He shook his head. ‘No, me neither. Sorry.’ He kissed her and she had hopes of some afternoon delight. She was about to lead him off to the bedroom when he pulled away. ‘Sorry, I need to get back to work.’
‘What if I come and help with whatever it is that needs doing? I’m pretty handy, you know.’ She held the screwdriver aloft but this time she almost dropped it.
‘This afternoon I plan to be scraping rot out of sheep hooves,’ he said with a wince.
That didn’t sound like fun at all. She pulled a face. ‘Err, is there blood involved?’
‘Sometimes.’
‘That’s a no from me,’ she said.
‘I suspected it would be. I might catch you later?’ He looked forlorn as he turned to leave.
‘There’s a gammon and veg in the slow cooker, so come up here when you’re finished.’
Elliott puffed out a defeated sigh. ‘It’ll probably be late.’
‘That’s okay. I want to talk to you about my plans to dominate the cleaning world. Well, Southampton anyway.’
‘Sounds good.’
‘You know, you don’t have to be a farmer. You have one life but you’ll not get the most out of it if you don’t live it the way you want to. It’s your life, not your parents’.’
‘That’s deep for a Tuesday,’ he said.
‘I’m serious. If it’s not making you happy, it’s a whole lot of hours over a lifetime to be doing something you don’t enjoy.’
‘And you like cleaning, do you?’ he asked with a chuckle.
‘I blooming love it,’ she said.
He raised an eyebrow.
‘I’m serious. There’s a real satisfaction of taking something grubby and making it pristine. I love my job. Jobs,’ she corrected. ‘And I’m excited about the new business.’
He frowned a little. ‘I guess you’ve found your thing.’
‘I think I have.’ She gave him a kiss. ‘See you later, when I’ll bore you silly about it.’
‘Can’t wait,’ he said at last, raising a smile before trudging off.
***
Ros had an enjoyable lunch with Alastair’s business associate from the golf club. The gentleman had a refreshing attitude to risk management in that he valued it highly. They discussed the role he was trying to fill in detail including the necessity for extensive travel as he wanted his risk director to be hands-on with all the global offices. They chatted about Ros’s CV and previous roles and also about sailing as he was in the process of upgrading his yacht, so Ros may have secured another client for Darla. Ros had no idea if she’d be called in for a formal interview but she was definitely interested in the role he’d described. It was quite a jump in terms of responsibility and salary, but she thrived on a challenge so she very much hoped she would hear from him in due course.
She got home to find Barry had messaged to say that as the party was on a fancy superyacht he thought it might be nice if people dressed up to make it extra special. Ros appreciated the sentiment but her wardrobe didn’t. She and Cameron stared at the mass of black and grey.
‘I see what you mean,’ said Cameron, rubbing his chin. ‘I always thought it was a cliché when women said, “I’ve got nothing to wear,” but you definitely don’t have anything to wear that fits Barry’s brief.’
‘I thought maybe I could wear this,’ she said, pulling out a classic little black dress.
‘When did you wear it last?’ he asked.
‘A funeral.’
‘I rest my case,’ said Cameron, shutting the wardrobe door. ‘This is the best excuse ever for a shopping trip.’
‘I’m not a big shopper,’ said Ros. The truth was more that she actively avoided it.
‘Well, you are today.’ He linked his arm through hers and towed her out of her bedroom.
Forty minutes later they were browsing in Westquay shopping centre. It was an unfamiliar place to Ros. Unlike most she’d not spent her formative teenage years shopping with her mum or trawling the aisles with friends for the latest fashions. There had been brief shopping trips with her father, which had always been pre-planned and targeted, and that was the approach she now applied for herself. If she needed new clothes then she ordered them online; it was a simple transaction that was straightforward and time-efficient.
‘Hey, look at these.’ Cameron was already inside a shop trying on sunglasses. ‘Try some,’ he suggested, passing her a pair.
‘I have a pair of sunglasses,’ said Ros, returning them to the stand.
‘But these are cool, right?’ He struck a pose and she had to laugh.
‘Yes, they suit you.’
‘You have a go.’ He passed her a pair. Reluctantly she tried them on and faced him. ‘Now that’s what I mean. Super cool. Look.’ He pointed at the mirror. Ros considered her reflection. It seemed odd to her that basically obliterating key features of the face, namely the eyes, somehow improved it. ‘You have to get those,’ he said.
‘I don’t think so. I rarely wear sunglasses and anyway we came for outfits.’ She put them back on the stand.
‘Okay. Outfits first but then we should come back and get those.’
‘We’ll see,’ she said, heading out of the store.
