“Polar opposite. But sometimes, change is good, right?”
Sage gave me her wise nod. “Change is inevitable.”
“I have to ask,” I said, lowering my voice to a whisper. “Is there anyone else here tonight?”
She gave me a knowing smile. “They’re always here, Poppy. But I think you’re more settled now, which means they are, too.” She squeezed my arm. “You’ve got this. You can do this from here. They’re always here if you need them.”
At the allotted time, Eliza and I got up on stage. She tapped the microphone, and eventually, the crowd hushed.
“Thanks everyone for coming. I know having free food and drink makes it a real draw, but I hope most of you are here to wish Fiona good luck in her retirement. I, for one, want to say this place won’t be the same without her. Where are you, Fiona? Come on up.”
Fiona bounded onto the stage, waving like she’d just won the lottery.
Eliza hugged her before continuing. “Goldloch has truly changed my life. I first came here as a kid with the Voss family for summer holidays, and I loved it then. Mistakenly, I thought you had to be Scottish to live here. But since moving in, I can honestly say you’ve all made the transition seamless. I sold it to Poppy by saying we could see how it goes, but I think I’m here for life.”
A huge cheer went up from the crowd. Eliza gave me a cheeky wink.
“Thank you to Fiona for being my mentor.” Eliza turned to me. “And to our CEO, Poppy, for showing me true courage and grace under pressure. And for knowing that even though this was not part of the plan, sometimes taking the road less travelled is where the adventure is.”
She passed the microphone to me, and I hugged her. “You’re too good,” I whispered in her ear, before taking a deep breath. Eliza was more the public speaker. My heart thumped in my chest as I looked out at the sea of people. Most of them worked for me. It was a lot of responsibility. But it was also something I was going to give my all. I spotted Sage in the front, hand to heart. She gave me an encouraging smile.
She was right. Icoulddo this.
“Exactly one year ago I persuaded my Aunt Margot to give me a chance to run the company. I had no idea what I was getting into, and honestly, if I had, I might have run for the hills. Now it turns out, by moving here, Ihaverun for the hills, but this time in a positive way.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd. Fiona gave me an encouraging smile.
I took a deep breath and carried on.
“I never wanted to run the company when I was a kid, but I always loved it here. When Mum died, the world went a bit grey, but moving here, the colour is starting to flood back.
“Now Voss Watches is a globally recognised brand thanks in no small part to our collaboration with an international pop star — take a bow, Roka! — and also thanks to Eliza Carpenter. I could not have done any of this without her. She’s been my touchstone, my mentor, my sounding board, my shoulder to cry on. But as much as she’s been one hell of a business partner, she’s also proved to be one hell of a life partner, too.” I turned to her. “Eliza, I love you. Thanks for suggesting we move home.”
The crowd went crazy for that one.
“Finally, to Fiona, the beating heart of Voss for so many years. Thank you for it all, and I hope you know I have you on speed dial in my phone.”
Fiona grinned, then made a heart shape with her fingers.
“You will always be welcome back here,” I told her. “You are Voss.” I turned back to the crowd. “Thank you to each and every one of you for making this company what it is. I look forward to getting to know you all over the next few months.”
Only when I put down the microphone did I realise my hand was shaking. I took a deep breath and glanced towards Eliza. She walked up, a rueful smile on her beautiful face.
“Took you months to tell me you loved me, now you’re announcing it to huge crowds?”
I grinned. “Is that okay?”
“More than okay,” she replied.
After the party,we walked home. The paths were clear of snow, and the moonlight sliced the loch like a silver knife. The evening couldn’t have gone off any better. We’d presented Fiona with an all-expenses trip to Switzerland as her retirement gift, along with a fat bonus to spend while she was there. The band had played, everyone danced, and now we were tired and it was just gone midnight. However, having swerved all but a couple of drinks all night, I wanted a whisky in the moonlight in front of an open fire.
Eliza got it going, while I fixed our drinks.
Half an hour later, warmth circled the room.
“When we were kids, my dream was to live here and have hot chocolate in front of a fire while it snowed outside.” I smiled at the memory.
“Nearly right. We swapped hot chocolate for whisky.” Eliza smiled, then took a sip of her drink. “Can you believe Margot and Dad’s news? I didn’t see that coming.”
