Page 33 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
‘Jesus, this hurts,’ he groaned.
Ollie sighed and, spotting the overhang of a shop doorway, dragged the man over to it.
‘Do you still have both your eyes?’ she asked, because he was making a lot of fuss.
‘I don’t know!’
‘Let me have a look, then, if you’re incapable of knowing whether one’s been gouged out by how it feels.’
‘There’s no need to be sarcastic.’ This was more of a grumble, and the man slowly lowered his hands, revealing his face. It was one Ollie recognised. Marcus Belrose, the famous chef who’d opened his Happy Shack in Port Karadow earlier that year. He had a reputation for being arrogant and a hard taskmaster, and so far Ollie had seen nothing to dissuade her of those rumours. He had a neat goatee around his pursed lips, and his eyes were dark and, unsurprisingly, still in place.
‘Your left eye looks a little red,’ she said, ‘but you’re not even bleeding.’
‘What do you meaneven?’His gaze was direct, and not entirely pleasant.
‘You’re being rather over dramatic.’
‘It was incredibly painful and a genuine shock! Who are you, anyway?’
Ollie laughed. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?Who am I to be walking these hallowed streets? Who would dare to bump into you, Marcus Belrose?’
He stared at her. His eye was quite red, she conceded, but there was no need for him to be an asshole. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said shortly. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Ollie.’ She held out her hand. ‘Ollie Spencer. I moved here a few weeks ago. I’m working at A New Chapter.’
He nodded and grasped her hand. ‘Gorgeous little shop.’
‘With big ambitions,’ she said, still rankled by his attitude.
‘Oh yes?’ He raised a supercilious eyebrow.
‘Of course. You came to Port Karadow with big plans, there’s no reason we shouldn’t have them, too. In fact, I’m running a programme of events, and I know you haven’t released a cookbook since you moved here, but what do you think about joining forces? We could hold a cooking class in the Happy Shack, get the attendees to make one of your recipes – led by your charming self, of course – and A New Chapter could sell copies of your books.’
Marcus folded his arms, the leather of his jacket squeaking. ‘This is your pitching technique? Jab me in the eye, tell me I’m being a baby then coerce me into running an event so you can sell books?’
‘Your language is inflammatory,’ Ollie said. ‘But yes, basically. Except, if we’re splitting hairs,youassaultedmybrolly.’
Marcus’s eyes gleamed, and Ollie got the sense he was trying not to smile. ‘Let me think about it. We’d need a meeting to sort out logistics. The Shack’s not set up for cooking classes.’
‘I bet if you shifted a few things around it could be. Don’t you have an open hatch so everyone can see your chefs at work?’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘You haven’t eaten there yet?’
‘I’ve only been here a few weeks,’ she said again. ‘Give me a chance.’
Marcus nodded, and she could see he was considering it. ‘Let me talk to the team, and I’ll get back to you in a couple of days. Number?’
Ollie resisted rolling her eyes. ‘Come up to the bookshop: that’s where Thea and I will be. I need to go or I’ll be late for work. Put some ice on that eye if it still feels like it’s about to fall out – you must have some at your restaurant.’ She patted him on the arm, then, before he had a chance to reply, she stepped out from under the awning and walked up to Sea Brew, leaving him gawping after her.
‘I don’t know if it’s a good idea.’ Thea’s large, worried eyes looked at Ollie over the rim of her coffee cup.
Ollie shrugged. ‘I know Marcus can be a bit of an asshole, but he’s close to being a genuine celebrity in Port Karadow. He’s got the confidence to run an event, and he’ll have customers eating out of the palm of his hand if he bothers to turn on the charm.’
‘I know he’ll be good at it,’ Thea said. ‘Ben worked with him over the summer, on his beach barbecue truck. He said that when Marcus tones down the peacocking, he’s actually OK.’
‘What are you worried about, then?’ Ollie had been pleased with her quick thinking, literally bumping into the town’s celebrity chef and using it to her advantage. But even this idea, it seemed, wasn’t the right one.
‘How are we supposed to promote A New Chapter, if the event you’re suggesting isn’tatA New Chapter?’
