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“Kevin?” Allie had lost the thread of the conversation altogether.
“The manager at the golf club.” Verity shook her head. “That man needs a good shake. I realise he’s concerned about getting on your dad’s bad side, but he’s the manager. He should be advocating for the staff.”
“How do you mean?”
“I mean poor old Ron is overworked and underpaid. Same goes for Daisy. You can’t just let staff go and not replace them.”
“I don’t think we’ve let any staff go recently,” Allie said defensively.
“Not recently, no. A year ago. I understand that sometimes you have to make tough decisions in business, but Kevin should have made it clear to your dad that the current situation doesn’t work. Instead, he tries to keep everyone happy. Pathetic little man.”
“I didn’t know we’d let people go.” Allie continued to chew on her scone, feeling slightly sideswiped by Verity’s thoughts on Kevin and the way the club was run. “I agree there needs to be some changes. And I’m not saying Kevin doesn’t have his faults as a manager, but in his defence he’s been running the place alone. Overall I think he does a decent job.”
“Only because he has great staff,” Verity huffed, then raised her hands. “Ignore me. I probably mostly have a bee in my bonnet because he doesn’t let Perry in the clubhouse. How anyone can be scared of Perry is beyond me. He’s the most docile dog in the world.”
Allie frowned, bemused. “Apparently there’s some issue with the cleaning crew …”
“There’s no problem with the cleaning crew. I know one of them and they never complained about dog hair as Kevin claimed. He’s scared of dogs … which is fine, but he should admit that instead of blaming the cleaners.”
“I plan to make the clubhouse dog-friendly,” Allie said vaguely. “I’ll be looking into hiring more staff too.”
Verity gave a small smile. “I’m sure you’ll improve things up there quickly. Once you let people know who you really are, anyway.”
“I plan on letting the staff know this week.” Allie was itching to start implementing changes, so she couldn’t put it off much longer.
But first, she needed to tell Hugh.
CHAPTER 37
After spending longer than she’d expected at the cafe, Allie walked briskly back along the coastal path. She’d agreed to work an extra shift to cover for a waiter who was ill but was already regretting it. She needed to tell Hugh everything, and she wanted to get the conversation out of the way, but wanted to do it in person.
The wind blew wildly as she followed the steep path away from Hope Cove. When the ground levelled out, she stopped to catch her breath and took a moment to look back at the bay. From a distance it looked like a scene straight from a postcard, with the golden sand vibrant beneath the dazzling blue sky. Gentle waves rolled rhythmically onto the shore and the boats in the bay bobbed in a soothing motion.
Conscious of the time, she didn’t linger for long. As she set off again, she took out her phone, deciding that at the very least she could arrange a time to speak to Hugh.
Except he sounded hesitant when she asked if they could meet up after her shift.
“It’s difficult with Emmy,” he said.
“Could you just leave her for an hour?” Allie asked, not wanting to postpone the conversation for another day.
“Normally I could,” Hugh said slowly. “But I’m concerned she’s feeling insecure about me dating, so I don’t really want to disappear on her first day back home.”
Allie moved to the side of the path and smiled at the hikers she passed. “Did she say she has a problem with you dating?”
“Not in so many words. I thought she was upset about the situation with her mum and the baby, but she made a couple of comments about how she likes it being just the two of us. And when she thought you’d been clothes shopping with me, she sounded a bit jealous or something. I’m not sure what’s going on, but something is bothering her, and until I figure out what it is I need to tread carefully.”
“Right.” Allie felt the muscles in her jaw tighten. “So do you have any idea when we can see each other?”
“Soon. I just need to give Emmy a bit of time, and I need to talk to her properly.”
“Okay,” she replied tightly.
“Sorry. I want to see you.”
Allie felt a pang of guilt for getting annoyed. She’d brought the whole situation on herself by not being honest with him sooner.
“How about we have lunch together tomorrow?” she suggested. “When Emmy’s at school.”
