Chapter 15
Clem looked through her presentation one last time. After the failed contract with Cockatoo Cove Area School, she wanted to make sure this quote, which was destined for Beachport Primary School, was tickety-boo.
She clicked through the pages of the digital slide show, making sure the right photographs were on the right pages, the nutritional breakdowns were mathematically correct and the costs were clearly set out alongside the retail price, so the parents and friends committee could easily work out the profit margin for each item.
And although Isobel West had tweaked the templates for her, Clem felt pretty proud of the overall product after spending much of the weekend finessing the quote.
The phone rang while Clem was fine-tuning the slide transitions.
‘Hey Mia, how’s things?’
The noisy line suggested Mia was in the car and sure enough, she was only halfway through her hushed explanation that she was driving around to keep baby Fred sleeping when a cry could be heard in the background.
‘Gah, he’s awake again. I wanted to call and see how the camp was. Was Spencer okay? Have you been watching the show?’
Fred’s cries amplified through the line. Clem held the phone away from her ear. ‘Sorry Mia, I can’t hear you.’
Her friend’s sigh was followed by the clicking of the car indicator. ‘I’ll try you again later when this little night owl plays ball.’
Clem hung up, and had just started on the power-point slide transitions when the phone lit up again.
‘How’s my favourite camper?’ Hazel asked. ‘Harriet said you nailed the highest ropes and showed the littlies how to rock the giant swing. I knew you’d love it.’
Clem laughed, stretching in her office chair. ‘For my one and only camp helper experience, it was alright. No one got lost in the bush on my watch, so that was something. And the air out there … Almost makes me want to buy a tent.’
Hazel laughed. ‘Almost being the operative word. I’m so excited about this sleeping through business that I can’t ever imagine volunteering for one of those things, knowing I’d be woken by homesick kids and students too scared to walk to the toilets alone. Did you get much sleep?’
Clem walked to the cafe’s big double fridges. She didn’t like lying, but she wasn’t ready to admit there’d been limited sleep for a whole different reason. Besides, she’d made Spencer a promise.
She cut a wedge of hummingbird cake and grabbed a fork. ‘Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. I almost wish I was back there now, instead of stuck in the office doing admin while the girls watch a movie.’
Between mouthfuls of cake, she told Hazel about the catering quote, and the presentation that had taken longer than planned.
‘I’m definitely better at cooking than marketing,’ she conceded.
‘I couldn’t have done it without the team you helped me gather.
Your beautiful niece and her artistic flair, April Lacey’s fabulous photography skills, a few key suggestions from Lauren on the wording; they’re the real stars behind this presentation.
It looks pretty darn professional, thanks to their help.
Kev, Sebastian and Selina all thought it was pretty snazzy. ’
Well, at least Kev and Sebastian had said so. Selina had studied it for a while, but getting a compliment from the teenager was like getting blood from a stone, so Clem took the lack of a snarky dismissal as a raving endorsement. She really needed to work out what to do there.
‘Your Aunty Jean might have the best black book when it comes to matchmaking,’ Hazel said, ‘but librarians keep a finger on the pulse of the wider community. It’s what we do when we’re not baby wrangling and pushing books on unsuspecting readers.
Speaking of babies, now that Cormac is slightly more user-friendly, you wanna come for dinner tonight? ’
Clem’s cheeks flushed just thinking of the rendezvous she had planned with Spencer. ‘Tonight doesn’t work.’
Hazel gave an exaggerated groan. ‘C’mon, you know you want to.
We can watch Love on the Land and throw popcorn at the screen every time that idiot from Rockhampton pashes a different girl.
See what mysterious charms Spencer’s been hiding under his hat all these years.
We’re only a few weeks into the season, I’ll catch you up on the episodes you’ve missed. ’
The hairs on Clem’s arms prickled. Cake finished, she loaded the plate and fork into the dishwasher. ‘I’m snowed under, sorry Hazel. Maybe next weekend?’
She hung up and returned to the office, working on the presentation until her vision swam.
One last read through before I hit send, she promised herself.
A noise from the cafe kitchen drew her attention away from the computer screen and she saw her phone dancing on the stainless-steel benchtop.
She hit ‘save’ on the presentation and smiled when she crossed the room to see Spencer’s name on the screen.
Just home, really looking forward to seeing you tonight. I’ve missed you. xx
Clem’s body hummed in anticipation. He’d had a beekeeping thing with the Brealys this weekend, and tonight would be the first time she’d seen him since camp. With a bit of luck and an early dinner, she’d have time to primp and preen after the girls were in bed.
Clem looked at her watch.
Enough time to give the house a quick once-over too?
She gave a shaky laugh at the ridiculous thought. As if he’ll notice dusty skirting boards and cobwebs on the cornices.
Now that camp was over, the Love on the Land embargo was the only thing standing in their way, and that wasn’t an issue if they kept things secret and out of the public eye.
Desire flickered and flared as Clem pictured Spencer’s clothes falling to her bedroom floor, the feeling of his hands exploring every inch of her skin, and the delicious friction of his body against hers.
It had been a while, but judging by the chemistry between them, and the way her body reacted just imagining their first evening together, Clem suspected tonight was going to be hotter than her jalapeno bagels, with a side serve of steamy.
Biting her lip, Clem fanned her face, crossed her tingling legs together, and reluctantly dragged her attention back to the Narradarra High catering presentation for tomorrow’s parents and friends committee meeting.
The software engineer who designed Powerpoint was clearly a sadist, she thought, glaring at the slideshow that was supposed to be advancing on its own accord.
Why hadn’t she pushed to deliver her pitch in person, instead of agreeing to email it through?
Clem opened YouTube, determined to find a tutorial to nail the slideshow automations.
My prices are fair, I’ve got a great product. I’m offering healthy food options at a reasonable price, and as well as generating an income for my business every week, the school’s profits from the small mark-ups will boost their coffers too.
She thought of Marco and the laminated menus in his cafe, dotted with liquid paper and handwritten updates of outdated prices. With her far more professional offering, surely she was in with a good shot, and it didn’t hurt that Lauren and Jack had friends at the small coastal primary school either.
But hadn’t Fergus and Maggie put in a good word for her at Cockatoo Cove? And she’d still lost that lucrative contract.
Another message came through from Spencer, whisking Clem’s thoughts from paperwork to pleasure.
How’s a girl supposed to concentrate?
With a few sharp clicks of the mouse, she sent the presentation to the school, closed her laptop and headed inside to prepare for the evening ahead.
Spencer wasn’t sure when he’d last walked into the Penwarra Hall with such a spring in his step, but as his footsteps echoed along the dusty boards, he was certain there was nowhere else he’d rather be on a Monday night in mid-November.
Nowhere …?
Flashbacks from the evening he’d spent with Clem flickered through his mind, and he conceded a wry smile.
Of course he’d rather be at Clem’s, her legs wrapped around his shoulders, moving his lips against her sweet centre as she ran her fingers through his hair and gasped his name again and again.
Nowhere I’d rather be apart from Clem’s house, he corrected himself. He cleared his throat and, with great effort, pushed last night from his thoughts.
The scents of spring filtered in as he opened the windows and aired out the hall ahead of the rehearsals. Their script was in pretty good shape, they’d had a good turnout at the weekly rehearsals and the props tasks were easily achievable in the two months until the big performance in mid-January.
‘You look chirpy,’ Ian said, striding through the doorway. ‘A few days camping then shifting hives has done you the world of good.’
Ian didn’t need to know that Spencer’s good mood was more to do with the beautiful lady who would be arriving any minute, all ready for a secluded prop-painting session in the back storeroom.
And while he knew Ian and Louisa had been keen for him to find love again, he wouldn’t—couldn’t—tell them about the night he’d spent with Clem. Not yet, at least, not while it was still early days.
Cast members flew in the door, their chatter echoing around the vast hall as they caught up on a week’s worth of news and gossip.
Spencer didn’t have to listen too hard to know that his name would be in the mix too, given the thrice-weekly episodes he’d tried hard to avoid.
With the amount of local interest, he didn’t really have to watch the damn program himself.
He’d had enough cheeky comments from his students today, and even the service station cashier this afternoon, to know how much airtime he’d been given in the last episode, and approximately what stage of the show the program was up to.
If he was portrayed as a first-class bastard, he’d soon hear about it.