Sometimes Moments

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 go

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 ru

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 Je

“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,” Je

“Je

Je

Je

“You didn’t, Peyton. Listen to me,” Je

Peyton smiled. She would figure out a way through this. She didn’t need the pub. She would just find a new partnership, even if that meant outside of town.

“And I know Callum would support you. He may not have physically been here, but I know he would have been by your side. The way he looked at you when you were teenagers… A love like that doesn’t go away in time. You’ve never been alone, Peyton. We’ve been here. We will always be here. No matter your choice, we will support you. You come first to us—then the hotel. Realise that order. I may not be your mother, but I see you as my daughter and I will always treat you like one. I’ve never tried to replace your mother. She was a wonderful woman. But I have tried to be the maternal figure you needed all these years.”

Peyton removed her hands from Je

Je

“Thanks, Je

“I wanted to watch you grow and make this place beautiful. I owed it to your parents to be the one to do it when they couldn’t,” Je

The moment Peyton was alone, she reached for the closest pen and read through the termination contract between The Spencer-Dayle and Daylesford Pub. There was no need to contact the hotel’s lawyer. She didn’t want to go into arbitration or court over it. Jay was not only terminating the relationship between their businesses, but also their friendship.

Peyton looked through the pages to see that the hotel hadn’t fulfilled its obligations in providing a reputable image for both organisations. She shook her head and placed the tip of the ballpoint on the paper. Then she took a deep breath and signed Peyton Spencer on the dotted line and added the date.

Peyton stood at the door of the pub. Her heart was beating so fast and hard that she was scared it would force itself out of her chest. But she needed to do this. She needed to prove just what she was capable of as a business owner. This wasn’t a game. This was her hotel’s future that Jay had meddled with. If he was upset with her being with Callum, then he needed to take it out on her, not the hotel. But he had known it would hurt and that was why he had done it.

You can do this, Peyton.

She placed her hand on the door and pushed it open. The loud pub quietened the moment she took three steps inside. Countless pairs of eyes were on her, but she ignored them. Instead, she locked eyes with Jay.

He looked surprised to see her. Whispers could be heard around her, but Peyton tuned them out as she walked towards the counter.

“Mads isn’t here. She just left with her folks,” he said, wiping down the wood counter.

Before Peyton could say anything, Jay’s father walked from the door to behind the counter, holding a clipboard.