“No,” she bit back. “This is more personal for you. This is about you and Callum.”
“You’re acting like a love-struck teenager. Don’t you see how your actions reflect on all of us? If this hotel fails because of you and your foolish heart, we all go down with it. Terminating the contract means that what happens only affects your hotel. It’s the town or Callum, Peyton. Or better yet, it’s your parents’ hotel or him,” Jay said. His body was strung up tight, and she saw the vein in his neck sticking out.
Peyton flinched, dropped the letter onto her desk, and blinked. “This is all about you, Jay. No one sees this the way you do. You’re being ridiculous.”
“I’m being ridiculous?” Jay hissed. “I’m not the one fucking someone who’ll toss me aside. He ain’t ever staying for you.”
Peyton swallowed hard, hoping it would numb the heated pain in her chest. Jay was her friend. At least she’d thought he was.
“He’ll never love you. I was here for you when he wasn’t. You should have loved me, Peyton.”
She picked up the termination letter, held it tight, and looked at Jay. The anger and hate in his eyes were ugly on him. Right now, he wasn’t the person she had once adored.
“I can’t love a man who will selfishly hurt me, Jay. I could never love you,” she said without hesitation.
Jay winced. “You’re a hypocrite! You love Callum and he has hurt you.”
Peyton shook her head. “But Callum would never damage my livelihood. This hotel is my life. He would never do anything to jeopardise its survival. You, Jay... You are a selfish man.”
“Then you’re gonna wanna hope he sticks by you when this place dies,” Jay said with so much disgust that it made her sick. Then he stormed out of her office and the hotel, the slammed door echoing throughout the entire building.
Peyton sank down onto the chair and stared at the letter in her hand. Her head spun at the sight of it. The Spencer-Dayle embodied local partnerships and produce. If it lost all these businesses, it lost its image.
She hoped Jay’s decision wouldn’t rub off on the rest of the town businesses.
Sitting at her desk, Peyton looked at the termination letter from the pub. The letter never suggested arbitration, just straight termination. It had been just over half an hour since Jay dropped the notice in front of her, now she held and stared at it. So much hate ran through her veins. If she wanted to play unfair, she could have dragged Daisy into it, but she hadn’t.
The town or Callum…
That’s what Jay wanted. In his eyes, she had betrayed him and the town. He was punishing her more than the hotel. The hotel happened to be in the crossfire. Without the pub, she wouldn’t be able to keep the hotel running after the wedding. The Spencer-Dayle pub had been the hotel’s biggest business partnership other than the Scott lavender farm.
There would be no negotiation, and right now, the hotel would be out of business by the end of the month if other businesses followed Jay’s actions. Nothing she had saved up for could pull The Spencer-Dayle out of that. Finding businesses outside of town would be difficult. Most of the towns that surrounded Daylesford had their own community business relationships.
Peyton sighed and covered her face with her hands. “What the hell do I do?” she asked herself, hoping to come up with an answer.
“You stand tall and show him that he needs the hotel, not the other way round.”
Peyton looked up to see Jenny standing at the door with her arms crossed over her chest.
“You know how important the pub is,” Peyton said, holding the termination paper up to her.
“Yes, but you have still have one of the most important businesses that still believes in you. And sometimes, Peyton, that’s all it takes. Just one,” Jenny said.
“Jenny, this is where, as your friend, I tell you to take the Hyatt position. I can’t keep this place alive for much longer. I have enough to pay everyone severance pay…unless I find a new owner and negotiate them keeping the same staff,” Peyton said, placing the letter on the desk and shaking her head.
Jenny leaned in close. “We’re going to be okay. You’re overthinking this. None of us will be here without you running this place, Peyton. Our loyalty is to you. If only Jay knew the importance of loyalty... Then he would never have done this to you. Talk of what he’s done is starting to travel around town. The next move is yours. Whatever you do, we support you. As long as you’re here, Peyton, we will be here.”
Jenny’s support had Peyton’s tears forming. “I let you all down. I’m so sorry.”
“You didn’t, Peyton. Listen to me,” Jenny said as she took her hands. “We didn’t think we’d have jobs after your parents died. With the state you were in, we were sure that was it of this place. But you fought hard—not because of Jay, but because you had people who love you and support you.”