The reception assistant asked for her name and details. Gaby answered the questions and then braced herself for the next part.
“Listen, there’s something I need to tell you?—”
“Hang on, what did you say your name was?” the receptionist asked, frowning.
“Gaby Leonard. Gabrielle Leonard. But listen, there’s something I really need to let you know?—”
But the receptionist held up her hand to stop her talking as she frowned at her computer screen.
“Could you just hang on for a minute?” the receptionist said, rising from her chair and disappearing through a door behind her.
Frustrated, Gaby sighed. Ditching this job was hard enough without having to wait any longer to do it. Almost five minutes passed before the receptionist reappeared alongside another woman.
“Er, Gabrielle Leonard?” the new woman asked, peering at Gaby before glancing back at the tablet device she was holding.
“Yes, that’s right. Listen, I was just about to tell your colleague that?—”
“Ms Leonard, I’m really sorry, but there’s been some sort of mix-up with our paperwork,” the woman said.
Gaby frowned. “What do you mean?”
“It appears that something’s gone wrong in our employment systems and I’m sorry to say that we’ve hired two people for the same job. We think there’s been a glitch with the contracts handled by the employment agency we work with. I’m afraid we only need one person for the job of guest experience manager, but we’ve ended up processing paperwork for two people. The other person has already turned up and we’ve just finished onboarding her into our system. Now that you’re here too, we’ve only just discovered the error.”
Gaby stared, trying to take in this information. “So, you’re saying you don’t need me?”
The woman glanced at Gaby’s luggage and looked sheepish. “Not for the job of guest experience manager. But we understand of course that you’ve come here expecting to work, so if you’ll just bear with me, I’ll dig into our system and see where we might be able to fit you in. I’m afraid it won’t be a management position, but it’ll be something at least, and?—”
“Wait,” Gaby interrupted. “Are you saying you… don’t have a job for me?”
“Well, yes but?—”
“What I mean is, if Idon’tjoin the cruise ship today, you won’t be left in the lurch?”
The women behind the reception desk exchanged a confused look.
“Uh, that’s right. Like I said, there’s been some kind of mix-up and we’ve hired two of you for the same job and the otherperson is already here, which is why if you give me a few minutes, we’ll see if we can find something else for you on board.”
“No! Don’t do that!” Gaby squealed and clapped her hands together. “You have no idea what this means to me! Thank you!”
Gaby leaned across the counter and hugged the astonished women and then grabbed her suitcase and all but sprinted out of the reception building.
They’d hired two people for one job and she wasn’t needed after all! Which meant she could leave and not feel sick about letting down a new employer.
It was a sign—not that she’d needed one. Her heart already knew what it wanted.
Gaby ran towards the taxi rank that served the cruise terminal, desperate to get back to the train station and return to Hamblehurst.
And to find Peter… and ask if he still wanted to begin a new adventure with her.
30
Peter knewhe’d lost his mind, but he didn’t care. As he brought his car to a screeching stop on Foxglove Street, he wondered if he’d just lost his job as well as his mind.
Twenty minutes ago, he’d burst into the headmaster’s office and told him that he had no choice but to abandon his afternoon classes and said he was sorry and hoped someone could cover for him.
And then he’d run out of the school, jumped into his car and driven straight here before he could come to his senses.
Abandoning your post didn’t tend to go down well when you were in charge of teaching a classroom full of kids about how to become responsible young adults. At best, he was probably looking at a disciplinary reprimand.
