Lost and Found on Foxglove Street (The Foxglove Street #9)

Chapter 9

9

Grace was clock-watching. She couldn’t remember ever doing that before while at work. Usually, she enjoyed every minute of her shifts, even on the tougher days when the hotel was extra busy and there were endless jobs to take care of and she was completely rushed off her feet. More often than not, the end of her shift caught her off-guard because she was so immersed in her work that she lost track of time.

Today, however, she couldn’t seem to stop checking the time every few minutes and willing seven o’clock to hurry up and arrive. Throughout the day, her thoughts kept wandering to Stanley and hoping he was okay.

She knew he was okay. Her comrade-in-arms in the Stanley situation, Ryan Lewis, struck her as the sensible type and the sort of person who was more than capable of caring for a dog for a few hours. He wouldn’t have volunteered otherwise, would he?

And if he’d run into any trouble with Stanley, he would’ve sent her a message. Grace never checked her phone during her shifts, because there were strict rules at the hotel about such things and rightly so, but today she’d found numerous reasons to hurry to her locker in the staff area and covertly check her phone in case Ryan had been forced to get in touch about some Stanley-related emergency.

But no messages had arrived, which gave her some comfort at least. However, the sooner she could finish work and return home and make sure that everything was okay with the little dog, the sooner she’d stop fretting.

Stanley’s unexpected arrival in her life had thrown her for a loop. She wasn’t a dog person, and had never even owned a dog before, but there was just something completely irresistible about the animal. Foolish though it was, she couldn’t wait to get home and cuddle the little bundle of fur and see his cheerful little face.

Of course, once she did get home, she’d also have to deal with the thorny problem of what she’d do with Stanley tomorrow when she had to go to work again. Ryan had helped her today by volunteering to look after the dog, and she was beyond grateful for his selfless assistance, but she couldn’t expect him to pitch in and do the same thing again tomorrow.

She was the one who’d found Stanley, and she was the one who’d decided not to leave him at the boarding kennels that were approved by the dog warden. It was her responsibility to come up with a plan to look after him for the next few days.

Thankfully, once her shift was finished tomorrow, she had two days off, which would give her some breathing space to come up with a solution for the days after that when she returned to work. Hopefully she could find a professional doggy day care business that would look after Stanley while she worked. Grace wondered if the vet’s practice she’d visited that morning might offer recommendations for local services. It was also possible that the lady she’d met yesterday for the first time, Olive Nimmo, might know about such things too, considering she helped out with her neighbour’s dog and was likely clued into various dog-related things as a result…

Grace glanced again at the clock on the wall of the hotel function room where she was supervising the staff who were hard at work there in advance of a special dinner event due to kick off in half an hour. The occasion was a fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration comprising eighty-plus guests who were currently in the bar area enjoying drinks and canapes before the four-course meal was served.

Grace had spent the last hour finalising the room set-up and liaising with the staff who would serve the guests. At six forty-five, she would hand over supervisory responsibilities to a colleague who would take charge for the rest of the evening. She’d already debriefed them on last-minute issues and was confident that the event would proceed without a hitch.

It was still only six-forty, though, and too soon for her to leave the function room in case some problem arose that required her attention. Glancing around for a task to keep herself busy, she went to speak to the band who were setting up at the front of the function suite in preparation for the music and dancing that would start once the meal was over, and then she checked in with the kitchen staff to make sure all was well with the bespoke desserts ordered by the anniversary couple to round off their special dinner.

By the time she’d done those things and then completed the handover of supervisory duties to her colleague, the clock had inched closer to seven at last and Grace decided it was time to leave. On her way through the lobby, she crossed paths with Clive Peters.

“Ah, Grace, just the person I was looking for,” he said, falling into step beside her. “Is everything ready and in good order for the anniversary meal booking in the Oak Suite?”

“Yes, we’re all set, and I just handed everything off to Lynn a few moments ago. She’s the one on duty tonight.”

“Good. I’d hoped to find you earlier for a quick chat, but I’ve been glued to my computer with quarterly reports all afternoon, and now, unless I’m mistaken, I think your shift is just about to end. Am I right?”

“Yes, I’m off at seven. What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Actually, it’s something we ought to sit down and have a proper chat about, rather than a snatched conversation as we hurry through the lobby.”

Under normal circumstances, Grace would have instantly offered to stay late in order to accommodate the chat Clive wanted to have. But despite her curiosity about what he wanted to talk about, staying late tonight just wasn’t an option, not when Ryan was expecting her to come and pick up Stanley as soon as she finished her shift.

“Let’s grab a seat in my office for ten minutes,” Clive said, already steering her towards the staff office area with a sweep of his hand. “If that’s okay?”

“Um, actually?—”

Coming up with a way to get out of the impromptu meeting wasn’t easy. Grace had never turned down a request to stay late before. She was usually the one volunteering to jump into the breach whenever there was a staffing problem or some urgent task that required attention. Explaining that she had something important to deal with now that her shift was over should have been simple and straightforward, and Clive certainly wasn’t the sort of manager who would hold it against her, not given her record at the hotel.

And yet she still couldn’t find the words to say she was sorry, but she couldn’t stay because she had a commitment that just couldn’t wait.

Before she knew it, she’d followed Clive through the hotel lobby to the doors of the staff office area.

“I’m aware that I promised to chat with you in more detail about your career progression plans here,” Clive said, flicking through a jangling master key ring he pulled from his pocket in order to search for the key to his office. “I should’ve arranged that chat before now, but things have been so busy here these past few weeks. I know you’ve already submitted your promotion application, and that’s what I want to talk to you about.”

Grace felt a surge of excitement roll through her. Realising that it was her promotion plans that Clive wanted to discuss quashed her hesitation over staying late for a few extra minutes.

The promotion process at the Hamblehurst Manor Hotel wasn’t easy, and involved many hurdles. When she’d first spoken to Clive about her intention to apply for promotion to a full managerial role, he’d promised to make time to chat with her and offer guidance. With the next big set of paperwork due for submission to the internal promotion panel over the next few weeks, Grace was grateful Clive had remembered the promise he’d made and that she wouldn’t have to press him to find time to speak with her.

Talking about the promotion process right now wasn’t ideal, but with Clive’s busy schedule, Grace wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip away.

Clive was still fiddling with his keys when his phone started ringing. With a frown, he pulled it from his pocket and answered. After a brief conversation with whoever had called him, Clive hung up and shook his head in irritation.

“I’m sorry, Grace, I’m afraid I’ll have to postpone our chat,” he said, returning his master key ring to his pocket and turning back towards the lobby. “There’s a problem with the computer system over in the spa and no one seems able to fix it, and it’s causing chaos with the client bookings. I need to get over there and sort it out immediately.”

“Of course,” Grace said, still hurrying along in his wake, this time in the opposite direction. “These things happen.”

“I’m so sorry to drag you to my office and then leave you in the lurch.” Clive looked apologetic as he hurried across the lobby. “You’re working tomorrow from nine, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Good, in that case come and find me later in the morning when you have a spare minute, and I promise we’ll talk then. I should be free around eleven, if you can carve out ten minutes or so.”

With a hurried wave goodbye, Clive veered off towards the spa complex on the other side of the hotel estate. Grace was left lingering in the lobby, wishing she’d had the forethought to tell him that she’d hoped they could chat for longer than just ten minutes. Clive’s guidance was valuable to her, and she wanted to hear everything he had to say about how she could maximise her chances of success in the promotion process, and doubted they’d be able to get into much detail if they only had ten minutes to talk.

Still, at least it was something. Perhaps once they’d chatted tomorrow, they’d arrange to talk again at a more detailed level?

Grace’s mind whirred with thoughts of the promotion process as she returned to the staff area to grab her things from her locker. Once she’d collected her belongings, she walked through the staff exits towards the car park.

The evening air was cool outside and Grace was grateful for it after the unexpected excitement of thinking she was about to discuss her big promotion plans, only to have the conversation cancelled before it had even begun. She got in behind the wheel of her car and rolled the window down to let the unseasonably chilly breeze waft inside the vehicle.

Compared to yesterday’s balmy conditions, the weather was all change today. The English summer liked to spring unsuspecting surprises on everyone, Grace mused as she watched tiny raindrops landing on the windscreen just as the cool breeze turned into a gusting wind that shook the trees on the car park perimeter.

It was all change on the weather front, and Grace wondered if it was about to be all change as far as work was concerned, too. If only Clive hadn’t had to rush off to deal with the computer system malfunction over at the spa, she’d be sitting in his office right now and hearing his thoughts on her promotion prospects and what she needed to do to make sure she got the outcome she so desperately wanted.

Grace reminded herself that when Clive asked to fit in a quick chat before she finished work for the day, she’d been trying to come up with a polite way to get out of it because she wanted to get back home and check on Stanley. Thoughts of the little dog who was waiting for her at Ryan Lewis’s house brought a smile to her face to replace the frustration over the delayed conversation with Clive Peters.

She started the car and drove out of the car park. There was no point thinking about the promotion chat she was so keen to have, because she had no choice now but to wait until tomorrow to hear what Clive had to say. She might as well forget all about it until then.

Which, admittedly, was far easier said than done.