Under My Skin

Part One

Part One

TEN MONTHS EARLIER

It was a normal Monday morning, the café Isobel had opened almost two years ago ran a good trade by mid morning, so she was busy, but quite relaxed when her colleague Michael turned up. She always did the early shift, opening up, meaning she could leave at three to pick up her daughter Taylor from school. As a single parent it was an essential thing, and part of the reason why she’d strived to get this cafe. It had been hard, but her insistence had paid off.  And she thought she had the better deal, she made the mess he cleared up. But as a single man Michael appreciated the lie in, the late morning rises. It was the perfect working relationship.

                “So what’s news?” he asked throwing his coat into the office and donning his ‘Taylor made’ apron, and at six foot five it was a bizarre sight. But then he was a bizarre sight with his neon green two inch long Mohawk and multiple piercings, not your average cafe worker. “Been busy?”

She shook her head, “no, not really, a few breakfast rolls. Plenty of time to catch up. How are you?”

When he didn’t answer she looked up to see a smirk spread across his face. Michael was such an open book when it came to emotions.

                “Well? You look like you met Robbie Williams in the Plough last night!”

                “Even better!” he exclaimed his excitement making his voice rise a few octaves, becoming rather camp. “We have been invited to the opening of ‘Coffee break’, and he’s going to be there.” He thrust an embossed envelope under her nose. “Look how posh it is!”

Shaking her head firmly, she turned to him, “I’m not going to the opening of a rival café, NO WAY...and who the hell is ‘HE’???”

He hit his forehead with his hand in frustration, “for such an intelligent woman you lack so much worldly knowledge! Marc Banfield…the greatest entrepreneur to walk this earth? He moved from heavier industry into the food world a few years ago, coffee is his newest acquisition; he bought the Coffee Break chain a few months ago. This is their first big expansion since. Remember I saw him speak at the County Food Providers lunch?”

Hands on hips she sighed, “all I remember from then is you meeting an old school friend who you have been shagging ever since.”

Michael paused a minute, visions of how he’d left Gary sleeping in bed this morning when he’d had to leave for work flooding his conscious thought, then he shook his head, drawing himself back to the present, “true, but anyway, Mr Banfield himself was there, the one who was talking about marketing in catering.”

                “The free refills?” She’d blocked that idea immediately, but despite being loathe to admit it, it had worked a treat.

                “Who’d think something so simple would help?” he offered grinning.

She shook her head, “with or without his advice, I’m still not going to endorse a rival. You can go, by all means.”

                “Come on, it’s a chance to check out the competition. Keep your friends close your enemies even closer and all that.” Her eyebrow lifted and he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.

                “When is it?”

He smiled sensing victory, “tomorrow evening at seven.”

An hour later he had loaded up the van and headed out with the lunch orders to the local offices, a trip that he did every day, and was getting busier and busier. It used to take twenty minutes to pitch up at half a dozen locations and sell, but weekly more businesses called, asking if they could visit their office or factory. Now the sandwich run took at least ninety minutes. If he left at ten thirty he was back for the busiest part of the day.