me with a knowing smile.
‘Don’t worry,’ she whispers with a wink as she gets back behind the bar. ‘I’ve got a plan.’
She’d have to have a magic wand to make me feel better.
‘Oh really. And what is this clever little plan of yours?’
She wiggles her eyebrows up. ‘We’re going to hit two birds with one stone.’
‘Please speak in clear English. I’m too tired and stressed to try and decipher what you’re on about.’
‘We are going to steal the chef from our biggest rival, The Dog and Duck.’
The Dog and Duck is the only other pub in the town and sits smack bam in the middle of the high street. Far easier for people to pop in for a pint. It’s also owned by that cocky bastard Fergus.
‘I cannot believe we’re doing this,’ I whisper hiss to Ella as we hang around the back that evening. ‘Closed the pub and are waiting for a chef to come out to the bins so we can try and persuade him to join our pub.’
‘Our failing pub,’ Ella corrects me. She’s dressed head to toe in black like that’ll make us less noticeable.
‘Yeah, remind me to do the sales pitch.’ I snort.
‘I’m just saying. Trying to remind you how much we need this.’
I grit my teeth. ‘Ella, don’t for one minute think that I don’t realise the stakes here. I’m the one that’s rinsed all of my savings on the place.’
‘Don’t do that,’ she snaps, shaking her head, her jaw tense.
‘Do what?’
‘Treat me like I’m some little bimbo. Like my opinion doesn’t matter just because I didn’t have savings to go into this.’
Well, now I feel wretched. I suppose I do put her down and dismiss her an awful lot. She doesn’t deserve my negativity. I feel like I’ve been in a bad mood since I found Garry in bed with that tart.
I take her hand. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just hassled.’
‘We’re both stressed,’ she says, flicking her long brunette locks into my face.
I hear the rustling of bin bags. ‘Ssh, he’s coming.’
She grabs my arm, her eyes wide. ‘Just remember if we’re caught by anyone you’re deaf and I don’t speak English.’
I watch as the chef appears, cigarette hanging from his mouth, carrying two black rubbish bags to the industrial bins at the back.
‘Hi!’ Ella calls, rushing over to him. ‘Excuse me, Mr Chef!’
Oh dear god. What a way to start. He slings the rubbish into the bins, takes the cigarette between his fingers and stares at us.
‘What the feck are ye girls doing back behind here?’
‘We were actually hoping to speak to you,’ I say with what I hope is a friendly smile and not a desperate grimace.
‘Ah,’ he nods, as if clocking on, ‘you’re the new English girls.’
I suppose our accent does give us away.
‘What the hell do ye want with me?’
I clear my throat. ‘We were wondering if you’d like to come work for us?’ I ask with a hopeful smile.
He stares back at us, his face impassive. I think he’s considering it. Then he throws his head back and laughs. Not just a little chuckle, no he laughs like he’s heard the funniest joke in the world. Bloody rude if you ask me. Just a simple no thank you would have sufficed.
‘This is a serious offer,’ Ella insists, still hopeful. ‘We have very competitive rates of pay.’
We do?
‘How good are we talking, here?’ he asks, his interest piqued. ‘Because I’d only ever consider leaving here for double my salary.’
‘Err…’ Ella stutters, looking to me for help.
‘We can do that,’ I nod. I mean, I have no idea how, but I’d beg, borrow and steal to get him in the hope that he’ll bring us in more money, and that I won’t want to strangle him daily.
He barks another laugh. ‘I’m only messing with ya. I wouldn’t leave this place. I’ve been here five years.’ He leans back over the fence. ‘Here, Fergus, come hear this.’
Oh great. Just what we need. Some more humiliation.
‘I’ve heard it all now,’ Fergus says, appearing from around the corner. He meets our eyes with his icy hard ones. ‘Just when I thought English girls might have some class, you girls go and surprise me.’
I sigh, an overwhelming sense of wanting to burst into tears and run home dragging me down. Only our home is in the pub that’s failing. My flat mate Valerie would have found another flat mate by now. If I don’t somehow sort this pub out, I’m literally homeless. It’s not like