Barbara had something serious on her mind she wanted to tell Jeremy but instead of being all serious in front of him she took a more light hearted and conversational approach so he wouldn't be so quick to be defensive. This was a trait of his; if the topic became serious then he tended to get nervous, defensive and would back away.
"Jeremy..." she began. "I was thinking we could get a record player. Maybe even a stereo, with a radio and cassette player built in as well...like those home entertainment systems they sell nowadays."
Jeremy took a sip of coffee and nodded with a "uh-huh".
"And we could put it....oh, we can't put it in the lounge. There's no room." she said, baiting the trap.
"What about the study, or the bedroom?" Jeremy replied.
"That's no good if we want to have guests around, which we don't because we don't have much room."
"I see where you're going with this. You want to build an extension on the house?"
"Or perhaps get a bigger house..." there, she said it. Jeremy finished his breakfast and pushed the plate away from him.
"Now we've had this discussion before, Barbara. I'm attached to this area and there's still work to be done..."
"Against the Landgraabs? I know, sweetie, but we can't let them control our lives and it's getting to the stage where we've outgrown this place."
Jeremy got up and walked over to the couch as he gathered his thoughts. "But the tree! The planned demolition!" he said.
"You've never been through the tree and seen the glade and you can prevent the demolition of Foundry Cove whether you live here or not!" she said, getting up and going to sit next to him.
Jeremy took a deep breath before speaking. "I've checked the accounts and the boutique has had lots of outgoings this quarter. What with the stock, electrical repairs and taking on your first permanent employee our reserves of money aren't as large as it was a couple of months ago."
Barbara looked crestfallen. "I didn't realise it was that bad" she said.
"It's not bad, it's just not as much as we'd like in terms of upgrading our living arrangements."
"Spoken like a businessman"
"I am a businessman. I tell you what; how about we set up a housing fund out of our accounts? A bit goes towards that with each payday."
Barbara shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that's the best we can do right now." She took a deep breath and slapped her hands on her thighs. "Well, I need to get to the shop early today because I want to greet Toni, my new employee, and show her the ropes."
"All the best with that...I've just got accounts, accounts and more accounts to deal with today so I envy you." said Jeremy.
Magnolia Promenade was coming alive by the time Barbara arrived there. It was a small but often busy retail park and judging by the amount of footfall through here she hoped that today would be a busy one...nothing like dropping the new shop assistant right into the action, she thought.
At 8:30am a perky young woman in yellow and white knocked on the door to Pack's Boutique. She even had a name badge on her blouse that read "Toni". Barbara opened the door and cheerily let her in.
"Hello...you must be Toni. I'm Barbara; the manager and co-owner of Pack's."
Toni looked momentarily startled at Barbara. "Oh" she said, beginning a sentence that she found difficult to complete as she didn't want to offend her new and very young boss. "I wasn't expecting someone...so...so..."
"Young? Don't worry about it. Lots of people are surprised to discover I run this place. Heck, even I am surprised sometimes...I have to pinch myself to remind me that I am!" replied Barbara with a smile and a laugh as she diffused the tension.
"I'll show you around the place...so, according to the agency you've done quite a lot of retail work before, is that right?" Barbara asked.
"Yeah...department stores for a bit, then in a furniture store the last six months. I really like fashion so I jumped at the chance to come and work here when the agency told me about you." replied Toni. "I hope this outfit is OK? The shirt is from my last employers and I didn't know whether to wear pants or a skirt or was there a dress code. I'm sorry, I should have phoned ahead and asked you."
Barbara was surprised that Toni was asking such a question. "Well..." she began to reply. "...I hadn't thought about a dress code myself. I'm just wearing one of my normal outfits but you look fine. Is there normally a dress code? I'm still learning the ropes of running a shop myself."
"Depends on the place. The department store insisted the female staff all wore skirt suits, smart shoes and nylons with guidelines for hair and make up. The furniture store just said I should look 'smart' but didn't specify what smart was. In London there's a fashion store called Biba..."
"I've heard of it; it's one of the inspirations for this place" interjected Barbara.
"Well their staff have a uniform dress. It's short with horizontal stripes." added Toni.
"I'll look into that. That might be a good idea to have a distinct look...mark us out from the customers."
Barbara liked it that Toni was keen, eager and had ideas. Because of her experience in dealing with customers she assigned her the task of handling them whilst she concentrated on stock and handling money. After that she opened the doors and switched the neon sign on the door to "open".
Barbara's hunch about it being a busy retail day turned out to be on the money. The shop was soon inundated with customers and between her and Toni, they had their work cut out for them...particularly when one or two customers demanded to be served first...
Barbara took that onerous task on herself...don't let the new employee have to sort out some customer aggravation, she thought. She cast a look across the shop floor to see how Toni was getting on. There was a young male customer, looking every inch like a missing Beatle, who was wearing a very stylish double-breasted shirt and was being stared at by some of the female customers. Barbara thought the guy, probably in his late teens, was very cute and could see his appeal but Toni was there handling the situation so that she could help this guy without being bothered. One little girl was just staring at him and to the young man's credit, he seemed to be bearing up with good grace.
When there was a lull in the number of customers that needed serving, Barbara went out back to get more stock out of the storeroom to replace the items that had been sold. When she returned she saw Toni sitting next to the cute guy and chatting to him. She put the pile of men's shirts she was carrying on a counter-top and was preparing to give Toni a polite rebuke for socialising with the customers instead of working when she overheard what they were saying to each other.
"I've got to present a youthful image...be less clean-cut." said the guy, who spoke with an English accent.
"Is that what your bosses told you?" asked Toni.
"Yeah, they get a bit heavy with me to get with the American look but it can be hard trying to find the right gear...it's 'cos I'm short"
"I'm sure we've got something in stock...did you know Jean Shrimpton shops here when she's in America? If we could find something for her, we can find something for you."
"Oh Jean's been in here? That's wild!" said the guy. Barbara picked up the stack of shirts and went back to stocking the shelves and hangars with a smile on her face: Toni, was charming this customer and helping him find something he liked. And by the sounds of it he knew Jean Shrimpton. Was he someone famous?
Eventually he found something he liked and in his size and Barbara let Toni seal the deal and ring up the sale. When Toni walked him to the shop door and saw him head off down the road she turned to Barbara, let out a "phew!" and fanned herself with her hand.
"Is it always like this, here? First Jean Shrimpton and now him!" she said. Barbara shrugged her shoulders.
"So who was that guy? He was kind of cute" she asked.
"You're kidding me!" said an incredulous Toni. "That was Davy Jones!"
"Is he famous?"
"Is he....I mean, yeah, kind of. I mean he will be." said Toni, trying to find the right words to explain who Davy Jones was.
"Sounds like you're psychic. How will he be well known? Is he an actor or a pop star?" asked Barbara.
"Both. There's a buzz going around that the next biggest thing in music...and TV...will be The Monkees."
"What, like chimpanzees?"
"No...like you've got The Beatles but they're not bugs well these guys are the Monkees: M-O-N-K-E-E-S. So I read all the latest music magazines and they did this big piece on them with an interview with Davy so that's how I...and that little girl...recognised him. They've got a single coming out next week and the TV show will debut next month."
Barbara made a long, whistling sound and nodded "Word's getting out...Pack's Clothing is the place to be...IF we play our cards right!"
"I hope I did well today..." said Toni. "Barbara, I really want to work here. Already I'm loving the vibe!"
"I'm happy for you to work here; you did well. And I'll follow up that Biba uniform thing...sounds like a good idea." said Barbara, smiling. It was such a benefit having a member of staff now; Barbara didn't feel as drained as she had been recently.
Her thoughts and conversation with Toni was abruptly disturbed by a knock at the door. The two women turned around to see a man in a dark business suit waving at them through the door: It was Jeremy. Barbara jogged to the door, unlocked it and let him in.
"Hello, Darling. A good day's trade?" He asked, stepping in to the shop. He noticed Toni in her yellow work shirt standing by the counter with her hands clasped in front of her.
"Yes...very much so" Barbara replied. "In part thanks to my new assistant. Come and meet Toni. Toni, this is my boyfriend and co-owner of Pack's Clothing; Jeremy."
Toni gave a little wave and said 'hi' in a soft voice. She was conscious that she didn't want to seem familiar or cocky to the boss and money-man.
"Did you enjoy yourself today?" Jeremy asked Toni.
"Yeah, it was groovy. This is a swinging joint. AND we had Davy Jones in the store as well!"
"Davy......?" he asked, puzzled.
"Jeremy isn't up to date on the latest pop stars or celebrity news. Unless it's Llamaman or Pat Boone." said Barbara. "Davy Jones is in a band called The Monkees. They're going to be on TV soon."
"Oh, OK. Yeah, Toni, I'm a bit of a button-down kind of guy. Barbara keeps me up to date with the trends."
"Oh, OK. Yeah, Toni, I'm a bit of a button-down kind of guy. Barbara keeps me up to date with the trends."
"Sure. Thank you and well done today; see you tomorrow!" said Barbara, beaming a big smile as things went better than she expected and she'd liked Toni's company in the store. Toni grabbed her handbag, said her goodbyes and headed off to the subway station. That left Jeremy and Barbara alone in the now quiet store.
"She seems nice" he said.
"Toni? Yeah, she is a real blast! I'm going to keep her on. Well, I'm just going to do a quick inspection of the place, grab the ledger for today and lock up."
"OK, I'll wait for you outside" he said, heading to the shop door and opening it. Barbara scuttled around the shop making a note of what needed putting out on the shelves and mannequins for tomorrow and went to look for the ledger.
As Jeremy waited on the sidewalk outside, he saw a very familiar figure walking towards him in a brisk manner as if she was on urgent business. It was Suzy and she waved at him as she strode purposefully in his direction.
"Hey, Suz, what brings you here? I'm sorry but we're shut now...if only you'd come about 20 minutes earlier." he said, waving cheerily at her.
"I'm not here to shop, Jeremy. I've come to see you about a work matter." she replied, with a hint of seriousness in her voice. Jeremy's face went from happy and smiling to serious. When she said "work matter" he wondered if it meant his work or hers?
"What is it?" he asked.
"I've found a ton of stuff about the Landgraabs...I mean BIG revelations about them but there's still some gaps in their story I need to find out and you might be able to help there."
More digging around, more clandestine investigation, he thought to himself. Well, he was so far committed to uncovering their dirty secrets he couldn't stop now. "OK" he said, drawing a deep breath. "What information do you need?"
"Anything about their property; Affluista Mansion, and specifically the land it's built on. There should be some old mineshaft or cave that runs directly underneath it. I want to know what it is. It should be tucked away in some file in their building."
"If I can get access to the computer in the building I can see what information there is that's kept in company records." he said. "Otherwise it might be buried in a dusty file. OK, I'll look into it."
At that moment Barbara emerged from the shop, ready to lock up. She saw Suzy talking to Jeremy and by the looks on their faces it wasn't a social call she was making.
"Hey, Suzy, what's up?" asked Barbara.
"Oh, I'm buzzing with a new line of investigation of the Landgraabs. Jeremy here's kindly offered to do some research into their property for me."
Barbara's face went from smiling to grave. "Oh great, she's putting him at risk...again." Barbara thought to herself. "I hope something bad doesn't happen to my man because if it does then heaven help you; Suzy Humphries!"
