Chapter 12 #3
Kerry nodded. ‘I love it. It’s the best job I’ve ever had.
The most fun, definitely. They’re great employers – decent pay, sick leave and all that, obviously – but they also make you feel part of it, you know?
Like you have a stake in the business, and it’s something you can be proud of.
You feel appreciated, and they notice if you go the extra mile.
You don’t get many jobs where you can say that. ’
‘Careful, you sound like you’re trying to convince me to stay.’
‘I am. I don’t care if I never win Employee of the Month again. Honestly, you should have seen the one they hired before you. Some old schoolfriend of Dylan’s. Totally clueless.’ Kerry rolled her eyes. ‘And not in a cute Cher kind of way either.’
* * *
Predictably, Roly was a big hit with Jake and Dylan.
They cornered him and Ella as soon as they arrived at the pub and monopolised them for most of the evening, bombarding Roly with questions and generally geeking out over him.
They kept him supplied with a steady stream of exotic mocktails as they plied him for stories about his time in Oh Boy!
, making no attempts to tone down their enthusiasm or hide how impressed they were by his stardom.
They weren’t acting cool at all, and she loved them for it.
Roly had taken a little persuading to come along with her tonight, but he was in his element now, enjoying the attention and adulation. She could tell he liked Jake and Dylan, and the three of them gelled instantly. Ella felt like a proud matchmaker.
‘So, how do you two know each other?’ Dylan was looking at her and Roly like they were the most fascinating creatures on the planet, his eyes glittering excitedly.
‘We were at school together,’ Ella said.
‘You’re such a dark horse,’ Jake said. ‘You’ve been with us a month now, and you never mentioned you live with Roly Punch.’
‘What was this one like at school?’ Dylan asked Roly, nodding to her.
‘Same as now, really. Brainy, over-achiever, teacher’s pet…’
Ella swatted him playfully. ‘Shut up!’
Roly laughed, fending her off. ‘Come on! Only you could come home from work with a fucking trophy!’
Jake and Dylan watched, laughing.
‘Kind of fierce,’ Roly continued, ‘as you can see. Very cool.’
‘Okay, that’s a lie. I was never cool.’
‘Yeah, you were. You were so… self-contained, I guess.’
‘Unfriendly, you mean?’
‘No,’ he frowned. ‘You weren’t unfriendly. Just… not needy, like most of us were. Not desperate to be liked by everyone. You were just like “this is who I am, take it or leave it”, sort of thing.’
Ella’s smile faltered as their eyes met and she could tell he meant it.
Jake nodded. ‘I can see that.’
‘That’s exactly how you were at the interview with us,’ Dylan agreed.
‘Until I walked into the stationery cupboard.’
He laughed. ‘Yeah, that wasn’t cool at all. It was funny, though.’
‘Gosh, cool…’ She tested out the concept, trying to relate it to herself. ‘I wish I’d known that’s how people saw me,’ she said to Roly.
Ella had expected the night to be a drain, but the time flew by, and she was surprised how much she was enjoying herself. She’d had her excuses ready, but she’d had no desire to cut out early, and, before she knew it, they were calling last orders.
Dylan looked at his watch. ‘Well, at this point in the night, we’d usually go to our favourite karaoke bar—’
‘You were going to do karaoke?’ Roly grinned at Ella, eyebrows raised.
She shrugged.
‘She was,’ Jake said. ‘Dylan’s already bagsed her for a duet.’
‘Okay, that I have to see.’
‘Seriously? You’d come to karaoke with us?’ Dylan grinned excitedly.
Roly drained his glass and nodded. ‘Let’s go.’
‘But unfortunately, they’re too intimidated to perform in front of you,’ Ella said, nodding to her bosses. ‘Right?’ She was glad of the excuse to leave now and avoid karaoke.
Jake shrugged. ‘We’ll get over it. Come on.’
* * *
If someone had told Ella a month ago that she’d enjoy a night of karaoke, she wouldn’t have believed them.
But she was having a whale of a time. She’d had enough vodkas to let go of her inhibitions, and didn’t even make a token protest when Dylan pulled her up to duet with him on ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ – though she was glad they’d hired a private room, so she didn’t have to perform in front of total strangers.
Kerry sang ‘I Got You Babe’ with Jake, and Dara turned out to have a powerful voice that seemed to come out of nowhere in his narrow, wiry frame.
Sarah, Mark, Catherine and Dan teamed up to do a hilarious version of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
But, mostly, everyone wanted to have a go singing with Roly, and he was happy to oblige.
Now Jake, Dylan, Roly, Gordon and Philip were performing Oh Boy!
’s first single ‘Cool Like You’, totally hamming it up with exaggerated dance moves and facial expressions.
Ella laughed as they pointed to members of their ‘audience’, clutching their hearts and gazing into their eyes as if they were singing just to them.
‘Wish I was cool like you,’ they sang and Roly pointed at her.
Their eyes met, and it felt like he was singing just to her.