‘Is everything alright?’ Cally asked.
Birdie smiled as she plonked the kettle on its base and pulled two mugs out of the cupboard. ‘Oh yes. Everything's fine. More than fine, actually. Things are very good. That's what I wanted to talk to you about.’
‘I’m all ears.’
‘So, you've been working here a while now.’
‘I have.’
‘How time flies, eh?’ Birdie waggled her finger.
‘It does. I mean, I’ve been in the flat for ages now. It seems as if, one minute, we were at Christmas, and now, before we know it, it will be here again. Yep, time has flown by.’
‘I know. It’s gone so fast. I remember taking you up there to the flat that day as if it were yesterday.’
‘So, what did you want to talk about?’
‘I’ll get to the point. No point beating around the bush. To be quite honest, you've become indispensable to me.’
Cally felt her cheeks flush. She wrinkled her nose. ‘Me? No, no. Don’t be silly. Doing what exactly? Sorting out orders?’
Birdie held up a hand. ‘Nope, let me finish. You really are good at what you do even though you think you aren’t.’
‘Am I?’
‘Yes. You've got a way of organising everything, and since I’ve taken on even more shops, I’ve just loaded stuff on you willy-nilly, and you’ve not even batted an eyelid. You’ve taken it in your stride. You really areverycapable.’
Cally made a face. ‘I hadn’t really noticed. I mean, it has been quite busy when you say it like that.’
Birdie chuckled. ‘See, that’sexactlywhat I mean. Not a lot of people would have been able to deal with that quite as easily.’
‘What?’ Cally screwed her nose up. ‘Not totally getting you…’
‘You just get on with it and you've got a good head for everything. I've seen how you've streamlined our inventory system, how you've got ideas for expanding things, and you’ve made changes to the system to make things run like clockwork.’
Cally shifted in her seat. ‘I just like things to run smoothly, that's all. Not being funny, but it’s not really rocket science out the back here.’
Birdie’s eyes widened. ‘Youmight not think so, but trust me, there are many people I have employed who have not worked as you do. You work off your own initiative, and you don’t need me to hold your hand. Those two alone are worth their weight in gold.’ Birdie poured hot water from the kettle into the two mugs that were sitting on the worktop.
Cally shook her head. Inside, it ran through her mind that she knew why she didn’t need hand-holding, precisely because no one had ever done it for her. She just put her head down and got on with stuff. She always had done. She had a lot of experience in holding up the sky. Ever since she’d known what was what she’d juggled many different things in her life. She brushed off Birdie’s words. ‘It’s fine.’
‘I know it is, and that's exactly why I want to offer you a promotion,’ Birdie words came out in a rush.
Cally frowned and blinked. Assuming she’d misheard, she repeated what Birdie had said back to her. ‘Sorry, what? Apromotion? Wait, what? You want to offer me a promotion? Why?’
Birdie nodded. ‘Yes. I’ve been run off my feet since last year and I've been thinking about the future of the business. We've got the chain of pharmacies now, and it’s growing quickly. The other shops' back ends are not in a good way. I know it, of course and it needs to change and fast.’
Cally nodded. She was more than familiar with the growth of Birdie's business. She’d watched it expand and seen with her own eyes the development of the ordering system along with the extra duties Birdie had taken on.
‘It's getting to be a bit much to manage all the stores the way we’re doing now. I need someone I can trust to help oversee it all. Someone with fresh ideas, someone who understands both the business side and, well, you know, the behind-the-scenes side of it.’ Birdie gestured around the kitchen and in the direction of the shop.
‘Right.’
‘I would like it if that someone was you.’
Cally opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Birdie, seemingly understanding Cally's shock, pressed on. ‘I know it's a lot to take in. You've got the skills, the drive, and you don’t take fools gladly.’
Cally finally found her voice. ‘I don't know the first thing about managing multiple shops. I just work out the back here.’
