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‘Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong with martinis, margaritas, or a Singapore Sling. But Jen here does a mean take on an old classic: you really have to try it to believe it.’
‘We could get a few?’ the lady said, her voice hopeful.
‘See it as an experiment – if you get a few, you can try one in a mug and one in a glass. You come tell me if I’m wrong.’
‘Deal,’ the guy said, looking happy that he could still be proved right.
Holly retrieved the glasses from him and put them back on the shelf. She was thinking on her feet, reading the prices and info as she spoke, but so far it sounded like she knew the place like the back of her hand. ‘If you’re getting a few, you’ll need a selection of glasses – gives you more reason to be careful with them, too, if you only have two of each. The good news is, Jen has an offer on: six glasses for four with her mix-and-match sets. So you’re getting two free. Can’t get better than that.’
‘Sounds good,’ the man agreed, nodding enthusiastically. His partner mouthed a silentthank you.
‘You pick your cocktails – take your time, find your favourites – and I’ll put a selection of glasses together. Don’t forget, if you buy ten cocktails you’ll get a stamp for each, so the next one’s free.’ She leaned in, like she was telling a secret. ‘And I’m sure if you’re nice to Jen she’ll let you claim it now. She’s in a good mood today.’
Holly grabbed an empty cardboard box from the shelf and filled it with pairs of highball, martini, and margarita glasses. Happy she’d covered all bases, she placed them on the counter and returned to stand behind Jen.
‘Right, show me the till, boss.’
Jen let out a quiet sigh, telling Holly she knew better than to argue. She shifted her seat and made room for Holly.
‘So: search bar, type ‘mix and match’. Click the photo of the glasses, select which ones are going. Bish, bash, bosh, it takes the multi-buy discount off.’
Holly nodded, taking it all in. ‘Seems easy.’ She squeezed in closer, shifting Jen’s leg out of the way. ‘My turn to do the cocktails.’
They waited patiently while the couple decided; it was a tough choice with such a great selection. Holly’s eyes averted to Jen’s lap and her hands, the memory of yesterday looming to the front of her mind. She wanted to skirt her fingers over Jen’s, experience that frisson of excitement once again, but that would be totally inappropriate given that these people thought Jen was till-training a staff member. She settled for feeling the heat of Jen’s leg against her bum instead. In a bid to keep her hands busy, she fiddled with the bow on her dress, as if pulling it tighter.
‘I think this is what we need,’ the man said, placing his pouches on the counter.
Jen dipped a hand to the shelf below and fetched a bag, reading each pouch name aloud as she placed them inside. ‘Awesome – you’re picking this up quick,’ she said, putting the final cocktail away. ‘Now, click on this big green button, and it will bring up the free pouches, since you so graciously offered to honour that today.’
‘Appreciate that,’ the guy said, clearly happy that he’d walked away with a good deal.
‘Just don’t drink all eleven tonight. Unless you want a sore head tomorrow. Been there, done that,’ Holly joked. There were murmurs of agreement before Holly read out the total.
Transaction done, the couple left, the woman’s smile showing just how much they’d saved the day.
Jen watched the door close before she spoke. ‘Cocktails in a mug? Now I’ve heard it all.’
Holly stepped out from behind the till, although part of her had wanted to see how long Jen would have let her stay pressed against her leg.
‘I’ve had wine in a mug when I was at uni, but a cocktail? That’s a line even I wouldn’t cross.’
‘Good sale too, nearly a hundred pounds.’
‘Is that decent?’
‘I’ll say. I might just need to keep you.’ Jen’s trademark blush flushed her cheeks. ‘Listen,’ she began. Oh God, was this going to be about yesterday? Holly had considered staying, feeling like something further needed to be said, but with Chloe being there, it just hadn’t felt right. ‘I don’t want you to think this is weird, but I’ve got you a little present. Just a small thing.’
Oh.That didn’t go in the direction she’d expected. Holly’s face twisted with confusion, a smile dragging across her lips. ‘Really?’
Jen’s chest flushed red, the heat rising up her neck as she retrieved something from under the counter. She placed a stack of books by the till, her eyes searching Holly’s, as if she was terrified this was a terrible mistake. ‘They’re, um, business books. I know how much it helped me to write stuff down, so. . . ’ she trailed off with a shrug.
Holly’s chest filled with warmth, the hairs on the back of her neck standing to attention. This was quite possibly the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her. ‘You didn’t need to do that,’ she said, picking up the books and inspecting the covers.Handmade Success,My Business Bible,The Handmade Business of Your Dreams. Fuck.Holly swallowed, willing the tears away that were pawing at her surface. She hadn’t even told Jen what she wanted to do; had she listened that carefully, that she was able to piece it all together? No one paid that much attention to Holly. Must be a fluke.
‘Are they okay? Sorry if I got it wrong. It’s just when you said about your degree, and then you pointed out those cards the other day, and then there was that printer you mentioned, and—’
‘They’re perfect,’ Holly said, holding her voice steady. She looked at Jen, then back to the books. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around Jen’s neck and kiss her senseless. ‘This means a lot. Thank you.’
Jen beamed. ‘And if you need help with other stuff, boring business stuff like with HMRC, I can help there. Buy me a beer and I’ll spill all my secrets.’
