‘Brooke, are you sure about this?’ Janey whispered as they sat in the lobby of the Willowtree Taverns headquarters. Everything about the office block – its height, the pristine white walls, the sheer volume of glass and marble used in its construction – seemed designed to impress and intimidate. If Nick Weyborough was a building, he’d be this one.
‘What choice do we have?’ Brooke murmured back.
‘But The Highwayman’s!’ She sighed. ‘I hoped I’d never see it leave the family.’
‘This is for the family’s own good. Dad left shares to me and Rhianna so that whatever happened, we’d have our independence.’
‘You love that place, though.’
‘Not as much as I love my sister.’ Brooke squared her shoulders. ‘It’s a sacrifice I have to make, Mum. Not just for the money, although if that’s what it takes to get Rhia away from that bastard before he breaks her completely then that’s no small part of it. But… to prove something.’
‘What?’
‘That Rhia, Max and Livvy matter more to me than The Highwayman’s. Yes, I love it, but it’s just a building. Just a thing. It can’t take the place of the people I care about, and I’d rather lose it forever than see them suffer.’
Janey reached over to press her hand.
‘You’re a good girl, Brooke,’ she said softly. ‘Or a good woman, I should say. I’m ever so proud of you, sweetheart. So’s your dad.’
Brooke smiled. ‘You think so?’
‘He always was. But never more so than today, I think.’ She looked at the rings from her first marriage, which she’d moved to the third finger of her right hand while her engagement ring from Martin occupied the left. ‘I do wish Hayden knew what we were doing, though.’
‘It’s nothing to do with Hayden. It’s our pub.’
‘But he’s become a part of it. It feels like this concerns him.’ She looked at her daughter. ‘Do I take it the black look means he still isn’t returning your calls?’
‘Yeah. I’ve phoned, I’ve texted…’ Brooke blinked at her hands. ‘He means it, Mum. He really means it.’
‘I can’t believe that. Once he’s had time to start missing you, he’ll be in touch.’ Janey sighed. ‘I dreamed I might see the two of you running The Highwayman’s one day. He’s perfect pub landlord material. I suppose not.’
There was silence for a moment.
‘Mum?’ Brooke said. ‘Rhianna will leave James again when we tell her, won’t she?’
‘I honestly don’t know. She must’ve felt she’d reached rock bottom the night you two argued, if she was desperate enough to go crawling back to him.’
Brooke flinched. ‘I know, I know. It was all my fault and I hate myself for it.’
‘Now, I wasn’t trying to point fingers. I’m just as much to blame as you: too wrapped up in my own affairs to realise how badly she was worrying about money,’ Janey said. ‘The problem is, your sister made a big commitment when she decided her future lay with James. Even with her financial independence guaranteed, she might not want to create more instability for the kiddies by yanking them away from their father a second time.’
‘How did she sound when you spoke to her?’
‘She sounded… resigned,’ Janey said quietly. ‘Like a woman dissatisfied with her lot but determined to accept it.’
‘I thought so too. Subdued, like she’d had her spirit broken.’
‘Does this Nick bloke know she’s not coming today?’
‘Yes. I told him it’d be just us and he said that was fine, she could fill in the paperwork later. He was desperate to get us to sign on the dotted line before we changed our minds, I think – he knows Rhianna always wanted to sell; it’s us he’s worried about.’
‘Wouldn’t it be better for us all to have come together?’
‘I’d rather do it this way. I want to be able to tell Rhia we did our part, so she knows I really mean it.’
They looked up at the sound of a throat clearing. Nick Weyborough had appeared in the lobby to fetch them, and was smiling far too smugly for Brooke’s liking. They stood up.
‘Well,’ Nick said. ‘Thanks for your call, Brooke. That was unexpected. Still, I did tell you everyone had their price.’
‘And I told you The Highwayman’s was my price,’ Brooke said. ‘I was wrong about that, though. My family’s my price. I know that now.’
‘I appreciate your sense of showmanship, waiting until the day the offer expires.’
She smiled tightly. ‘I’m thrilled you find it entertaining.’
He presented his hand. Brooke curled her lip at it and Nick, seeing that no handshake was going to be forthcoming, drew it away again.
‘Let’s just get this over with, shall we?’ Janey said.
‘Please. This way.’ He gestured for them to follow him.
They stepped into the lobby’s brushed chrome elevator then followed Nick down a hallway to a minimalist but expensive-looking office with a plaque on the door that bore his name and job title: Nicholas Weyborough, Business Development Manager.
‘Take a seat,’ he said, indicating two chairs on one side of his desk.
Janey eyed her chair as if it was an object of great disgust before sitting down.
‘We don’t want to be here any longer than we have to,’ she told him. ‘I make it my policy never to socialise with the sort of men who manipulate women to get what they want. Especially if one of them is my daughter.’
‘Rhianna needed a friend and I was there for her,’ he said, shrugging. ‘Yes, there was a business agenda, but I believe I provided her with an emotional service.’
Brooke shook her head. ‘Christ. You talk about her as if she’s another bloody business deal.’ She nodded to his computer. ‘Have you got a spreadsheet dedicated to her on that thing? Did you claim for those coffees you had together on expenses?’
‘I gave Rhianna something she needed, and I hoped she might help me to get something I needed. Believe me, sometimes mixing business and pleasure is the best way to achieve results.’ He shot her one of his shrewd glances. ‘What she really wanted from me was an understanding ear, Brooke. When we met, she seemed to feel that wasn’t something she could expect from anyone else.’
‘Can we just sign this sodding contract and get out of here?’ Janey asked. ‘I don’t want to know any more about your relations with my daughter, thank you. Her track record with men isn’t the best, and we’ve got another arsehole we need to help her deal with.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh?’
‘None of your business,’ Brooke said. ‘Where’s the contract, then?’
He passed some papers to them. ‘Four copies, one for each of the parties concerned. All I need are the signatures of the three owners, and mine as a representative of Willowtree Taverns, to indicate we’re all in agreement about proceeding with the sale of the premises. Rhianna can sign as soon as she’s able to make it to my offices, and then we can move to the next stage.’
‘That’s it? We don’t need witnesses or anything like that?’
‘Just the four of us. You’re welcome to take the paperwork away and seek legal advice first if you like.’
‘No,’ Janey said. ‘We want to get this done now. Today.’
‘As you wish. Feel free to take your time reading through.’
Brooke skimmed through the various sections. They didn’t make much sense to her, but she assumed it was the usual terminology you’d find in one of these agreements.
‘You ready?’ she said in an undertone to her mum. Janey nodded.
‘OK. Here I go.’ Brooke took a deep breath, picked up the biro and signed. Janey signed too, then they passed around the other three copies for signatures to be added.
‘Well, that’s it,’ Nick said, gathering them all back to him. ‘All I need is Rhianna to add her signature and we can proceed to the sale, after which you ladies will have netted yourselves a tidy £400,000 each. I can make the arrangements with her by telephone if you like, unless one of you would prefer to do it. She seems to be avoiding my calls.’
‘I wonder why,’ Janey muttered.
‘I’ll get in touch with her, if it’s all the same to you,’ Brooke said. She paused. ‘Actually, could you pass me one of those contracts a second?’
He handed her one, and she flicked to the signature page and took a photo on her phone.
‘Don’t worry,’ she said in answer to his look. ‘I’ll keep it confidential. I just want to show it to my sister.’
Brooke and Janey stood up. Nick followed suit, extending his hand again.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I must say, I think you’ve made the right decision. And if the pair of you did want to stay on as managers under Willowtree, then of course that offer’s still on the table.’
Janey looked at his hand as if willing it to wither and drop off.
‘Huh,’ she said, then spun on her heel and walked out.
Brooke shrugged. ‘You heard the lady. Huh.’ She turned and left the office.