He slumped back into his chair, relieved that it wasn’t Mollie.
‘Did that help?’ Ruby asked.
Noah drew in a breath. ‘Not really. Have you ever made a decision you thought was right, but then realised it might be completely the wrong one?’
Ruby laughed. ‘You’re askingme? Don’t you remember anything about my last three boyfriends?’
Noah smiled faintly. ‘Touché.’
‘Look,’ Ruby said, sitting down in the chair opposite his desk, ‘we’ve known each other a long time. We’re mates, right, as well as you being my boss?’
‘Yeah,’ Noah said. ‘So, what is it you want to say?’
Ruby shifted in her seat before she spoke again, clearly a little nervous. ‘You’ve been off your game for a few months now. And I absolutely understand why. But we can’t afford to take our eyes off the ball in this market. Not with sales being down across London and online competitors springing up every day. Only yesterday I took a call from a client saying they were giving their house sale to Purple bloody Bricks because our commission wasn’t as competitive. We need you with your head in the game if we’re going to keep making money.’
‘I know,’ Noah said, slightly irritably. ‘You’re right. And I’m sorry. I didn’t realise it was so obvious.’
‘Well, it is.’ Ruby softened her blunt words with a reassuring smile. ‘You’re good at this, Noah, really good. I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else, but at the moment… it feels as though we’re standing still, and all of our competitors are haring past us to the finish line. The business has been great, but it’s in danger of stagnating. We need to talk about a strategy for the future.’
‘We will,’ Noah said firmly. ‘These months since my grandfather died have been difficult, but I’m coming out the other side of it now. I promise you, Ruby, that my focus will be totally on the business from now on.’
‘I’m glad to hear it, Boss.’
But even as Noah said it, he knew he wasn’t being entirely truthful. His mindhadbeen elsewhere since Jack’s death, and until the house was sold and he could move on, he had the feeling that that was how it was going to stay.
‘I’ll leave you to it.’ Ruby gestured at the phone, and then the huge pile of paperwork on Noah’s desk. ‘Looks like you’ve got enough to be getting on with.’
‘We’ll schedule a proper meeting, you, me and Violet, for the end of next week,’ Noah said as she headed towards his office door. ‘Don’t worry, Ruby… I’m on it. I promise.’
‘Thanks, Boss.’ Ruby gave him a smile over her shoulder. ‘If anyone can push Noah Hathaway Estates forward, it’s Noah Hathaway.’
He smiled back at her. Thank God for Ruby and her straight talking. She always made him take his head out of his arse and focus. And clarity was definitely what was needed here. He had to work out what he wanted, and where he was going, and then take the right path.
As he was contemplating her words, it was as if the shifting sands of his mind had begun to solidify. Of course! His heart beat faster. Why hadn’t he put the pieces together sooner? Then he shook his head. It was an idea so ridiculous, so mad and completely counterintuitive to everything he’d thought up until then that he almost dismissed it out of hand. But then Noah reached for his phone once more, hoping it wasn’t too late.
23
‘Don’t worry, old chap, you won’t know a thing about it. It’ll be like you’re going to sleep.’ Bella gave Monty’s head a comforting stroke as she waited for Ellie Stephens, the vet from the nearby village of Everscombe, to arrive. Monty looked up at her and yawned. His mellow mood had continued all morning, and Bella was grateful that he wasn’t going to be kicking and screaming. It made things easier, somehow.
But it was still awful.
She might have reassured Noah that she’d be with Monty at the end, but inside she still railed at the injustice of it. In desperation, she’d even offered to pay Monty’s boarding fees for the next few months, when she’d spoken to Mollie that morning, but Mollie had gently reminded her that they couldn’t interfere with an owner’s wishes, they could only advise. Bella knew, in her heart of hearts, that she’d never be able to afford it, but her heart was in pieces.
‘Are you sure you want to be there?’ Mollie had asked.
‘Yes,’ Bella had replied, quietly but firmly.
Mollie had nodded and left it at that. There was nothing more to say. Bella continued to fuss Monty, who rubbed up against the palm of her hand in a gesture that seemed to say he understood.
‘Hi,’ Ellie said as she opened the door to Monty’s enclosure just after twelve thirty. ‘How’s he doing?’
‘He’s good,’ Bella replied. She drew in a slightly shaky breath. ‘I’m glad it’s you, Ellie. At least he knows you well.’
‘And I’ve got the scars to prove it!’ Ellie’s tone was light, but gentle. ‘I’ll miss him, though,’ she continued as she looked Monty over. ‘He has as much character as his old owner. Perhaps it’s a good thing, though, that Monty’s off to join him. Jack was the only one Monty ever really tolerated.’
‘Perhaps.’
As Ellie started to get Monty ready for the simple procedure that would send him into a permanent sleep, Bella watched. It was a process she’d seen many times before, when they’d needed to call Ellie in to euthanise sick or dying animals that had been brought to Purrfect Paws, but it didn’t make it any easier.
