Roses Are Red - Miranda Rijks Page 0,13
the house and into the kitchen. Oliver is sitting at the table, playing on his iPad.
‘I’m sorry, little man,’ Ajay says, ruffling Oliver’s hair. ‘If you need someone to play footie with, just give me a shout.’
‘Not ’til the autumn,’ Oliver says. ‘I’m playing cricket now. I’m reserve for the under thirteens first cricket XI at school.’
‘Are you indeed! That’s impressive. You’ll have to give me a lesson in bowling one of these days. Despite my Indian heritage, I never quite mastered it.’ He grins at Ollie, and I realise what a gaping hole Adam has left in my son’s life.
I swallow a sob and turn to Ajay. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’
‘A glass of water would be good. It’s baking out there.’
I haven’t noticed. It’s cool in our old house. We’re most of the way through yet another blue-sky day, and I haven’t stepped outside. Under normal circumstances, if the kids weren’t at school, they would be in the pool, and Oliver would be practicing his bowling on the lawn.
‘Can we have a chat?’ Ajay slants his head towards the living room as he mouths, ‘Alone.’
‘Sure. Ollie, Ajay and I just need to talk about some work stuff. Are you ok in here by yourself for a little while?’
Oliver nods, but not before I notice tears welling up in his eyes. He has been alternatively mine and Cassie’s shadow non-stop since Adam died. At night, he’s sleeping with the light on, and this morning, in the early hours, he slipped into my bed. He hasn’t done that in years.
I lead the way into the living room, carrying two glasses of water. It is a large room with a low-beamed ceiling, but despite the height of the room, it is light and airy due to the patio doors and windows looking out onto the garden. Ajay sits down on the cream sofa, adjusts the cushions, and pulls out a pile of papers, which he places on the glass coffee table. I hand him his water and sit in my favourite armchair. It belonged to Mum. I had the cushions refilled with goose feathers and the chair re-covered in pale blue linen. Something about its sturdiness and the memories of her give me reassurance.
‘I’m not sure if you remember, Lydia, but we all have life insurance and key man insurance through the company.’
‘Oh.’ I hadn’t remembered. I shiver at the thought of putting a monetary value on a life.
‘I don’t mean to be insensitive, but it’s something we need to think about, and action. Adam’s death will result in a very large payout. These are the forms.’ He pushes over some papers towards me.
My bottom lip quivers. Ajay notices.
‘I’m sorry, Lydia. I know it might seem insensitive to discuss this so soon, but the company could do with an injection of cash, and we’ll need to recruit someone to take over Adam’s position.’
I read the first page and then flick to the second page. ‘But the sums are so high. One and a half million pounds for the key man insurance. Is that right?’
‘Yes, it’s a lot of money, but Adam was valuable to the business. All three of us are covered for the same sum. Key man insurance protects the company from the financial impact of losing key personnel through death or illness.’
‘So the payout will be made to Cracking Crafts?’
‘Yes, although the life insurance policy will be paid to you as his beneficiary. That’s two hundred and fifty thousand pounds,’ Ajay points to the sum on the relevant page.
‘Are these amounts normal?’ I have no experience of this.
Ajay shrugs. ‘I’m not sure. I’ve completed all the forms, so we just need a signature from you. I’ve already signed.’ He points to the blank box at the bottom of the sheet and holds out a biro for me to use. I sign as instructed.
‘There are also a few payments that need authorising. I’ve signed off the payroll, but could you go through these quickly?’
I nod. These are all par for the course; things that I do on a weekly basis without even thinking about it.
‘Finally, we’re going to need to find a new financial director. With Joe having left, we’ve only got Suraya who knows what she’s doing in account. She can manage the basics, but I was wondering whether the auditors might be able to step in until we can recruit someone else. Are you ok with that?’
I nod. We may have been getting divorced, and he