by Tara Ford
Aaron nodded, “Yes, sure I can.”
“Sorry Tasha, can you pop them in the office please,” called Jenny. Glancing out of the window, to check that no one was coming in, she then beckoned to Aaron. “Follow me,” she said, trying to hide her jangly nerves.
Deliberately, leaving the office door open, Jenny showed Aaron inside and offered her chair to him. “I’ll just get another one from the staff room – be right back.” As she passed Dayna, by the staffroom entrance, she raised her eyebrows and grinned widely. Dayna looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“Going to tell me all about the EPOS systems,” whispered Jenny.
“Thought you couldn’t afford one of those yet,” Dayna whispered back.
“No, I can’t but there’s no harm in him telling me about it, is there?”
“Hmm…” Dayna smirked, “I know what you’re up to.”
“Day!” Jenny turned to make sure that no one was behind her, “I’m not up to anything.”
“You fancy him…”
“Yes… and? So do you,” said Jenny, in her defense.
“Enjoy your lunch break hun – see you laters.” Dayna winked and then toddled off with a mug of coffee in her hand.
Returning to the office, Jenny plonked the stool down, lowered the seat and sat on it. “Sorry about that, I haven’t had any visitors come to my office yet.”
“No worries, are you sure you want me dipping into your lunch break like this?”
“Oh yes, it’s not a problem at all – I’ve got two hours.” Jenny picked up her mug of coffee and grinned. “I haven’t, as of yet, managed to do anything I should be doing in my lunch breaks.”
“Oh, ok. You must find it pretty hard running this place on your own – I’m assuming that you do it on your own?”
“Yes, I do… well, I’ve got my dad and my brother. They help me with the DIY and maintenance stuff – they’re builders.” As soon as Jenny had said the words, she remembered that her dad and Jacob were coming this afternoon to fit the new lights outside. “Oh, that’s just reminded me actually. I need to tell my dad – I’ve got a light out at the front of the shop.”
“Handy to have family like that,” said Aaron.
“Yes it is. I don’t know what I’d do without them really.”
“So… you don’t have a partner, husband… or anyone like that, to help you run it?”
“Oh God – no. I’ve done this all by myself. Some people might think I’m mad, but…”
“But you’re doing it anyway.”
“Exactly,” said Jenny, beginning to feel very comfortable talking to such a nice, charming, young man.
Aaron took a large swig of his coffee and looked at Jenny. “I’ve been thinking… I may have a proposition for you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, well, two actually.” Aaron grinned through perfectly white teeth.
“Ok… go on then.”
“The first one is…” Aaron peered down at his shoes, “would you like to go for lunch, in the town?” His face turned slightly pink. “Then I could discuss the second one with you over a burger or something.” Aaron met Jenny’s eyes and waited, expectantly, for an answer.
“Sure, why not – sounds like a plan. Love burgers and I’m intrigued now.”
Having told the girls that she was going out on an unexpected business lunch and she’d be back by two o’clock, Jenny left both Dayna and Tasha with bewildered expressions on their faces. She hopped into Aaron’s very expensive looking BMW, waved to the girls, who were both peering out of the window perplexed, and headed off into town.
Sitting in the car together, the atmosphere had changed from the friendly, business-like meeting they’d had at the shop, to an awkward, ‘Not sure what to talk about on our first date’. Of course, it wasn’t a date but Jenny couldn’t help feeling coy and a bit lost for words.
“So… where are we going?” she asked purposefully, as they travelled round the outskirts of the town, towards the harbor.
“I know just the place if you like burgers and that kind of thing – follow me.”
Jenny giggled. “I can’t exactly not follow you can I?”
Aaron shot a sideways glance and smirked. “Suppose you can’t – so you’ll have to sit there and wait until we arrive at our destination, madam.”
Shaking her head from side to side, as a wide grin spread across her face, Jenny sighed contentedly. The stiff atmosphere was breaking up already. Why was she beginning to feel like she’d known Aaron forever?
Snax Bar was situated right on the waterfront, overlooking the harbour. The cloudless sky above reflected on the tiny, bobbing waves, in shades of dark blue and grey. The harbour was relatively peaceful, apart from the odd fishing boat passing by, or the ferry crossing over from the mainland.
“Do you want to eat in or out?” said Aaron as he parked the car opposite the large café.
“Out would be nice. It’s a bit chilly but I really fancy the fresh air after being cooped up in the shop all day, every day.”
“No problem,” said Aaron as they crossed over the road and went in to Snax Bar, both feeling very hungry.
Ten minutes later, Jenny and Aaron found a table in the ferry gardens. They sat down in the warm sunshine and opened up their cartons.
“Never had one of these before,” said Jenny, eyeing the pulled-pork and coleslaw, ciabatta roll. Her tummy rumbled as she picked it up and sank her teeth into it.
Aaron smiled at her, “They are very good. The lattes are great too.” He took a sip from the drink and then grabbed his ciabatta roll and began to devour it, hungrily.
“So… what is the second proposition then?” asked Jenny, wiping her mouth discreetly.
“Well….” Aaron gulped a big piece of bun down, “I know that you said that you can’t afford an EPOS system… but I’ve been thinking…”
“Yes…”
“I have put second-hand systems into shops before… for a quarter of the price…”
“I couldn’t even afford a quarter of the price though.”
“No, I appreciate that. I’m fully aware of your situation, having just set up your shop. You need to build up your customer base first.”
Jenny nodded and then looked out across the harbour as a small boat drifted past. The sunlight sprinkled glistening dots on the frothy, turbulent water, behind the boat. Out to sea, as far as Jenny could see through the harbour’s entrance, ripples of sunlit water undulated rhythmically. It was a beautifully, picturesque setting. Sitting here, with a charming and handsome man, Jenny suddenly felt despondent. Times like this would be few and far between, now that she had the shop. She didn’t even have the weekends to look forward to. It was hitting her far sooner than she had ever thought, that her long hours at the shop were going to be for the long haul.
“Are you ok?”
“Yes… sorry, I was just gazing out at that lovely scene,” she replied, pointing across the harbour.
“Thought you might like it here,” said Aaron, gazing deep into Jenny’s eyes with his own, almost lovingly smiling eyes. “Anyway, as I was saying, I’m taking out an old EPOS system from one of my customer’s shops next Monday. So I was just wondering whether you would like me to fit it into yours.”
“I couldn’t afford it, Aaron. Not at all – I really appreciate your kind offer but how could I have it?”
“Well, like I said, I’ve been thinking about you…”
“Ooh… have you indeed.” Jenny raised her eyebrows and grinned cheekily. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I should be taking your proposition seriously – I am sorry.”
“No problem.” Aaron laughed, “Look, what I mean is… I would be happy to loan this system to you – call it a trial run?”
Jenny’s eyes lit up. “Really? For how long?”
“As long as it takes. I could draw up a contract, let’s say, for your first year of trading, so that you owe me nothing. If you like it after that, you could pay for it then. Wh
at do you think?”
“What do I think? I think it’s a wonderful and very generous offer.” Jenny looked up and across the harbour again but this time her irritability had vanished. “There’s just one thing…”
“Ok, what’s that?”
“Why would you be giving this system to me for nothing? Why would you want to do that?”
“To be honest with you, it would sit out in the back of my mum’s store room, waiting for the remote possibility that someone would want to buy an old operating system. It’s quite an outdated set-up and that’s why my customer is upgrading to a newer one, he’s had it for eight years or more.”
“Oh, I see,” Jenny replied, humbly.
“Don’t get me wrong,” said Aaron, wiping his mouth with a paper serviette, “it’s a good system. Great in fact. I think it would be good for you – you know, with just starting out and all that.”
Jenny thought for a moment, “You are so kind, Aaron. Wouldn’t you be making a loss though? How long would it take to fit it? I mean, how can I pay you for your time?”
“Buy me a pulled-pork ciabatta,” said Aaron, grinning cheekily.
“What now?”
Aaron shook his head, “No… on the days that I’m fitting your new EPOS system.” Aaron winked.
A surge of bubbly excitement rushed through Jenny – not because she was going to get an EPOS system fitted but because Aaron had winked at her. She knew that she truly fancied him, for sure, which was not convenient at all, in her present circumstances. Feeling uncomfortable by her own admission, Jenny shuffled in her chair, gulped down the last piece of ciabatta and then picked up her latte and toyed with the lid of the cup. “So what do they actually do then? I know about some of it… we used similar systems in the warehouse.”
“Thought you might ask that,” said Aaron, pulling a small booklet from his jacket pocket. “Here’s some bedtime reading for you.”
“Oh, thanks.” Jenny took the booklet from Aaron and their fingers touched… Instantly their eyes met… Immediately, Jenny’s heart raced… Stupidly, the booklet fell from Jenny’s hand, knocking the cup of latte over… Heroically, Aaron grabbed the lidded cup before it rolled to the floor… Knowingly, Jenny and Aaron gazed at each other… before bursting into a raucous laugh.
“Phew, that was close,” said Aaron, placing the cup in front of Jenny. “Right, let me think… I’m taking the old system out of Ken’s shop on Monday and then I’ll be fitting the new one on Tuesday and Wednesday… it may go into Thursday too. How about next weekend? Are you around at the weekends?”
“I’ll be around every weekend… I work seven days a week for the foreseeable future,” said Jenny, pulling the corners of her mouth down, feigning sadness.
“Ah, poor you – it’s really tough isn’t it? I know… I’ve been there before too.” Aaron mirrored Jenny’s sad face. “So, does next weekend sound ok?”
“Yes, that would be great… and thank you so much for this, Aaron.” Jenny thought for a moment and then she added, “Only problem at the weekends is that I wouldn’t be able to take you out at lunchtime, for a bit of pulled-pork. There are only two of us working – it’s not like during the week. I wanted to give the girls a day off each week, so the shifts are different. I couldn’t expect them to work seven days a week as well.”
“No, of course not. Well, not to worry – maybe we could do it during the week sometime. I’m pretty flexible – what with running my own business.” Aaron propped his chin up on his hand. “So it’s a done deal then – yes?”
Jenny nodded and smiled at him. “It’s a deal,” she replied. “And thank you, so much.”
“Do you fancy some celebratory, billionaire’s cheesecake?”
“Oh, go on then,” said Jenny, peering down at her watch. “Let me get it.”
“No – my call… that way you’ll have to owe me cheesecake too.” Aaron winked again and got up from his chair. “Be back in a minute.”
As Jenny was mesmerized by the rippling waves out to sea, her phone began to ring, snapping her out of her blissful moment. Grabbing it from her bag, she noticed that it was an unknown number. “Hello,” she said.
“Jen, your dad and Jacob are here. Where are you?”
“I’m down by the harbour – having lunch. Make them a nice cuppa, Day. I should be back in about half an hour.”
“Your dad said that Calvin is coming to help too.”
“Oh great! That’s all I need. Why does he have to muscle-in on everything? It’s bad enough that I have to go out for a coffee with him tomorrow. I wish I’d never agreed – it was only to get rid of him the other night… Actually…” she paused, thoughtfully. “I’ve just realised. I can’t go out tomorrow anyway, can I?”
“I don’t mind if you leave me for an hour, Jen…”
“Yes you do, Dayna – it’s impossible! Right?”
“Oh, right. Yes – impossible.”
There was a slight pause before Jenny added, “I hope he’s not there when we get back.”
“No, that could be a difficult one… You know what he’ll think if he sees you getting out of some rich blokes car,” said Dayna.
“Well, it’s a business lunch,” said Jenny, trying to convince herself of that remark. “And I’m single… so I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want and with whoever I want.”
“Absolutely,” Dayna agreed. “Right, I’ll go and make them a cuppa and tell them you’ll be back soon.”
“Thanks Day – hold the fort.”
Dayna chuckled. “See you laters,” she said, before ending the call.
Jenny looked across to the café and watched Aaron pick up two cartons and another two lidded cups. Slowly he wandered back to the table.
“Thought you’d like another latte,” he said, placing the items on the table.
“Ah, thank you, Aaron. I’ve just had Dayna on the phone – my dad and brother have turned up to fit the lights outside.”
“Do you need to get back then?”
“No, it’s ok. I said I’ll be back in half an hour or so.”
“Right, let’s get these cheesecakes eaten then. Best ever, you know,” said Aaron, grinning as he held a forkful of cheesecake in the air and then devoured it. “Err… hmm,” he said, struggling to eat the cake quickly, “don’t forget to mention your light at the front of the shop.”
Jenny stopped chewing and stared at Aaron in amazement. Struck by his retentiveness, she smiled at him and nodded.
Aaron looked deep into her eyes, before placing another piece of cheesecake to his lips. Opening his mouth slowly and provocatively, he inserted the cake.
Hot flush. Lust-overload. Jenny whipped her admiring gaze away and spluttered, “Err… yes, I will remember that, thanks. And thanks for reminding me – I’m amazed.”
Aaron winked again, “You’re amazed that I’ve listened to everything you’ve said?”
Jenny nodded, dumbfounded.
“I find you very interesting, Jenny Fartor.”
Chapter 14
“Thank you for everything,” said Jenny, “It’s been really nice. I’ll see you next weekend then.”
“You’ve got my number on the card. Give me a call if anything changes and you can’t do next Saturday.”
“I’m sure it will be fine, thanks again, Aaron.” Jenny smiled at him and then jumped out of the car. Behind her, Jacob and her dad were both up a pair of tall step ladders each.
They watched as Aaron drove away from the shop.
“Flash car – who’s that?” asked Jacob, balancing at the top of the ladder while holding one end of a strip light.
“His name is Aaron, he’s installing an EPOS system in there next week.” Jenny pointed into the shop.
“How can you afford that?” asked Dad.
“Long story,” said Jenny, grinning up at him. “I’ll tell you later, Dad.”
Strolling into the shop with a spring in her step, Jenny headed towards the staffroom, after shooti
ng a quick glance at Dayna and Tasha, who were stood behind the till grinning, cheesily. As she reached the door, Calvin appeared. The scowl on his face brought Jenny’s temporary euphoria to a grinding halt.
“Where’ve you been?” he grunted.
“What’s it got to do with you, Calvin? And why the miserable face?”
“It’s nothing, Jen… I just thought you were going to be here today.”
“Well, I am aren’t I?” Jenny raised her eyebrows and glared at Calvin. “What are you doing in here – I thought you were helping my dad?”
“I am, just needed a pee – is that ok with you?” Calvin sidestepped past Jenny.
“Calvin, what is your problem?”
“Nothing – gotta go – got work to do.”
Jenny harrumphed, “Get on with it then…” and watched Calvin strut along the aisle to the front of the shop. Freaky idiot, she thought and then went into the staffroom and shut the door behind her. She needed a moment – just one moment to gather her thoughts.
“Right I’m going now, if that’s ok,” said Tasha, entering the staffroom and bringing Jenny back from her daydreaming.
“Oh – is it that time already. It’s gone quick.”
Tasha smirked and took her coat from the hook. “Did you have a nice lunch out?”
“Yes, it was really nice… and we’re going to be having a new till system fitted next weekend, so I’m afraid you and Day will have to re-learn the till. It will be so much better though.”
“That’s fine, I’ll wear my school-girl outfit and then you can teach me. See you tomorrow.”
Jenny smiled awkwardly but couldn’t bring herself to speak. She stared after her, as Tasha left the room, and then realised that her mouth had dropped open from sheer astonishment. Tasha was definitely a tad unusual.
Strolling down to the front of the shop, Jenny stopped by the counter and waited for Dayna to finish serving a young mum, who had an occupied pushchair in tow.
“You ok?” asked Dayna, turning her head sharply. The young mum took her change, stared across at Jenny, and then stuffed two magazines into a large handbag hanging over the handle bar of her three-wheeled buggy. “Thank you,” said Dayna, as the young woman smiled and left.
