Sweet Revenge (Cocoa Narel Chocolate Shop Mysteries Book 1) (4 page)

Carl answered for him. “It started when you were in the hospital, Narel,” he said. “It was only open for about three months.”

Boris shot me a curious look. I expected he wondered why I had been in the hospital for so long. Clearly he was too polite to mention it, as he merely asked if we’d like to see the old chocolate shop now.

“Yes,” I said. “But why did it shut down? That doesn’t bode well for me opening a chocolate shop in the same town.”

Borage hurried to reassure me. “The lady who opened it was married to a farmer, and she only opened on Tuesdays and Thursdays to start with. Then she started opening at various hours at her whim. For example, sometimes she only opened on Saturdays, and sometimes she didn’t open it all through the week. They lived a long way out of town, and if she was busy with the farm, then she just didn’t show up.”

“That’s right,” Carl said. “I often used to buy chocolates from there to send you, Narel, but half the time I went, it wasn’t open. That’s why she didn’t succeed.”

I was relieved. I followed Carl and Borage up the road. I found myself checking out Borage. I had never really looked at attractive men before, not in that way. They were always so far out of my league that staring at them seemed to be an exercise in futility.

My thoughts turned to Tom Fletcher. The Populars in high school had been cruel to me, but to Tom particularly so. The memory of Ridgewell Dugan came to me. He was the reason I was afraid to go to the gym. On one occasion, Ridgewell swapped my shampoo for brown hair dye and when I came out of the showers after gym class, my normally blonde hair was a ghastly shade of brown. Ridgewell told everyone I had turned into a giant chocolate because I ate so much of it. It took at least two months for the color to fade despite me washing it about twenty times the first night. Ridgewell had once swapped the clothes in Tom Fletcher’s gym bag for girls’ clothes. As poor Tom had nothing else to wear, he had come out of the gym shower in girls’ clothes. The principal had been walking past and had given him detention for impersonating a girl.

I wondered if the attractive Borage Fletcher was in fact Tom. High school was over ten years ago, and people’s appearance can change in ten years. I certainly looked different now, but I assumed that Borage hadn’t had a car wreck and had reconstructive surgery on his face.

I had a good vibe about the store as soon as we arrived and stood in front of it. For a start, the best coffee in town was at the café next door. There was good parking outside, unusual for this town, and huge glass windows comprised the front. Carl and I followed Borage inside.

“I’ll take it,” I said upon entering. “How much is it again?” I supposed I should’ve asked that question before I said I’d have it, but I had told Borage my price range, and I didn’t think he’d show me anything too much over my budget.

He turned to me with a surprised look on his face. “Don’t you want to look over the whole premises first?”

“Sure.” I said that in order to appear businesslike, but I was going with my gut, and my gut told me that this was the ideal place. It was in the Main Street and all traffic had to pass right by it. It was light and airy, and had a decidedly cheerful feel. I followed Borage into the back room, with Carl traipsing along behind me. The back room was simply a combination office and small kitchen, and there was a long corridor behind which led down to a tiny bathroom. The back door opened onto a lawn which seemed to double as a parking area. At least the grass had been cut recently.

I could really stamp my mark on this place, and I wouldn’t have to rush into doing anything. It seemed to be in good condition and the floorboards had been painted white, as had the walls. I liked the look. It was bright and airy. There was nothing that needed replacing, fixing, or renovating. I had spent so many months in the hospital, and as I started to recover, I had focused on my dream of opening a designer chocolate shop. I had looked through magazine after magazine. This place would do nicely. I was impressed with the size and the character, as well as the location. It seemed just right.

“Well, it’s quite lovely,” Carl said. “You won’t need to do any work on it and you can move straight in.”

“That’s just what I was thinking,” I said. I turned to Borage. “Where do I sign?”

Carl tapped my elbow. “You’re supposed to haggle,” he said in a stage whisper.

“Not with commercial leases,” Borage said. “It’s not like buying something. People don’t usually haggle on commercial leases.”

I spoke before Carl had a chance to. “No, it’s perfect. I love it.”

Borage looked pleased. “Well then, let’s go back to the office. That is, unless you want to see other properties?”

I shook my head. The store was on the small side, but I knew I wouldn’t need a whole lot of space, and this saved on costs. It was also quite a well-visited public location, without being so central that it would be overwhelmed by other stores. It was perfect.

“Let’s go back to my office and sign the paperwork,” Borage said.

“Why don’t I buy us all coffee from this cafe?” Carl said, winking at Borage who shuffled uneasily from one foot to the other.

“I’ve already had five,” I said, “so not for me. Thanks anyway, Carl.”

“Well, I’ll buy you a coffee, Borage,” Carl said insistently.

I stood on the pavement with Borage while Carl went into the café to buy coffees. I took the chance to study Borage a little more closely. Was he Tom Fletcher? He did look similar to him. He was tall and he looked like he worked out. He had the same type of face shape, but I suppose that could be said for many men. Plus, if he was going to change his name from Tom, Carl had a valid point. Why would someone change his name from Tom to Borage?

Tom too had been overweight, and like me, he had been hopeless at sports. I’d had quite a crush on him back in the day. I wondered whatever had become of him.

Carl emerged triumphantly from the café and handed the coffee to Borage, who accepted it, but then snatched his hand away and Carl’s fingers lingered a little too long on his.

Soon I was sitting back in Borage’s office, reading the paperwork before I signed it. I signed the paperwork and duly handed over a security check which amounted to two months’ rent.

Borage said I could start decorating immediately. “We don’t have any problems here such as waiting times, the usual kinds of problems.” He took a sip of coffee and continued. “I know the landowner personally. I know the lease starts in two weeks, but the landlord won’t mind if you start setting up now. I’ll text you as soon I have a chance to talk to him about it, but I think he’d allow you to start setting up today, if you wanted to.”

I was more than a little overwhelmed. This morning I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to find a place to lease, and now I was being told that I could start setting up immediately. I didn’t know how to react, though there was no denying that the premise was exciting.

I’d settled on a store, and it all looked like it was going ahead extremely quickly, though without any problems. My anxiety started to give way to excitement.

Carl sat in his car and patted my shoulder. “Congratulations, Narel! How exciting!”

“Sorry you struck out with Borage, though.”

Carl pulled a face. “I figured it was a long shot, as he didn’t strike me as my type, if you catch my drift. He’s handsome, though.” Carl had said it almost absent-mindedly as he turned the ignition, and it was hard to disagree. Still, I had a lot more on my mind than men at the moment. As a matter of fact, after the whole fiasco with Guy, dating was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Where to?” Carl asked.

“To the center of town!” I declared. “It’s time to do some shopping.” Carl laughed as I said it and drove off.

It was an amazing feeling to know that my business was becoming more than just an idea.

We went to a furniture store first. It occurred to me, again, that I didn’t really know what I was doing. How many tables did I need? What kind? Was there a special kind of wood that was better suited for public spaces? I sighed aloud and decided just to have a look. I didn’t need to buy anything today.

“Do you think this would look good?” Carl asked, pointing to some kind of nightmarish concoction of wood and steel that was labeled as a table. I’d always wondered how such hideous furnishing could be designed in the first place. What was wrong with just a bit of wood with legs on it?

As I wondered about it, I received the text from Borage giving me the go ahead to start furnishing the shop. I couldn’t believe it. “Yes!” I shrieked, grinning broadly.

“Okay, Narel, if you’re sure. I was actually joking, though.” Carl said, shrugging.

“Oh, no, not the table,” I said as quickly as I could. “I got the text! We can start furnishing today.”

Carl cheered and hugged me tightly. “Congratulations! Let’s get food.”

I laughed. As excited as I was to begin decorating the store as soon as possible, I could never deny Carl—or myself—some celebration nourishment. Especially if there would be chocolate involved, and when Carl was around, that was practically a guarantee. We left the store, looking for somewhere to celebrate. I could still scarcely believe it.

Chapter 6

I had made a list of shop fittings while I was in the hospital, and I hoped it would stand me in good stead. The store was quite clean inside, and I was measuring everything so I would know just where to put it. The glass display cabinet I had found online would look wonderful in the front of the store.

I was bending over, wielding the tape measure once more and wishing Carl hadn’t had to work today and could’ve helped me, when two overly posh women entered the store.

“I’m not open yet,” I said, stating the obvious. After all, the store was empty. I did a double take when I recognized them: Lucinda Shaw-Smythe and Mandy Makim. They stared through me blankly, so I figured they hadn’t recognized me. And why would they? I could easily slip into the Federal Witness Protection Program as I looked nothing like my former self.

Lucinda looked down her long pointed nose at me. “And what sort of store will it be? I hope it won’t be another café. The town already has a surplus of those.”

Mandy giggled. I looked at Mandy appraisingly. I had not seen her in years, while I had seen Lucinda on a rare occasion. I had stuck around town, whereas Mandy and Lucinda had left straight after school. Still, there was no mistaking Mandy: the narrow, cold grey eyes, the haughty expression, the stick thin figure. Had she been wearing green, I would have mistaken her for a praying mantis.

“A chocolate shop,” I said abruptly. “I have a small sign in the window.”

Lucinda waved one hand at me. “I can’t see properly at the moment. I’ve just had my eyelids lifted and it’s affecting my vision. Anyway, there have been chocolate shops in this town and they’ve never succeeded.”

I shrugged, and went back to measuring. That appeared to annoy them, as they walked over to me. “Where are you from?” Lucinda demanded.

“I arrived from Sydney the other day,” I said. That part that was true after all. I had no desire to tell her I was Cocoa Narel. She would find out soon enough, and then all the taunting would begin.

I shuddered as I remembered the cruel pranks that Lucinda and Mandy had played on me in high school. The worst one was when they had set up a fake MySpace account for me. This was, of course, in the days before Facebook. I hadn’t even been on MySpace at the time, yet they took photos of me when I wasn’t looking and put them on MySpace. They had my fake profile saying all sorts of horrible things about the other kids. I had been ostracized even before that, but after the fake MySpace account, all the kids shot me horrible looks. My life had been an utter misery.

Then there was the time that they sent the chemistry teacher roses with a highly suggestive and explicit note pretending to be from me. I had been unable to convince the principal that I’d been set up, and he had given me detention. Lucinda and Mandy had made my life a living hell. Luckily, Mandy had left town and I only had to rub shoulders with Lucinda when she came back to town for opening nights of the art gallery, but even then I always managed to keep out of her way.

I looked up to see Lucinda and Mandy looking me up and down. Was that grudging admiration I could see in their eyes? “It’s a shame you’re not open now,” Lucinda said. “I wanted to buy Mandy something to cheer her up.”

“Why, what’s the matter?” I said automatically, and then instantly wished I hadn’t.

Mandy stopped smiling, retrieved a tissue from her Louis Vuitton purse, and dabbed at her dry eyes. She sniffled.

“Her ex-husband has just passed away,” Lucinda said in a bored tone. “
One
of her ex-husbands, that is. She never kept husbands for long, once she took them from their girlfriends, or wives for that matter.” She glared at Mandy.

I saw Mandy shoot her an angry glance in return, and then I had an epiphany. Mean girls are mean to each other, not just to those less fortunate than they.

“He blew up,” Mandy said.

I put two and two together. “Was that the accident that happened the other day?” I asked her.

“Yes,” Lucinda said for her. “Guy Smith. He was married to Mandy about ten years ago.”

“We were only married for a few months,” Mandy said. “I realized he wasn’t a nice person.”

I had to bite my tongue. “Do the police know what happened to him yet?” I asked her.

Mandy shrugged. “I know that he had lots of enemies.”

The two women shot me another appraising look, and then left abruptly.

After they left, I was quite shaken. They had made my life an utter hell, as had all The Populars. And to think that Mandy had married Guy. Just as well they hadn’t had kids—at least I hope they hadn’t. Imagine the monsters that they would be.

Had I done the right thing in opening a store in my old town? Perhaps I should have picked another town, where no one knew me from my past. Yet Carl was my dearest friend, and Carl lived in this town. Come to think of it, he was my only friend. I had missed Carl so much in all my months in the hospital and I couldn’t imagine living in a town away from him.

Oh well, if the town got too unbearable, then I would still be able to move out. It wasn’t as if I were tied to this town forever. I was a wealthy woman now, although I did have to live on the settlement payout for the rest of my life. I had to make a success of the business and I was familiar with this town. It seemed to me to be a good business decision to stay here where I had support. During my time in the hospital, I had even contacted suppliers, and told them I was intending to open the chocolate shop. I had done quite a lot of legwork.

I was surprised that Lucinda and Mandy had been so polite to me. They had both denigrated me on every opportunity. Now their attitude was entirely different. I expect it was because I now I looked like someone they would consider their equal. It was a horrible thought.

It was lunchtime, and I had told Carl I would take him some lunch. I locked the store and walked home to fetch the chocolate cake with triple chocolate frosting that I had baked the night before. Despite my accident, I loved chocolate just as much as I always had.

I retrieved my cake and walked on further to Carl’s house. Just as well I lived in a country town. Otherwise, I would have to buy a car. I knew I’d have to bite the bullet and buy one soon. I hadn’t driven since the accident, but I would need a car to get around. It wasn’t fair to rely on Carl all the time.

Carl’s place was quite cute. It was a beautifully renovated Victorian home. Carl liked a minimalist style, and this was reflected in his garden. He had beautifully manicured lawns, which he paid someone to cut, and there was a row of standard roses in front of his white picket fence and also lining the pavement to his front steps.

I rang the brass doorbell, and Carl finally opened it with a glazed look on his face. I knew that look from when he had spent far too long at his computer screens. “Chocolate cake!” he exclaimed. “I forgot that’s what you eat for lunch.” He chuckled.

I followed him into his kitchen and placed the chocolate cake in the middle of his round cedar table. The deep red wood was a sharp contrast to the rest of the house, which was pristine and white. Every wall and ceiling in the entire house was painted white, and although the flooring was comprised of floorboards, they were pale polished pine.

Even Carl’s huge Persian cat, a huge former show champion by the name of Louis the Fourteenth, was white. Louis the Fourteenth was impeccably groomed and had the biggest golden-orange eyes. He was the most beautiful cat I had ever seen, and he had a temperament to match. Louis loved human company, although he seemed to love sleep even more.

Carl fetched two delicate white bone china plates and placed them in front of us. “I’ll cut,” he said, and then proceeded to cut two huge pieces of cake.

“I can’t eat that much,” I protested.

Carl looked up, shocked. “I’ve never heard you say that before!”

I shrugged. “It’s because of what they had to do to my insides. Don’t ask me to explain it because it gives me the heebie-jeebies. Anyway, I can eat as much as I like without putting on weight, but the catch is that I don’t seem to be able to eat too much at once. Now I’m forced to nibble on chocolate throughout the day.”

Carl looked as though he were debating with himself whether this were a good or a bad thing, but he clearly decided not to comment. “Oh well,” he said, “tuck in. Anyway, how are you feeling now, Narel? You look pale.” He leaned down to stroke Louis the Fourteenth who was awake for once, and purring loudly.

I rubbed my back. “Even walking here was an effort. They said I have to exercise, but even just walking from the shop to my house and my house to here has left me completely exhausted.

“Well, that makes sense,” Carl said. “You were lying in a hospital bed for many months after all.”

I nodded. “Yes but I did have a lot of physical therapy. Still, they did warn me that exercise would make me very tired, but they also told me I had to exercise.”

“Why don’t you start walking along the park? It’s nice and private down your end and if you only walk to where the official walking track starts and back again, and you did it on a daily basis, that would be a good start to your new fitness regime.”

“Would you walk with me?” I asked hopefully.

Carl laughed so much I thought he would choke on his chocolate cake. “Are you kidding me? I don’t believe in mornings. And the best way to do any exercise is to make it a habit, and since you’re opening the store, it’s best that you get into the habit of walking early in the morning. You won’t catch me dead doing
anything
early in the morning!”

I chuckled. I knew how much Carl dreaded the mornings. Even pumping him full of coffee didn’t help much.

We didn’t speak again until we had polished off the entire cake. “Yum, that was so good,” Carl said. “Will you be selling cakes in your store?”

I shook my head. “No, I’ll just be selling all different types of chocolate.”

Carl appeared confused. “How many types of chocolate are there?” He frowned.

“There are millions of different sorts of chocolate,” I said gleefully, but then amended it to, “Well, there is dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, boxed chocolate, chocolate bars, chocolates with hard fillings, chocolates with soft fillings...” I would have gone on, but Carl held up a hand to stop me.

“Too much information,” he said. “Are you going to make them?”

I shook my head. “I might start making some once I get the business under control, but that would be too much work first up while I’m getting used to running the business. I have enough to worry about without making chocolates, although I really would like to do so at some point. Right now I have to order the shop fittings, organize supplies, and all the rest of it.”

“Well, you know I’ll help with much as I can,” Carl said.

I jumped up and gave him an impulsive hug. “You’re the best! I can never thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.”

Carl smirked at me. “Does that mean I get free chocolate?”

“Yes, of course you get free chocolate.” I thought for a minute, and then added, “I suppose that depends on how much you eat. I’ll have to monitor the situation.”

Carl pouted. “I was going to suggest that we both go to the store now and I’ll help you all afternoon. Plus I’m going to buy you a lovely Welcome Home gift this afternoon.”

I sighed. “Okay, you win. Free chocolate.”

This time Carl and I drove back to my store. It certainly was a help to have someone to hold the other end of the tape measure. Then I drew diagrams of all the display case placements. I showed Carl the images of the cabinets I had ordered online on my iPad.

He was impressed. “Wow, Narel,” he said, “this is going to look amazing.”

“I only hope I get enough customers to keep it afloat,” I said. “It will be my livelihood.”

“Oh, but I thought you made enough to live off. I thought the settlement was big enough that you could live on it?”

I shook my head. “No. I know it seems like a large sum of money, but my lawyer explained that I wouldn’t be able to live on it forever. I need an income from the business. I want to be independent of the settlement. Sure, I’m going to use it to set up the business, buy a house, perhaps even a car at some point, but I need to be making my own income.”

Carl nodded. “That’s wise,” he said. “When do you order the chocolates?”

I laughed. “Just before the store opens.”

Carl looked crestfallen.

“Well, I suppose I could order some samples for us to try.”

Carl’s face lit up. “Narel, I’m happy to drive you around, but I think you’d feel better if you bought yourself a car,” he said. “I’ll keep driving you around until you get used to it.”

“Thanks, Carl,” I said. “That’s kind of you. I know I have to get a car soon. It’s just that I’m really scared to drive again. “

“How about you drive my car now and then first, to get used to it before you buy your own?”

“Thanks Carl. You’re always so thoughtful.”

“Well, can you give me a dating reference then?” Carl said sadly. Carl hadn’t had much luck in the dating department, and I had no idea why. He was as good looking as he was kindhearted, but it didn’t help that he worked from home and didn’t get out much. Plus, we lived in a small town and I think he was the only eligible gay bachelor within a large radius.