Page 20 of A Colourful Country Escape
‘That’s not necessary.’ Ben ducked to avoid a bright yellow sock as a draught blew through the van. ‘I’m just concerned this way of living isn’t entirely …practical.’
Lexie glared at him and speared a prawn with her fork. She’d bloody felt that. ‘So you think I’m impractical?’ Just like Drew had said. These ill-mannered rich folk were all the same. Just because she didn’t sleep in a four-poster and eat foie-sodding-gras for breakfast.
‘I didn’t say that. It’s just … well … you don’t even have a lavatory.’
The lamp buzzed even louder, swarming Lexie’s thoughts. It was perfectly normal to use your employer’s toilet, and all of this was just temporary. She would save up some money, and then … urgh. Whatever.
‘If it would be easier for you to move yourself into the house … ’
‘I’m not moving in!’ Her face was beginning to burn, tears of frustration stinging the backs of her eyes. Desperate to relieve the heat from herself for a moment, she cleared her throat. ‘Anyway, you haven’t touched your curry. Is it too spicy?’ He surely wouldn’t miss the element of dare in her voice.
‘Of course not. I just don’t usually … ’
‘Eat anything that isn’t beige?’ She pushed the bag of spare rice at him. ‘Don’t worry, this is pretty bland.’
Ouch. Was she giving him the tail-end of the storm that was meant for Drew? The lamp give a final defiant buzz before giving up and throwing them into darkness.
‘Shit.’ Lexie leaned across and gave the counter a loud smack. It was a manoeuvre she had to carry out at least five times on a normal night, but that had felt especially pleasing. The light coughed back to life and dingy lighting resumed.
They looked at each other anew. Did she see a hint of compassion in his eyes? Or was he just feeling bloody sorry for her?
Ben cleared his throat. ‘Let’s begin again, shall we.’ He moved his plate and spread out some papers from his leather briefcase, which looked like it was worth more than Lexie’s entire camper van. ‘How have your online projects been progressing this week, and what are the next actions?’
Hmm, so he’d restored himself to business setting – his natural home. They did need to talk shop, but for some reason she found it more amusing when he was a little off balance. Prodding him seemed to ignite a hint of colourful flame.
Then to Lexie’s surprise, Ben began eating the curry, forkful by tiny forkful, even though she could see he wasn’t used to the heat and some might say it looked a bit pond-y. Should she grab him a cold Singha beer? Not yet. It was fun to watch him flounder in her world, when she was usually trying her best not to drown in the riches of his.
‘I’ve been working on the website, but I need to know more about your story,’ Lexie finally felt brave enough to reply.
Unsurprisingly, Ben dived into some automatic spiel about paint manufacture that Lexie had probably heard before.
She nodded and tried not to roll her eyes, understanding why he absolutely shouldn’t be left in charge of creating buzzworthy social media posts. And this was probably the reason he needed his mum to find him a date.
Lexie grabbed her battered laptop from behind her seat and pushed Ben’s dull paperwork out of the way. It was time to get brave and show him the first draft of the new website.
The screen wobbled to life and she took a deep breath and pulled up her handiwork, together with the new social media profiles. She’d spent time at the factory chatting to the staff and getting a strong sense of who their clients were, and she hoped she’d chosen colours and words that would really draw them in. Everything was beautifully consistent, bright and energising. What Ben would think of it was an entirely different matter.
She watched his face with trepidation as the screen’s reflections of wild streaks of paint lit up his orderly face. It was probably time to crack open the beers that had been stashed in Penny’s fridge for God knew how long. Lexie grabbed a couple and quickly popped them open, praying messengers didn’t actually get shot.
Chapter 11
Ben eyeballed Lexie’s work-in-progress website, his face almost unreadable. He swigged his cold beer more quickly than Lexie was expecting. ‘It’s very …intense.’
‘You’re a paint company.’ She was sticking to her guns on this. She wanted him to be happy with the outcome, but her instincts were telling her if she let him lead the way, they’d end up with something bland. ‘Shades of beige just won’t cut it.’ She cocked her head in the direction of the neutrally painted house.
‘It’s Toasted Camel. Mother’s choice.’
‘Whoever toasted a ruddy camel?’ she muttered.
‘You obviously haven’t met her.’
Lexie shook off a sudden chill. ‘Look, I’ve been speaking to your customers online, and they actually aren’t all that stuffy. In fact, if you’re not careful, they’ll be nipping off to your competitors before they die of boredom. I’m just trying to help.’
She held his gaze, determined to show she was serious about her job, she knew her stuff and she actually kind of cared. More so about Mrs Moon, Tom and Cory, of course. If the paint ship sank, they’d all go down with it. ‘Just trust me, OK?’
His eyes flicked around Lexie’s living quarters, and his raised eyebrows said it all.How can I trust you to organise my business when you can’t even sort out your own mess?
‘I’m on top of this,’ she said, perhaps too defensively, as Ben batted a sock out of his face. ‘I am!’
