Page 131 of The Making of Jonty Bloom
“I’m not sure.”
“You already have an assistant. We’re not looking for more staff.”
“Then I’ll pay him, but I want him on the payroll from now.”
Alan went quiet. Devan could guess what he was thinking. He just hoped Alan didn’t voice it.
“He’s on minimum wage here,” Devan said. “It’s not going to break us or me. He’d be an asset.”
“I don’t really think employing this man is the right thing to do.”
“Then you’re not going to be employing me either.” The words came out without passing a sense check, but Devan meant it.
“Devan!” Alan barked out a laugh. “Just stop right there. Think about this. You approach me with a half-cocked idea of asking me to employ some young man you’ve taken a fancy to. Is his name Jonty, by any chance?”
What the fuck?But Devan wasn’t going to deny it. “Yes.”
“Griff had a phone call that he shared with the office. I wasn’t best pleased, but nothing I could do once it had been said. Get your private life sorted out. I told you to take time off. Take it now. Have your fun and leave this guy behind, because—”
Devan cut his boss off. He was furious with both Ravi and his brother and he wasn’t best pleased with Alan. But he needed Alan on his side.He pulled off the road as soon as he could and called Alan back.
“Sorry. I lost the signal,” Devan lied. “I’ve pulled off the road now so we don’t get cut off again. Will you please consider what I asked? Putting Jonty on the payroll now?”
Alantsked.
“He’d make a brilliant concierge. He knows this area so well.”
“Then we’ll interview him when we’re ready to start taking on staff.”
Devan could feel himself losing the argument. “I want to manage this hotel. I want Jonty on the payroll.”
“You’d be wasted going back to hotel management.”
“I’m only talking about six months. It’ll do me good to be back on the front line. If you need me at head office, with a good assistant manager in place, I can split my time. I want to supervise the build, stay up here and commute.”
There was a long pause. “Are you thinking with your head or your dick?”
Devan cut him off again and called Griff.
“Hi, Devan.”
“You are such a fucking piece of shit.”
“You’ve already made that clear. And you’re right. I am. I fucked your husband-to-be the day before your wedding. I couldn’t do much worse than that and I’m sorry, but it didn’t mean you had to try and get your own back by attempting to pull Ravi out of my arms.”
Devan fought to damp down his fury. “Is that what he told you? He didn’t have to come and stay at the hotel the company were thinking of buying. He could have easily found a hotel in Newcastle, but he got an Uber up here when he knew you were in London. I didn’t tell you jack shit, but I’ll tell you now. He offered me a fuck, said you’d never find out and I told him no.”
“You told Cato that lie and he told our mother.”
“Why the fuck would I lie, Griff?”
“Because you want the two of us to split up.”
“I don’t give a shit about either of you. Have I caused you any trouble since the wedding-that-didn’t-happen? I kept quiet because that was what we agreed. I assumed, because you let me, that it was an aberration, a one-off fuck and there was nothing between you. But you carried on seeing each other.”
“I love him. Ravi loves me.”
“I’d wish you a happy life, but I doubt it will be. If you choose to believe Ravi over me, then believe him, but you stay out of my business. Whatever Ravi told you about Jonty that you repeated to the office, you had no right to do that. What happened to Ravi at the hotel was an accident. Jonty says he didn’t thump him and I believe him. Ravi was pissed off and jealous. He pulled Jonty into the hot tub and ended up with his nose being hitby accident.Jonty’s been sacked for Ravi’s lie. I like Jonty. There isn’t a dishonest bone in his body. If it comes to a choice between him and you, I choose him. If it comes to a choice between my job and him, I choose him. So fuck off and believe what you want, but don’t spread Ravi’s lies.”
