Chapter 37 #3
The next day, I was trying desperately to distract myself from the fact that Teddy was leaving that afternoon; at two thirty, from what Fatima had ascertained. Though I wasn’t sure why she’d felt the need to tell me that. What could I do about it?
After a couple of hours of mindless gaming, my stomach grumbled, so I picked up my phone to order another takeaway.
It was then I realised I had four notifications: a text from Domino’s about their daily deal, several messages in the group chat checking in and sending memes, a message from Lauren inviting me to a party and wishing me a belated happy birthday…
And an email. From Dafydd fucking Chen.
I sat up straight, my breathing quickening as I opened it.
To: chloe@
From: dafydd.chen@
Subject: RE: Teddy Cooper
Hi Chloe,
Thanks again for taking the time to walk me through your ideas, and to share your thoughts on the local hiring policy attached to the grant. I’ve been having some conversations, and I’d like to discuss the outcome with you. Give me a buzz at your earliest convenience. Thanks.
Warm regards,
Dafydd
“Just put the news in the fucking email!” I screamed as I tapped on the phone number in his signature, my heart hammering inside my chest. The phone rang twice before Antoine, Dafydd’s assistant, answered.
“He’s been waiting for your call,” Antoine said once I told him who I was. “I’ll put you through now.”
“Thanks!” I said, perhaps too loudly – I swore I even heard Antoine laugh as he put me through – then listened to the hold music, which at any other time would have been surprisingly catchy.
“Chloe?”
My heart leapt at Dafydd’s voice.
“Dafydd!” I said, trying to keep my voice a little bit calmer this time. “I just got your email.”
“Good, good,” Dafydd said, and I wanted to jump through the phone and into his brain to extract the news directly. “So, as I said, I’ve had some conversations, and I have an answer for you.”
“Oh, yeah?” I tried not to let my impatience come through, but clearly failed, because I heard Dafydd chuckle on the other end.
“Sorry,” he said. “I won’t drag this out. The other grant administers agree that, as long as Gwenynen is able to qualify as a sponsor and manage that sponsorship on their own, Teddy Cooper can be the recipient of funds designated for local hiring.”
I swore that my heart stopped beating. “Really? She can?”
I could hear the smile in Dafydd’s voice. “Yes, she can.”
My heart left my body altogether. I leapt to my feet, my controller clattering to the floor in front of me, but I didn’t care. I literally punched the air in excitement.
“Thank you!” I screeched into the phone. “Dafydd, you’ve done a really, really good thing here. You won’t regret it.”
“But Chloe,” he said, and I paused mid-dance move.
“Yes?”
“That’s not all.”
I could hear a serious note in his voice that made me sit back down, perching on the edge of the cushion cautiously.
“We still need the budget to go towards marketing and events. It’s an important part of the initiative, and it’s what will best achieve the goals we laid out.”
“I understand,” I said, nodding as if he could see me. “But the contractor plan will work, right?”
“It will,” Dafydd said, and I let out a behemoth sigh of relief. “But is that what you want? To work part time?”
I remembered what Morgan and Patricia had said about not cutting myself off for Teddy’s sake, and I thought hard for a moment about what he was asking me.
Really, I’d offered the part-time work as a solution so that we could get Teddy on board, not because I’d actually wanted that for myself.
It was also highly impractical for my life situation; could I even do that around working for the rescue?
Would I need to find a different part-time job?
I’d been a godawful waitress during uni.
“Chloe?” Dafydd asked, and I realised I hadn’t spoken in several seconds.
“No,” I said honestly, “I don’t want that.”
I hated myself for saying it; it felt like a betrayal of my love for Teddy. But it would be betraying myself to answer any other way, and if Teddy really loved me, she wouldn’t want that.
“Well, I have another idea,” Dafydd said, and I sat back into the sofa, letting it envelop me.
“Tell me,” I said. “Because I don’t.”
“What if you came to work for me?”
I sat up again, my head reeling from the whiplash, both physical and conversational. “What, like at the council?” I couldn’t help the scepticism that crept into my voice.
Again, Dafydd laughed at me. “You don’t have to sound so put off.”
I felt my face redden. “Sorry.”
“But no, not as an employee. As part of the same scheme that the grant is part of, we have a budget for consulting as well. You could still work part time at Gwenynen, but instead of having to scrounge for more clients or do something else part time, you could spend that time working with other businesses.”
My mum’s words about working as a consultant came back to me all at once, and I frowned. But this wasn’t the same thing, I didn’t think.
“I think what you did at Gwenynen is really impressive,” he continued, “and not many local businesses or organisations can host events like the one you pulled off last weekend, but they could benefit from your partnership-driven approach.”
I smiled. “You think so?”
“I do. I don’t know what it would look like necessarily – maybe some clinics, or workshops, or one-to-one consulting – but we can discuss it if you’re interested. Because I would hate to see you doing less of what you’re good at because you went to bat for someone you cared about.”
My cheeks warmed yet again. “Someone I cared about?” Was I that transparent?
“Remind me to tell you sometime how I met my husband, Hao.”
I laughed. “Deal.”
Dafydd was quiet for a moment before continuing. “I’m really impressed with you, Chloe. What you’re doing has the potential to impact the community in a big way. And I think myself and others would be lucky to work with you.”
“Thanks, Dafydd,” I said, simultaneously bursting with pride and wanting to melt into my sofa.
“Let me know when you sort things out with Gwenynen, and we’ll put in another meeting to talk through next steps.”
“Will do,” I said. “And thank you again. You’re doing the right thing.”
“I agree,” he said. “Have a good day.”
“You, too.”
The call disconnected, and I stared at the pause screen of my game for several seconds as the ramifications of what had just happened sank in.
Teddy could stay. Teddy could stay! Somehow I’d pulled it off, and without having to chuck my own happiness out of the window.
Okay, Dafydd had done some of it. But I could hear Morgan’s voice in my head – all of my friends, actually, and Teddy herself – telling me that he wouldn’t have offered what he did if not for all my hard work. The impact I was making. And so, yeah, I’d fucking done it.
I looked down at my phone again, seeing that it was almost eleven in the morning. Teddy’s flight left at half past two, if it was the one I’d looked up online, which meant I had just two and a half hours before she boarded to make sure she didn’t go anywhere.
I tried her first, of course, but the call rang through to voicemail. I hung up and tried again, figuring she might be screening my calls, but no, that one rang out, too. I would have to go to plan B.
“What do you want?” Amy asked, groaning at me as she answered my call. “I’m about to kick Ethel’s arse at Hold ’Em.”
“From experience, I can say you are not,” I said, rushing around to gather my things. “How quickly can you get here?”
Amy seemed to pick up on my frantic energy, dropping into business mode.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, and I could tell she was on the move. “I can be there in five. No, make that three.”
“See you then,” I said, not answering her question and ending the call.
There was too much to grab; namely some clothes, given that I was currently wearing a too-small camisole and boxer briefs.
So I grabbed the first acceptable items of clothing I could find, pulled them on over what I was already wearing, and threw my wallet and keys in a tote bag.
And, on second thought, a hairbrush. All whilst dialling Teddy over and over again, my hope eroding more and more every time the automated voice read out her number.
I ran downstairs, arriving at the pavement just as Amy was pulling up.
“What the hell?” she asked as I climbed in. “Why do you look like that?”
“That’s what you’re worried about right now?” I asked, pounding on the dash. “Just drive!”
“I can’t!” she said, throwing her hands up. “You haven’t told me where we’re going!”
“Oh, you’re gonna love this,” I said, relishing the confused look on her face for just a moment.
“Come on,” she said, hurrying me up, and I gave into the time pressure, opening my phone to Jen’s contact. I’d need to spend some time on the phone with her if this was going to work.
“To Heathrow,” I said, watching Amy’s face light up with excitement. “It’s time for the airport chase scene.”