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I raked a hand through my hair while Tristan rubbed at his chin. He winced as he lifted his head. “Unfortunately, we did make the decision to terminate his contract early. It’s nothing to do with his loyalty as an employee but more a skill issue.”

“A skill issue?” I scoffed. “Cooke is amazing at his job, not to mention incredibly reliable. He’s barely taken a sick day since I’ve known him, and he’s been working in kitchens for thirty years.”

“Be that as it may, he’s never made the kind of food that’s on our menu before, and with the grand opening only three weeks away, there isn’t time to train him. Even if we did, there’s no guarantee he’ll ever reach the level required. I promise you, Rinnie, it wasn’t a decision made lightly.”

My stomach dropped as I listened to him. I’d known Cooke was struggling with the training, but I had every faith that he’d catch up. The fact that Tristan was calling time on him only a week in felt incredibly premature.

“At least give him some more time,” I said, my voice a mixture of pleading and frustration. “It’s hardly fair to deny him the chance to prove himself. He really is an amazing chef, and you can’t judge a person’s skill based on one week of training. He’s just been working with the same menu for years, so it’s obviously going to take him a while to get his head around a new one.”

“It’s not merely a new menu, though, Rinnie,” Tristan’s voice was full of apology, and it made me even more frustrated because I didn’t want him to be apologetic. I wanted him to have a little more patience with one of the best people I knew. “It’s an entirely different way of preparing food, and once you’ve learned to cook a certain way, it’s very difficult to unlearn habits. I had considered keeping Moira on for a couple of months to work with him one on one, but sadly it’s just not in my budget.”

“You don’t need to keep Moira on. I’m telling you, he’ll catch up. I know it’s a risk, but he’s been one of the longest-serving employees here, and I think that should stand for something. He’s put the time in, and he deserves a little more leeway.”

Tristan swallowed, a flicker of empathy in his face before his features hardened. “I’m sorry, Rinnie, but the decision’s already been made.”

“Well, I’m sorry too, but …” I caught myself right before finishing with, “That’s bullshit!” My fiery side was half tempted to quit in solidarity with Cooke, but all that would achieve was putting myself in financial hardship alongside my sister and her husband. I needed to keep my job, no matter how badly I wanted to stick it to Tristan Balfe in this moment.

Instead, I swallowed down all my frustration and rage, keeping my composure as I responded evenly, “If that’s your decision, then I have to accept it, but in my opinion, you’re making a huge mistake.”

Tristan opened his mouth to say more, but then Katy appeared at my side.

“Sorry to interrupt, Rinnie. I need your help with giving out the prizes.”

I blinked back the anger I felt on Cooke’s behalf and glanced at her, relieved for the interruption because I honestly couldn’t look at Tristan anymore today. If I did, I might say something I’d regret.

“Of course,” I said stiffly, not sparing another glance for Tristan as I turned and followed her over to the prize area.

We’d managed to put together some cool gift bags, alongside several vouchers for a few of the businesses in town. I’d been too upset with Tristan to notice that the game was going really well. The room was a buzz of conversation, Balfe people mingling with the legacy staff, good natured banter and laughter filling the space.

A couple of people started shouting “Bingo!” as they made their way over to the prize table to collect their winnings. I tried to muster some cheer, but it was useless. I was in a terrible mood, and it was all Tristan’s fault.

“You okay?” Samara asked after she’d achieved a full line and came over to collect her prize. I made sure to give her the skincare gift bag because I knew there were a couple things in there that she’d like.

“I’m fine. I just got some bad news.”

“Oh? Has it anything to do with the heated conversation between you and our boss?”

Right, I’d forgotten she’d witnessed that. I gave a small nod and checked my phone again, but there were no new messages from my sister. She was probably at home right now, working herself up into a ball of stress. I should be there to comfort her, but instead, I had to be here, overseeing a game of human bingo that had been organised to help my boss smooth over the tension between his new employees. The fact that it was his decision that had Sloane so upset boiled my blood.

I scrolled through what she’d sent earlier and didn’t even notice that Samara was peering over my shoulder until I heard her gasp.

“They’re firing Cooke?” she exclaimed in a loud whisper, and my stomach dropped before I shot her an unhappy glance. She had the grace to look chagrined.

“Sorry. You looked so tense, and I was worried.”

“You shouldn’t have read that. It was private.”

“I know. My eyes were scanning before I realised what I was doing. Please forgive me? I’m not normally so nosy.”

I blew out a heavy sigh. “It’s okay. And yes, they are letting him go. But please keep it to yourself for now. He hasn’t been officially told yet, so no one knows.” My gut sank once again just saying the words. I made sure to keep my voice low, and her brown eyes turned sad. “But why? He’s such a great chef and—”

“Is it true?” someone else asked, and a brick of dread plunged through my stomach when Lou suddenly appeared behind me. Seriously, was it even possible to have a private conversation in this place? He’d obviously been standing there listening to Samara and me for a while, and he looked ready to commit murder. Unfortunately, Lou didn’t possess my self-restraint in keeping his temper at bay.

“Lower your voice,” I said, but I knew the request would fall on deaf ears. Lou wasn’t the type of person to lower his voice. In fact, from my experience, when people asked him to keep it down, it only made him speak louder. “Cooke hasn’t been officially informed yet. He guessed it from how his training has been going and confronted Moira. She started acting shifty, so he knew his suspicions were right.”

“This is such bullshit,” Lou swore just as Lisa was walking by with Aminah, another of our housekeepers. “Have you heard about this?” Lou asked her.

Oh, great. And just when everything was going so well with bingo.