‘I’m sure it will be fine.’
‘We have a limited budget,’ he said with a note of apology. ‘So we have to…’ He trailed off.
‘No, no I completely understand.’ Anna felt bad enough that she was being difficult. If Jirí and his colleagues knew the cosmic sod’s-lawness of the situation, they would realise that she wasn’t being awkward. ‘That is great news. It’s very good of you to find me somewhere new and I really appreciate it. Thank you. When can I move in?’
‘Soon,’ said Jirí, his voice bright as if he knew this might be a problem but wasn’t going to acknowledge it.
‘When?’ she asked. ‘Soon’ was far too vague. She couldn’t keep hiding from Leo in the flat.
‘I’m not sure yet. As soon as I can get the keys – but I’m not sure when that will be.’
Anna wrinkled her nose, knowing she ought to be grateful. It wasn’t Jirí’s fault she was in this situation and she didn’t want anyone at theSdílená Kulturato know what had caused this desperation to move. It would look so unprofessional. She was banking on what she learned on this placement to persuade her uncle to let her brew her own beer, and if she could win the equipment, that would be the icing on the cake. That was the main prize for her, although showcasing her beer in Prague would be a coup. After that, how could her uncle say no?
After finishing the call with Jirí, she immediately texted Steve to let him know.
Good news. The organisers have found me a new apartment, so I don’t have to share.
Gr8. Didn’t like that Lennard bloke at all.
Fingers crossed it’s soon.She thought it best to temper expectations otherwise he might keep asking and it didn’t sound like Jirí was that confident about the timeframe.
Give me a call tonight, after rugby training.
She sent him a thumbs-up and a kiss, wondering if he missed her. There’d been so much to think about here, she hadn’t really given him much thought, but they were grown-ups in a mature relationship. At least she could guarantee that after a couple of pints in the pub he’d leave alone, unlike her uncle, who needed female attention as much as he needed oxygen.
She let out a breath that whistled through her teeth. Now was not the time to dwell on her aunt and uncle’s battlefield of a marriage. It only made her wish she’d known her own parents better.
Steve didn’t respond to that, so she put her phone away and leaned back in her seat, feeling the pleasant buzz of exhaustion. It might have been a long day but she’d relished every moment of it. Despite her tiredness, excitement predominated as well as a thrill at how much she was learning from Jakub and his very small team. It really was a huge honour to be working in the Šilhov brewery with someone like him, who lived and breathed beer. He’d never married and the brewery and his employees were his family.
She half laughed to herself. It was all so different from the Talbot family brewery, now run by her uncle and her male cousins. They had no passion for brewing and left everything to managers and a series of head brewers, which she’d always found difficult to understand. When her father had been the head brewer, things had been very different. After he died, his assistant, grumpy, surly Ronnie, who had had a streak of loyalty to her dad a mile wide, had taken over. During the summer holidays, although she was a girl, he had taken her under his wing, and before he retired, he had taught her as much as he could, believing that one day she’d be involved. After him there been several head brewers, none of whom had been invested in the business, using it instead as a stepping stone to other things. Uncle Henry couldn’t see that that was part of the problem. They brewed mediocre beer because no one cared anymore. And that was why she was here: to learn even more so that she could make her mark. Unfortunately, with only seven per cent of the company shares, she didn’t hold any power.
Relaxing, she watched the city slide by through the window, admiring the view of the stately buildings lining the riverside as they crossed over the Vltava, and comparing her journey favourably with the tedious bus journeys home in London in rush-hour traffic.
It seemed that her journey was to be book-ended by phone calls, because her phone rang as she was disembarking the tram,.
She was pleased to see it was Rebecca, her cousin, calling. They were close in age, and as the females in the family, had banded together, even though Becs, like the rest of the family, was sports mad. For Anna she was almost like a sister.
‘Hey, Anna.’
‘Hi, Becs.’
‘How are you doing? Steve was useless when I asked what your place is like.’
‘It’s really nice. Lots of wood and sloping ceilings. Plenty of character.’
‘And you’ve got a dodgy flatmate, apparently.’
‘He’s all right,’ said Anna, careful with her words.
‘Steve says he’s a cocky git who thinks he’s God’s gift to the ladies. Don’t tell me he’s another one like my dad,’ she said with a groan. ‘I think it’s a bit of a cheek, putting you with a complete stranger. He could be a serial killer for all you know.’ While it was tempting to giggle at that one, Anna held her breath, praying that Steve hadn’t said anything specific. Leo was not that uncommon a name, but the mere mention of it might trigger an unwelcome tirade. She wondered how happy her family would be to hear that Leo was not at all a complete stranger.
‘Don’t put up with any crap, will you? Although you know Steve will sort him out for you, if you need him to.’
‘Actually I’ve asked the organisers for a place of my own.’
‘Oh, that’s good,’ said Becs. ‘So what’s Prague like?’
‘Do you know, I haven’t had chance to see much of it,’ she said before adding with a quick laugh, ‘apart fromThe Spitfire Butterflies.’
