Friends with Benefits

Chapter 41

Kyle reached down and kissed Jessica. She closed the door behind him.

"I thought you might be hungry, so I made some ham and cheese paninis," she said.

"Mmm, sounds delicious. Just what I need." Kyle walked into the living room and took his coat off.

"Sit down," I won't be a minute," said Jessica. She walked into the kitchen and took the paninis out of the oven. "I don't think I overcooked them," she thought. She got two beers and two glasses and put them on a tray, along with the paninis, and carried them through.

"Help yourself," she said, sitting down next to Kyle on the sofa. Kyle took a beer and poured it into a glass. He took a long drink. "Just what I needed, thanks."

Jessica poured herself a glass and took a bite of a panini. "Mmm, not bad."

Kyle picked his up. "Looks good, thanks for this. So," he said, taking a mouthful, "what's your idea?"

"Well, I was thinking," said Jessica, "you can't stay working in that bar for the rest of your life."

"No, you're right there."

"So another option is to move away."

"Which I don't want to do now that I am with you."

"So, how about starting something yourself, here in York?"

Kyle put his beer glass down and put his hand on Jessica's knee.

"Jess, I've thought about that, but Ruby's father..."

"What's he got to do with anything? OK, so he made sure you wouldn't be employed by another firm in the north, but he can't do anything if you set up your own consultancy, or even your own architecture office."

"Can't he?"

"Come on Kyle. He's not the mafia. He can't warn off every potential client of yours, who will, by the way, be his potential client too. It will look like petty, bad business on his side, and anyway, you can sue him for defamation, obstruction of business, slander, libel, all kinds of things."

Kyle picked his drink up and took a sip. "I don't know Jess..."

"Well what's the alternative? Move away, or stay at the bar. Which one of those appeal?"

"Neither."

"So why don't you give it a try?"

"But I'll need money to set it up."

"Yeah, bank loan."

"And how am I going to get clients?"

"I already thought about that. I did a lot of thinking while I was supposed to be working. You say initially that you'll work for free. Until your clients build up trust in you. In the meantime, to keep money coming in, you work at the bar in the evenings."

"Hmm...that's an idea. I didn't think of that," said Kyle, tilting his head to one side. "But what about staff? I'd need to employ someone to do administration stuff, and marketing."

"I could do that. I usually finish work at five, so I could spend a few hours a night helping you out. I can fit it in around hockey practice. I can even do your PR. I have experience in that kind of work."

Kyle put his arm around Jessica. "You really are the best girlfriend a man could have, you know that?"

"I know," said Jessica playfully. "Aren't you lucky?"

Kyle laughed. "I certainly am."

"So what do you say?"

"I say I'm definitely going to give it some thought. You are right about one thing. Ruby's father. I can't continue to be scared of him, or run away. I have to stand up to him. And if he does anything illegal, I should fight that. I guess I've been too soft."

"Never too late to change," said Jessica. "Think about it. I think it's your best option. Stay at the bar until the office is up and running and profitable, so you keep money coming in, and in the meantime, work like hell."

Kyle finished his panini and beer. He reached over and kissed Jessica on the lips. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for thinking about me."

"I'm thinking about us. I don't want to lose you."

Kyle wrapped his arms around Jessica and held hertight against his chest. "You won't lose me, Jess," he whispered.