Page 21 of Cosy & Chill
Dealmaking
Leo couldn’t believe how much his mood had changed in a mere two days. He’d ended the previous week with his income down forty percent when rain and a biting east wind had kept most of the market’s customers at home, and those who had come out hadn’t been in the mood to buy ice cream. On top of that, his attempts to supply ice cream to cafés, pubs, and restaurants in Richmond hadn’t been meeting with success. He hadn’t yet reached the point where he would treat Chill as a seasonal endeavour and find a job to cover the winter months, but he’d been feeling rather out of sorts.
Then he’d met Finn, and suddenly the world was exciting again. Before he’d gone to sleep early this morning, he’d been looking up barista training classes, and had started a list that matched his ice cream flavours to various teas and coffee flavours.
A week ago, the height of his aspiration had been a steady income, a stall in Borough Market, and a life without catching sight of any member of his family ever again. Now he wondered if he should go along with his grandma’s plans. Use her money to buy coffee-making equipment and furniture for their store.
He stopped in the middle of the pavement, stunned.
He already thought of it astheirstore. Cosy & Chill at your service.
It sounded right, but—really—it was crazy.
A red traffic light bloomed in front of him, and Leo waited to cross the road. He was on the way to the railway station to talk about ice cream with the lady who minded the coffee stall. The stall sign floated above the heads of the commuters like a mirage in the desert. Even without it, Leo wouldn’t have missed her, because the coffee-brown toque and scarf stood out like a promise of warmth on a cold winter morning.
It matched how Leo thought of Finn—as a spot of warmth in a chilly space. He knew he had an enormous, stupid grin on his face as he stopped beside the coffee stall.
Audrey smiled at him. “What can I get you, young man?”
“I’d love an Americano, please,” he said. “And then I have something for you to try. Finn said you might be interested in sampling some of my ice cream?”
She looked him up and down in a way that brought a blush to Leo’s cheeks. “Definitely pretty. I thought so.”
Before Leo could work out a response, she took pity on him and handed him his coffee.
“Let’s see these ice cream samples, then, young man, before the Southampton train comes in. What’s your name by the way?”
“I’m Leo.” He offered her his business card. “I’ve a stall at the market and I’m hoping to generate more business during the winter by supplying cafés and restaurants.”
She took the card. “Yes, I’ve seen your stall. What sort of ice creams do you make?”
Leo didn’t need an incentive to talk about ice cream, but seeing that Audrey was working, he tried to keep his pitch concise. He explained about ingredients, allergens, and dairy-free ice cream, and even remembered to mention his regularly changing flavours.
Audrey tasted and, as Finn had predicted, loved the green apple flavour. The batch of lemon meringue ice cream he’d whipped up between coming home and going to sleep also scored points.
“How do you package your ice cream? Individual portions or bigger? And how many flavours would you want me to stock?” Audrey asked. “I’m limited on space.”
“At the market, I sell in individual portions, litre containers, and packs of mixed flavours,” Leo said. “You’re my first non-market customer. I’d be happy to use your business as an experiment, try out what works? Rather than agreeing flavours and quantities, I could give you a selection of single portions in a mix of flavours. You’ll let me know when you need more, and I’ll invoice you for what you’ve sold?”
The suggestion pleased her, and between serving customers they discussed marketing. Leo left his samples on the counter for customers to taste and they both liked what they heard.
When lunchtime rolled around, he had his first supply agreement.
He hared off across the road to the graphic designers who made all his labels, flyers, and business cards, thinking that a pop-up banner showing off his latest ice cream flavours might be a good idea to entice customers.
He was busy in the way he loved to be busy, but while the morning had been bright, now a cloud edged his mental horizon. Audrey’s words, when they parted, had come as a shock.
“Don’t scare him off,” she’d said when she handed him another coffee for the road.
What was he supposed to do with that? He hadn’t told Finn that he was gay, and now he seriously wondered whether or not he should.
Leo arrived early to their meeting, but he found Finn already settled in his corner a half-knitted blue blanket in his lap. He fell onto the seat beside him and shrugged out of his jacket, cheered by the welcoming smile on Finn’s face.
“I owe you a huge thank you,” he said when he’d stowed his jacket and bag and set a folder on the table in front of him. “I went to see Audrey this morning and she’s fabulous!”
“Is she going to stock your ice cream?”
“Yes. She’s also going to help me work out the best way of offering products to restaurants. I’ll be busy tonight, making samples for her. Oh, and I’ve brought one for you. I made lemon meringue ice cream last night. You said you liked all things sour.”
