Chapter 24
She didn’t sleep. She couldn’t sleep. She had far too many thoughts whirring around her brain to switch off, and quite possibly a little too much wine.
Yesterday afternoon had been a mixture of things – headiness, excitement, nostalgia and a relief that a simple, all-encompassing answer was just around the corner.
But there was also a vague sense of disquiet, a feeling that something wasn’t right.
That she’d spent her day being totally unproductive, stuffing her face and lounging about and accomplishing nothing.
And then she’d realised how much she missed the farm, and the quiet dark, and the tiredness that came not from too much sugar and too many carbohydrates, but from a good day’s work and exercise, out in the fresh air.
Proper tired was what her dad used to call it, and after that she couldn’t sleep at all.
Cat had already left for work by the time Gemma dragged herself out of bed.
She had a breakfast meeting, a conference call and a presentation to draft notes for, but she still left a note for Gemma urging her to eat whatever she fancied, and to try the new coffee she’d bought recently (top cupboard on the left).
She also wondered whether Gemma had anything suitable to wear for today’s interview.
Not that it was an interview, but, you know.
In any case, her wardrobe was free to be raided if necessary, only not to choose the pale blue blouse as the buttons had an alarming tendency to come undone.
Gemma hadn’t even considered this aspect of her meeting with Abby, and so the first half hour of her day was spent in something of a panic, trying on Cat’s clothes at speed and then deciding that what she already had with her was comfortable and that was more important.
Eventually, she left the house, following virtually the same route to the office that she had taken every day for over twenty years.
Pushing open the door to the offices of Mayfield Dawson, Gemma could vividly remember the sense of excitement she had felt upon her arrival at Leonards just a few months before.
Entering the glossy foyer in the sure and certain knowledge that great things were just about to start.
That it had started something was undeniable – it just hadn’t been at all what she’d anticipated.
By contrast, she was now entering somewhere she had worked for years, and although she knew it was her decision to move on from that partnership, her old boss had also subsequently rejected her and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Being there felt comfortably familiar and horribly peculiar all at the same time.
What struck her immediately was that the building wasn’t anything like as impressive as the atrium at Leonards, and yet it was they that had gone out of business.
By all accounts, or Cat’s at least, Mayfield Dawson was thriving, so what did that tell you?
Had Leonards only ever been style over substance?
Perhaps, after all, she had had a lucky escape.
She glanced around, spotting one or two faces she recognised, but the woman on reception was new, so she drew back her shoulders, took a deep breath and began walking towards her.
She’d only gone a matter of a few steps, however, when she heard her name being called, and she looked up to see Abby coming down the staircase to greet her. The blue pinstriped suit was the same, but she was smiling a smile Gemma didn’t think she’d ever seen before. It covered her whole face.
‘Gemma… it’s so good to see you. How are you? Goodness, you’ve had some tough times recently, but you look so well.’
They hugged. And that had never happened before either.
‘Yeah, I’m good, thanks,’ Gemma replied as they parted. ‘You know, good days and bad days, but—’
‘You’re ready to come back to work though, that’s the main thing.’
‘Yes I… Yes, I am,’ she finished. Positive. Assertive.
‘Perfect, then let’s go and have a chat, shall we? I’ve booked a brunch at the Pit Stop and if you’ve never had one before, you are in for a treat.’
Sable was on the door again today, meeting and greeting, but if she recognised Gemma from the day before, she didn’t show it. But then for all Gemma knew, repeat visits weren’t that unusual. Sable certainly knew who Abby was.
‘It’s lovely to see you again,’ she said. ‘I’ve popped you in your usual spot, I trust that’s okay?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘Pistachio and raspberry pastries, is it?’
‘Please. And some of those tiny little ones, with the honey.’
‘Of course. Imogen will be over to take the rest of your order shortly.’
The platter of pastries arrived at their table at almost the same time they did. Together with a pot of coffee and another which turned out to be hot chocolate.
‘Have a coffee by all means,’ said Abby.
‘But do try that, I’ve never tasted anything like it.
Now, we’ll order in a moment, but I don’t want to beat about the bush here, Gemma.
This is not so much an interview, more of a welcome back into the fold kind of meeting.
I just wanted you to know so you can relax and enjoy the food.
You don’t need to do a thing to impress me.
’ She smiled. ‘That’s not what this is about. ’
‘Okay…’ Gemma smiled nervously, perversely recognising that a small part of her would have preferred this to be something of a grilling. Was it wrong to think this was all a little too easy?
Abby’s hand hovered over the pot of hot chocolate. ‘Now, what will you have?’
‘Oh, chocolate, definitely. Thank you.’ Gemma pushed one of the cups a little closer.
‘Well, what a time we’ve had of it lately,’ began Abby, as she poured the drinks.
‘I’m not sure how much Cat has told you about Rachel, but the whole mess has been the biggest nightmare.
Two of our highest-profile clients, and ones competing in the same market as well.
It couldn’t have been worse. Goodness, the feathers I’ve had to unruffle, and these are people who don’t like them the tiniest bit out of place, as you can imagine.
I’ve had to make all kinds of promises and assurances to keep our reputation intact, and while we’ve hung onto both clients, it was a close-run thing. ’
Gemma nodded, her thoughts straying back to the day she’d rung Abby after her anticipated new job had bitten the dust. There were distinct similarities between what Abby had said to her then and what she had just finished saying now.
Had she seen Gemma in the same way as Rachel?
Had she moaned about Gemma to colleagues, the way she was talking to Gemma now?
She knew she had taken a step back with regards to her work while she had been caring for her mother, but she had thought it had been with Abby’s blessing. Now she wasn’t so sure.
‘And then the gall of the girl to try to pass off her mistakes as someone else’s,’ continued Abby.
‘That took some unpicking, I can tell you. How many times do I tell my staff to have project conversations in writing, even with close colleagues? But do they listen? No. It’s for their own good – to protect them in case a situation like this ever arises, and it was only because Cat is so diligent that we were able to catch Rachel out.
’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Such a palaver.’
A series of beeps cut across them as Abby’s phone chimed with messages, and she peered at them, grimacing.
Gemma took a sip of her drink while Abby was occupied sending replies, looking around her at the other diners.
Poor Rachel. She had made an honest mistake, and although Gemma could see how embarrassing that would have been for an organisation like Mayfield Dawson, Rachel was young and relatively inexperienced, unused perhaps to the exacting standards they demanded. Or perhaps afraid of them…
Gemma remembered how she had felt in the early days of her career with the firm, terrified that she would never be able to keep up with the pace.
Somehow, she had, and over time it had grown easier, but Mayfield Dawson hadn’t been as big a player then either, the potential losses not so large.
Perhaps that had been her saving grace. So, while it hadn’t been the right thing to do, Gemma could easily see why Rachel had attempted to cover up her mistake, frightened for her future and, by the sounds of it, completely unsupported.
To her mind, it was much easier to be a good company when things were going well, but the mark of a great company was how they treated people when things didn’t quite go according to plan.
Come to think of it, wasn’t that the same for people, too? Her thoughts drifted back to Leo…
‘Gemma, is everything all right?’
She snapped her attention back to Abby. She’d forgotten just how fast her old boss could type messages. ‘Yes, sorry, I was just… a little shocked by what you said.’
‘I know, it’s hard to believe, isn’t it? But now you understand why Rachel had to go. I’m so glad we can put that whole sorry episode behind us now.’
Gemma frowned. That wasn’t quite what she meant. She opened her mouth to say something, to offer a different perspective that might mitigate Rachel’s crimes, but then she closed it again, pasting on a smile instead.