LITMIR.BIZ

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new studio owners are probably going to feel guilty about pushing you out so they’ll have written you a very glowing reference to make up for it. On the other hand, they’re also too short-sighted to see what they’ve passed up—so I doubt if their views are worth the paper they’re written on.’ He smiled to take the sting from his words. ‘Besides, I told you yesterday, I’m a good judge of character. So even though one or two of my baristas came with less-than-glowing reports from previous employers, I went by my gut instinct and I was proved right. They came good.’

      ‘One of your grandmother’s sayings?’ she guessed.

      ‘If you see the best in people, they’ll give you their best.’ He nodded. ‘Actually, there was one thing we didn’t discuss yesterday. Money. You’re working for Giovanni’s, so you need a salary. What were you on at your last place?’

      She told him.

      He sighed. ‘I can just about match that, but I’m afraid I can’t raise it. You’d probably get a lot more from a financial services company or one of the big ad agencies.’

      ‘But you,’ she said, ‘promised me free rein.’

      He smiled. ‘I trust you not to make changes just for the sake of it.’ He talked her through the different systems on the computer, showing her how the information was coded for each of the four branches and how they fed into an overall system. ‘Your username is “marsfran”, and this is your password.’ He scribbled her initials and a series of numbers on to a piece of paper.

      ‘You sorted this out for me already?’

      He shrugged. ‘It didn’t take long. Besides, I’d left some papers here that I needed last night.’ He hadn’t stayed particularly long. In peace and quiet with no interruptions, you could get a lot done in a couple of hours. Which was why he was usually in not long after dawn. Before the rush started.

      ‘I’m beginning to see what your cousin means about you being a workaholic,’ Fran said dryly.

      ‘Don’t tell me you’re going over to their team. I need you on my side.’ He smiled at her. ‘Well, the best way to get used to new systems and what have you is to play with them. If you get stuck, just give me a yell. I’ll leave you to it to book yourself on the food hygiene course—the place I normally use is in the address book under “food hygiene course”—and take a look through the systems.’

      ‘And do your filing?’ she asked, raising one eyebrow.

      Gio pantomimed innocence. ‘I didn’t ask—but as you’ve just offered…’

      She laughed. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

      ‘Give me a yell if you need anything or you get stuck. Otherwise, I’ll bring you some coffee and an almond croissant.’ He smiled at her. ‘I haven’t forgotten about the barista training, but the morning rush is probably not the best time to introduce you to the delights of the espresso machine and the milk frother. Maybe if there’s an afternoon lull? Or just before I strip the machines down after we close?’

      ‘You’re the boss,’ she said lightly. ‘You tell me.’

      ‘Later,’ he promised, winked, and left her to it.

      The day went surprisingly quickly. Fran sorted out the filing and worked through the different systems, making a list of questions for Gio as she went. He came in a couple of times, bearing a cup of coffee or a cool drink—and one time bringing her a list of what he needed ordering from the suppliers for delivery to each branch, the following morning—but for the most part she was on her own in Gio’s office.

      The wallpaper on his computer screen was a family photograph. His parents, she guessed, plus three younger women who had to be his sisters, and an older woman who was probably his Italian grandmother. Gio was standing right in the middle of them, with a huge smile on his face. Whatever his protests about not wanting to settle down, he clearly loved his family. And he’d given up his dreams for them. He was a man who wasn’t afraid to make sacrifices. Who’d give everything for those he loved.

      At the end of their shifts, Sally and Ian put their heads round the door to say goodbye. Fran felt a weird glow spread through her. Her first day, and already she was accepted as part of the team. Just as she’d been at the voiceover studio. Maybe this was going to work out just fine.

      She logged off the computer, and then Gio walked in. ‘Wow. Are you Mary Poppins in disguise? You know, waving a magic wand and everything tidies itself up and marches in the right order into the right file in the right drawer?’

      She laughed. ‘All you needed was a system. And it wasn’t actually that bad. There was a kind of order to the chaos.’

      He perched himself on the edge of the desk. ‘The office looks better than it has in years. I normally don’t let Dad anywhere near here—in his day he kept things absolutely spotless, and seeing it in a mess would be an excuse for him to get back in here and start working stupid hours again.’

      Considering the hours Gio worked…‘Like father, like son?’

      ‘But I’m twenty-eight, not fifty-eight. And I haven’t had a heart attack.’ Gio made a face. ‘I just want him to take things easy and not worry.’ He waved a dismissive hand. ‘But we need to sort out this barista training. We said we’d do it now, after closing, but you were in early this morning. So tomorrow I don’t want to see you until eleven, OK?’

      She blinked. ‘But…’

      ‘No buts.’ He held up one hand to forestall any protest. ‘Your hours are Monday to Friday, nine to five with an hour for lunch. If you work more than that, you take time in lieu or you fill out an overtime form. I don’t expect you to work the same hours I do.’

      Reminding her—in a nice way—that he was the boss and she was the employee. And she’d better keep that in mind. This was an employer–employee relationship, nothing else.

      ‘So how’s your first day been?’ he asked.

      ‘Good,’ she said. ‘I like Ian and Sally. And the people in the other branches were fine when they spoke to me.’

      ‘That’s a point,’ Gio said. ‘I need to take you to the other cafés so you can meet the staff there, too. Maybe tomorrow afternoon, or Friday morning.’

      ‘So this is where you’re based, most of the time?’ she asked.

      ‘Most of the time,’ Gio agreed. ‘Though I try to do a shift in each of the outlets, once a week. It gives the team a chance to talk to me about any problems that need fixing or any suggestions they have for improvements or innovations—and it gives me a chance to make sure everything’s ticking over as it should be and there aren’t any problems that need sorting before they get unmanageable. But this was the first branch Dad opened, so the office space is here.’ He spread his hands. ‘Ready to learn what it takes to be a barista?’

      ‘Sure.’

      He talked her through how to use the machines and the steps needed to make an espresso. And then it was her turn. Despite taking notes, she’d forgotten one or two points—but Gio was standing behind her, ready to show her what to do. Not close enough to touch, but she was aware of how near his body was to hers. She could almost feel the heat of his body. And when his left arm reached out to the grinder, his bare skin brushed against hers, for just the tiniest fraction of a second, but it felt as if electricity zinged through every nerve-end.

      Mentally, she went through the steps. Grind, dose, tamp—she tapped the filter gently and watched the contents level, then pressed it down as he’d shown her—fit the filter into the machine, flick the switch and let it pour…She counted for twenty seconds in her head, then turned the tap off.

      ‘Looks good,’ Gio said, looking over her shoulder. His breath fanned her ear, and she felt a shiver of anticipation run down her back.

      Stop it, she warned herself. He’s your boss.

      So

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