Chloe’s smile at his confident declaration faded into a sigh. ‘Now all we need to do is get her away from that bloody coffee shop. How’s the bid looking? Do you need anything else from me or Anya?’
Harry shook his head. ‘No, I think we’re good. Kat plugged in those numbers you sent over on Sunday afternoon. There’s a couple of prices Matt needs to nail down but that’s it.’
‘God, I hope you get it. If bloody Gavin Bailey sets up another Java Brava franchise in there, I’ll end up in jail for arson, or worse.’
He couldn’t help but laugh at her fierce tone. ‘You won’t end up in jail, Chlo, because I’ll give you an alibi.’
She headed off to work a few minutes later and Harry held his good mood until he closed the door behind her. If Gavin did beat him to the shop, what would Kat do? Would she turn her back on her father and help Harry set up somewhere else, or would she give in to the pressure and end up running the second franchise? He had a horrible feeling he knew which choice she’d make in the end.
And it wouldn’t be him.
28
Kat had expected her father to beat her into work, but she was the first one in. She’d thought getting in early would give her time to prepare what she wanted to say, but her stomach was in knots. Though he’d denied it, she could tell Harry had been angry with her for not telling him the truth earlier. She’d done her best to prove where her loyalty was by spending the rest of the weekend focused entirely on the cookery school plans, but somehow that had only annoyed him more.
It had been sweet of him to tell her earlier that what her father did wasn’t her problem, but how could it not be? If her dad went head to head with Harry and won, it would ruin everything. Kat had to talk to him. Had to make him understand. She pressed a hand to her churning stomach. She hated conflict, but she hated the thought of letting Harry down even more.
By the time the front door opened, Kat had worked herself up into a proper lather, but instead of her dad, it was Debbie, one of their part-timers. ‘Hello, I didn’t know you were working this morning!’ Kat couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.
‘I wasn’t meant to be but your dad texted me last night and asked if I’d cover for him.’ Debbie paused in the middle of takingoff her coat to shoot Kat a puzzled look. ‘I thought he would’ve told you.’
‘No, he didn’t mention it.’ She gave the other woman what she hoped would be a reassuring smile. ‘But I’m not at home any more so I don’t always hear what’s going on these days. He would’ve let me know if it was anything serious. Anyway, I’m glad you could cover at short notice.’
‘Oh, I was happy to step in. It doesn’t do Glenn any harm to be put in charge of the school run now and then.’ Debbie grinned at Kat. ‘Keeps him on his toes.’
An idea occurred to Kat. If Harry managed to arrange a meeting with Russ next week, she could do with taking the morning off to prep for it. ‘I don’t suppose he’d be up to doing the school run again next Monday, would he? It’s just I’ve got an appointment that day.’
‘I’ll send him a quick text now and double-check, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.’ She pulled an apron out of her locker and hooked it over her head. ‘With the way the kids are growing out of their clothes every five minutes, the extra money always comes in handy.’
‘I can imagine!’ Kat grabbed her own apron and put it on. ‘Right, let’s go and get set up, shall we?’
Kat kept one eye on the door all morning, wondering where her father was. It was true he didn’t need to run any changes to the rota past her, but she couldn’t help worrying if his unexpected absence had something to do with the second franchise. She didn’t get her answer until a couple of minutes before the end of her morning shift when he walked it. He didn’t even look at her, just walked straight past the counter and out the back to his office.
‘Can you keep an eye on things, Debbie?’ Kat didn’t wait for the affirmative reply before she was unfastening her apron and heading after him. She walked into the office to find herdad slumped in his chair. His skin was waxy-pale and from the circles under his eyes she doubted he’d had a wink of sleep since she’d confronted him outside the shop on Saturday morning.
She’d planned to spend the afternoon going over the pitch again with Harry, but one look at the state of her dad and that all went out the window. If he was as unwell as he looked there was no way he should be in the coffee shop, especially if whatever was making him look so awful was in any way contagious. She could send Harry a voice note and explain – and she knew he’d understand. The coffee shop and the restaurant were worlds apart, but neither business could afford to mess around when it came to employee illness. ‘Dad, you look awful. You shouldn’t have come in if you’re not well. Go home and get some rest and I’ll look after the shop this afternoon.’
He stirred in his chair as though coming out of a fog and stared at her. ‘What? No, it’s your afternoon off.’ He pushed to his feet and began taking off his coat. ‘And I’m not ill, just a bit tired, that’s all. I just need a cup of coffee and I’ll be right as rain. Just as well we have plenty of that, eh?’ The feeble joke fell flat between them.
It surprised her he hadn’t mentioned their argument on Saturday, but then again it didn’t. Her dad had always preferred to ignore the things he didn’t want to face. Well, if he wanted to play ostrich then that was fine with her. Perhaps she was more like him than she liked to admit. They’d have to deal with it sooner rather than later but right now she was more concerned about his health. ‘It’s okay, Dad. I really don’t mind.’ Kat closed the distance between them and put her hand on his arm. ‘I’m worried about you, please go home and get some rest.’
‘I thought you were desperate to get away from this place, and now you’re looking for excuses to hang around? A cup of coffee and maybe a bite to eat is all I need.’ He patted her hand and did his best to smile. ‘Besides, there’s no point in goinghome because your mum will be on that infernal machine and I’ll get no peace.’
Imagine how much worse you’ll feel trying to run two bloody businesses, then!Kat swallowed down the words and the sudden surge of anger that had risen with them. Yelling at him when he was in this state would only make things worse. Why couldn’t her mother see what she was doing to him? ‘I’ll only agree to go home once you’ve had a drink and something to eat, okay? Now sit back down while I fetch it for you.’
As she walked out, she heard him murmur, ‘I think I’m really losing her this time.’
Not again, please.‘Have you spoken to her about it?’ When he didn’t answer Kat clenched her fists and walked out. This wasn’t her problem any more. Wasn’t that what she’d decided? When she went back outside, Debbie was watching her with a sympathetic expression on her face. ‘Everything all right?’
There was no point in lying. Debbie had worked at the coffee shop for years: a few hours here and there while her kids were younger, then more regularly once they’d gone to secondary school. She’d been one of the people Kat had leaned on when her dad had broken down over her mum leaving. Kat shook her head. ‘Not really.’
Debbie gave her a hug. ‘Hang in there, love. Things will work themselves out.’
Kat wished she had as much faith in the situation as Debbie did, but the roiling in her stomach told her something else. Just how far had her mother gone this time? ‘I’m going to hang around for another hour probably, give Dad a chance to have something to eat.’
‘You cover the counter and I’ll sort it out for him,’ Debbie suggested and Kat smiled her thanks. If she went back in that office she might lose the final shred of temper she was holding on to. ‘Thanks.’
In the end, her dad emerged about thirty minutes later, looking a lot better. Debbie patted Kat’s shoulder and murmured for her to get herself off home and she’d take care of things then made a smiling beeline for Gavin. Kat didn’t know what she said but her dad was soon laughing. Deciding he was in safe hands for the time being, Kat fetched her coat and bag and hurried outside. Instead of turning towards the seafront, she walked in the opposite direction, her feet following the well-trodden path without conscious effort on her part. She pulled out her phone and called Harry.
