Later that day, after Danny and I have had lunch, Mark pulls out his laptop. ‘I’ve been looking at some houses, Rosie. Tell me what you think.’
Now, I know how much he owes us, but why do I still feel I’m selling myself out? Why do I feel like a scheming heel? Danny deserves to have the best. After all, Mark is his father, and his attention is long overdue. But I don’t know where we’ll be tomorrow, so how am I supposed to be choosing a house to live in with Mark, to boot, when all I can think of is Mitchell?
‘Come over here and look at my shortlist.’
Biting my tongue, I do so. They are extremely expensive, upwards of eight hundred thousand pounds, starting from the smallest. I’ve always known he was rich, and it always bothered me that he’d never offered any financial support, even though I’d have never accepted it, of course.
But I still can’t help but feel this is all wrong. It just doesn’t feel… natural.
‘But these houses are all in Cornwall,’ I observe.
He grins at me, his eyes bright with happiness. ‘And we both know how much you love Cornwall,’ he answers.
‘I – you want to live here?’
He takes my hand. ‘Yes, I want us to live here. Is that all right, Rosie?’
I honestly don’t know what to say. Of course I’m happy to live in Cornwall. Of course I want my son to have what he’s entitled to. And I want Mark to do what’s right. But somehow, it doesn’t feel right at all. Mark is Danny’s biological father, but is it right to accept all this, knowing that he might get itchy feet again? And to live under another the same roof with a man I don’t love, possibly a stone’s throw away from Mitchell? I am uneasy. I know what my parents would say, but to me it feels odd. I have been on my own for years, and to suddenly let him in… I just don’t know. Not while Mitchell is in my heart.
‘I’m glad you accepted to let me get to know him better. He’s a lovely boy.’
Despite myself, I smile. ‘Thank you.’
‘And you’re lovely too. I can’t understand how I didn’t see it. But I was an immature idiot, Rosie. All I cared about were my fast cars and my fast life. I didn’t understand what a blessing it could be to have a child – a family. I do now, albeit too late.’
There is a pause, which becomes a lull. It’s awkward, because, after all these years, I don’t quite know what to say to him. He sees it too. He coughs and mercifully pulls his laptop closer to us.
‘I like this one,’ he says. ‘It’s on Rose Lane and has a huge garden for Danny to play football in. You love a kick-about, don’t you, Danny?’
‘Yes, sir,’ Danny says as he forks apple pie and custard into his mouth.
‘So, do you like it?’ Mark asks. ‘Would you live in it?’
I shrug. ‘Danny, what do you think?’
‘I love it, Mum!’ he says, bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, and I can’t help but smile.
The two things I’d prayed for all these years – Mark acknowledging his son, and me finding love. If only I could have both. Life could be good. It should be great, even. Only it’s a mess.
Stay, Mitchell had said. Your place is here. And I want nothing more than that. But now I’m trapped between the man I no longer love but who wants to make amends to us, and the man who I love with all my heart but who won’t even look at me, let alone talk to me anymore.
That day I work late, all day without even a break for lunch, in hope, to be honest, of getting a glimpse of Mitchell. Am I truly not going to be seeing him at all before we leave? When I finally go up to our room, I find Danny and Mark huddled over his laptop.
‘There you are!’ Mark exclaims as I come in through the door of the suite, not quite knowing how to feel anymore. ‘I’ve got good news for you. I’ve put in an offer on that house, the one in Rose Lane.’ He smiles, spreading his arms wide as if to embrace the entire room.
Rose Lane. That’s right in the middle of Little Kettering, no less. I sit down next to them. It’s a gorgeous house, of course. Mark always had good taste. But to move in with him, I’m still not sure. Not at all, in fact. I can’t live here now, not anymore, and bump into Mitchell every day. I need time out. I need to think before I act this time.
‘And it would be very handy for your new job here as manager,’ he adds.
I stare at him, then turn to Danny.
‘Darling, it’s past your bed time now. Go on ahead and I’ll come and tuck you in.’
‘Oh-kay…’ he says, none too happy. He was enjoying the talk about his future home in Cornwall.
‘How do you know I’ve been offered a position here?’ I ask as soon as Danny closes the door to our bedroom. ‘And don’t say Danny told you because he doesn’t even know.’
He falters. ‘Rosie, how is that even important? The position is yours for the taking.’
‘No, it’s not, Mark. This is Mitchell’s Fitzpatrick’s job. And how do you even know any of this? You don’t work for Johnson Hotels anymore. Not since you left for the States.’
He shrugs. ‘I’ve been meaning to tell you. I got back in years ago by applying to the Florida branch.’
‘What? You’ve been working for Johnson Hotels all these years and never told me?’
‘Yeah. I’ve moved my way up.’
And then the clouds clear and it all becomes crystal clear to me. Of course. ‘So it’s you then! You’re the one behind all this! You set out to get an honest man fired, just so I could have my dream job and accept to live here with you? Could you be any more manipulative?’
‘I did it for us, Rosie. Besides, I didn’t know the bloke would get fired. I assumed they’d move him up or something. It’s not my fault he’s going.’
‘To think of all those horrible reviews you went out of your way to write! That’s too low even for you!’
Mark eyes me. ‘I don’t know what you’re on about. I just wanted some time with you and Danny. Only I knew you wouldn’t agree to see me unless you had no choice. So when Susan mentioned she wanted to shuffle some people around, I asked her to give you the Cornwall job.’
The Cornwall job. How apt those words are, in every way.
‘I know how much you love Cornwall, and that your dream has always been to run a quirky little inn like this one – and now you can! Rosie, I thought you’d be happy.’
‘At the cost of Mitchell’s job? You’re trying to build your happiness on someone else’s misery?’
‘I’m just trying to help you, Rosie. I figured that if I could help your dreams come true, maybe you would consider taking me back. To where we were nine years ago. I know it’s crazy, Rosie. But if we had something once, we can have it again, don’t you think? I still love you.’
‘But I don’t love you anymore, Mark. How can you even think I ever would, after all you’ve put us through all these years, and even now, especially after this stunt you pulled on an innocent man? We’re not moving to Cornwall with you, Mark.’
‘But you said you said you’d always love me.’
I roll my eyes. ‘That was years ago, provided it was reciprocated. Do you really not understand love at all? Did you really think that this was the right way to win me and Danny back?’
He frowns and gets to his feet. If it wasn’t all so pathetic and sad, I’d laugh. But the good thing is, I can afford to laugh now. Nine years ago, not so much. Because I’ve changed. I’m stronger. Wiser.
But Mark hasn’t changed one bit. He is his usual, manipulative self. He’ll do anything to get his way – cheat, lie, whatever it takes.
‘I’m back now, new and… and reformed…’
‘Reformed? I don’t see any difference at all in you, Mark. None whatsoever.’
‘But I want what’s best for you and Danny. I’ve moved up in the Johnson hierarchy. I’m an executive now, and I can provide for you both.’
‘You can provide? By lying to us, manipulating and destroying people’s lives? That’s it, Mark. We’re done here.’ I pick up my phone and turn to go.
‘Rosie, don’t be your usual impulsive self. Stop and think. All you have to do is say yes and we’ll be a family again.’
I whirl around, my blood boiling. ‘Don’t you understand that you can’t use people like that? Wasn’t what you did to me already enough? I was willing to make an effort – for Danny. But now, knowing how low you’ve stooped, that despite everything, you still can’t be trusted? You haven’t changed a bit.’ For the second time in my life, Mark has let me down.
‘But, Rosie, I was simply trying to rebuild our family.’
‘We were never a family,’ I cry out, louder than I intended. And then, I can see clearly. I know what I’m going to do now.
*
‘Hi, Susan,’ I say, trying to inject some sort of enthusiasm in my voice, meanwhile wishing her superiors would give her a side-move option, like maybe to the North Pole. Having said that, she’d probably scare the bejesus out of the elves and reduce them to pure slavery, and Santa to a whimpering mess. And the expression when hell freezes over? She’s capable of that, too. Because that’s what she does for a living. No, that’s a lie. That’s what she does for sheer pleasure.
‘What the hell is going on there, Rosie?’ she booms and I literally have to move my mobile away from my ear.
I swallow. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re having a sordid affair with the manager. Really, Rosie, no wonder your reports are practically glowing. You have intentionally lied to me, and now I know why.’
‘Hang on a minute. First of all, I’m not having a sordid affair with anyone.’
‘Evidence tells me otherwise.’
A flame of indignity sparks in my gut. How dare she enter my personal sphere? What I do and whom I sleep with is entirely my business. And now too much is too much. I’ve had enough of her attitude. It’s demeaning and I don’t deserve it. ‘Your evidence is wrong.’
‘We are not at all pleased with your performance, Rosie. This changes everything. We’re letting you go.’
Letting me go? After all these years of saving her ass? ‘Are you seriously firing me on the sole suspicion of my having an affair with a colleague?’
‘An investigated colleague,’ she corrects me. ‘That’s it, you’re both out.’ And she hangs up.
I stifle a yelp. She can’t do this, kick us all out onto the street! I rub my face, feeling absolutely helpless, and look up as Penny enters my line of vision. She is carrying her laptop, which she had promised to lend to me and which she now puts on the counter before me, a huge smile on her face that fades the minute I look up.
‘God, you look terrible – are you okay?’ she asks.
‘I’m fine,’ I snap. ‘Sorry. Thanks for the computer,’ I say as I fire it up.
‘I can mind the desk for a few hours if you need a nap,’ she volunteers. Why is she this nice to me? She really must be confident of her relationship with Mitchell. Unless – ah she doesn’t know about us. That would explain it.
‘I’m waiting for my dad. Is he here yet?’ she asks.
‘Your dad? I’m sorry, I have no idea,’ I answer, pulling up the booking system. Maybe he could put her straight about the dangers of dating older men. ‘Does he need checking in? I’ll have a look. What’s his name?’
She laughs. ‘Awh, Rosie, not you, too?’
‘Not me too, what?’ I ask, my annoyance slightly rising. But I can’t be mad at her. It’s not her fault, really. Who could resist a guy like Mitchell?
‘We get this all the time,’ she goes on. ‘Nobody believes he’s my dad. Probably because he’s so young and I call him by his name.’
‘Well, then he and Mitchell must get along very well,’ I say.
Penny throws her head back and gurgles with laughter, and then she steps forward to hug me. ‘Rosie!’ she cries. ‘Mitchell is my dad!’
I stare at her. What is she on about? But then the words sink in. Mitchell is her dad? Not her sugar daddy or anything sordid, but her actual father? ‘But… but… you’re not Lola…’ is all I can say.
She laughs. ‘That’s my childhood name. Penelope was too long for me to say when I was little so I used to call myself Lola.’
Penny. Penelope. Lola. And then I actually see it – the smile and the mannerisms. She is definitely Mitchell’s daughter. She’s not his girlfriend! He didn’t go off with some other woman at the first hurdle. He’s still single! And I am definitely still in love with him.
But… ‘You don’t even call him Dad,’ I blurt out.
She shrugs. ‘I stopped calling him that during my rebel years, and then it became a running joke.’
‘Right,’ I breathe out as I recover my British stiff upper lip and open her laptop.
Penny laughs. ‘Anyway, you don’t fool me one bit, Rosie. I know you’re in love with him.’
Can I deny it? No, but I can change the subject, and fast.
‘Right now, Penny, I’m more concerned about saving his job. Head Office is… What’s that?’ I gasp as an email warning flashes across the screen. It’s quick, but I catch the name of the sender: susanhearst@gmail.com.
How can I have received an email from her if I haven’t even logged onto my email account yet? I log on and check my emails, but there is no dismissal email there to speak of. If that email wasn’t sent to me, there’s only one solution, and still it doesn’t make sense.
‘Is there something wrong?’ Penny asks, leaning in.
‘Penny, can you tell me why Susan Hearst is emailing you?’
She stops in her tracks. ‘Susan Hearst? She’s my aunt.’
I can feel my eyes pop out of their sockets. ‘Your aunt?’
‘Yeah, she’s my mum’s sister. But she never emails me.’
The office is spinning and I grab the edge of my desk.
‘Rosie, what is it?’
‘I’m sorry, but I need to read that email, Penny. It’s important.’
She looks at me for a moment, and then nods. ‘Sure.’
She sits next to me while she logs onto her account. ‘There’s nothing here from her. I told you, she never writes me.’
‘Penny, I know what I saw. Please, do whatever you have to do to pull that email up.’
She shakes her head. ‘I don’t know what… hang on. I just remembered I lent my mum my laptop last week. She must have forgotten to close her email account.’
‘But surely it cuts out after a while?’
She starts tapping in her mother’s email account and password, winking at me. ‘She’s tried to keep it a secret, but I’m my father’s daughter.’
‘Meaning?’
She grins. ‘Meaning nothing escapes my notice.’
The page opens and Penny clicks on Diane’s Inbox. There are plenty of emails from Susan, but my eye falls on one in particular.
Diane, I’m sending you the link of my latest post, which should bring Mitchell and the Old Bell Inn to its knees once and for all. Also, I’ve sent one of my assistant managers to inspect him and sack him. She’s shit-scared of me, so consider it done. Mitchell is going down. Enjoy the money. It’s all yours.
‘Oh my bloody God,’ Penny whispers, staring at me. ‘My mum and my aunt were trying to ruin my dad?’
I had suspected since day one that Diane had something to do with the missing funds. But I had no idea that bloody Susan the Sacker was her sister. I had definitely not seen that one coming. So that’s why Susan has it in for poor Mitchell.
There is no way I can ask Penny to spy on her own mum. Or is there? But I have to save Mitchell from an unjust accusation. I clear my throat. ‘Are you and your mum close, Penny?’
She rolls her eyes. ‘You must be joking. I think I remind her of Mitchell too much.’
‘I don’t mean to pry, but…?’
Penny hears my silent question and smiles at me. ‘Mitchell wanted to open his own place here, while she wanted to move to London. She wanted a luxurious life and he didn’t.’
And because she wanted the money, she doctored the hotel accounts instead. Jesus. It all fits. And, like I thought, Mitchell hasn’t stolen a penny.
I know what I have to do next. Five minutes later, while Penny is out on Reception, and I’m still high on adrenaline, I call Susan.
‘What is it you want, Rosie?’
‘To tell you that I know what you did.’
‘What are you on about?’
‘Your sister wanted to get back at Mitchell for the end of the marriage. And the two of you orchestrated your revenge, although I suspect you were the brains behind it all.’
Silence on the other end, then: ‘This is all nonsense,’ she says.
‘Nonsense? No, Susan. I’ve just had one question: Why is Susan so bent on ruining this man? And now I know. It was more than business for you. It was for your and your sister’s own personal revenge. That’s not very professional, is it, Susan?’ I say in her own tone.
‘You are rambling as usual, Rosie, and completely out of order.’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Just pack your little bags and get out of there. You are not allowed anywhere near a Johnson Hotel anymore. I already fired you.’ The satisfaction in her voice is so deep and heartfelt, I can literally see her face. Smug. Smarmy. Arrogant. She had always wanted a reason to fire me, which she could never find. To her I may be Rosie Miss Nobody, but I’m also Rosie Miss Nobody’s Fool.
I smile into the receiver, just so she can glean the satisfaction in my voice as I say, ‘Too late, Susan. I had already sent you my notice and remonstrance prior to my call. And I also cc’d it to your direct superior, Brenda Watson, who will be thrilled to have a reason to get rid of you now. Shame on you, scheming and abetting your sister’s theft to the detriment of a Johnson Hotel and its employees for your own benefit. You should check your inbox more often.’
Silence. Real, terrified silence I can smell all the way from here. ‘You can’t do that.’
‘Oh, yes I can. Read the manual, Susan. Goodbye.’
*
‘You didn’t!’ Penny laughs, smacking me in the shoulder.
I grin, despite myself. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’
‘Mind? Both Mum and Aunt Susan had something like this coming forever.’
‘Well, at least Mitchell is free.’
‘And that’s all that matters to you.’
I nod. ‘Uh, yes.’
Penny smiles and takes my hands, lowering her voice. ‘Just so you know, Rosie – I’ve never seen him like that around a woman. Please don’t break his heart by leaving. Give him a chance. He deserves it.’
I can’t believe Penny and I are having this conversation, after all the wrong conclusions I’d come to about her. But it’s too late for anything now. He doesn’t trust me anymore, and who can blame him?
‘Penny, your dad and I…’ I huff in frustration.
She grins. ‘I think you’re perfect for him. And I’ve always wanted a little brother.’
I have to fight to keep back the tears. ‘Oh, Penny, it’s so complicated. I have to go back to London now and sort our lives out.’
She reaches forward to hug me. ‘I like having you here,’ she whispers. ‘Make sure you come back soon, Rosie.’