Page 63 of The Twilight Garden

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.

Abby returned an even larger one. ‘But let’s get back to you, shall we? I can’t tell you how good it is to have you on board again. You were always one of the best at coming up with original ideas, if not the best. At having the tenacity to drive those ideas forward and, importantly, bringing the clients on board in such a way that they began to think the idea had been theirs all along. Budgets are being cut, Gemma, you know that all too well, and the competition is far harder than it used to be. More agencies are chasing fewer jobs, which is why a few years ago what Rachel did would have been, if not laughed off, then certainly moved past with a gracious apology and a few baubles thrown in the client’s direction. But in today’s climate… This either cost her her job, or a chunk of our reputation, so it was an easy decision to make. Which is why I need someone with your experience and your calibre.’

‘Well, thank you, I⁠—’

Abby’s phone buzzed again, and she held up her hand. ‘One moment.’ She typed again at speed and then laid her phone face down on the table. ‘Never out of reach. I once had a conversation with the CEO of Bertrams while I was on the loo, did I tell you?’ She shook her head, amused. ‘Sorry, you were saying?’

Gemma had lost her thread. ‘Oh… just thanking you for your kind words. I feel very flattered.’

Abby dipped her head. ‘Mayfield Dawson is one of the key players in advertising and I aim to make it the key player. The agency everyone wants to use. But I need the right people around me to do that, and I really believe you’re one of them. I’m sure Cat has told you the details of our new incentive and reward package, at least I hope she has. It’s considerable, and significantly increased from when you were with us before.’ She smiled. ‘It’s so odd saying that when really it will be like you’ve never been away.’

Gemma took another sip of her chocolate. It was sickeningly sweet, but she took another, playing for time while wondering how to phrase her next statement, whether she should phrase it at all. ‘Cat has mentioned some of it, and that’s great, but I think I ought to bring up the fact that I left because I had been offered another job. Partly that was to do with how I was feeling after Mum’s death, but not all of it. And it was very difficult juggling my work alongside caring for her, but in some ways that made it a little easier for me too. I hadn’t really been happy for a while.’

Abby nodded her head repeatedly. ‘I get it,’ she said. ‘You felt undervalued and unappreciated. But things will be very different moving forward.’

‘And yet I’m really no different than I was four months ago, when I did ask for my old job back. Not my finest hour, I know, but…’

Abby put on her game face. ‘Hands up, Gemma,’ she said. ‘We made some mistakes, I made some mistakes, and I’m glad you brought that up. I know what I said to you the last time we talked, but I think you caught me at a bad time. I’m not making excuses, and I know it couldn’t have been easy hearing that from me, but I’m also not too proud to admit that I was wrong. Fortunately, I’ve seen the error of my ways in time.’ She beamed.

And suddenly Gemma saw the truth of the situation. Because Abby was her boss, but she wasn’t the boss – she also answered to a higher power. So just how much pressure was she under to deliver? Rachel’s mistake must have put Abby’s career on the line too, big time. And Abby had far more to lose than any of them did. So what did that make Gemma? Was she the company’s saviour, as Abby was making her out to be, or was she just someone with a pulse who Abby could trust to keep her in a job?

Abby cleared her throat, a glance straying to her phone for a moment. ‘Why don’t we talk terms, and I can let you know just how valued your time with us will be.’

A sudden burst of laughter from a neighbouring table captured Gemma’s attention, but it was braying and false, clearly directed towards one person who the others were all trying to impress.

Gemma stared around the room – at the identically dressed people, at Abby’s phone, which even now was beeping its lists of demands – and she knew where she was meant to be. Not here, among the shiny floors and plate glass; not amid the hustle and bustle, the noise, the constant striving for more. Not amid the waste either, the greed, the lack of thought about anything, from what they ate to the things they did. She was never meant to be here. She was meant to be where she had always been happiest – under the wide skies, under the life-giving rain and the healing warmth of the sun. It was the life her father had shown her how to live, a life which Leo had also loved. And yet, instead of living that life in a way which would constantly honour his memory, she had used her dad’s death to turn away from all that had been precious to her. She put down her cup of chocolate and slid her chair away from the table, steadying herself for a moment.

‘It’s funny, but I always thought a reward was something given as a thank you for work already done, not something dangled as an inducement to stay… Thanks for the offer, Abby, I’m sure it would be great, but it’s not for me. There’s somewhere else I need to be.’ She got to her feet. ‘Oh, and thanks for the brunch.’

The plate of pastries lay untouched in front of her. She didn’t want any of them. What she wanted was the taste of her homemade bread, cut thick, toasted and slathered in Rowan’s homemade marmalade.

25

‘Gemma…?’ Cat’s voice was loud in the quiet of her house, the door closing behind her a sharp retort.

It was half past five. Almost seven long hours since Gemma had left the Pit Stop and driven back to Cat’s house. She walked into the hallway to greet her friend, shamefaced and almost hopping with anxiety.

‘I know, I know…’ said Gemma, holding up her hands, as if asking for forgiveness. ‘I’ve probably just made the biggest mistake of my life, but I couldn’t help myself. I⁠—’