‘Yes, please.’
He ripped open a sugar sachet with a flourish, poured it in and gave it a vigorous stir with a wooden stick before placing it next to Yasmin. ‘Here you go. Sorry about the wait.’
‘Thank you,’ Yasmin replied, watching Irene over the rim of the cup as she took a tentative sip.
‘Oh,’ Irene said weakly, her hand still clutching at her heart.
‘You got a recycling bin for paper?’ Trev asked her, holding up theOut of Ordersign.
‘Um, yes. I’ll take it.’ She opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times while Trev waited. ‘Thank you. And, um… I need to go and cancel the repair man. Excuse me.’
Watching her scurry off, Trev made two more coffees and brought them over.
‘Too much to ask for an apology,’ Yasmin said, frowning.
‘I got a thank you.’ He shrugged one shoulder, slipping his cap back on.
‘Still.’ Yasmin pursed her lips. ‘She threatened to call the police!’
‘I know what people think when they first see me. It’s my own daft fault. I was trying to look scary and intimidating, so I can hardly complain when it works.’
‘Not all people,’ Yasmin said softly, still scrolling down the computer screen as she sipped her coffee.
‘Pardon?’
‘Not all people think that about you.’ She flicked her eyes over to him for a split second. ‘Some of us have seen enough to not make that kind of judgement.’
Trev’s whole face went slack in surprise.
‘Personally, I think that eyes are the window to a man’s soul.’ She squinted at the screen. ‘You have kind eyes.’
It wasn’t Trev’s most productive session. He spent the hour alternating between trying his best for a minute or so, before inevitably his attention drifted back over to where Yasmin was still working her way through the online information about dog-training courses.
When Jaxx arrived bearing yet more samples of Nomato sauce, Trev was more than happy to hang around for a taste test.
‘Jaxx, are you sure this meets all the British food standards?’ I asked, reluctantly accepting a cracker bearing a blob of bright orange sauce.
‘I’ve been eating tons of the stuff, and look at me.’ He grinned.
Yasmin narrowed one eye. ‘That’s not as reassuring as I think you meant it to be.’
‘Can’t be worse than the crap they dished up in… where I used to live,’ Trev said, sniffing a cracker, before reeling back again. ‘Then again…’
‘This is definitely better than what I ate in prison,’ Yasmin said, rubbing at her wrist. ‘No food standards in that cursed pit of hell.’
Trev choked on the tiny nibble he’d just taken.
‘Intense, innit?’ Jaxx offered him a water bottle.
‘What is this?’ To my huge relief, Irene reappeared before I was forced to take a bite.
‘Taste testing, Irene.’ Jaxx offered her the plastic tub of samples. ‘Here. Sorry to have missed you out!’
Irene pulled a taut smile. It looked as though the papery skin on her cheeks might crack. ‘Ollie, please point out the sign to your clients.’
‘We aren’t supposed to eat our own food in the library,’ I said. ‘No drinks except for those available at the refreshment table.’
‘What?’ Jaxx’s huge, puppy-dog eyes gazed at Irene from under his tracksuit hood. ‘How am I supposed to conduct my market research, then? It’s hard enough getting started, with all this bureaucracy like customs, licences and permits to deal with. Bureau-crap-cy, I call it! I never dreamt thatyouof all people would be one to crush the entrepreneurial spirit, Irene. Surely you can make an exception for a mate?’
