same was another.
“There’s a strange man. I don’t know who he is, but he’s cooking. He says Kent employed him.”
Just hearing his name was enough to make Gemma feel sick, but as she swallowed the feeling down, she found herself conflicted and suffering from a strange sense of nervousness. She may have told Kent she was resigning, but there were proper avenues that needed to be followed if she wanted any chance of getting a position elsewhere.
“Well, where is Kent?” Gemma asked, hating that she had to say his name.
“I don’t know. He’s left a note for you, but it’s not very helpful.”
“Well, what does it say?” Gemma asked, wishing Sophie had started with that point.
“I think you should probably come and see for yourself.”