‘Pro-bono?’
‘Free, to a certain point, and under certain circumstances. Hazel Holmes has looked at your case, and has agreed to take it on. She wouldn’t do that unless she thought you had a good chance of winning.’
‘You mean, like going to court, in front of a judge and jury.’
Zoe laughed, and Daisy realised how seldom she’d heard her sister-in-law do that recently. ‘Not court, an industrial tribunal,’ Zoe explained.
‘Okay,’ Daisy was apprehensive, despite the little glimmer of hope. ‘Where do we go from here?’
‘You meet with Hazel. She’ll be able to give you more details and better advice than I can. Before that, though, you need to write a letter to Caring Cards, advising them that you are appealing their decision to dismiss you without warning, and that you have retained the services of a solicitor, who will be acting as your representative.’
‘Okay…’
‘I’ll help with the letter. In fact, I’ll type it out for you, and all you’ll need to do is sign it and stick it in the post.’
Zoe was as good as her word, and before the hour was out, the letter was written, signed, and clutched in Daisy’s hand as she headed to the corner shop for a stamp, then into town to meet Hazel.
Ms Holmes was a smartly-dressed, slim woman in her late forties, with the demeanour of a Rottweiler.
‘Sit,’ she barked.
Daisy sat, twisting her hands, nervously.
‘Don’t fidget. I won’t bite.’
Daisy wasn’t so certain.
‘I hope you’re taking good care of Zoe,’ Hazel growled. ‘I need her back here, sharpish.’
Daisy nodded, her head bobbing up and down so fast she thought her neck might snap, and she wondered how Zoe put up with the woman.
‘She practically runs this place. Keeps me on my toes,’ Hazel was saying, and Daisy’s respect for her sister-in-law grew yet again.
‘I hate employers who think they can ride roughshod over the law, and people’s rights,’ Hazel began, getting down to business. ‘I’m not going to guarantee we’ll win this,’ (Daisy liked the way she said “we”) ‘but there is a chance the company has been underhand. Tell me everything.’
Daisy did. She was too scared not to!
‘Have you got proof?’ Hazel demanded, when Daisy finished her story, ending with the eavesdropping episode in the ladies’ toilets.
‘No, but I could get some, I could follow Melissa, and—’
‘Hold your horses, detective. Say you did obtain proof of this affair, what then?
‘It would prove—’
‘Nothing. Nothing relating to your appeal, anyway. They could claim that their affair began after you were dismissed.’
‘But what about Melissa’s promotion?’ Daisy cried.
‘Again, circumstantial. They could argue that if you had still been employed by them, you would have had an equal opportunity to apply for the role.’
‘So, we’re back to square one,’ Daisy said, sighing. This was turning out to be a total waste of everyone’s time.
‘No, we’re not. I’ve handled many such cases and often, if there’s the slightest hint of malpractice on behalf of the employer, then these things are usually settled out of court, or does not progress as far as a tribunal. It will cost the company to defend a precarious position, if indeed this one is precarious, and even if it’s not, I believe you still have grounds for appeal.’
‘What do we do now?’
‘I’ll start the appeal process, then we wait.’
Daisy wasn’t very good at waiting, but with no other choice she was forced to accept.
‘Will they have to re-employ me?’ she asked.
‘Reinstate you? That depends on a number of factors, which I won’t go into now. Do you want to be reinstated?’
‘I don’t know.’ With her job prospects as low as they were, she didn’t know if she had much choice, but the thought of walking back into that office, with all eyes staring at her, and with Melissa as her line manager, filled Daisy with dread.
‘Leave it with me,’ Hazel instructed, showing Daisy out. ‘I’ll be in touch once I have some information for you.’
Back at David’s house, Zoe was waiting for her. ‘Well?’ she demanded.
Daisy told her about her meeting, slumping onto the sofa and resting her head against its squishy back. ‘I don’t know if I can work there again,’ she confessed. ‘It would be horrible.’
‘Have you thought any more about my idea?’ Zoe asked.
In all honesty, Daisy hadn’t. As exciting as it sounded, Daisy didn’t think she had the skills, the drive, or the experience to carry it off. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to try.
‘I’ve got a confession,’ Zoe said, after listening to Daisy’s excuses.
‘You haven’t started on it, have you, because I honestly don’t think I’m up for it,’ Daisy asked.
‘I haven’t, but what I have done, and please don’t hate me, but I’ve sent an email to the CEO of Rosebush.’
‘The Rosebush? Why?’ Rosebush was the biggest, most successful greeting card manufacturer in the UK. The CEO wouldn’t be interested in a CV from a nobody. He had an HR department (a proper one, not merely a woman called Joyce) to do the recruiting on his behalf. Somehow Daisy couldn’t see him, or her, sifting through random job applications.
‘Because the idea is a good one,’ Zoe said.
‘If it was so good, and I don’t mean to be horrid, but they’d have thought of it themselves.’
‘They haven’t. Or, if they have, the idea didn’t get as far as the CEO’s desk. He likes it.’
‘How do you know?’
‘He said so.’
Daisy was speechless, but Zoe wasn’t.
‘I took the liberty of setting you up with a new email account,’ she said. ‘You honestly couldn’t have [email protected], not if you want to appear professional.’
‘I don’t know what to say.’ Daisy really didn’t. It was very kind of Zoe, but it was too much like your mother stepping in to sort out your problems because you can’t – embarrassing.
Zoe must have guessed what Daisy was thinking, because she added, ‘I pretended to be you. I hope you don’t mind.’
Daisy suspected Zoe might do a better job at being Daisy, than Daisy was at being herself. She certainly had, so far.
‘His name is Emmett Carstairs, and he wants to set up a meeting with you. He, or his secretary I expect, will be in touch.’
‘But Rosebush is based in London. I don’t want to move,’ Daisy pointed out, and a pair of deep blue eyes and the man they belonged to, popped into her mind.
Chapter 27
‘Wear trainers,’ Noah had said. ‘And something old, and warm, and you will need gloves.’
Daisy had no idea what he was planning for their second date (if a hasty, interrupted meal in a hospital canteen could be called a date), but she did as she was instructed, fervently hoping he didn’t expect her to walk up a bloody great mountain or something.
He picked her up from David’s house, and gave her a slow, sexy smile. She had done her best, but old warm clothes weren’t exactly the height of sexiness, though he told her she looked lovely, and she was grateful for his kindness, even if it wasn’t the truth.
At least her hair looked nice. She hadn’t yet drummed up the courage to have her long locks chopped off, and she’d spent ages in front of the little mirror in David and Zoe’s spare room, pinning it up into a loose chignon. It didn’t go with the old coat she was wearing, but at least it showed she’d made some kind of an effort.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked.
‘You’ll see,’ was all he said, and he refused to be drawn any further.
As they headed out towards Malvern, leaving the city behind them, Daisy was certain he intended to drag her up the famous Malvern Hills. She’d walked up them before, and though the view from the top across the wide Severn River Valley was spe
ctacular, the steep climb wasn’t. She’d been breathless and knackered by the time she reached the top on her one and only trek up the hill, and she’d been a fitter, younger version of herself. Twelve years old, to be exact. Goodness knows what state she’d be in this time! She’d probably need mouth to mouth.
But the car didn’t take the Malvern turning. Instead, Noah eased the vehicle into a narrow lane, and drove up the twisty winding road for a mile or so. The countryside was pretty, admittedly, even though the trees were bare and the day was grey and overcast.
When the car pulled into a farm yard, Daisy gave him an odd look.
‘Are we there yet, or are you lost and wanted to find somewhere to turn?’ she asked.
‘We’re here.’
‘And where is here?’
‘Coldbrook Farm.’
‘What’s in Coldbrook Farm, except cows?’ she asked. She didn’t need to see their black and white backsides, she could smell them through the closed car windows.
‘Horses,’ he replied, a huge grin on his face.
Was that supposed to mean something to her? ‘Horses,’ she repeated.
‘You said you wanted to go riding, so we are going riding.’
Daisy didn’t know whether to hug him or slap him. She couldn’t believe it – not only had he remembered her saying it, but he had taken the trouble to do something about it. He was either very considerate, or very silly. The next hour or so would decide which.
She got out of the car in a daze. Her – riding? What if she fell off? What if she made a total arse of herself?
‘My mate’s parents own the farm,’ Noah was saying, as he took her hand and almost dragged her around the back of the farmhouse. Her heart lurched at his touch, but it almost jumped out of her chest when she saw what was around the corner.
Two horses, both of them enormous.
There was no way she was getting on one of them. No way!
Five minutes later, she had one foot in the stirrup and another braced on Noah’s hands as he hoisted her into the saddle.
‘His name is Killer,’ Noah said, as she balanced precariously at what she felt was about a hundred feet off the ground.
‘Killer!’ Daisy shrieked, and the horse’s ears flicked back menacingly.
‘Just kidding, he’s called Max.’
Oh, that’s alright then, Daisy thought sarcastically, as Noah gathered up the reins and showed her how to hold them. Then he adjusted her stirrups.
‘Comfy?’ he asked.
‘No.’
His chuckle sent shivers down her already shivery spine.
Dinner would have been nice, lunch even. In a pub or restaurant where there wasn’t a hairy, smelly beast in sight. She could happily have coped with a play, or a concert, something indoors, where it wouldn’t matter if she fell off her chair…
‘How do you steer it?’ she asked. ‘More to the point, how do you get it to stop?’
‘To stop, you pull back gently on the reins, and to steer you use your legs and your hands to tell him which direction you want him to go in.’
‘I don’t want him to go anywhere. I’m quite happy here,’ Daisy stated.
Noah winked at her. ‘You’ll love it,’ he promised.
I won’t, she thought.
Noah mounted the other savage animal, who whuffled through its ginormous nostrils at him as he clambered on board, and Daisy nearly wet herself in fright.
Noah clicked his tongue, dug his heels into the animal’s side, and the horse began to move, one huge foot in front of the other. Daisy cried out when hers lurched forward, and she grabbed at his mane to stop herself from toppling backwards.
Thank God Noah had insisted she wore a helmet, she thought, even though it did mess up her carefully styled hair. At least she wouldn’t knock her brains out when she came off, and come off she most certainly was going to. How did people balance on these things?
Max fell into line behind the other horse, plodding slowly after it. Daisy forgot the reins existed and clutched the long, coarse hair sprouting from low down on the animal’s neck, holding on for dear life.
But after a while, she relaxed enough to take one hand off the mane (her knuckles were white where she’d been gripping so hard) and pick up one of the leather straps. When nothing happened, she did the same with the other.
‘How long are we supposed to do this for?’ she whispered, not wanting to speak too loudly in case it annoyed her horse.
‘As long as you feel comfortable.’
‘Does that mean we can stop now?’
Another chuckle. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand to attention. Dammit, but he was sexy, though all she could see of him was his broad back, ramrod straight, oozing confidence and competence as he swayed slightly to the rhythm of the horse’s gait.
She was aware she was doing a similar kind of sway, but she certainly didn’t feel sexy. She felt gauche and uncertain, but she had to admit she felt a thrill. She was doing it – after all these years, she was finally on the back of a horse. And this was no pony; this was a full-sized animal, chestnut in colour with darker mane and tail. Noah’s horse was a dappled grey, even larger than hers, and she admired the way he controlled it with ease. The slightest touch from Noah’s hands or feet, she noticed, had the animal instantly obeying him.
He turned in the saddle, twisting to look at her. ‘You okay?’
Actually, she was. ‘I’m fine,’ she called, and was rewarded by a wide smile. He was simply gorgeous when he smiled – his whole face lit up. He should do it more often.
They cut across the farmyard, and through a field, Daisy marvelling at the way Max stopped obediently while Noah angled his mount sideways on to the gate, then Noah leaned down (her heart was in her mouth at this point, scared he would fall off) and opened the gate, his horse stepping backwards.
He’d clearly done this before, and Daisy felt a twinge of envy and curiosity. Had Noah grown up around horses, or had he learned to ride later in life? There was so much she wanted to learn about this man, so much to discover. She was looking forward to it immensely.
‘Well?’ he asked.
‘Eh?’
‘Are you going through, or what?’
Or what, because she had no idea how to get her horse moving.
‘Gently kick your heels into Max’s side,’ Noah instructed, ‘else he won’t know what you want him to do.’
Kick him? Daisy was appalled. Surely the animal cruelty police would have a field day if she did that.
‘Better still, squeeze your legs together,’ he added. ‘He’ll respond to that, too.’
Daisy’s treacherous little mind wondered if Noah would respond in the same way, and she blushed furiously, her cheeks feeling very hot indeed.
She squeezed and Max walked forward through the gate.
‘I can’t stop him,’ she called, as the horse kept going. She was conscious of Noah falling further behind as he closed the gate.
‘Pull gently back on the reins and lean back ever so slightly in the saddle,’ he called back.
Daisy did as she was told, surprised when the tactics worked and Max ground to a halt. He soon started moving again once Noah’s horse drew level and pulled into the lead.
‘I didn’t do anything,’ Daisy said in confusion.
Noah twisted around again – she wished he’d watch where they were going and keep his eyes on the road, so to speak. ‘Horses are herd animals,’ he explained. ‘Trigger here, is the dominant horse, so Max will automatically follow him, unless you tell him not to.’
‘Will he listen to me?’
‘Try it. I’ll keep walking and you ask Max to stop.’
Daisy remembered what Noah had said, and pulled gently back on the reins.
Nothing happened.
She pulled harder and Max plodded to a stop, swishing his tail.
I can do this, she thought, triumphantly, and she felt immensely proud of herself.
‘I haven’t thought about
riding since I was little,’ she said, when she caught up with Noah, ‘but Jayne used to have lessons in an arena. I remember her telling me about it.’
‘That’s one way of learning to ride,’ Noah responded, ‘but this way is so much more fun. Fresh air, beautiful scenery, and no going around in endless circles.’
Daisy had to agree with him. After she realised that she didn’t have to keep her eyes glued to where they were going, and her heart didn’t jump into her mouth every time Max kicked a loose stone, or faltered as he picked his way over the uneven path, she settled down and looked around her. Never in a million years had she imagined going on a date like this. It was thoughtful, and also very different to what she’d been expecting.
When Noah judged she’d had enough, he cut through a field and headed back to the farm. By this time, her behind was numb, and her knees and thighs were becoming a little tender where the leather rubbed. She was also getting cold, and her hands were beginning to stiffen up, both from the chill air and her death-like grip on the reins.
In comparison, Noah looked as though he could keep going for hours. His one hand (just the one) held both reins and rested on the pommel (she’d learned a new word), the other rested on his thigh. She couldn’t help staring at it – his thigh, not his hand. As the horse moved, she could see the play of muscles beneath his jeans and it did funny things to her, and she wondered if his thighs ached.
‘Well?’ he asked, when they rode into the yard in a clatter of hooves, the horses with their ears pricked up, the pace slightly faster once they were on the home straight.
‘It was wonderful,’ she sighed. She was cold, parts of her she didn’t know existed ached, she stank of horse, and she had a feeling her nose resembled Rudolph, but she meant it. It had been wonderful. She wanted to do it all again, once she’d warmed up and the feeling had come back into her bum.
She watched Noah dismount and wondered how she was going to get down, when he came alongside her to help.
‘Take your feet out of both stirrups,’ he said, ‘then lean forward and slide your leg over the horses back. Don’t worry, I’ve got you.’
A Very Lucky Christmas Page 18
