Chapter 24
24
‘So, what does that mean?’ Annabel asked.
It was just after eleven when the email Fiona had been dreading came through. This time from OnLearn, only a smallish company, but one of her longest-serving clients. All those years of loyalty, gone in an instant. Once again restructuring and sincere apologies had been offered.
She picked up her phone and messaged Holly.
Lunch?
A message consisting of six smiley-faced emojis pinged back to her.
Great. My choice?
‘Why on earth are we meeting here?’ Holly asked as she pecked Fiona on the cheek. ‘I thought you hated this place.’
‘You said the food was good.’
‘When did you ever listen to my opinion?’
Chuckling, she pushed open the door. ‘Besides,’ she said. ‘I need to pay for a coffee. So, tell me, how did the date go?’
An unabridged account, including details that she really didn’t need to hear, came spilling from Holly’s mouth. Fortunately, Fiona was only half listening. She’d deliberately walked straight past the shop first and, on seeing an older man with grey hair at the counter, had felt her heart flutter a little. If someone else was working there, chances were that Rory would be in the café.
A minute or so after taking their seats, the kitchen door swung open and he appeared, arms laden with plates. His faced cracked into a smile when he saw her.
‘Here again so soon?’ he asked, placing the plates behind the counter.
‘I told you, I need to pay for that coffee.’
‘And I told you, you don’t.’
It was a ridiculous idea coming here, she thought, as she picked up the drinks menu. She didn’t know what she was trying to prove. Or who she was trying to prove it to. Only that this was the one place she thought would help clear her mind of worry for an hour.
‘Right,’ she said, sitting up straighter in her chair. ‘We came for food. You want to eat, right, Holly?’ Then she turned her attention back to Rory. ‘What would you recommend for us today?’
He frowned and looked around the café. There were two other people working out front that she could see: once again, the man with the neck tattoos and the girl who looked like she’d just heard her dog had been run over. Together they were dealing with the dozen or so customers, half of which were already eating.
‘It’s pretty quiet,’ he said. ‘How about I make you ladies something off menu?’
‘Off menu?’ she asked.
‘Yeah. Something a bit different to our normal fare.’
‘And you are going to let us pay for this.’
‘Well, I’m?—’
‘It wasn’t a question,’ she interrupted.
His smile spread.
‘Okay then, sit tight.’
With a grin firmly in place, he headed back through the kitchen door.
‘Okaaay,’ Holly drawled. ‘What the hell was that?’
‘What was what?’
‘What do you mean, what was what ? You? And him? And that? You refused to eat here only a week ago.’
‘Well, I’ve learned a lot since then. Besides, he cooked me dinner last night. In his flat.’
The expression on Holly’s face as her jaw literally dropped was enough to make Fiona laugh out loud.
‘Not like that. I’d had a bad day. He was there.’
‘And he cooked you dinner last night? Fiona, what is this? Who are you? What about Stephen?’ She paused, eyes widening even further. ‘Tell me you got his name first this time.’
Fiona swiped at her across the table.
‘It wasn’t like that. It isn’t. And as for Stephen…’ She considered how to word the feelings that had been swimming around her head all morning. Instead, she simply lifted her shoulders and dropped them with a sigh. ‘Last night, Rory and I just talked. We talked for hours and I didn’t even notice the time passing. I didn’t feel the need to check my phone or reply to an email, or think about the hundreds of other things I should be doing instead.’
‘So, you actually like him.’ Holly was having more and more difficulty believing what she was hearing.
‘No. Well, yes. Maybe. I don’t know. That’s not the point. The point is, I can’t remember the last time Stephen and I were like that together. I really can’t. Even when we went on holiday, we were always rushing about. Yacht trips, fancy restaurants, you name it. And all the while, he would be on the phone to that damn boss of his. It was all about seeing things and doing things and ticking boxes, never just sitting and enjoying each other’s company. I’ve finally come to realise that maybe our relationship has been gradually dying for years.’
‘And you don’t want to try to – I don’t know – resuscitate it?’
She tilted her head from side to side. Hesitation was all she could offer.
‘Wow.’ Holly sat back in her seat, looking both moderately impressed and shocked at the same time. ‘You’ve thought a lot about this, haven’t you?’
‘It’s amazing how much time you have when you sabotage your own company and lose all your biggest clients.’
‘ What? ’ This time, the expression was pure disbelief.
‘I might as well tell you that story too. Everyone else seems to be finding out.’ She waved the tattooed girl over for a milk milk cappuccino and started at the beginning.
She’d got to the part where Professor Arkell stopped her from being arrested when Rory appeared with two small plates, tendrils of steam spiralling up from them.
‘Course number one.’ He placed the dishes in front of them and stepped back. ‘Roasted artichokes with sea truffle and saffron foam. Served with shredded baby pak choi.’
‘Where the hell did you rescue sea truffles from?’ Fiona asked in disbelief.
He tapped the side of his nose. ‘All collected this morning,’ he said. ‘Well, most of it. Let me know what you think.’
As he left, Holly leaned in. ‘Any chance the next person you start dating could be a jeweller?’ she asked. ‘Or a chocolatier? I’d definitely be open to a master confectioner.’
‘Shut up. We are definitely not dating. Besides, you don’t even know what it tastes like yet.’
‘Like a mouth orgasm, I’m willing to bet.’
‘That’s the most disgusting phrase I’ve ever heard. Be quiet and eat your food.’
Despite the vulgarity of Holly’s vernacular, there was no denying that her words were an apt description for the experience that followed the first bite.
‘Good God. Did he say how much we’re getting?’ Holly asked, as she finished the food with her second forkful. ‘Because, as amazing as it is, I’m going to need about thirty courses, if they’re all this size.’
After the artichokes came a salmon raviolo – singular – with fennel cream and turnip gratin that, despite sounding horrible, was once again divine.
Next was braised duck, with baby shallots and asparagus.
‘There’s no way this is waste,’ Fiona said to him, her knife and fork ready before the plate was even on the table.
‘Big wedding at one of the hotels got cancelled. Bride changed her mind the morning of, apparently.’
‘You know, I’d like to feel sorry for her,’ Holly mumbled through a mouthful. ‘But this is too good to waste on regrets.’
‘So they just gave it to you?’ Fiona asked, still amazed that what she was eating could be served up in a place called The Dumpster Dive.
‘I paid them,’ he said. ‘But not a lot. What else are they going to do with it? There’s no way they would get through it all themselves.’
Mouthful by mouthful, they finished their plates.
‘Dessert’s going to be a little while,’ he said, clearing away. ‘So, what do you think so far?’
‘Marry me,’ Holly replied. ‘Marry me and we’ll run away to a beach where you can spend all day foraging and cooking me scallops and coconuts to my heart’s content.’
‘It’s a nice idea,’ he laughed. ‘Although I do have two businesses to run.’ His attention came back quickly to Fiona. ‘And you?’ he asked. ‘What did you think?’
She moved her gaze from Rory to the tabletop, to the blackboard and back again.
‘Why aren’t you offering this?’ she asked. ‘Why is this not on your menu? Why is it pasta and burgers and whatnot? People would pay a fortune for food like this.’
‘Would they really?’
‘Of course they would. I would eat this again in a heartbeat.’
‘But a week ago, you wouldn’t have. A week ago, you sat there, ordered a single coffee, and refused anything from that board.’
Her cheeks coloured. ‘I know but?—’
‘It’s not a judgement,’ he added hurriedly. ‘It’s a fact. You might get a few people who’d come along for the novelty value; but food like this is not what my regular customers are looking for. They are mainly young and open minded, but they like things simple. I get that. It’s not like I don’t mix it up a lot. That duck has made an awesome green curry for the board. And salmon burgers are always a hit.’
‘But you must love cooking like this?’
‘Some days. Now and again. Mostly though, I’m content just the way things are.’
She was confused. No one was content with the way things were in life. Wasn’t that the point? Everyone was looking for the next thing.
She was still mulling this over when a familiar ringtone came from her bag.
‘Excuse me,’ she said, reaching down and retrieving her phone. If it was another business calling, she was going to ignore it all together. They could call again later if all they wanted to do was fire her, rather than ruin her lunch.
Her brow creased.
‘What is it?’ Holly asked.
‘Just a number I don’t know. You don’t mind, do you?’ She indicated the need to leave to answer it.
‘’Course not,’ Holly said. ‘Go for it.’
‘I’ll see how your dessert is coming along.’ Rory walked back to the kitchen.
She hurried outside onto the street.
‘Fiona Reeves,’ she said. ‘Omnivents.’
‘Hello, that’s great. Fantastic. Good morning.’ The accent was tantalisingly familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.
‘Sorry, who is this?’ she asked.
‘Sorry, I should have said. It’s Ben here.’
‘Ben…’ Nope. The name wasn’t familiar to her. In fact, the only Ben she could think of was, ‘…Professor Arkell!’ she exclaimed, suddenly realising who was on the other end of the line. Then, with more concern, added, ‘How did you get this number?’
‘I hope you don’t mind. I’ve been trying to track you down for most of the week. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,’ he explained.
‘Oh?’
‘In a professional capacity, of course,’ he added hastily. ‘Anyway, I couldn’t get out of my mind what you’d been through. What you’d seen and found. I wondered if you might be willing to talk about it?’
‘Talk about it? To whom?’
He sniffed and cleared his throat.
‘There’s an eco-conference on Tuesday next week. I know it’s incredibly short notice. I do realise that, but I hope you’ll consider it. I’m presenting, along with other experts in their fields, to various different companies about the environmental impact they’re having. It’s normally just a lot of data, you know, pointing the way to simple measures they could take to reduce waste or lower their carbon footprint.’
‘I’m not sure I’m going to be any good at that,’ she said. ‘My experience is pretty limited.’
‘Exactly. That’s precisely what I was thinking.’
‘I’m afraid you’ve lost me.’ She glanced through the window of the café. Rory was back at the table with Holly, laughing. No doubt she was arranging a date for next week. Or that afternoon. And he’d probably say yes. Biting down on her lip, Fiona turned her attention back to the phone.
‘If what you give these people are facts and figures, how can I help?’
‘Because you’ve got the human angle. You’re the piece that we’ve been missing. These big companies pretend to listen to us, but it’s just so much lip service. It’s profit over planet for them, every time. Profit over planet, they seem to manage to justify to themselves and their shareholders. But profit over people ? And people like you: hardworking, intelligent, personable? That’s something to relate to. They won’t just be able to push you to the back of their minds, the way they now have with Martha. You’re a person with a voice. With passion.’
‘Well…’
‘And the press will be there. They’re usually just interested in the bigwigs and ignore us, but you can bet they would lap this up. Maybe you’ll even become a national figurehead. A reminder to everybody out there what’s happening. You don’t have to say anything different to what you said to me in my office. Perhaps just give a little more detail.’
‘And without the hysterical tears?’
‘Hysterical tears would be just fine.’
She pressed her lips together. ‘Do you mind if I think about it?’ she asked. ‘There’s a lot going on in my life right now. I’m not sure if this?—’
‘Certainly, certainly. I don’t want you to feel any pressure. You’ve got my number now. Please just ring me if you have any questions. Any at all.’