‘Well, business will improve of course,’ Elle replied, wondering how on earth a guy with such a poor sense of commercial vision ended up managing a bank.

‘Ah, I see. Business will improve. You truly believe that making rudimentary repairs to this ramshackle hotel, this decrepit eye-sore on the waterfront, will make tourists come flocking?’

Decrepit eye-sore . . . This was her family’s business – their home – that he was talking about. For a moment, Elle didn’t say anything, because she knew that if she opened her mouth, she just might bite his head off.

‘Look, I’m not trying to insult you, or your mother’s . . . establishment.’ Doug Grant knew the value of a well-timed pause, and how to make the word following it sound questionable in itself. It seemed to cast doubt on whether The Bay Hotel really was an establishment of any kind, whether it should even be allowed to exist. ‘What I am trying to do, Ms Harte, is to show you how this would sound when I try to justify any decision to give you money to my superiors. This does not present a sound investment for the bank. In fact, this spells disaster from beginning to end. The hotel finances are already in disarray. There is no sign of the Bay Hotel being able to break even in the foreseeable future. It would be a bad decision. And I don’t make bad decisions.’

‘My family is very well-known and respected here,’ said Elle, her voice shaking. Her blood was boiling but she knew she had to do her best. If she lost her temper, everything would be over and they wouldn’t get a cent.

‘Ah but you see, I don’t know your family. And even if I did, I don’t go around giving loans out like sweets, like little favours. Perhaps you don’t realise, being from a small town like this, but in the real world, in the city, it’s quite different.’

‘I know how things work in the real world, you patronising git,’ she snapped. The dam holding her temper back had been well and truly burst, and now it was unstoppable. ‘I’ve never seen such an unprofessional display. They must have been mad when they employed you to replace Maurice. I wouldn’t employ you to sweep a barn.’

Elle stood up, and her chair went clattering to the floor behind her. ‘My family and the hotel will cease all business with this bank, you can be sure of that much,’ she said, knowing that this would of course be impossible while they were still in debt to it. ‘I hope this keeps you awake at night, you sorry excuse for a professional.’

It was then that the receptionist arrived, no doubt alerted by the sound of a kerfuffle coming from inside the cubicle.