WARNING TO READERS - This is a long, rambling, multi-part story and VERY British. The individual chapters will make more sense if read in sequence.
Chapter 15: Three in a bed
The mild weather in January had enabled the builders to move on with the work at the garden centre well ahead of schedule and the units in the old outhouses were almost completed, the walls had been plastered, flooring laid and drop-down mesh shutters fitted. The barn was also well on the way to being ready with a new extension built at the rear to house the kitchen and public lavatories for the restaurant.
Maggie and I spent most of Monday with Boris Keppel, the builder, as he was now ready to start erecting the major feature of the re-build. This was a huge steel and glass structure which would enclose the whole of the frontage of the existing buildings and extend over the yard creating an enormous enclosed shopping and display area. The footings for the main supports were already prepared and we needed to plan for the erection of the heavy tubular steel framework, as it would be necessary to close the centre for a couple of days so that a big crane could be brought in to drop the steelwork into place.
The new staff members were working out well; Kitty in particular was turning into a real asset as she was very knowledgeable and had a fair amount of practical experience, plants were her passion and she loved talking to the customers. Maggie had spoken to her tutor and arranged for her to complete her work experience for her Cities and Guild course at the garden centre which meant that she was able to work a full five day week.
Although Kitty was in the same course group as me at college we had never really mixed socially other than being part of the same set having coffees in the college canteen. She was quite tall, about 5' 9" with a very athletic figure, modest tits, a flat arse and very long muscular legs. She usually wore her long blonde hair tied back in a thick plait and her face was attractive with a wide mouth and very sharp pale blue eyes.
I spent Tuesday morning working with her in the greenhouse and discovered that she really did know her stuff. She was very keen on sports and extremely strong and could lift and throw sacks of compost about as easily as I could. Like a lot of sporty women she was not bothered about false modesty and after about thirty minutes in the hot greenhouse stripped down to a sleeveless sports vest.
"It's so hot in here!" she commented. "If you don't mind I will go and change into my shorts?"
I did not object in the least and she was back in a few minutes wearing a pair of cut off denim shorts, I noticed that she was wearing one of those very soft, fabric sports bras and that her nipples formed little points in her vest. Every time that she reached up to the higher racks the vest rode up to expose her muscled stomach and I had trouble trying not to imagine those long legs wrapped around my waist and the power that her stomach muscles would bring to an energetic shag.
We talked about plants and gardening but exchanged very little personal chat. I did discover that she did not have a boyfriend but I came away still uncertain as to the truth of the college rumours that she might be gay.
Just before lunch Emma came into the greenhouse looking for me. I saw her face change from smile to scowl when she saw the way that Kitty was dressed.
"Maggie wants you in the office ..... Now!" she snapped at me, glared at Kitty, then turned and started to walk back to the door. I tried not to smile and just raised my eyebrows to Kitty as I wiped my hands down the front of my overalls.
"Is that your girl friend?" Kitty asked.
"No, that's my sister!" I replied. This was the second time that somebody had asked me if Emma was my girlfriend in the last week, first Janet and now Kitty. What the hell was going on?
Emma was waiting outside for me and we walked together back to the shop and office block in silence. As we got to the door I decided that I needed to say something.
"What was that all about?" I asked. I really didn't need Emma causing friction with Kitty, or anybody else for that matter, especially with Maggie away for a couple of weeks. Managing the female staff members was always a concern, more so when I was alone and there was no womanly support. Emma was my sister but I needed to exert my authority before she upset somebody again, several times her moodiness had rubbed people up the wrong way.
"Are you going to allow her to walk about dressed like that?" She spat at me. Her eyes were flashing and her cheeks flushed with anger. "Wearing those .... Those ...."
"Shorts?" I suggested, grinning. "I think they look great!" I should not have said that bit but I just could not resist teasing her.
"Sod you, Jamie," she hissed, "all you men ever think about is sex!"
"You are probably right," I agreed. I knew that she was definitely right as far as I was concerned. She glared at me furiously and then turned and started up the stairs ahead of me.
"Hey!" I called after her. She stopped several steps up from me without turning around. "Those shorts," I said seriously, "are a lot longer than your skirt, you know .... And show an awful lot less!" I stepped up and slapped her playfully on her exposed arse which was prominent in the skin tight leggings she was wearing beneath her min-skirt.
We both suddenly burst into laughter. The tension was broken and whatever it was that had sparked her off had moved on. I caught up with her and put my arm around her waist.
I could not hold back from teasing her one more time, "I was thinking of making hot pants part of the summer uniform for the girls!" I joked as we got to the office doorway.
"You just want to fill the place up with tarts and bimbos!" she retorted, laughing and turned into her own office.
"What was that about?" Maggie asked looking up from her desk.
"Nothing really," I replied, "Just Emma having a 'girly moment' I think."
"I just wanted to remind you that we are seeing, this woman this afternoon," she said, handling me a sheet of paper. It was an application for the catering manager job for somebody to run the new restaurant. I had actually forgotten about the appointment and went off to wash and change out of my working clothes.
After my visit to Charles Lowe's set up in Norwich we had revised our original ideas about the restaurant. The initial proposal had been for a large coffee bar in the old barn just serving hot drinks and perhaps some sandwiches and cakes, however after seeing the up market self service restaurant at Lowe's garden centre Maggie and I had decided to upgrade our own plans to incorporate a much classier enterprise serving hot food at lunchtime and refreshments throughout the day.
Charles had shown me around his establishment at lunch time when the restaurant was really busy and had pointed out the large numbers of retired couples and middle aged women who were occupying most of the tables. Many of them came in for lunch at least once, often twice or three times a week and seldom left without also purchasing something from the garden centre. Maggie had been enthusiastic about my ideas from the start and had immediately called in a friend who specialised in catering design who had helped us map out the requirements for kitchens and utility areas and select the correct equipment. The larger enterprise would, however, require a professional manager and staff who were experienced in the catering trade.
This was the third submission that we had received for the post and seemed much closer to our expectations than the previous two. The application was from a Mrs. Grace Jackson, who was presently the restaurant manager for a department store in Bournemouth. Her details and experience seemed to fit the pattern that we were looking for and so we had asked her to come in to see us.
Maggie and I had a quick family lunch in the kitchen at her house with the twins and Emma and we had not been back in the office for more than a few minutes when Eileen called up from the shop to say that Mrs. Jackson was waiting to see us. Emma went down and brought her up to the office.
Grace Jackson turned out to be a handsome, smartly dressed, Chinese woman of middle years. She was about 5' 7", with a trim figure and short black glossy hair. From the start we all got on very well and soon discovered that she was aged 42, had been married to a British soldier who she had met in Hong Kong and who had later been killed in Ulster. She had been in the catering trade for over twenty years and her experience absolutely matched our requirements in every respect.
Maggie and I took her down to view the new restaurant building and kitchens although the unit was only partly plastered but she immediately seemed to understand the potential and was extremely enthusiastic. I think both of us were so impressed with Grace and did not want to risk losing her that after a very quick discussion to one side we made her an offer there and then and were delighted when she accepted. The builders had promised to have the restaurant building at least close to finished by the end of February and so we agreed that Grace would start with us on the first Monday in March so that she could begin recruiting her catering staff and planning the menus. Grace came with an added bonus. She had suggested that to start with she would combine the job of manager with that of head cook which was a considerable start up budget saving, and she said that she already had in mind somebody for the assistant cook position.
Maggie walked her back to her car and I returned to the office, it wasn't worth changing back into working clothes as it was nearly three-thirty and I decided to wade through a pile of invoices and delivery notes that Emma had dumped onto my desk for checking.
Just as Maggie came back into the office the telephone rang and Emma came through to say that it was Lauren on the line wanting to talk to Maggie. It was obvious from the snatches of conversation that could be overheard that something was wrong and so I just sat in silence until Maggie put down the receiver.
