Jake and Gill

"So, Sally is it?" she asked, Jake nodded, "did she meet Grant through her father?"

"No, SWN also own a taxi company and office cleaning contractors. The taxis ferry the cleaners around at four and five in the morning and take them home when done. They are mostly woman and it is safer for them at that hour and reliable for the business. The company also takes print shop staff home that have to work late, so Sally and Grant met, fell in love and married about three years ago."

"And you were at the wedding, I suppose?"

"Of course, Sally's family. Wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"All right, if, and that is an if, I do move in here, I will give your cousins first refusal on the house. It's quite an expensive house, though, could they afford the rent?"

"Oh yes, SWN pay their staff top whack, so they get the best people, each of them hand-picked, trained to perfection and, most importantly, they are most discreet and trustworthy staff you could find."

"You did say before that you were paid more in the print room than our trainee managers at the bank. Mmm, how big a company is SWN?"

"We're specialists, guaranteed secure, so we figure in 33 locations, mostly banks, corporate lawyers, registrars and gradually picking up contracts in Government departments, which could lift off. We even have print shops in three London embassies."

"I never realised they were so big. When I looked into the costs of your facility, three years ago, I thought you were a bit on the expensive side, not too much, but there were cheaper. Gerald overruled our recommendation."

"I know, Gerry discussed it with me -"

"With you?!"

"To see if I could drop the price, but I explained that the bank were making good profits despite the down turn and could afford it. I pointed out too, that we had never let them down, we are able to call on extra staff at the drop of a hat, as most of our installations are manned with two staff. We worked out a plan that if the total invoice exceeded a certain turnover then our basic costs would be met, and therefore could apply a lower rate for any excess."

"Yes," she laughed, "I saw the figures and the overall usage went through the roof, albeit at the lower rate. You knew the business was going to grow despite the depression, didn't you?"

"It was obvious, Standhope Winter were the most solvent bank around, most of your rivals melted away and you had the pick of the new business. We at SWN have a profit-sharing bonus, so we've done well these last few years."

"And you were able to negotiate this deal with Gerald on your own?"

"We're trained to be self-reliant, kept up to date with current and acceptable company margins and, I assure you that the owner was wholly conversant and in agreement with the proposals throughout."

"All right, all right, I'll concede that we do get what we pay for. Since you've run the print room on your own, it has been almost faultless, and you say the others are manned by two staff?"

"I've preferred to work alone and had nothing to go home to, but from now on I might have to ask for an assistant."

"You do that, honey!"

Jake nodded, "Well, it is a lovely day outside, why don't we walk down by the river and around The Tower, and I know a great place where we can have lunch in St Katherine's Dock?"

"Great."

"And this evening we have tickets for a show at the Barbican."

Chapter 8

On Sunday morning Gill trotted down to the shop for the newspapers, leaving Jake to have a lie-in, and on the way back decided to run up the stairs rather than take the lift. She bumped into a young man George, who was visiting his great grandmother. She remembered Jake mentioning the old lady Grace who lives on the second floor. George told her that she had lived there since 1948, but didn't get out much any more. He thought she should buy her flat as a sitting tenant, with his assistance, at a huge discount. George had a figure he thought her flat was worth. She was introduced to Grace and she had a short chat with this delightful old woman before making her excuses to get back to Jake.

George's comments made Gill think. She accepted that Jake's father's life insurance would have paid the outstanding mortgage on the flat, probably bought at a price that 28 years earlier would be many times lower than the current value, but how could a copy boy afford the upkeep, rates, insurance on such a place, without having lodgers in to share the other bedrooms. Maybe he had taken in lodgers in the past and it didn't work out. Suddenly her phone chirped, it was Jake.

"Hi honey, I was just getting the papers."

"Breakfast is almost ready, where exactly are you?"

"Running up the stairs, between the third and fourth floors."

"Ah, you'll be coming to the back door, then, leading to the utility room, where I keep the wellies and heavy coats. I'll meet you there."

"OK, honey, see you soon." She sprinted up the rest of the steps, only to find him already there, wearing an apron and holding the door open for her.

"Sorry, I stopped to talk to George and Grace," she puffed as she put one arm around him and kissed him deeply, "you know, Grace tells me she worships you."

"She's sweet, isn't she? Not jealous of Grace are you, because she changes her mind all the time?"

"I would be if she was thirty years younger, but then you seem to have a thing about older women, sweetheart."

"A fractionally older woman, singular, sweetheart."

"Mmm, well, you look so deliciously domesticated, quite a change from the wild man of the hills, and looking so cute I could eat you for breakfast."

"You may have to if it's spoilt!" he laughed as they walked from the boot room along the corridor, before steering her into a small rather bare study, with a computer on a desk.

"I haven't seen this room before," she noted.

"No, if I had a butler, this would be his office. Once upon a time that wall was covered in monitors and video recorders."

"I noticed there were cameras around, I suppose you could see me coming up the stairs rather than ring me?"

"Not from the kitchen," he grinned, "now, put your thumb on there," he directed, pointing to a red-tinted thumb-sized illuminated panel on a small cube on the desk, while he scooted around, clicked the mouse and tapped some keys on his computer. "Now the other thumb ... that's fine. Now you can get in through both doors. Remember the lift code?"

"Yes, 3917."

"Right, it's 7193 for the back door you've just come through, it is the same number backwards."

"Got it!"

She put her arms around him and kissed him again deeply.

"You're very trusting, considering I've only spent a couple of nights here, I might walk off with all your lovely furniture."

"No, you'll never get any of it in the lift, that's why I have the helipad."

"You never show -" she stopped, seeing the smile on his face and slapped him on the arm. "Ooh, Jake, you're wicked and I love you."

"I love you too, now, before this breakfast spoils...."

***

There was another Sunday ramble with Gertie for Jake and Gill two weeks later, but there were no kids with them that time as Wayne insisted it was his weekend to entertain them and he was determined to have them.

So Gill spent Friday and Saturday nights with Jake again and they drove together to the ramble on Sunday.

They were going to pick up Gertie on the way, but on Saturday night she decided to come down and spend the night with her friend Grace, playing cards she said, so she was able to join the loving couple for breakfast before they left.

This walk was on a treeless moor, windswept and wet. So they finished early and had a pub lunch while they waited for Gertie to go around the second half with the diehards, before going back to Jake's for tea and stayed on there for a couple of hours. She rang Jenny, found she was home about the time Gill expected and put her in charge until she got home.

When Gill drove home late on the Sunday evening, she found Wayne in her house. His car was parked in front of the garage and she made him move it so she could put her car away. She was annoyed with him, but Wayne pleaded with her to allow him to stay for a few days at her house as he had just had a flaming argument with his girlfriend and he had walked out, left her, at least for the time being. Against her better judgement Gill let him sleep on the sofa, but she was adamant that he was to stay no longer than a week.

In the morning, Clay was the first of the children to get down into the kitchen and was surprised to see his father sitting at the breakfast table before he got ready to leave for work at the bank he managed. He just shrugged his shoulders and poured cereal into a bowl, helped himself to milk and started eating.

Later on, Jenny was coming down the stairs and saw Wayne go out the front door, and she stood at the door watching him reverse out of Gill's driveway and leave just as Jake pulled up in his old saloon.

"What was he doing here so early?" Jake asked as Jenny held the door open for him. He was carrying a tray of four coffees and a box of what turned out to be Danish pastries.

"I think he must've stayed here last night as we had to on Friday and Saturday nights, Jake. His girlfriend Cheryl has thrown him out and he had nowhere else to stay, he said. I didn't think Mum would stand for his nonsense to be honest."

"Oh."

They went through to the kitchen, where Gill was pouring water into the coffee maker for a fresh brew, Wayne having only made enough for himself.

"Hi honey, this is a surprise, coffee and breakfast? So sweet of you."

She hugged and kissed him.

Clay grabbed the box from him with a disarming smile and took out one of the pastries.

"Gee thanks, Jake," the last word muffled as he started munching as he bolted upstairs to get changed for school.

"So that was Wayne driving off?"

"Yes, I think he and his girlfriend had a row and needed to give each other some space, so he had nowhere else to stay last night."

"Well, I'm not happy about him staying here, Gill."

"He's not staying for long -"

"I am still not happy that he's staying at all after ..." Jake looked around to make sure Clay and Jenny were not within hearing distance, "what he did to you last time he stayed the night."

"Well that's definitely not happened and not going to happen, my bedroom door's locked and he's sleeping on the sofa, look." She opened the lounge door, the rumbled duvet and pillows still untidily draped across the furniture. "And it's just for a few days, until he patches things up with what's-her-face. Look, he's got a whole new family now, and new couples have rows all the time until they settle down, especially with a new baby in the house."

"We don't argue."

"No we don't, honey. You're too sweet to row with, and also you are never wrong, except this time about Wayne."

"I'd have thought he could afford a hotel room, he's the man in charge at Winstone's isn't he?"

"Yes, but he's not been appointed long and with the ongoing payments for the divorce, the children and his new house and baby, he says his credit's maxed out and he hasn't got enough cash to spare on a room for the week."

"I can't believe that, on his salary and bonuses -"

"There haven't been bonuses at Winstone's for a number of years now, what with the banking problems. When we were sorting out the divorce settlements he produced his payslips. I'm earning more than him at the moment and I only head up a department. I think Winstone's might be in trouble, they were left with a lot of farm mortgages and dabbled heavily in the agricultural futures markets around the world."

"Yes, outside their normal remit," he muttered under his breath, then more clearly, "You've been getting bank bonuses throughout this period, Gill, I'm sure of it."

"Only because Standhope Winter have done extraordinarily well, considering the economic climate in recent years."

"Maybe."

Chapter 9

Things were frosty between them that week, Gill felt. Jake rang her as usual at her bedtime on Monday night, but he was dull and distant, tired and troubled. When she asked what was the matter he just said he'd had to work really late because he had problems at work. Their conversation lasted only twenty minutes, half their normal nighttime call to each other. He called off, saying he was tired. At least they said "I love you," at the end of the call. Gill wasn't convinced his words were genuine.

She thought long and hard, her first bad night's sleep in weeks. Jake was never tired, she thought, he never worked that late, and there were no big issues at the bank, she would have been aware of them. It sounded like he was lying to her. He'd never lied to her before, not like Wayne had.

Wayne! It occurred to Gill that Jake was clearly upset because Wayne was living under her roof. It wasn't that she saw much of her ex-husband though. He got in late from work himself that night, grumbling ungraciously at her about having to warm up his dinner in the microwave, and then moaned because after the Moorhouse and two Jarvis's had their three baths, the water ran cold when Wayne ran his own.

She spoke to him about his temporary accommodation in the morning, "Wayne, I know I said you could stay for the week, but it is no longer convenient. Did you get a chance to speak to ... Cheryl ... and start patching thing up?"

"Didn't get a chance to call her, I was working late. We've got a big takeover bid running, er, for a client and it takes a lot of arranging, as you know, plus some pissant bastard's begun suing the bank for defaulting on some stupid piddling little agreement."

"Well, you have to talk to her today because I need you out of here tomorrow before Jake comes around for dinner."

"But -"

"But nothing! You wrecked our marriage, Wayne, through your selfishness. I will not stand by and allow you to wreck my chances of happiness, or the kids'. Jake's great, he's good for all three of us. You've got a partner and a new family, you should be thinking about what's best for them and then putting in every effort, to put their needs first and yours second, to get your relationship back on the rails."

Wayne stamped out in a temper. She knew he was pissed off because he kicked his wheel in frustration and clearly hurt himself, dropping his briefcase, which burst open, scattering his papers. She stood back the shadows of her kitchen window, laughing while watching him limp around chasing his papers before driving off. It was only on reflection later in the day that Gill realised that was the last time she smiled that Tuesday.

Jake left a verbal message with her secretary Kelly on Tuesday morning while Gill was in a meeting.

"Those were his exact words, Kell?" Gill asked after Kelly had passed it on, trying to keep the sorrow she felt out of her voice, thinking she could fall over in a dead faint at any moment.

"I think so, Gill, he just popped his gorgeous head around the corner to ask if you were in. He looked disappointed when I said you'd be a couple of hours, so he just said something like, 'tell her something's come up and I've had to go away, and I'll call when I get back.' Oh, he added 'Tell her ... Oh, just pass the message on.' I think he was going to say 'Tell her I love her' but got embarrassed, you know what men are like. He looked so sorry he missed you, like a cute puppy."

Jake didn't ring or text Gill that day and she was concerned that he had forgotten that they had a tentative date for a family meal in her house on Wednesday night. When she called him at bedtime, the call went straight to voicemail. She hesitated about what to say. It was clear they were finished. That was why he called in the office to see her, to tell her to her face, that would be Jake's way, honest, upfront. A lovely man, who she let slip and fall through her fingers. She didn't have the heart to leave any message and, with a heavy heart and a box of tissues by the bedside, closed the connection and switched off the light.

Gill was filled with doubts on awakening, in the cold light of day she was sure where their relationship was going as there didn't seem any opportunity for more progress and thought it must be her own fault. Perhaps hinting about moving in as lodgers was probably going too far even though she had been joking. His reply about moving in, must have been a joke too, or maybe he was upset about her hesitation. Things had been going well when she had been bold and took the initiative, and bad when he made a bold offer and she had slapped him down.

Gill felt it was no wonder that Jake was now holding back on continuing their romance, in fact it seemed like he was in full retreat.

Jake was not in the bank's print room on Wednesday when Gill popped her head through the doorway an hour before her normal start time. A girl, quite a pretty young girl, was bustling around pulling out copies and binding them. She looked very efficient. Her name plate, when she turned to face her first customer of the day, read 'Christina'.

"Hello, is er, John around?" Gill asked.

The girl smiled sweetly, as she punched sheets and bound them efficiently while in conversation.

"No, he's off for a couple of weeks or so, it's open-ended exactly how long. I'm filling in for him. Can I help you with anything?"

"Oh, not really. I er, he er, he never takes a holiday. And this is all very sudden, he didn't say anything on Monday."

"That's what everybody says, Jake never takes a holiday and they seem to think he doesn't have any friends outside of the business. We at SWN thought the same. Looks like we were all wrong."

"So he's away with friends?"

"I think it's both actually, some friends' business that he's invested in and is helping them put their expansion plans in order. I think we're all quite excited about it actually. He's treating all the staff, every single one of us, to a weekend's pony trekking on Dartmoor in the summer. It'll be spread over several weekends because there are so many of us going, and he's organising coaches to collect us and take us down and everything. What a great boss, eh?" she beamed.

"He's the boss?" Gill asked, "You said Jake was your boss, I thought he just worked here."

"I know he doesn't act like a lot of bosses do, but the rest of the guys say he's a brilliant boss. I've only been with the company for three months but I've known him for years anyway and he confirmed my trial period and assured me that I would be included in the trip."

"So when did he go down there?"

"Monday lunchtime, he called my supervisor Sally and I came over mid-morning so he could show me the ropes."

"You look as though you're coping."

"Thank you. Yes, hopefully I should be OK, we have pretty much the same equipment in each site and the training is brilliant. Some of my friends work for a rival company and they just get a quick couple of days learning the basics before being dumped on their own in a strange office with equipment they've never seen before. Jake makes us follow a plan within a work folder so we have every piece of equipment covered as well as made comfortable in at least half a dozen of the 30 sites, so we can easily cover for holidays and sickness. I spent my first week here training with Jake, so I was already used to where everything goes."

"So Jake's company is a good one?"

"The best, and he makes sure all the staff, printers, security, IT staff and cleaners, that have to relocate, or start early or work late, get cab rides to and from home. It makes it so safe for us, especially as he owns the cab company as well, so they are all known staff, mostly relatives anyway."

"I didn't realise he was such a businessman."

"No, he doesn't shout it from the rooftops, and I really shouldn't have said anything but I'm so excited because he hinted that I might get this position here once he moves over to another branch. I think he's planning on taking over from my sister Sally over at Winstone's when she takes her maternity leave."