Chapter 7
As usual, Theo was at the café long before Milly was awake the next morning.
Once she was awake, she hurried to get ready, slinging on a long floaty skirt and vest top and the minimum amount of make-up so she could still record some videos without looking like a mess.
It was a glorious day, the sun shining brightly in a baby-blue cloudless sky, so she pulled her long blonde hair up into a messy bun to keep her cool.
She’d been posting every day, as she usually did on her own channels, and her followers were loving the shots of the city she was sharing with them.
They also loved her latest tips on saving money with currency exchanges and using your mobile phone abroad.
Her little piece of the online world was, as usual, engaging with her through comments and DMs and she’d had some brilliant conversations with people, making her feel fulfilled and content.
With another short message filmed while she walked to the café, Milly arrived feeling positive.
Her followers were turning their lives around, paying off debts, saving money for things they really wanted, making changes to their lives, and she was absolutely sure that she and Theo could do the same for the café.
Last night he’d remained distant as they’d walked back to the canal house.
He hadn’t been rude or dismissive, just preoccupied, and Milly had almost texted Ada to find out what she knew.
Almost. By the time she’d got back and into bed she’d been too tired to do anything and had sunk into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
‘Hej,’ she said as she arrived at the café, swapping her sunnies for normal glasses.
Theo smiled. ‘Hej. You’re learning the language. I’m impressed.’
‘Thank you. I also know tak is thank you and undskyld is excuse me.’
‘You’re virtually fluent.’ His voice dripped with sarcasm, but there was a glimmer in his eye that told her he was teasing. At least he seemed in a better mood than he had last night.
‘Well, we all have to start somewhere. Now, I was thinking about this on the way here and I think we need to taste-test the other cafés. Find out why customers are going there and not here.’
‘We?’ He didn’t look convinced.
‘Yes. We.’ She wiggled her finger between the two of them.
‘I can’t close the café.’ He motioned around the empty space and Milly turned on the spot dramatically, lifting her glasses and pretending to peer even closer.
‘Why not? There’s no one here. You might as well close for an hour and come with me to do some research. I’m not suggesting we test every single café in Copenhagen, just the ones along this road. You’re not going to lose any business—’
‘Ouch.’ Theo scratched the back of his neck.
‘This will be a really good use of our time. Look, I know it sucks, and I’m sorry to be blunt, but it’s time to get down to business whether you like it or not. We need to figure out what you’re not doing, or what people are thinking, and fix it.’
‘Ouch again.’
She gave him a sympathetic smile.
This was how she’d talked to difficult or reticent clients, ones who wanted her advice but not to actually take it if it meant facing up to hard truths.
It was always a difficult but necessary step, and she’d decided on the walk in, passing cafés full of tourists, that today would be the day to have the talk with Theo.
She’d also realised she was only a few thousand short of half a million followers and it had given her the confidence boost she needed to really get stuck in.
Theo sighed dramatically, crossed his arms over his chest and a second later said, ‘Okay. If we must.’
‘We must. Come on. And—’ she knew it was a risk asking, but she had to do it ‘—can you also share the café’s financial records with me, please? It’d really help me to understand the situation fully.’
‘Yes, fine.’
Well that had been easier than she’d thought. Milly headed back outside, and Theo followed, locking the door and ambling after her as she marched down the street.
At the end, she turned and waited for him to catch up.
Whatever enthusiasm he’d had to start this research trip was waning already.
She added extra enthusiasm to her voice.
‘We’ll start here. Now, most people come from this way, don’t they?
’ He nodded. ‘So they’re always more likely to get more customers because people often stop at the first place they see. ’
They went inside and straight to the counter, which had gorgeous pastries and cakes laid out.
Even if they did by default get the most customers, they hadn’t grown lazy, and the displays of gorgeous-looking food was more like an artisan bakery than a café.
Rows of pastries, all different flavours and all fancier than anything she’d seen in England stood in a glass counter, and next to it, more savoury items. The smell of coffee filled the air, but as she looked at them being served to waiting tables, they looked the same as every other café she’d ever been in, here or at home.
‘Are we going to sit?’ Theo asked.
‘Yes, sorry. I was just …’ Her eyes took in the décor, pale cream and, though classy, a little dull too. There was nothing of note and the windows hadn’t been cleaned so you couldn’t see the canal on the other side.
‘Just what?’ Theo asked.
‘Taking it all in. It has a nice friendly vibe. Let’s try one pastry and then we’ll move on to the next one.’
They went up and ordered and were greeted by a smiling but busy server.
As they took their seats, Milly lifted her plate and examined her spandauer.
These were pastries known as Danishes in England, the flaky pastry was like a little pillow with custard or jam nestled in the middle.
She turned it left and right then smelled it.
‘Umm … what are you doing?’ Theo asked, his brow furrowed as he watched her.
‘Nothing.’ She put it down and broke off a piece of pastry, smelling it and feeling the texture between her fingers. He giggled and took a bite of his and Milly did the same.
‘This isn’t as good as your pastry.’
‘Umm, thank you.’
She did the same thing again, feeling the pastry with her fingers.
‘Could you stop doing that, please? You look weird.’
‘This coming from the man who loves K-pop.’
‘Hey! It’s upbeat and fun.’
She rolled her eyes, smiling. ‘Fine.’ She took a bite and stared into space as she chewed, concentrating on the flavours.
‘Okay,’ Theo said after finishing another bite of his own and frowning. ‘This is getting even weirder now. Just eat the spandauer normally and we can talk afterwards.’
‘That’s what I’m doing!’ Milly protested, feeling heat rise up her cheeks.
She just wanted to do a good job, that’s all, and that meant paying attention to all the details.
She finished eating and sipped her coffee.
As expected, it was fine, nothing amazing.
Not like her iced latte had been at Theo’s.
The pastry too was yummy but hadn’t blown her head off with unusual flavours.
Theo had a gift, a rare one, it seemed. She made a note on her phone.
‘What are you doing now?’
‘Oh my God!’ She looked up from the screen. ‘Nothing. Why?’
‘What are you writing?’ He tried to peer over the table, and she pulled the phone to her chest.
‘Wouldn’t you like to know.’
‘Don’t tell me then,’ he huffed, and she couldn’t help but like this nervous almost self-conscious side to him.
‘Right.’ She stood. ‘On to the next one.’
Theo dutifully followed.
The next café was nice but a little shabbier and they ordered the same thing (for quality control) and sat down at a rickety table.
She hoped none of the tables at Theo’s were rickety.
She couldn’t stand it when every time you moved an inch the table rocked, sending your drink slurping over the side.
She made another note on her phone to check when she got back.
‘So?’ Theo asked. ‘What do you think to this one?’
‘Not as much choice and it’s not as pretty. What do you think to the food?’
He took a bite of his spandauer. ‘These are reheated from yesterday.’
‘How can you tell?’
‘The taste and texture.’ He prodded at the custard in the middle, and it wobbled slightly.
She sipped her latte. It was more milk than coffee though there was a bitterness too.
‘And they overheated the milk,’ Theo said.
‘How can you tell?’
‘That’s the bitterness. The milk has scalded the coffee, creating that burnt taste.’
She began typing again on her phone and once more Theo leaned in, trying to get a glimpse of her screen.
‘Okay,’ he said, as she again teasingly pulled it to her chest. ‘I give in. For my sanity, I need to know what you’re typing.’
‘I’m typing Theo is a genius. Is that what you want to hear?
’ A flash of something passed between them again, crackling like electricity in the air.
When he raised a single eyebrow, his mouth twitching into a smile, she lowered her head.
‘I’m just making notes, so I remember all this later when we debrief. ’
‘Debrief?’ he teased.
‘Yes. Debrief. We’ll head back to the café soon and chat through what we’ve learned.’
‘I can’t wait.’
She stared at him and was just about to get frustrated when that lopsided grin lifted the corner of his mouth and little bit of her melted.
Gosh, he really was attractive, and she loved it when he teased her too.
Tom hadn’t been a teasing type. Maybe at first, when their relationship was new and exciting, but certainly not for a long, long time.
She missed it. She missed passion and longing.
Her eyes flicked to Theo who was sitting back in his chair, looking around, his plate finished.
Milly ate quickly and said, ‘Come on. A couple more and then we can call it quits.’
‘Good. I’m starting to hate spandauer.’
She didn’t want to agree with him as it might feed his ego, but she was starting to hate them too.