‘Not happening, Effie. After your behaviour today I think you need to be fired. You’ve assaulted and insulted the owner of the business.’
‘You’re not the owner, Zach.’
‘I will be one day, and I’ll start as I mean to go on,’ he said chillingly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and pressed the screen.
Effie could hear it ringing in the silence between them. They never took their eyes off each other. Effie scowling, Zach looking smugly down at her.
‘Hi, Dad, yeah, yeah, are you having a good holiday? Uh-huh, uh-huh, you just got back? Oh, wasn’t expecting that but actually, it’s a good thing, you see I’ve got a bit of a problem with one of our staff members. Effie, yeah, I know, well, she’s turned up, shouting at me, insulted me and really, it’s time she was fired, we can’t be putting up with that.’ Zach turned his back on her as he continued his tirade.
Effie stood and listened as he spoke lies down the phone, a smile spreading across her face as the shop door slowly opened and Clive stepped in.
‘Yes, Zach, I agree, we need to discuss this in person.’
Zach froze. He dropped his phone from his ear and, as if in slow motion, spun around, horror washing over his face to see Clive standing in the shop.
‘Dad? What are you doing here?’
‘I could ask you the same thing,’ Clive said with a level of steeliness Effie hadn’t known he possessed. ‘What have you done, Zach?’
‘Dad, I can explain, honestly.’
‘Effie told me you kicked her out the shop and told her it wasn’t doing well, is that true?’ Clive asked gently. Even Effie could see that he was trying to give his son a way out of this mess.
‘But she wasn’t keeping in line with our scheme,’ Zach insisted.
‘Our scheme?You’ve not shown any interest in the business until now. What happened with the paddle board business?’
Zach shifted uncomfortably. ‘Didn’t take off.’
‘And the cocktail bar?’
‘The same,’ Zach admitted.
Clive glanced around as if looking for somewhere to sit, but without the chairs, there was nowhere to perch. He rubbed his forehead wearily. ‘Zach, you and I need to talk. If you are serious about setting up a business, or being involved in this one, which I don’t actually believe you are, we need to talk properly. This shop was my idea and I trusted Effie to get it going and she did really well. I know you told her that it wasn’t making money, but that wasn’t true, the shop was a success. I was pleased with what she’d done. But look what you’ve done to it.’ Clive indicated the shop that had had its soul stripped out.
Effie shifted awkwardly as she watched father and son regard each other. Knowing she was intruding on something that should be private, she made a step towards the door. Clive stopped her.
‘Effie, wait, I want you to hear what I have to say too. I was thinking of retiring, but two things have happened. One, how beautiful this shop was gave me a new passion for the business I didn’t think I’d get at this age. Two, Zach, you’re not ready to take over and I don’t even know if that’s what you want. I need to trust you and if this is what happens when I go on holiday, then I dread to think what would happen if I stepped away fully.
‘This shop is all our lives whether we love it or not. Zach, like I said, we need to talk, but not today, I’m knackered from my flight and just want to go home. Effie is having the shop and the flat back as of now. And the shop goes back to how it was. OK?’ He looked at both of them.
Effie nodded.
‘Yes, Dad.’
‘Right, let’s get home. Give Effie back the keys.’
Zach reached into his pocket and threw the keys onto the counter. Effie didn’t make a move to take them. Her triumph sat uncomfortably on her. She watched as Clive pulled open the door.
‘Where are the yellow chairs?’ Effie asked.
‘Someone had them for some studio thing, I think,’ Zach said.
‘We can get some more,’ Clive reassured her.
Effie nodded and watched them walk past her rescue party. As Zach passed, she swore she heard Scruff growl. Once she’d heard Clive’s car disappear around the corner, she made her way over to the counter, picked up the keys and, holding them tight in her hand, brought them to her heart.
She was home.
