Chapter 2

Chapter Two

‘ Q uick.' Pushing the heavy wooden door open, Fleur dragged Bea inside the old town hall and they ran through the large empty room, their heels echoing on the expanse of highly polished parquet flooring, until they reached the door to the room at the back, the room Gregory insisted on calling the conference room. ‘You go first.'

‘What? No.' Too late. Fleur had already pushed her forward. As she half-fell, half-stepped through the doorway into the room, Bea steadied herself and held her hand up in a slight wave. ‘So sorry we're late.'

Standing in front of the group of tables, Gregory did little to cover his frustration, his sigh audible and the roll of his eyes visible. ‘Come in, come in. Sit down and stop dithering.'

‘Right. Of course.' Bea glanced around the room; with the rows of tables all facing the front, it always reminded her of a secondary school classroom, rather than any conference room she'd ever stepped inside of, and Gregory the tyrant of a teacher from her youth. Typical, their usual table – the one at the back – had been taken, Martha and Marty sitting smugly behind it, Marty intently watching something on his mobile beneath the table and Martha cradling her mug of coffee, probably trying to stay awake.

‘This table is free at the front.' Gregory snapped and indicated the table centre front, the one reserved for the latest arriving people, the poor souls who had no choice but to sit beneath Gregory's glare.

Bea followed Fleur as she led the way towards the front of the group, holding her hand up and mouthing ‘hi' as she walked past Ruby and Sadie's table. As Fleur stood aside, Bea felt her palm on the small of her back and walked a little quicker before slipping behind the front table and sitting down.

Joining her, Fleur fished out her bottle of water from her bag and took a long sip.

‘Are we quite ready to continue our meeting?' Gregory looked at Fleur over the top of his glasses.

‘Yep, all ready.' Lowering her bottle with a tap against the tabletop, Fleur grinned.

Bea shook her head slightly. She didn't know how Fleur did it, acted so blasé in front of him. With her eyes focused on Gregory as he began rambling on about the installation of a replacement ticket machine in the town's main car park, she fished out her notebook and pen in case anything important came up.

‘… And I'm pleased to tell you that the grocery store will be having a sale on exotic fruits next week, so stock your shelves and expect an influx of customers.' Gregory looked up and glanced around the room, a clipped smile on his face. ‘I'll be discounting all the exotic fruit stock, including the kiwis, the guavas, the…'

Pulling Bea's notebook and pen towards her, Fleur scribbled quickly before sliding it back across the table and nudging Bea.

Looking down, Bea stifled a laugh, a gurgled sound escaping her lips as she read Fleur's note:

Yep, sure all the squishy bananas will bring in the crowds. Won't be anything to do with the big craft fair being held next week.

Bea swallowed as she realised Gregory had stopped talking and was looking pointedly at her. She tapped her chest. ‘Sorry, hay fever.'

‘Umm, I shall get you a sip of water and then maybe we can continue our meeting.' Turning on his heels, Gregory disappeared into the kitchen off to the side of the room.

‘Fleur! That'll be me in the spotlight this week now. You know he'll be visiting the bookshop and scrutinising everything I do!' Bea shook her head and sighed.

‘Aw, forget about Gregory.' Fleur leaned in closer. ‘Have you noticed we have a newbie?'

‘Huh?' Bea frowned.

‘A newbie in our group of shopkeepers.' Fleur tilted her head, indicating behind them. ‘And he's super cute. Just your type.'

Bea glanced quickly over her shoulder. Fleur was right, there was someone she didn't recognise. He was sitting at the corner table in the back row, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed over the blue shirt he was wearing which matched his brilliant blue eyes.

‘Don't make it too obvious you're staring at him.' Fleur laughed.

‘I wasn't.' Keeping her eyes fixed on her notebook once again, Bea could feel her cheeks redden.

‘Ha, told you he was your type.'

‘He's not!' Bea answered indignantly. He wasn't. His dark hair and piercing blue eyes were a complete contrast to Adam with his blonde hair and green eyes. Whoever he was, he definitely wasn't her type. Not at all.

‘Uh-huh. I believe you.' Fleur raised her eyebrows as Gregory returned.

‘Here you are, Ms Thompson.' Placing the glass down with an audible click, Gregory took his place centre stage once more.

‘Thank you.' Taking a sip, Bea swallowed the lukewarm water, trying not to look ungrateful.

‘Now, where was I?' Gregory picked up his papers and glanced around the room. ‘Oh, yes, preparations for the big sale. Well, as I've said, just be prepared for the extra customers who might come your way. And onto our next topic on the agenda. You may have noticed that we have a newcomer in our midst today. Scott, would you like to tell us a little about yourself?'

Bea turned and looked towards the man on back row again, smiling as he blinked and shook himself after his name was called. She knew that feeling only too well. Gregory's monotone voice encouraged his listeners to close down and their minds to wander and, judging by the surprise on Scott's face, that was exactly what had happened to him.

‘Come on, then Mr Harrison. We don't have all day. Stand up and introduce yourself.' Gregory frowned, his thick dark eyebrows shielding his eyes.

‘Right, of course. Sorry.' Pushing his palms flat to the top of the table, Scott stood up and smiled, waving his hand in front of him. ‘Hi, everyone, I'm Scott. I've recently moved to Nettleford and will be running an electrical repair shop where I'll also be selling some small electrical items too.'

‘Hello, Scott.' The room chorused.

Nodding, Scott took his seat again.

‘Thank you, Scott. I trust you'll be welcomed with open arms into our community. And on that note, I'm hoping a volunteer will step forward to help you acclimatise into the ways of Nettleford.' Gregory crossed his arms and looked around the group, searching for a unsuspecting volunteer.

As Bea kept her eyes fixed on the blank page of her notebook in front of her, she felt Fleur suddenly jab her finger into her side and turned, hissing at her. ‘Ouch.'

‘Volunteer.' Fleur nodded to Gregory.

‘What? Have you gone mad?' Bea whispered back.

‘Go on, think of all the time you'll get to spend with the gorgeous Scott.'

‘No way. Absolutely no chance.' Bea shook her head vehemently. There was no way she'd put herself in the position to be at the beck and call of Gregory.

‘Anyone?' Gregory looked around the group, the tapping of his pen against his notepad a ticking time bomb. He'd soon just pick someone at random.

‘Go on…' Fleur whispered again; her voice low but hoarse.

Bea rolled eyes and braved a glance up at Gregory, he was scanning the room behind them but at any moment he'd turn his attention back to the first row and if Fleur continued along this vein of trying to talk her into it and drawing attention to them, then it would be fifty-fifty whether she or Fleur would draw the short straw. She looked back at Fleur; it would serve her right if she got picked on. She sighed just as Fleur went to jab her in the side again and as she jerked her arm to avoid her she watched her notebook slide across the table and fall to the floor. Rising from her seat, she looked over the desk. The notebook lay open, a full page of tiny houses and circular patterns on display. Argh, if Gregory saw that, he'd know she hadn't been listening to a word he'd been saying. She looked back at her friend and flared her nostrils.

‘Oops.' Fleur feigned a look of remorse.

Shaking her head, Bea slid from her chair and crawled beneath the table, rescuing her notebook and clutching it to her chest.

‘Bea will volunteer.'

Jumping, Bea slammed the top of her head against the underside of the table and winced as Gregory bent down, his face coming into view.

‘Fantastic. Thank you, Ms Thompson.'

Bea smiled weakly and tried not to breathe in his garlic infused breath as she rubbed the top of her head. ‘You're very welcome.'

Straightening his back again, Gregory addressed the room. ‘That's settled then. Scott, Ms Thompson, will be your mentor. The rest of you may be excused. Scott and Bea, please remain, so I can advise you.'

Crawling out from beneath the table, Bea slammed her notebook on the tabletop and took her seat again as she raised her eyebrows at Fleur. What was she playing at? Just because she was suddenly head-over-heels in love with the bloke she'd started to date, it didn't mean Bea wanted a relationship, let alone to be forced into spending hours with a man she didn't know and who she didn't particularly want to get to know – not in the way Fleur was thinking, anyway.

‘What?' Fleur held her arms open, the picture of innocence.

Shaking her head, Bea narrowed her eyes. ‘Just you wait, I'll think of a way of paying you back. When you least expect it, at that.'

‘Hey, I'm doing you a favour.' Fleur looked behind them, her eyes landing on Scott. ‘You run a bookshop. You should be the best person to know what can happen when two people are forced into close proximity.'

‘Stop looking.' Grabbing her friend's arm, Bea forced her to turn back around. ‘I don't care how cute he is. You know I'm not ready to date.'

‘Not ready? It's been a year since you and Rat Adam divorced, longer since you split from him.' Fleur grinned. ‘Besides, you called him cute. There's hope.'

Bea breathed heavily through her nose as she slid her pen into the spiral on the side of her notebook. Fleur, referring to her ex-husband as Rat Adam, would usually make her smile, but not tonight. Tonight, Fleur had a lot of making up to do.

Standing up, Fleur patted Bea on the shoulder. ‘Enjoy yourself. I'll ring you later to get the gossip.'

Bea nodded, defeated. There was no way she'd be able to squirm her way out of being a mentor to Scott, so she might as well make the most of it. Or at least attempt to act graciously. After all, it wasn't poor Scott's fault. He was a victim to Gregory's whims too.