“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” she said quickly. “I don’t even know who he is. I’ve never seen him before.”
Hughes studied her, then smoothed his tie. “Just get back to work and remember that our customers expect excellent service.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed.
She went out of the office and returned to folding the napkins. The bartender, Leo, called out to her. “Hey, Sara?”
She turned. “What?”
“That guy who was just here? The one talking to you and Hughes over there?” He motioned to where the accident had happened.
Not him, too. “What about him?”
He held up two twenty-dollar bills. “He paid for his drink with these, then left. I hardly think he was so impressed with me that he left me more than a thirty-five-dollar tip. Can you tell him I’ve got his change whenever he wants to come and get it?”
“No, I don’t know who he is.”
“Oh, I thought you and he…” He shrugged and folded the bills, tucking them in his vest pocket. “I’ll hold on to them and see if he comes back.” The phone behind the bar rang, and as Leo answered it, Sara turned to go and check her drawer to make sure it was even before the lunch rush started. But she’d barely turned when Leo called out to her again. “Sara?”
She looked back at him. “What?”
He was holding the cordless phone out to her as he looked around. Then he whispered when she crossed to take the phone, “Hughes is gone. It’s for you.”
She felt her stomach sink. Only one person would be calling her—the baby-sitter. She took the phone and spoke quickly into it. “Marg?” she asked.
“Yes, hello, Sara. I’m sorry to be calling at work, but—”
“Marg, what happened? Is Hayley all right?” Her hand was holding the phone so tightly it was aching. “Is something wrong?”
“No, no, no, Hayley is just fine. She’s napping right now, as a matter of fact. But I just found out something and wanted you to know right away.” She hesitated, then said, “I won’t be able to watch Hayley after this week.”
Now her heart sank for a different reason. It had taken her forever to find someone to care for Hayley, someone she trusted and she felt safe leaving her child with. “For how long?”
“Actually, I’m going back to school. I’ve been thinking about it for some time, and the opportunity just came up. I can’t pass it up,” she said. “I’m sorry. I know this is an inconvenience for you, but I have a few recommendations for you, other sitters. I just wanted you to know right away.”
“I appreciate that,” she said, but thought it was more than an “inconvenience” for her. Another sitter? “I’ll be by for Hayley later and you can give me the names?”
“Absolutely,” Marg said brightly.
She hung up, then turned and handed the phone back to Leo. “Thanks.”
“Your little girl okay?” he asked, surprising her by asking since she’d never spoken to him about Hayley.
“She’s…she’s fine,” she said. It’s just me, she wanted to add, but didn’t. She wasn’t going to wallow in self-pity. She hadn’t been fired. Hayley was okay. Things would work out.
“Customer,” Leo said, nodding toward the door.
For some reason she expected the stranger to be coming back, hoping it was, so that she could apologize. But when she turned there was no lean man in a leather jacket with a smile that seemed to see humor where none existed. Instead, she saw a lady whom she’d met the first day at work, Mary Garner, who helped run the day-care center in the LynTech building next door. Mary came in every day at this time to have a cup of tea and nibble on shortbread biscuits. The slender, gray-haired lady smiled when she spotted Sara.
“Hello, there,” Mary said brightly.
The lady was in her sixties, with a gentle, soft voice. She wore simple dresses in grays or navies, and always sensible shoes. “Good morning,” Sara said, and led her to her usual table, one off to the side by the windows. “The usual?” she asked as Mary settled into the high-backed leather chair.
“Yes, thanks,” Mary said, then touched Sara’s hand before she could leave to get the tea and biscuits. “Is everything all right? Your little one’s okay, isn’t she?”
Mary was the only customer Sara ever talked to for any length of time, and for some reason, she was the only person she’d told about her situation. “Hayley is just fine, thank you.”
“Well, you look totally stressed,” Mary murmured softly, then her eyes widened. “That husband of yours, he didn’t show up here, did he?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing to do with Paul, and he’s not my husband. We’ve been divorced for three months now, and as far as I know, he’s off somewhere on the East Coast making musical history.” She shook her head. “He’s doing his own thing, and he won’t think about us…not unless he needs money.”
Mary sighed. “Then what’s going on?”
“Just a bad morning,” she said.
Mary tapped the table. “Can you sit for a minute?”
Sara was tired and the idea of sitting down for a bit was very appealing, but she couldn’t take a chance of making Hughes angry again. “I’d better not.”
Mary looked past her, then lifted her hand. “Sir?”
Sara turned and realized that Mary was motioning to Mr. Hughes. She literally held her breath as he approached them. “Mrs. Garner? What a pleasure to see you here again,” he said pleasantly in his clipped British accent. “I was just saying to our chef that you can set your watch by Mrs. Garner. Eleven o’clock, right on the mark.” He glanced at Sara, then back at Mary with concern. “Is there a problem?”
“Oh, my goodness, no, sir. I just wanted to ask you if Sara could keep me company for a few minutes? I thought a few minutes of adult conversation before heading back to the children would be a treat for me.”
She could tell by the way his jaw worked that he wanted to say no, to push Sara back into the kitchen to help with the prep work. But he nodded obsequiously. “For you, dear lady, anything.” He looked at Sara. “Ten minutes?”
“Yes, sir.”
He looked back at Mary. “Have a lovely day, Mrs. Garner.”
“Thanks so much, Mr. Hughes,” Mary said with a smile. “You are a prince among men.”
He smiled at that. “And you are a true lady.”
As he walked away, Mary patted the table across from her and said, “Sit down, dear.”
“I’ll get your tea first,” Sara said, then hurried off and was back in a few minutes with a tray with two cups of tea and the plate of biscuits. She put them down in front of Mary, then slipped into the opposite seat.
She couldn’t help glancing at Hughes over by the bar, and was shocked to hear Mary mutter, “Don’t worry about that officious twit.”
Sara looked at Mary. “He’s my boss.”
“A twit,” Mary said, then took her time sipping tea, before she sat back in her seat. “Now, what’s been happening?”
Sara fingered her teacup. “Well, to begin with, I dumped a whole tray of food on one of the most important people in this building, according to Mr. Hughes.”
Mary stared at her, then started to chuckle. “Oh, my.”
“Exactly,” Sara murmured, starting to smile in spite of herself.