Chapter Five - Stimulates
Emily Winters took a well-earned breather as she stood behind the well-stocked glass counter of the Mockingbird Coffee. She took a long swig from a cool plastic bottle of water kept out of sight behind the counter. Her colleague Helen looked up from wiping down tables on the far side of the coffee shop with a faux puff of her cheeks, to silently convey how busy they'd been.
For the last half, an hour there'd been an unexplained rush of customers with numerous demands from the plethora of different styles of coffee that were available at Mockingbird.
Emily had worked in bars nearly all her career, having achieved bar manager status at a number of institutions across the City, she'd thought working life in the Coffee Shop set up and owned by her friend Jamie would be the proverbial piece of cake by comparison. Two weeks into her change of career and she still couldn't work out if dealing with a succession of drunkards on a Friday or Saturday night was anywhere near as daunting or demanding as dealing with the early morning pre working day caffeine fix for the dwellers of the commercial properties and offices that surround the plaza in which they were located. And that was without considering the lunch time rush that loomed large in the next hour. How busy they were was testimony to how successful the new coffee shop was proving to be.
Taking a cleaning cloth Emily wiped down the surfaces of the convoluted, bright red coloured, coffee machine she was still getting to grips with using. She felt there'd be less dials and buttons to familiarise herself with had she taken a job working for NASA.
To secure her services Jamie has offered her a significantly pay rise on her former wage, she'd been asked to keep confidential the amount on the weekly pay slip, especially from the two other girls that worked split shifts with Emily during busier times. Knowing Jamie of old there seemed to be no gamble in taking her up on her offer, she'd grow accustomed to the change of working lifestyle she was sure. The extra in her bank at the end of each week would come in handy given that she'd finally decided to move on from living at home with her parents, approaching 25 it was probably for the best and her sanity. She loved her Mum and Dad and had been grateful, not so much for them taking her in, but for the care and support they'd shown her as she'd rebuilt her life.
Not dwelling on the past Emily busied herself next off by restocking and replenishing the baskets of snack bars and packets of overpriced biscuits on top of the main counter. At the inflated price charged it was a miracle that they sold any quantity but the amount of such items that they did sell daily astounded her. Setting a handful of chocolate covered wafers into a metal baskets Emily was conscious of someone approach the counter.
Looking up into dark eyes set in a handsome face Emily smiled sincerely. She felt her cheeks flush a little and she coyly pushed her naturally curly dark brown hair back off her face as he returned her smile. She found herself taking a deep breath to compose herself. "What can I do to you?"
"Do to me?" He immediately answered with a smirk creeping across his face "Well I can think of plenty of things but I'm not sure how appropriate many of them would be ...in what appears to be a very public place."
Emily felt her face flush about the same shade of red as the coffee machine sat gently hissing and spitting away behind her.
"I am ...I am so sorry," she stated her hand across her chest she had never been so embarrassed. "I meant what can I do for you ...and as in what would you like to drink?"
His smile spoke volumes, he was flattered and equally amused from what she could tell.
"Well asking for an Americano and a Soya Latte is going to be a little bit of an anti-climax now ... a little tame by comparison," he smirked at her not helping quell her raging sense of embarrassment.
Emily decided to roll with it, she could hardly back away and ignore him. He was smartly dressed in a charcoal grey well-tailored suit over an open neck white fitted shirt, she narrowed her eyes a little.
"I can add an extra shot if you want ...if you need."
It was a terrible attempt at flirting within him she realised immediately.
"Extra shot ... you're not suggesting I need the stamina, are you?"
"I don't know..." Emily smirked "...depends what you're planning on getting up to."
"Sadly, just a mundane meeting with my accountant ...but now ...now my minds on other things" he stated flashing her another little grin.
"What's your name?" Emily asked as Helen stepped behind her to the coffee machine.
"Will," he answered swiftly.
"Americano and a Soya Latte for Will please,"
Emily said over her shoulder to her colleague.
Behind Will a middle-aged well-dressed lady stepped up to the counter. Emily let her gaze slowly pass from him with a brief smile "Thank you Emily," he offered, she was a little surprised he knew her name before she remembered the name badge, she wore on her dark green apron.
"What can I get you?" She offered to the lady stood there weighed down with an assortment of shopping bags. Her attention not fully on the customer as she took the slice of carrot cake she ordered and set about making a Flat White. She watched Will leave the counter and carry the two mugs of coffee to a window seat, her heart sank a little as he sat down opposite of an attractive looking red-haired girl.
While they sat talking, she casually observed the pair of them as and when opportunity permitted. She was busy serving two young girls when Will and his companion got up from their seats to leave. She watched as he followed the red head to the main door. Reaching past her, he held the door open for her, a true gentleman. Pausing briefly, he looked back, Emily smiled as he did. As he looked back, he too smiled and gave her a little nod.
Emily flushed just a little once again, wondering if she'd see him again, silently hoping she would.
**********
"In short Will I don't fully understand how you've managed to it ...but the financial stability in such a short turn around is incredible" Harry Jacobs said as he drew their meeting to a conclusion.
Will glanced quickly to Flick who still diligently scribbled shorthand notes into her colourful little jitter pad.
"Like I said ...it's the mainly hard work of my Sales Team that have helped us turn a corner" Will's lie covered for the fact that on a number of occasions in the last few weeks he had deliberately amended and subsequently falsified the company accounts that were submitted to him ever Friday by Dave Hardacre from the accounting team. Existing contracts seemingly spending extra revenues across a five-week period that had significantly improved the balance sheet of Marchants Meats. The truth of the payments from Marco Mancini's Impero Ltd were more than visible on the company bank accounts but Will hadn't needed to bother with showing these to Harry, he'd just included month end summaries that supported the near two hundred thousand uplift in their balance sheet since the last review, the review that had rung alarm bells of concern with Harry. He and Will both know the declining sales trend that had set in over months for the best part of the last year near enough, this positive blip might be just that, but it was what was needed in the short term. At least to carry the business until the end of the financial year.
"Old fashioned business Harry, manipulate the price up a little, offer a discount that's genuinely hard to achieve to stimulate increased sales and go sparingly with the profits," Will smiled, "The Costmark deal that we've secured means our forecasts for next year are even healthier."
"Its good news Will," Harry offered.
"And saves selling out asses at Networking Meetings."
Harry stood and stepped around his desk hobbling just a little in the thick protective plastic boot over his left ankle, the main reason that this month they'd met in his plush city centre offices. Harry was of the old school he liked to get out and visit his clients wherever he could. He'd been a regular visitor at Marchants for over thirty years as a result.
"Your Father would be proud," He stated as Will rose to shake his outstretched hand.
"The burden of responsibility," Will chuckled a little but meant what he said, whilst not being able to directly agree with Harry's sentiment. There was no way his Father would approve of method of the financial rescue he'd actually instigated, no way at all. To all intents and purpose everything seemed to be going well with the deal though, in honesty Will had kept his nose out of Marco Mancini's operation and they'd not intruded too much on his day to day beyond laying operational groundwork to integrate their percentage of the consignments leaving on the back of Marchants trucks daily. It wasn't that Will turned a blind eye as so much as he had no need to keep an eye on matters.
"How's the ankle anyway Harry?" Will stepped the conversation away from business, and with a genuine concern.
"Oh, it's getting there ...get this god forsaken thing will be off next week" he spoke to Will but turned physically to Flick who now stood having captured whatever notes she had needed to and slipped her notebook away in her handbag "Golf is supposed to be a passive sport..." he chuckled "...Only an old fool like me could break an ankle falling on a Golf course."
"I heard it was falling out of the club house after one too many Single Malts," Will joked.
"Chance would be a fine thing Will," Harry countered taking Flick's hand and shaking it gently. "Good to meet you again Felicity ...hope we didn't bore you too much."
"Oh no," Flick shook her head. "Oh no it's all very interesting ...very interesting,"
Harry accompanied Will and Flick back through to the main reception, despite their assurances they could manage on their own. He wasn't to be told though. Will had invited Flick along in line with his resolution to increase her wider knowledge and understanding of the business, something that was to the mirth and confusion in equal measures of some of their colleagues. Colleagues who couldn't see the diligence and hard work that Flick put in, there was no promotion as such for her, but she'd welcomed the opportunity and had positively gushed when he pulled her to one side in his office two weeks ago to let her know of his thoughts. So far, she seemed to be taking a plethora of notes on even the most mundane of subject matter. Apparently, that was how she best learned, Will wasn't going to knock such diligence.
As they stepped into the lift Will turned to her, she looked so different in the contact lenses she wore. The whole shape of her face seemed to change when removed of the dark rimmed glasses. With her hair tied back, she wore a rather stylish navy pin stripe pair of flared trousers and a pale short sleeve sky blue blouse.
"Harry was right ... Hope we didn't bore you too much Flick."
"Oh gosh no," she replied. "No, it's just useful to see ...like how everything contributed."
Will wasn't sure if she fully understood but then felt guilty for belittling her intelligence, like so many others did, Flick was a smart little cookie when she wanted to be, no doubt about it.
"There's one thing I didn't get though," she offered turning to look up at him.
"What was that?"
"Why didn't you tell him about the new business associates?"
Her question was blunt and short and took Will back a little, it was proof if needed of how astute and tuned in she actually was to the business and the wider context.
"Let's just say Flick that myself and Mr. Mancini haven't exactly followed the rules to facilitate our business relationship," Will thought quickly on his response. "Their product in our supply chain ...if you'll excuse the butcher's terminology ...well it isn't exactly kosher."
