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When Tasha smiled at him, he was relieved that any sign of the tension from the car was long gone. ‘Please don’t think I’m being critical. My job has always been to look at things from a new angle, be a fresh pair of eyes. I’d hate to walk into a job where everything is running smoothly and there wasn’t any room for improvement, because where’s the challenge in that?’
‘Well, we’ve got plenty of room for improvement, that’s for sure. Have you seen enough here? I’ve got a couple of lodges in the woods that were supposed to be the start of a more upmarket offering, but my cousin is still living in one of them as her plans to build her own place on the estate were scuppered when her builders stumbled across some old ruins.’
‘And you want those to be part of the glamping expansion, is that right?’ Tasha asked as they walked across the campsite towards the woods.
Rhys nodded. ‘At some point, but honestly I think I bit off more than I could chew with them as they ate up a lot of time and money to design and build. I’m not sure trying to rent just one of them is worth it.’
‘I’d be interested in renting it – if I get the job, that is,’ she added with a quick smile. ‘Commuting from Reading would be a lot of hassle and I’d be on hand to deal with any problems that might arise out of hours.’
It certainly made sense, although he’d have to apologise to Ben for turfing him out of the currently empty lodge. Moving in with Amelia hadn’t done their relationship any harm though, quite the opposite in fact, so perhaps Ben would thank him. ‘That would work for me, although I wouldn’t expect you to be on call every night.’ He’d assumed he’d be having to deal with the out-of-hours stuff himself, so having someone to share the load would be an added bonus. ‘So if we agree the lodges are off the table for now, do you have any other ideas for what we can offer to people looking for something a bit more upmarket?’
‘Oh, loads.’
He grinned. ‘Why doesn’t that surprise me? What did you have in mind?’
Tasha returned his smile. ‘If you’re looking to expand ready for this summer, then we’d need to be a bit more creative. It would depend on the budget of course.’
‘I’ve got money set aside for improvements, it’s time that I’m really short on.’ Rhys paused at the head of the walking trail that would lead them to the lodges. ‘You really think there’s time to get the glamping up and running this season?’
‘Absolutely. We’d have to get cracking, but I’ve got a list of potential suppliers for things like bell tents, eco pods and what-have-you. I even found someone who customises old vehicles like buses and vintage caravans.’
‘This is all music to my ears, Tasha. Let’s head over to the lodges and then we can scout out a few locations before we head back to the stable yard. I’d like you to meet my cousin, Hope, before you leave. She’s our events organiser amongst many other things and it’d be good for the two of you to chat so you have a clearer idea of what we have planned for the estate this year.’ Though he valued Hope’s opinion, Rhys was pretty sure he wasn’t going to find a better candidate than Tasha. In fact she was almost too good to be true. ‘Do you mind if I ask why you’re leaving your current position?’
Tasha smiled as though she’d been expecting the question. ‘Not at all. The company is restructuring and it feels like a good time to diversify my skill set. I feel like I can bring a lot to Juniper Meadows and gain a lot for myself at the same time.’
It was a polished and professional answer, full of the kind of corporate jargon he supposed she was used to rattling off. ‘Still, it sounds like this might be a step down from what you’re used to doing. I want someone who is seriously committed to the future of the estate. I don’t want you taking the job and then deciding a few weeks later that it’s not for you.’
‘I like the idea of stepping outside my comfort zone to do a job where I’ll face something different every day. I’m used to project managing, but it’s always been from a distance.’ Tasha gestured at the tall trees around them. ‘And besides, if it looks this beautiful now, I can only imagine what it’ll be like in the coming months. Who wouldn’t want to work somewhere like this?’
Rhys could see her point, but then he was more than a little biased. His parents had been clear when he was growing up that there was no expectation on him to work on the estate, but Rhys had never thought about doing anything else. He must’ve been about fifteen or sixteen when he’d understood what his Uncle Ziggy’s confirmed bachelor status meant for his own future. The title his grandfather had all but rejected would be his one day and passed down to his own children after that.
Rhys couldn’t help shooting a quick glance at Tasha. Attractive, smart, full of ideas on how things on the estate could be done better. She was well on the way to being the ideal candidate for more than just running the campsite. What a shame he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
7
Tasha gave Rhys and his cousin, Hope, one final wave before she climbed into her car and closed the door with a sigh of relief. The interview had lasted the best part of two hours and if she didn’t get a message offering her the job, she’d eat one of her mother’s fascinators. She’d had less than a week to prepare her application to meet the job deadline and had received an invitation for the interview less than forty-eight hours later, which all rather smacked of desperation. Rhys had struck her as intelligent and competent, but it had become clear he hadn’t devoted much time to the camping business. Even as she’d been talking to him, a thousand and one ideas had zipped into her brain.
It would be a fun challenge to take on and she hadn’t been entirely spinning him a line when she’d said she would enjoy stepping outside her comfort zone. She hadn’t said as much to Rhys, but the lodge had absolutely blown her away and the idea of waking up every morning to the sound of the birds rather than the persistent dull hum of the traffic would be an experience like nothing else she’d known so far. Still, it was too big a risk to take. If she stepped out of the day-to-day action at SJW she’d be left behind. Juniper Meadows was a career backwater. A beautiful, tempting backwater.
An insistent vibration rattled against her hip. How many times was that now? Six? What was it about this place that had her boss so riled up? She let the phone go to voicemail while she turned on the engine and connected the handset to her car’s Bluetooth system. As she pulled on her belt, she glanced up but the couple had disappeared, probably headed into the distillery where Hope had mentioned her office was so they could talk about Tasha. She barely made it halfway along the long drive leading towards the gates of the estate when her phone started ringing again.
‘Well? How did you get on?’ Simon Willoughby’s demanding voice seemed to fill the entire car.
‘Good afternoon, Simon.’ As much as she admired her boss, he had a habit of riding roughshod over anyone who didn’t stand up to him and he had a tendency to believe that basic things like manners didn’t apply to him.
‘Yes, yes, I know I’m a rude bastard. Hello, Tasha. How are you, Tasha? Blah, blah, blah. Now stop dicking me around and tell me what you found out.’ There was an impatient eagerness in his words that she recognised. Simon had – to use his rather vulgar vernacular – a serious hard-on for Juniper Meadows, and once again Tasha found herself wondering why.
‘The interview went okay?—’
A rude snort cut her off. ‘I should bloody hope it went a bit more than okay given how massively over-qualified you are for the job. If they don’t bite your hand off, then they’re an even bigger bunch of idiots than I thought.’ When he’d first proposed this madcap scheme of his, Simon had been similarly dismissive about the Travers family.
‘They didn’t strike me as idiots. They have a very clear vision for what they want to do with the place. I got the impression they’re lacking in the bodies to deliver on their plans rather than ambition.’
‘Oh, you know what these upper-class knobs are like, they can turn on the charm when they want something but someone else ends up doing all the work while they swan about taking credit.’
Tasha rolled her eyes, but she let it go. She knew Simon had built his empire from nothing and it was one of the things she most admired about him, but he had a definite hang-up about his humble beginnings. He was obsessed with status and having the best of everything. As long as she was comfortable and dressed appropriately, Tasha couldn’t care less. She had a handful of designer-label items in her wardrobe but they were discounted seconds and end-of-season bargains. Once a year, Danni would visit for a girls-only weekend that inevitably ended in her persuading Tasha to drive them up the A34 to the outlet village at Bicester. Tasha put up with it because she loved those precious days together and letting Danni shop for her was a lot less hassle than trying to do it on her own – as the pink suit now tucked into the back of her wardrobe proved. Simon shopped in Harrods because he thought that was where rich people were supposed to shop. He had regular manicures to repair the damage caused by years of hard graft on building sites and in warehouses as he’d fought his way up from the bottom rung of life’s ladder.
She thought about Rhys sensibly clad in jeans, boots and a warm jumper that had looked to be an old favourite from the number of darns she’d spotted in it. His hand had been rough and warm when they shook hands, and there’d been no missing the calluses on his palm, nor the broad, solid strength of his body earned through hours of physical labour rather than pounding the treadmill in the basement gym at the offices of SJW. He didn’t seem to care what other people thought about him, or perhaps he was just comfortable and confident in who he was.
