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‘What happens if I find another job while I’m on gardening leave?’
I see Mr Holdsworth struggle to suppress a smile. He knows what I’m up to.
‘In that instance,’ Rebecca replies, ‘we would complete the redundancy process at the end of the consultation period. There is no requirement for you to accept any other role that we might offer you.’
‘Thank you. I don’t think I have any other questions at the moment.’
‘If you do think of anything, you can ring me at any time,’ Rebecca tells me.
‘Thank you, Rebecca,’ Mr Holdsworth says. She gets up, and I stand as well. The meeting is obviously over.
‘Daisy, would you stay behind for a minute, please?’
Rebecca leaves the office and closes the door behind her.
‘How do you feel about that?’ Mr Holdsworth asks.
‘To be honest, I’m confused,’ I tell him. ‘Why are you offering me money to go away, when you could have just waited a month and been rid of me for free?’
‘Oh! Was that what you were alluding to earlier? Were you planning to resign?’ he asks, in mock incredulity. I just stare at him.
‘Let me explain,’ he continues. ‘In all honesty, you’ve been a bit of a dilemma for a while. You’re incredibly good at your job and we’ve tried to stretch you as far as we can. In fact, some of the work you’ve been doing strictly falls under the chartered accountants’ remit. The problem is that there’s only so far you can go, given your lack of academic qualifications. You’ve pretty much hit the ceiling, Daisy. Grace has as well, but she’s a lot older than you, and I think her current role suits her. But you? You’re young. Even without the café, there would have come a time in the not-too-distant future when this wouldn’t have been enough for you any more. It seems that your inheritance has forced your hand. I knew exactly what you were planning to do when you came in earlier, but I couldn’t let you say the words or give me the envelope, because that would have tied my hands. This way, we get to send you on your way with our blessing and some funds to tide you over for a bit, and you can leave straight away rather than having to wait a month. Do you understand?’
I do, and it’s not only genius; it’s much more than I deserve.
‘Thank you so much, Mr Holdsworth.’ I’m overwhelmed by his generosity, and the tears start to flow again.
‘I will confess that it’s not entirely altruistic,’ he smiles. ‘By making your job redundant, it gives us the opportunity to recruit another apprentice. The next Daisy, perhaps? Now, be on your way. The waterworks will give your colleagues just the right impression, I think.’
‘Can I say goodbye?’ I ask.
‘Not today, I’m afraid. After you’ve gone, I’ll call the team together and explain what’s just happened. When you come back in a month’s time for your final send-off, I’m sure we can organise something then. Who knows, we might even have to put together an office trip to visit this famous café of yours!’
‘Thank you. For everything.’ The tears are flowing freely now. I’m both grateful and sad.
‘One last thing before you go.’
‘Yes?’
‘If you ever need help with the accounts, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’ll do you a special deal. I believe it’s called “mates’ rates” in the trade?’
‘Thank you.’
I close his office door, hurry over to my desk and gather my things together before anyone has a chance to ask me anything. I see Grace get up and start to approach, but she’s stopped in her tracks by Mr Holdsworth coming out of his office and asking everyone to gather round. I hurry out to the lift, which thankfully arrives quickly at this time of the day. As I step out into the sunshine, I’m suddenly struck by terrible doubt. What if I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life?
‘It’s too late now, Daisy,’ I tell myself firmly.
I turn and stride down the pavement towards the bus stop, and the next chapter of my life.
22
I don’t even make it as far as the train station before my phone starts pinging with messages from Grace, expressing her shock and asking if I’m okay. I reply that I’m absolutely fine, and we’ll hopefully catch up in a month when I come back for my final meeting. I’m amazed how quiet both Charing Cross and the train are outside the commuter hours that I’m used to. I pass the journey looking up how to apply for refunds on both my season ticket and the car park, and wondering about whether I’ll stay in touch with Grace in the long term. I like her, but I doubt whether we actually have anything in common apart from our work. I can’t tell her that I was planning to quit and Mr Holdsworth effectively did me a massive favour, so she’s probably got survivor’s guilt. I suspect she’ll stop messaging me pretty soon, and our friendship will just fizzle out.
‘You’re back early, how did you get on?’ Nan asks when I get home.
I talk them through my day and explain the redundancy process.
‘Well, that’s a turn-up for the books, isn’t it?’ Grandad declares, when I’ve finished. ‘So you’re free to start work at the café straight away?’
