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Brooke joined the meeting in the Board Room on Thursday as the team started to polish the presentation, deciding who would present what part of the programme and who would answer what questions. It was decided that Brian would handle anything to do with Finance, Belinda anything to do with construction and fit-out. Jinnie said she would take most other questions but might pass some on to either Brooke or Monica. However, she warned Monica that she was sure to get some direct questions, and they tried to anticipate some and practise answers.
For lunch, at Monica’s request, they went to the Potters Bar branch of SuperBurger; she had tried their delivery product in Barbados but had never seen a restaurant. Jinnie explained how SuperBurger had been struggling when she had joined the Board, and the difficulty she had to convince their Board that their product was inferior to the opposition and their branches were in desperate need of refurbishment. It had taken some hard work to convince the Board that the company really had fallen behind the competition, and to get them spending some of their cash pile on a complete refresh of outlets and food.
Belinda explained how, with Jinnie’s help, she had won the contract to refurbish every single SuperBurger branch in the country, a project that was nearing completion. Wright Refurbishment was now involved in a rolling refreshment project of all the SuperBurger outlets, commencing with the first branches refurbished. Belinda told how there was a whole floor in one of Wright’s headquarters units with a team devoted to SuperBurger work, such as the design and fit-out of new units both in the UK and overseas, the rolling refresh programme and all maintenance call-outs.
Monica ordered the SuperBurger flagship offering, a ‘Big-Un meal’, which came with chips and a drink. After finishing it all, she said, “I quite liked that, I have tried it from DKL at home and that was better, probably because it was cooked fresh and served immediately. The coffee was excellent, and I must say the restaurant looks fabulous. The crowd in here must be encouraging, Jinnie.” “Since the refurbishment programme, business has picked up fantastically and the cash pile is being rebuilt,” said Jinnie. “Every time we come into Darkes Lane, the twins want to eat here, they just love the milkshakes and the Super Nuggets.” “You know we don’t have a McDonald’s on the island,” said Monica. “Yes,” said Jinnie, “but the development team are reluctant to open a branch after McDonald’s closed the test branch a few years ago, saying Bajans prefer chicken. They tell me sales through DKL are pretty good and they are reluctant to mess up their sales.”
***
The Project Olympus team left the Board Room happy and relieved. The presentation had been faultless, but Jinnie had been worried they were not going to get Board approval as some of the questioning had been probing. In the end, Alberto, as Chairman, had called for a vote by show of hands and only two directors had voted against proceeding with the project. One of those that voted against said he was doing so, not because he didn’t think the project was good and would make a lot of money, but because he was worried it would stretch the company finances too thin.
Jinnie was helping herself to a post-meeting coffee from one of the thermos jugs on the Board Room credenza when Sir Nigel singled her out and said, “That was a most impressive presentation, Jinnie, I don’t know how you managed to keep it secret. Not even the twins told me Monica was staying with you. I suppose I should have put 2 and 2 together when I read about your brush with Border Force at Heathrow, but I honestly didn’t think that your colleague was Monica, I honestly thought it was someone couriering the new spice mix.” “I did ask the twins not to tell you Monica was staying with us, they were told they could tell you on Saturday when they are swimming in your pool, but you would know by then so it would hardly matter.”
“The project team are having a celebration meal at the Trattoria Trevi tomorrow evening,” Jinnie continued, “I wonder if you would like to join us. I’m afraid it’s an early meal so the twins can join us. Izzy has the evening off and is going out with George, it is so rare for him to get a Saturday off. I understand they are going to see a film at the Barnet Everyman, I can’t remember the last time I went to the pictures.” “I’d love to come,” said Sir Nigel. “What time is the table booked for?” “17:30,” said Jinnie. “That’s OK,” replied Sir Nigel, “but I think I’d better order a taxi, it’s unfair to ask Freddie to work on a Saturday evening.” “Don’t bother,” said Jinnie, “without Izzy we will have space for you in the Lexus.”
The next person to speak with Jinnie was the other Nigel. He said, “I have just been having another look at Project Olympus now I have got the paper version of the presentation. Gosh, have you given IT some work. My first thought is that I’d like to set up an American IT department. It would be sensible to co-locate them wherever you choose to have the HQ. I don’t know how easy it would be to get someone from here out there, but can I suggest Jed? He would be perfect for such a position. His deputy, Mick, at DKL could easily step up and Jed has already proven himself at DKL and I know I can work with him.”
“That is a good idea,” said Jinnie, “but I suspect it would give me a massive problem; Jed would never accept the job if he had to leave Ro behind. So, we would have to find her a position in the new organisation for her. She would make a perfect PA for Monica, she was brilliant when we set up DKL, but I would have to find a replacement, not an easy job.” “I have a suggestion,” said Nigel. “Brian is rarely at DKL these days, although he is nominally still their Finance Director, but with SAP he can do just about everything from here. It’s a bit like you and Ro. I know you expanded her job to include your post at SuperBurger but she’s not exactly being tested. Viv, Brian’s PA here, is much busier than Alice in Crawley. When you promote Mick Shepherd to DKL IT Director, promote Alice into Ro’s job as your PA at DKL and SuperBurger, I’m sure she can easily manage the few days a month you are at Crawley for Board Meetings and other events.”
“I rather like that idea,” said Jinnie. “I suspect Jed and Ro would love a 3-year contract to work in Florida. Of course, we would have to find them guaranteed jobs at the end of the contract. I think Janet is due to retire in three years so there is an obvious position for Ro here. She could easily be the PA to me and Alberto, there is much more to do here.”
***
Saturday morning was, of course, swimming in Sir Nigel’s indoor pool. It was a bit of a grey morning and Monica was more than a little reluctant to join Jinnie and the twins. However, the twins’ nagging eventually got her to say yes. As usual, they all trudged down the garden through the gate and across Sir Nigel’s garden to the Pool House. Just before they got there, Larry broke off and went into the kitchen through the cat flap. Once in the Pool House, Monica was visibly happier, it was as warm as a Barbados beach and the water was as warm as the Caribbean. They all headed for the changing rooms and when Monica came out, the twins were already in the water playing on a giant inflatable crocodile. Jinnie and Monica soon joined them and by the time Sir Nigel joined them everyone was having a fun time. Monica said to Jinnie, “I can see why your two were so excited to go swimming, this is better than a public beach at home.”
Millie said to Sir Nigel, “This is Monica, she is staying with us, but Mummy said we couldn’t tell you until today.” “That isn’t a problem,” said Sir Nigel. “I know Monica, we have met several times in Barbados. And we were both at a meeting yesterday.” “Mummy says Monica is going to have a new job in Florida, so we probably won’t see her when we go to the house in Barbados in the summer holidays,” said Willie. “We don’t know where Florida is.” Nigel chuckled and said, “When you come to the kitchen for your hot chocolate we can go into my study, and I can show you where it is on my big globe and on my atlas.” Willie and Millie looked at each other and then Millie said, “We know what an atlas is, but what is a globe?”
***
Clutching mugs of hot chocolate, the twins followed Sir Nigel into his study, right behind were Larry, Monica and Jinnie. Monica looked admiringly at the partners’ desk, the leather button-back armchairs, the shelves of books lining the walls, the wood-burning stove in the wooden-surround fireplace and the huge textured globe in a walnut stand. Sir Nigel walked over to the globe and threw a switch which illuminated the globe from inside. The twins were impressed. Nigel explained how the blue was sea, and the rest was land, he showed the twins hills, mountains, lakes and rivers and finally showed them where England was and London. Willie said, “It’s like an atlas has been stuck on a ball.”
“Actually, it’s the other way around really,” said Sir Nigel. “The world is round like a ball and an atlas flattens out the picture. Where is it you go for your summer holidays?” “Barbados,” chorused the twins. Sir Nigel turned the globe and said, “Here is Barbados, and look at this, when you fly from London the plane goes over the ocean and lands here and it’s a long way because the plane goes very fast, you know that because it races down the runway and it takes ages to get there.” “Wow,” said Willie, “that’s interesting.” “Now look at this,” said Sir Nigel, “here are the islands you went to on your Christmas cruise, this one is St Lucia and here is Sint Maarten, and if we go north here is Antigua and this is St Kitts and this island is Tortola, the biggest of the British Virgin Islands, but it is tiny, just a little spot in the ocean.”
“Now if we go further north,” said Sir Nigel, “we come to a big chunk of land called the United States of America and this bit of the country hanging down is Florida. Now let’s get my big atlas off the shelf, but we will have to put it on the desk because it is very big and very heavy.” Sir Nigel pulled a massive leather-bound ‘World Atlas’ from a shelf and placed it on his desk. He opened it to a double-page layout of the USA and said, “Now twins, this is a map of the United States. Down here to the south is the Caribbean where you go on your Christmas cruise and up here to the north is Canada where your Mummy sometimes goes to work and your friends the Bakers live. The United States is very big, it is made up of 50 states and most of them are bigger than England, and Florida is just one of the states.”
Sir Nigel turned over several pages before stopping and displaying a larger-scale map of Florida. He pointed at the map and said, “Look, here is the city of Tampa. It is 1,800 miles from Bridgetown, Barbados, that’s about four hours on a plane. But if you fly there from London it is 4,400 miles and that would take nearly nine hours to fly.” “Thank you,” said Millie. “Yes, thank you,” said Willie. “That was interesting. We only have a little atlas at school, this one is so much better, you can see lots of place names and little islands that aren’t on the school ones. Mummy, we should have a big atlas like this.”
That afternoon, Jinnie loaded the twins into the Lexus and with Monica headed to nearest Aunty JoJo’s to Potters Bar, which was in Ballards Lane, Finchley. The owner had agreed to prepare a batch of chicken using the test ‘extra spicy’ coating and to be recompensed by the Fast-Food Division. Jinnie had good memories of canvassing for her father on Ballards Lane and had a good idea where she could park. Jinnie, Monica and the twins walked back to the branch where Brooke was waiting for them with the owner. He took the bag of spice and headed into the kitchen, leaving them to find a seat in the restaurant. While waiting, the adults had coffee and the twins milkshakes.
It took a while to prepare and cook the special batch of chicken, but finally the owner was back with a 14-piece bucket and commented, “There is a whole heap more outside on a hot shelf, that coating did about 80 portions.” All the party tried a piece, and Monica declared it up to the standard of the test pieces back in the Bridgetown development kitchen. Jinnie quite liked it for a change but preferred the original recipe, as did the twins, but Brooke rather liked it and said given the choice she would purchase it.
That left them with 75 pieces, so Jinnie suggested a bigger trial, first getting the five members of staff on shift to try a piece and to note their views. Again, it was a split decision: two loved it, two hated it and one was indifferent. With seventy pieces still available, it was decided to give them away to passers-by and record their reactions, once again noting them. The twins liked the idea of standing outside the shop asking people if they would like a free trial of ‘extra spicy’ chicken, while Mummy handed the chicken out, and Brooke and Monica noted down reactions. The result was a pretty even split between those who loved it and those who hated it, with some indifferent. Monica said it was definitely going to be introduced in the West Indies where the spicier version was much more popular. Jinnie was still pondering whether to offer it in the UK.
***
Nigel turned up 30 minutes before the table was booked for dinner and chatted with the twins about their afternoon at the chicken shack while the adults finished getting ready. Paolo joined them after a minute or two and then so did Monica. Millie said to Uncle Nigel, “Mummy is always last when we are going out, and I am hungry.” Paolo said, “You two are always hungry. Anyway, I bet Uncle Alberto has already got tomato soup, spaghetti bolognaise and banana split ready, you always have it.” “That’s because we like it,” replied Willie.
Jinnie eventually arrived and everyone piled into the Lexus, and they were only a couple of minutes late arriving at the Trattoria Trevi. Alberto led them through the quarter-full restaurant to a table that had a magnificent view of the whole restaurant. Millie announced, “This is my favourite table, you can see nearly the whole room.” Suddenly she went quiet and nudged her brother and pointed to the far side of the room, before saying quite loudly, “That’s Mrs Milgate.” Mrs Milgate obviously heard her name being spoken and looked up, saw the twins and waved; they vigorously waved back.
The twins’ order was exactly as their father predicted and it amused Alberto. He said to them, “Why don’t you try one of my other dishes, we have some very nice things, and your Mummy and Daddy try lots of different things.” Willie replied, “But we like it and it is always good.” Alberto knew better than to argue with the twins. Paolo and Sir Nigel had fillet steak, Jinnie a chicken breast in mushroom cream sauce and Monica veal Milanese with sliced fried potatoes and a green salad. The waiters bustled around them and served the food impeccably. Monica looked at her plate and said, “My, that looks good, I only hope it tastes as good.” “It will,” answered Jinnie.
Monica put the knife and fork down in the middle of the empty plate and said to Jinnie, “You were right, it was the best veal I have ever had, and the service is fabulous. I thought the Continental took some beating, but this is far better.” “That’s the level you have to be at to get a Michelin star or two,” replied Jinnie. “The best is yet to come,” said Willie, “Uncle Alberto’s banana splits, they are ace.” Monica said, “I don’t think I’ll be having one, I’m very full. I think I will have something light, like zabaglione.”
The table were waiting for their dessert when Mrs Milgate and her companions got up to leave. Mrs Milgate came over to them and said, “Hello twins, are you enjoying your dinner?” “Yes, thank you, Mrs Milgate,” chorused the twins. Willie asked, “Did you enjoy your meal, Mrs Milgate?” “I did, thank you, Willie. It’s my first visit, it’s my sister’s birthday and her husband wanted to treat her. I suspect we are here early for the same reason as you, my sister’s children have to be home soon as it’s nearly their bedtime. But the food was fabulous and the service excellent.”
“We often come here,” said Millie. “Mummy and Uncle Alberto own it.” “That’s not quite true,” interjected Jinnie. “Alberto and I are directors and shareholders, so I suppose we are part-owners.” “I didn’t know that,” said Susan Milgate. “I thought you were a spy, at least that’s what the twins said in the last stories they wrote.” Jinnie chuckled and said, “Many years ago, before the ‘War of Liberation’, I was in the resistance, and they took advantage of my going to Adolf Hitler University in Berlin to help them. So, I suppose I was an agent of sorts; now I am just a part-time officer in the Army Reserve and a full-time restaurateur and mum.”
“That explains a lot,” said Susan. “I just thought the twins had vivid imaginations, now I know some of it is based on fact. They like to talk about holidays in Barbados and on cruises and having friends from Canada to stay. Are you telling me it is all true?” “Well, not having read their stories, I can’t say if everything they write is true, but those things do happen, we have a house in Barbados where we spent the last summer holidays and will do so again this year, we were on a cruise over Christmas and we did have friends from Canada stay recently. As you know, they are fluent in Italian, they are pretty good at French and starting to learn German so they can be spies, like Mummy, when they leave school!”
***
After breakfast and swimming on Sunday morning Jinnie, Monica and Larry sat in Jinnie’s garden office and over tea and Hobnobs discussing Monica’s revised ‘employment contract’. Jinnie suggested that it would have to be a rolling contract, as they had talked about earlier, because the chances were that in the medium term, the company would probably want to switch the Bearcat Foods (USA) to being a full division and not a subsidiary of Brooke’s Fastfood division. In that case Monica would be promoted to a main board director. It was agreed that it should be a rolling monthly contract with a six-month notice clause on either side.
Wages were the next discussion point, and it was settled on double what she was currently being paid, which Jinnie admitted was due an increase anyway, and took her onto a similar scale to Rick and Trevor who were in similar positions to her new position. As for accommodation it was agreed that she should be put up in a decent hotel until the company could lease a new house for her in Florida. Other things included a leased car; Jinnie suggested several different executive models including a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, a Lincoln Navigator, and a Tesla Model S Plaid. But Monica didn’t want an electric car or an American car and settled for a diesel Land Rover Range Rover HSE, which Jinnie approved of.
There was then a discussion on where the offices should be located. The main cities up for consideration were Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville and Tallahassee. They both agreed that Tampa was the best bet; it was one of the fastest-growing cities in the States and it was central in Florida. Monica said she had been trawling the internet and Tampa looked to be a pretty good place to work and she could live on the Gulf Coast, in Clearwater, and drive into Tampa in about 30 minutes.
They still had lots to discuss including setting up the distribution company, sorting out the initial 4 shops, buying a chicken farm or two, sorting out a processing plant, setting up a franchising business, even sorting out what departments should be in-house and what should be bought in, when the twins appeared at the office door and Willie said, “Daddy says to tell you it’s time to go to Granny’s for lunch.” “OK,” said Jinnie, “tell him we are on our way.” As the twins ran back up the garden, Jinnie said, “We’d better go, let’s try and finish this off when we get back from lunch.”
***
Monica was introduced to roast lamb and mint sauce for lunch and rather enjoyed it. Jinnie said to her mum, “I thought you were doing roast beef.” Mrs Walsh replied, “When I got to the butchers they had whole shoulders of lamb on offer, and I couldn’t resist.” Monica said that on Barbados lamb was not roasted, it was sometimes eaten in a stew because it came from old sheep. Jinnie explained that was what would be called mutton in the U.K. and wasn’t as popular as the much younger lamb, which was much more tender, like the whole shoulder that her mother had roasted. For dessert Mrs Walsh had made a big sponge pudding which she cut in wedges like a cake, and it was served with a choice of custard and jam or golden syrup. The twins chose golden syrup, but that was a bit sweet for Jinnie who had custard and raspberry jam. Monica just had custard on her slice but had seconds with golden syrup.
Monica finally sat back and said, “Gosh that was good, and people say British food isn’t very good. I have enjoyed every single meal I have had here, whether it was in a home or in a restaurant. OK it’s very different to Barbados, but in a nice way. We have a lot more local fish and tropical fruit in our diet, but then you have all these lovely fresh vegetables. About the only time I see such a selection is when I eat at the Continental.” Everyone adjourned to the sitting room for tea, coffee or, in the twins’ case, a glass of cold milk.
With everyone sitting around chatting suddenly Monica’s phone rang and after looking at the name of the caller on the screen said, “Excuse me, it’s business, I really need to take the call.” She stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her. The family continued chatting and to general amusement the twins asked Izzy why she never made sponge pudding. She said, “I didn’t know you liked it.” “We have it for school dinners with pink custard,” replied Millie. “It’s lush,” said Willie, “but we like it better with golden syrup.” Monica rejoined them with an ear-to-ear grin and sitting down next to Jinnie whispered, “We have won a second catering contract, the Kensington Oval is ours for seven years, Jorja and Michael have just shaken hands on the deal. Michael is now sorting out the contract.”
In Chapter 20 – Recruiting begins
© WorthingGooner 2025
