Chapter 37
Polly twisted in her chair as Declan walked into the middle of the office and clapped his hands.
‘Can I just have everyone’s attention for a moment please, folks?’ Declan lowered his voice as Zac, Art, Dennis and Vicki all looked at him expectantly.
‘What is it, Declan? You’re giving us all a raise?’ Art called out.
‘Haha. I wish. Believe me, I wish.’ Declan shook his head and held up a sheet of paper. ‘Afraid not, but I have just had an email through from HQ congratulating us on the astounding success of our presence at Meadowfield’s Bonfire Night celebrations.’
‘Ooh, and that’s really from HQ?’ Vicki leaned forward, Rolo in her arms.
‘It certainly is.’ Declan waved the paper in the air. ‘It seems Miss Cooke, the mayoress, reached out to them to sing our praises.’
‘Fantastic. It’s nice to be recognised.’ Dennis stood up and held his mug in the air. ‘I think we should raise a glass to Polly, without whom we wouldn’t have even been participating in the Bonfire Night event.’
‘Hear, hear.’ Zac held up his mug too and grinned across at her.
‘To Polly,’ Dennis said loudly as the room echoed in response.
‘Ah, no. None of it would have worked out if we hadn’t all pulled together.’ Polly could feel the heat of embarrassment prickle her skin.
‘Don’t be so bashful, Polly. Dennis is right, without your idea of having a stall and food truck, we wouldn’t have even been there.’ Declan grinned.
‘Thanks.’ Mumbling, Polly turned back to her desk as the room quietened down again.
Leaning across his desk, Zac squeezed her arm. ‘Well done.’
Polly glanced at him and smiled before standing up. ‘I’ll be right back.’
Polly hovered, placing her pens back in the small metal pen holder until she was sure Zac was once again engrossed in his work.
It would be easier if he didn’t see what she was about to do, if he didn’t start asking questions.
Satisfied he wasn’t going to look up again for a while, Polly grabbed the envelope she’d stashed in her desk drawer and walked across the office to Declan’s desk and lowered her voice.
‘Do you mind if we have a quick word in private, please?’
Looking up from the papers he was reading, Declan smiled and stood up. ‘Of course.’
Following him through to the meeting room, Polly closed the door quietly behind them before standing there and clasping her hands in front of her.
‘What can I do for you, Polly?’
It was now or never, and she was ready for this. She took a deep breath before speaking. ‘I’d like to hand in my notice.’
Blinking, Declan ran his fingers through his beard. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Just that, I’d like to hand in my notice.’ She passed him the envelope, holding it between them until he reluctantly took it.
‘But you’ve been doing so well. You’ve made such a difference here already. Why would you want to throw all that away?’ Declan looked down at the envelope and turned it over in his hands, making no effort to open it.
Polly chewed on her bottom lip before answering. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she couldn’t go into details either. ‘Personal reasons.’
‘I see.’ Leaning against the edge of the table, Declan looked shocked. ‘I must say, this is somewhat of a surprise. Is it because of the mix-up with the job roles?’
Shaking her head, Polly shoved her hands in her pockets.
She’d surprised herself at how much she was enjoying the new role and if circumstances were different, if there was any way she could stay on here without needing the money the promotion would bring, she’d be more than happy continuing in her current job.
‘No, not at all. I’ve actually really enjoyed working on the fundraising and development side of things. ’
‘Then I must ask again, why?’
Polly glanced behind her towards the closed door.
She couldn’t tell him the real reason. She couldn’t tell him that she was doing this for Zac, that Zac needed the promotion more than her and even though she had no reason to believe she’d win it over him, she wasn’t going to take that risk.
She wasn’t prepared to put him through the pain of her getting the promotion when he needed it more or him being given it and feeling guilty for it.
They both needed the extra money and one of them wasn’t going to get that.
She might as well swing things in Zac’s favour as well as safeguarding her future, even if it was one she didn’t particularly want.
Nope, the last thing she wanted was for her reasoning to get back to Zac.
She’d figure out something to tell him when the time came. ‘Honestly, I just need to do this.’
‘I still don’t understand.’ Declan ran his finger and thumb around the edge of the envelope. ‘Is it the team? Me?’
‘No, no. I’ve loved working with you all. I just miss my old teaching job.’ As she blurted out the words, she hoped they sounded more sincere than they did to her.
‘Right, okay.’ Declan nodded. ‘The team are going to be devastated you’re leaving us. And so soon too.’
‘Sorry, I’m going to miss you all.’ Polly shifted on her feet.
She hadn’t realised quite how hard this would be, but it was for the best and now she’d made her decision official, she felt a weight lifting from her shoulders.
Next would be a conversation with David, the estate agent, to tell him she wanted to pull out of the sale of the flat.
Another conversation she wasn’t looking forward to, but that one could wait.
It could wait until she knew whether she’d secured a job at her old school or not.
And it wouldn’t be long to wait, being as Stacey had managed to slip her in for an interview tomorrow.
Polly had known interviews were already scheduled to take place, but it had been a stroke of luck one of the other candidates had dropped out and Stacey had been able to get her in.
‘You will be missed, too. Very much so.’
‘And I’m sorry to ask so soon after handing in my notice, but would I be able to have tomorrow off please? I have an interview at the school I used to teach in.’
‘Right, well, yes, of course.’ Declan nodded.
‘Thank you. I know it’s short notice.’
‘Shall we?’ Declan held the envelope out, indicating the door.
‘Yes.’ Polly began pushing the door open before pausing and looking back at Declan again. ‘Can we keep this between the two of us for the time being, please?’
‘Of course.’ Declan folded the envelope, still unopened, and slipped it into his pocket before holding out his hand and indicating her to go through.
Walking back to her desk, Polly breathed a sigh of relief.
That had been harder than she thought it would be, but now she’d done it, now she’d officially given up on her dreams, she felt okay.
She felt at peace. There were more important things going on in her life right now, namely her new relationship with Zac, and all she wanted to do was to protect that.
She didn’t want the promotion hanging over them, threatening to pull them apart.
And she wanted to make things easier for him, too.
Zac glanced up as she sat back down. ‘All okay?’
‘Yep, all good.’ Polly smiled across at him, hoping that Declan could keep this promise of not saying anything. She would tell Zac, but not now. When the time was right.
‘Shall we catch that film at the cinema we missed last week?’ Zac grinned.
‘Umm, I can’t tonight.’ Polly wheeled her chair in closer to her desk, keeping her eyes fixed on the screen of her laptop. ‘I’ve got to go back to the flat. Sort some things out.’
‘Oh, is the sale moving that quickly? I can run you there straight after work, and we should easily have three or four hours before coming back to Meadowfield.’
‘No, because I…’ She pulled her laptop closer and opened a new window on the screen. She hated lying, and she was sure he could see straight through her, but it was for the best. It was the only way. ‘I’ve arranged to have tomorrow off.’
‘That’s a good idea. I can see if I can get it off too.’ Pushing his chair back, Zac stood up.
‘No!’ Polly steadied her voice as she took hold of Zac’s hand. ‘No, it’s fine. I’ve arranged to meet Stacey.’
‘Is it a teacher training day tomorrow?’ Zac smiled as he sat back down.
‘Er, no, but I’m going to catch up with her after school.’ Now that wasn’t a lie. She would catch up with her when she finished work, but to dissect the interview rather than anything else.
‘That’ll be nice, then. I know I kind of got in the way of you both catching up when we were decorating.’
Polly shook her head. ‘You didn’t. I really appreciate everything you did for me that weekend. You know that, don’t you?’
‘Of course I do. You’ve told me enough times and, like I’ve said, it was my pleasure.’ Zac looked down at his phone as it began to ring. Holding it up, he stood up before whispering, ‘Wish me luck. We might just have another sponsorship deal if this call goes right.’
‘Good luck,’ Polly whispered before turning to look out of the window.
How was she going to get through until tomorrow without blurting something out?
She would because she was doing this for him, for their relationship, and if he found out, he’d likely quit on the spot to save her from walking away.