Page 54 of Autumn at the Oak Leaf Café
‘Exactly. They’re cheapskates.’
‘What is wrong with free parking?’
Rory rolled his eyes. ‘It’s a wasted business opportunity.’
‘I don’t ever remember you being so … cutthroat.’
‘I did what I needed to do. We all do. Did you prefer it when I lived in a caravan in my parents’ front garden? I now have a nice three-bedroom apartment in the centre of town. I drive a nice car. What do you drive?’
‘Uh….’ Madeline smiled. ‘… I drive customers into the café.’
‘So, all those years of travelling and finding yourself—’ Here Rory made quotation marks with his fingers while rolling his eyes at the same time, ‘—and you’ve achieved what, exactly? Do you have a pension plan? Stocks? Savings?’
‘That’ll be … none of the above.’
‘Well, congratulations on being a free spirit. People might hate me, but they envy me at the same time.’
Madeline decided to change tack. ‘So … no disrespect, but your company doesn’t have a great reputation. I’ve heard of a couple of people getting tickets for really minor things.’
‘It’ll teach them to park better next time.’
‘And that you have no customer services for people to call?’
Rory laughed. ‘Of course we do, but you have to get through the automated system first, and believe me, not many people can figure that out. Not my problem, though. That’s nothing to do with me. My job is purchasing new real estate, not wasting my time with a few whiny motorists. They need to just shut up and pay up.’
‘I overheard one customer saying they’d been fined nearly two hundred pounds after the machine refused to print their ticket.’
‘They’re a liar. The world is full of them. Please don’t be so gullible.’
‘So … you don’t have any respect for your customers?’
‘Why should I? They’re just bags of money waiting to be opened.’ He grinned. ‘And if they happen to stray over the lines, we’ll squeeze out a little extra.’
Rory’s eyes had taken on a crazed tint that had Madeline flinching back. Surely, the man she had once been in a relationship with was long gone, his soul consumed by power and greed.
‘Don’t you think that’s a little … immoral?’
Rory shrugged. ‘It’s just business.’
‘Right.’
‘But, anyway, we were talking about Janine.’
‘Oh, of course.’
Rory sighed. ‘I think she wants to call off the wedding.’
‘She’s said that?’
‘Not in so many words. You know how these therapists are. It’s all smoke and mirrors. She’ll say something like, “I’m not sure if being a November bride is good for business”, which basically means she wants to call it off.’
‘That’s too bad.’
‘If only I could get this petition rubbish to go away.’
‘Well, I know one way,’ Madeline began, wondering if fluttering her eyelids might make her more endearing. ‘You could cancel the plan to—’
‘Mind if I use your bathroom?’ Rory said, standing up.
