Chapter 28
28
C ally blinked one eye open, frowned, puffed out her lips and rolled over. No Logan. She propped herself up onto her elbows and frowned. She was not, in fact, dreaming. It was correct that she’d woken up to the smell of bacon, eggs and frying onions. Was there the smell of croissants, too? Whatever it was, she liked it. She checked the time on her phone. It was still very early. Pulling on her pyjama top and slipping on the matching bottoms, she twirled her hair into a bun on the top of her head and made her way to the kitchen, where the bacon smell just got better. She could hear pots clanking and the coffee percolator bubbling. Logan was barefoot and bare-chested, leaning against the tiny worktop with his phone in his hand. Cally let out an inner sigh of relief that he looked a bit better.
Logan glanced up. ‘Morning, Blackcurrant.’
‘Morning. Sorry, what are you doing?’ Cally asked, gesturing around the kitchen.
‘Putting up some wallpaper.’
‘Funny.’
‘What does it look like I’m doing?’
‘I don’t know, but I do know it smells amazing.’
‘I am making you a good luck breakfast for your first real day in your new job. Now you’ve got the training thing over with and you’re going to be out on the road, I thought I would see you off.’
Cally shook her head. ‘You really didn’t need to do that.’
‘I really did. I know I’ve been a nightmare to be around...’
‘Your cousin just died.’
‘Still.’ Logan gestured into the sitting room where the table was laid with a white tablecloth, a little jug of flowers and a carafe of fresh orange juice.
Cally raised her eyebrows. ‘Wow, do I get this every day now?’
Logan widened his eyes and swore. ‘Pah, no you don’t, this has nearly killed me. You might have to live off the memory of this for a while. It’s been a task in coordination.’
About ten minutes later, Cally sat at the table with the tablecloth and the flowers, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in her hand, the coffee pot in front of her and a plate of food ready to be tucked in. Rashers of bacon sat artfully arranged next to a little gathering of avocado and rocket, a poached egg sat on top of fancy sourdough bread, tiny little circles of bright red chilli and snips of chives winked at her, and a round of homemade hash browns was nudged up on the side. Cally smiled. Not quite home-brand cornflakes. A high-ranking trust fund breakfast if ever she’d seen one.
‘So, thoughts about today?’
Cally felt a flush of heat run up her neck. She switched the flick in the back of her throat. The one she hadn’t used for a very long time. ‘Nothing, really. It’s fine.’
Logan frowned. ‘The voice is back.’
‘No, it’s not.’
‘Let me tell you: it is.’
‘I just feel a bit scrambled, as it were.’
‘Totally natural. You would do.’
‘I guess so.’
‘What’s the brief from Birdie?’
‘I’m going to the shop in Peaceton to see what is what out the back. Birdie said it’s a disaster there because she’s not all over it and hasn’t got the time.’
‘To do what?’
‘She wants me to just start at the bottom in the back room and see what’s going on. It makes sense to start from there. Then I’m going to have to implement what we do in the Lovely shop and change some of the systems and think about what I learnt in the training sessions.’
‘Sounds challenging.’
‘Yep.’
‘Is that why you did the voice?’
‘I’m just nervous.’
‘I’m not. You’ll walk it, Blackcurrant.’
Cally nodded, but inside, she wasn’t quite as sure. As the reality of going to another shop loomed, she wondered what she’d taken on.
C ally drove along a dual-carriageway with the radio on low and her phone clamped in a holder beside her. It had taken a bit of time to get used to the small company van. Vans had clearly come a long way. Not that she’d ever driven one before, but this one had all the mod cons and was easy enough to drive. What was interesting was that the seat was comfier than the one in Logan’s fancy pants car, and the mirrors were better, too.
After the big breakfast with Logan, she’d popped down to see Birdie and set off with instructions from Birdie that she’d be fine and that the pharmacist Estrella would be waiting for a quick meeting and to show her the ropes. Birdie had said that she’d briefed Estrella that Cally would be taking over the stockrooms and ordering and delivery systems right from day one. As she drove along with a vague idea of where she was going, Cally thought about what she was going to do first. Butterflies fluttered around in her stomach, but she told herself that she would be fine. She had little choice but to get stuck in.
About half an hour later, after navigating a particularly nonsensical one-way system and following the instructions to find the allocated parking space behind the shop, Cally grabbed her travel cup, slipped her laptop into her bag, locked the van behind her, and made her way to the Peaceton chemist. Punching the code into the lock on the back door, she let herself in and looked around. The setup was fairly similar to the Lovely Bay store. Though the building was slightly more modern, the premise was the same: a front-of-house shop area, a dispensary to the back, a small staff room and various storerooms. As if someone had been expecting her, a woman with tight white trousers, high red shoes, and a white dispensary coat poked her head around the door.
‘Yoo-hoo! You must be Cally. I’m Estrella. Lovely to meet you. Welcome!’
The woman’s voice was loud and happy with a distinctive, what Cally thought was Spanish, accent. Cally smiled at the same time as the hackles on the back of her neck stood up. She pushed down the feeling. ‘Hi. Yes, I’m Cally. Happy to be here.’
Estrella beamed. ‘So, nice to meet you. Congratulations on the new job. I’ve heard so much about you from Birdie.’
‘Thanks.’
Estrella started to unbutton her pharmacy coat. ‘I thought we’d go to a coffee shop for a chat. Yes?’
‘Oh, right, okay.’ Cally gestured to the small staff room, where she could see a coffee machine the same as the one in the Lovely Bay shop. ‘We’re fine here. We don’t need to go out, do we?’
Estrella was adamant. She wrinkled her nose and made a funny face. ‘No, no. Let’s go out. The company is paying so that’s always a good thing.’
Cally didn’t like that at all . ‘Rightio. I don’t mind.’
Cally followed Estrella out of the chemist and down the street to a small, independent coffee shop. The smell of freshly ground beans and baked goods wafted out as Estrella pushed open the door. 'This place makes the best coffee in town, and the cakes are to die for.' Estrella led Cally to a table by the window. As they settled into their seats, a waitress approached to take their order. Estrella smiled and waved her hand back and forth in front of her. 'We’ll put it on expenses, of course. Perks of the job, I say. It's your first day, so we need to welcome you properly. Cake is always better when it's free.'
As they waited for their drinks, Estrella continued to gush and wave bright red polished nails around in front of her. Cally blinked at her enthusiasm. 'So nice to meet you finally. I feel like I already know you from all Birdie's said. It sounds like you’ve done a great job in the Lovely shop. Tell me more.’
Cally shifted in her seat. Maybe she’d led a very sheltered existence, but Estrella seemed not only intense but completely over the top. 'Well, there's not much to tell, really. I've been working for Birdie for a while now, and this promotion just sort of happened.'
'Oh, don't be modest!' Estrella exclaimed. 'Birdie doesn't just hand out promotions to anyone.'
Cally blushed. 'I don't know about that. I just try to do my job well.'
'Don’t we all.’ Estrella flicked her hand out in front of her a little bit. ‘It’s all about hard work here too, isn’t it? It suits me – my culture is a hard-working one.’
'Oh, really? Where are you from then?'
Estrella launched into a detailed account of her journey from Ecuador to England, her pharmaceutical studies, and how she'd eventually found her way to Birdie's company. Cally listened, nodding at appropriate intervals, but found herself slightly overwhelmed by the torrent of information from the gushing woman. She sat back and listened, not able to get a word in edgeways, so much so that she found herself tuning out for a second.
'Birdie is the most wonderful boss you could ask for. So understanding, so supportive and just leaves well be. I like that. Keep away is my motto, ha! The benefits are out of this world. Health insurance, dental, paid holidays, and don't even get me started on the gym.' Estrella lowered her voice. ‘Plus, you know all the other unspoken benefits here and there.’
Cally nodded, not able to get a word in edgeways. ‘Mmm.’
Estrella patted Cally's hand. Cally had to stop herself from recoiling. Estrella felt way too familiar as far as she was concerned. Cally shrugged it off as a difference in culture thing. Estrella, however, didn’t seem to notice and continued unabashed. 'I've been so looking forward to you working here. It'll be wonderful to have someone new on the team, someone with fresh ideas.'
Cally smiled, but inside, she felt more than a twinge of unease. Whatever her intuition was telling her, she didn’t like it. She tried to push the feeling down, telling herself she was being unfair, and not very nice. Estrella was doing absolutely nothing wrong.
‘You’ll have to come for after-work drinks!' Estrella lowered her voice and made a mock-whisper type sound. ‘Don’t tell anyone but we might have a few of those on the company, too.’
'That sounds nice.’ Cally wasn’t sure if it was nice. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was very off. Estrella's enthusiasm appeared almost too perfect, too rehearsed.
Estrella seemed to clock what Cally was thinking. 'Oh, goodness! Sorry! I'm not being too much, am I? People say I can be a bit intense when I'm excited. It’s the way we do it where I’m from.'
Cally shook her head. 'No, no, you're fine.’
Estrella nodded. ‘I'm just so thrilled to have you here. It's going to be wonderful.'
After finishing their coffees, Cally tried to shake off her doubts. She was being silly, she told herself. Estrella was just being friendly and welcoming. It was perfectly normal to be excited about a new colleague. But as they walked back to the chemist, with Estrella’s red shoes clipping on the pavement and as she chattered away about the various projects they'd be working on together, a little voice said things in the back of Cally’s head. She couldn't quite silence it. It sat in the back of her mind, warning her that something wasn't right. Not a great start to her first day out and about with her new job.
'Right then,' Estrella said as they re-entered the shop. 'Shall we get started in the stockroom? I’ll show you how I do things here and tell you what I need done. I have my own way of doing things. No reason to mess with that.'
Cally nodded and the penny dropped. Estrella thought that she was in charge and that Cally was working for her and not the other way around. It had all been a power game. She kept her mouth shut and followed Estrella into an overwhelmingly messy, disorganised stockroom where she couldn’t see the wood for the trees. Listening as Estrella rambled on, she didn’t say anything but just quietly took it all in. Internally, our Cally nodded. It wouldn’t take her long to get the room shipshape and see what was what. Estrella had a shock coming; that she knew for free.