[Kim and Garth have just arrived at the factory in Kings Lynn]

“Hi Brian,” said Garth as he walked into his office. Kim followed on behind him.

Brian was in deep thought looking at some schematics. The drawings more than covered his desk.

“Oh, hello Garth.”

Then he saw Kim.

His face brightened up considerably.
“Hello there Kim.”

Then he wiped the smile from his face.

“Garth, I’m sorry that this is not a good time for a visit. We are in the middle of testing the new software release and I’m afraid that either it or some of the electronic sensors are not working correctly.”

Garth looked at Brian and then at Kim and then back at Brian.

“That’s fine. Are you still on track for a release on the 14th?”

“Oh yes. We are done with that. That’s in soak test. This testing is for the release after that. This is the one that support the new type of accelerometer.”

Garth looked relieved.

“We won’t keep you from your work. We just stopped by to say Hi. I’m being shown a couple of houses this afternoon. The realtor is meeting me here in a few minutes.”

Then Garth turned to Kim.
“Kim, perhaps you would like to accompany me? I’d value your input. You know far more about the building codes and the like in this country than I do.”

Kim seriously doubted that she did but she nodded.
“Ok. It is not as if I have a job to go to is it?”

All three of them laughed as Garth steered Kim out of Brian’s office.

---

The Estate Agent, a Mr Wood, was waiting for them in reception. After introductions had been made where Kim was given the job as Garth’s ‘PA’, he said.
“Your car or mine?”

“Mines a Fiat 500,” said Kim.
“And I’m with her,” added Garth.

Garth said nothing. Mr Wood looked rather disappointed. In the short time that they’d been in the factory, it had come onto rain. The warm sunshine of the morning and the walk in Southwold was a mere memory for the time being.

“It is very small,” added Kim after an uneasy second or so’s silence.

“My car it is then. I’ll drop you both off here when we are done if that is ok with you?”

His car turned out to be a Mercedes ‘S’ Class saloon. Kim thought that the estate agent was earning a good wedge even until she caught sight of a leasing company’s name on the number plates. It looked as if it has just come out of the car wash. She knew from bitter experience with cars in Cornwall that they don’t look like that for very long when the weather turns.

Then she relaxed and thought that for people in his line of work first impressions are everything. From her time at the Sunday Herald, she knew of some North London Estate Agents where value and type of the car they use would change between a five million quid property and one selling for one million. Suits, accents and even shoes would change as well. She hoped that this agent was not going try to oversell the property. Garth would see through that in a flash.

For Kim, it was nice to be driven for once and in a pretty decent car. There was plenty of room in the back for Kim’s long legs which got the nod from her. Garth sat in the front with Mr Woods.

The Agent started to sell the house that they were going to visit. Kim tuned herself out from his drone. She wanted to see the house without knowing its features that were flowing off of his tongue like there was no tomorrow. For Kim, first impressions and all that stuff meant something.

---

The property that the agent was taking them to was close to Fakenham Racecourse. During the journey both Garth and Kim had a chance to look at the sales brochure. She’d tried to ignore the agent but something he said got through her defences so she gave up and looked at the glossy brochure that described the house.

The first thing she looked at was the price. She managed to stop herself from reacting when she saw what it was on the market for. Then she calmed down as she remembered seeing tiny shoe box sized homes by comparison in London on the market for at least twice that figure.

As she read through the details, her intuition and what the agent had said all combined and was telling her that it was not right for Garth. Having seen the relatively modest home he had on Long Island when compared to other mega sized mansions close by she guessed that Garth was looking for somewhere unobtrusive and where he could remain relatively anonymous. When she read the details relating to the gardens, she instinctively knew that this property with its Grade 2 Listed status and twelve acres of garden was not for Garth.

‘Well’, she thought, ‘not the new softly softly Garth’. Perhaps the one from ten or fifteen years before would have bought it as somewhere to show off but the person she’d spent the last five hours with was not that sort of person.

Kim bit her tongue and while they were still travelling. She didn’t want to pour cold water on the property before Garth could see it. She spent remainder of the journey searching for other properties in the area that might be suitable for Garth using her phone. As she did so, she grinned to herself by thinking… ‘that’s what a PA does isn’t it?’.

It didn’t take her long to find a property that had just come onto the market at around half the price of the other one that on the surface looked as if it should be very comfortable for Garth. A big plus was that it had a separate annex that looked like it could be used as an office. The annex even had its’ own shower and toilet.

Garth was noticeably noncommittal as they were being shown around by the agent. He was asking a good number of relevant questions but it was obvious to Kim that he was not showing any real enthusiasm for the place. His body language told her that it was far too grand for him. His background was far more down to earth especially when you considered where he’d been brought up. The agent droned on about all the positives of the place ad nauseum.

At the end of the tour, Garth said,

“Can we take a walk around it on our own?”

As the place was empty there really was no objection. The two of them wandered into the extensive kitchen and closed the door behind them.

“This isn’t for you is it?” said Kim.

“No, it isn’t. I only agreed to see it as it was empty and both sides want a quick sale. This is far too grand for me and I’d get lost here.”

Kim was sure that he wouldn’t but she knew what he meant.

“How about this place?”
“It is a new listing and only a few miles away.”

Kim showed Garth her phone.

“So, this is what you were doing on the journey over here?”

She nodded.
“I took one look at the details and sort of guessed that it was not for you.”

“Sell it to me?”

“Eh?”

“This place on your phone. Sell it to me. Why should I view it let alone buy it?”

“It is a lot smaller. A barn conversion but with four decent sized bedrooms. Very modern internally but with a lot of the character details still there. There is little in the way of grounds so not a lot to do in terms of maintenance but importantly, there is an annex that could be used as an office. The annex has its own toilet, shower and a small kitchen. In the listing, it is described as a ‘Granny Annex’ or Holiday Let. The property is off the main roads so very quiet and only a few miles from where Brian lives.”

She paused.
“That do? For a ten second summary that is?”

“That will do fine. Lets’ go and give Mr Woods the bad news,” said Garth.

“It won’t be all bad news. His agency is selling this other property as well.”

“But it will result in less commission for him? He must be doing pretty well to be able to afford that Merc?”

“The Merc is leased. These people are all mouth and trousers in my opinion.”

Garth chuckled.
“I have no idea what it means but it does not sound like a compliment.”

“It isn’t.”

“Do you think we can get a viewing today?”

“Well, it does say ‘vacant possession’. To me that means the agents have a key available for viewings just like they did for here.”

Garth smiled back at Kim.
Then he shook his head.

“Your old employers must have been mad to send you up here on that wild goose chase and even madder to fire you. They really didn’t know what an asset you really are.”

Kim didn’t respond but said,

“Shall we go and break the bad news?”

“After you. You are my PA after all…” said Garth.

Kim took this as a sign that they were not only done here but that Kim should take the lead.

---

“Mr Woods. Thanks for showing us this property but my boss thinks that this is rather large for his purposes. There is another property on your books that we’d like to see. It isn’t far away. It is this one.”

Kim showed him her phone.

“Ah yes. We have had a good deal of interest in that property.”

“Well then Mr Woods. The clock is ticking isn’t it?” said Kim.

He looked startled at Kim’s directness.

“I… I’d better call the office and get the key sent over. We may have to wait a short while once we get to the property. Is that acceptable?”

“It is. While we are waiting, we can always look over the exterior can’t we.”

A distinctly unhappy Mr Woods went off to make the call to his office.

---

Fifteen minutes later they were at the new property and taking a look around the grounds. Garth’s attitude changed quite a bit as they were shown the features of the barn that had been kept especially the walls that were made of local flint[1]. Kim could tell right away that this was more to his liking.

While the agent was on the phone checking on the whereabouts of the keys to the property, Kim and Garth wandered around the small garden.

“How much?”

“Eh?”

“How much should I open with?”

“Are you going to buy this place?”

“Yeah. This will do fine.”

“But… You have not seen inside yet.”

“I don’t need to. Those photos are good enough. How long would it take to get to Norwich Airport from here?”

“Oh… around forty-five or fifty minutes.”

“That’s often less than from my home on Long Island to JFK unless I take the chopper.”

Garth just stood still and listened.

“Will you listen to that?”

“To what?”

“That’s it exactly. This is perfect. Quiet, secluded but not that far from Norwich and Kings Lynn both of which have a direct train service to London.”

Kim could not quite imagine Garth taking the train anywhere. Then she realised that people might be coming up from London to visit them.

Before Kim could answer, another vehicle drew up to the property.

“That must be the keys,” said Kim.

Half an hour later they emerged from the house having seen everything they had wanted to see.

“Well Mr Woods, I’d like to buy this place and pronto if you get my meaning,” said Garth.

“That’s good. What is your offer?”

“Ten over,” replied Garth.

“Ten over? I don’t understand?”

Garth sighed.

“Ten thousand over asking but the sale has to be done within three weeks. If you want, I’ll get all the funds transferred to your clients lawyers escrow account by close of business tomorrow.”

“Escrow?”

Kim took the lead here.

“Their solicitors clients holding account. Where the deposit is lodged.”

“Oh! I see.”

Mr Woods stood rooted to the spot.

“Mr Woods?” asked Kim.
“Is there something wrong?”

“Eh? No… I’ll contact the vendors right away.”

“Good. You be doing that. We’ll be right here. We aren’t going anywhere.”

Garth took hold of Kim’s arm and together they walked into the annex.

“Well Kim? Have you planned out the layout yet?”

Kim laughed.

“Not quite. How many of us will there be?”

“Just you and me for two weeks a month to begin with. Within a year I want to move my operations here permanently so we’d need some office space in Kings Lynn and preferably close to the Factory.”

Kim put her hand up to her chin and thought.

“My desk there, and yours there,” she said pointing at places close to two of the windows.

“Good choice.”

Garth reached into the small briefcase he was carrying and pulled out a folder.

“This contains all the details of my European operation as they stand today. There is my current transition plan for several of those businesses. There is also an envelope in there with your job offer. You know money and stuff. Take it home tonight and think it over.”

Kim took it gingerly.

“Thanks Garth but…?”

“Brian?”

“Yes. If he doesn’t…?”

“He will. Don’t worry. Give him time. Besides with you around his office nearly every day looking hot and you’ll soon have him eating out of your hand…”
Garth had a huge smile on his face.

Kim looked sad.
“The problem is … I’m more of a plain Jayne, blend into the background sort of person.”

“Then you need some help. May I suggest Brian’s ex?”

“Eh?”

Garth chuckled.
“I maybe an old man who has seen better days but much of how I got on in business is down to how I was able to read people. I can read Brian with my eyes closed but it is obvious that he loves you. In my eyes, there is no one better to help you get him to ask you to marry him eh? Despite all their problems when they are together she knows what makes him tick better than anyone else.”

Kim didn’t answer. She couldn’t. At least with something vaguely intelligible.

Mr Woods returned with a smile on his face.

“The vendors have accepted your offer. If we return to the Office I can get all the forms signed and give you the details of the vendors solicitors.”

“Thank you very much Mr Woods. If you drop me off where you picked us up, then my assistant will get all the details from you. I’ll be at my Hotel.”

“Garth? Can I have a word?”

Garth smiled.

“Please excuse us Mr Woods. We will only be a moment.”

The two of them walked out of hearing range of Mr Woods.

“Which Hotel? Don’t I get to know where you are staying?”

Garth laughed.

“I don’t have one yet. Why not book one for me when we are going back to town? Make that two rooms and I’ll take you out to dinner tonight to seal our little deal.”

Once again Garth had one over on her.

“But… My flat?”

“For how long is it yours eh? My guess is that your old employers paid for it and you will need somewhere to live for a while until Brian gets his brain into gear. Am I correct?”

“And then you are selling your place in… Ah, Catford. Why not stay at the Hotel until either Brian asks you or the deal for this place gets done? This will need furnishing and fitting out.”

“But the cost?”

“Kim… have you forgotten the email I sent to Brian?”

“No but…”

“Ah, you have a bit of a cash flow problem until your place in London is sold?”

Reluctantly, she had to agree.

“Then sign the forms in the folder and we’ll go to the bank tomorrow and get you some funds. I can’t have my number two homeless and short of working capital, now can I?”

“Thanks Garth but I shouldn’t.”

“Nonsense. I insist. There will be a good deal of costs involved in setting up my operation here. One hotel room for you for a few months is a small price to pay don’t you think?”

“Really?”

“Come on Kim, start enjoying life a bit. I spent far too much of mine being all about business, and it made me a sourpuss. All my friends told me that for years but I was too proud to listen to them until I met Helene and Brian. One of the things I’m going to do when I move over here is spend a lot of my time birding. Why else did I pick this part of the country to get Brian to setup operations? The North Norfolk Coast is a birding mecca and the peace and quiet allows me to unwind.”

“Are we good?” he asked.

“Yes Garth, we are good. This has been one hell of a day.”

“That’s why we can relax tonight.”

---

Just before six pm that evening, Kim drove her small car into the car park of a hotel on the north coast of Norfolk. It had taken her a while before there was as they say, ‘room at the inn’. They were in the town of Burnham Market. The very same town where, only a matter of days before, she’d gone to the craft fair and had breakfast.

“This looks a nice place,” commented Garth as Kim drove into the Hotel Car park.

“I need a drink,” commented Kim.
“If you had forgotten, both of us have been on the go since breakfast and have not stopped for even a coffee since.”

Garth waited until she’d parked and switched the engine off.

“I’m sorry about that. I tend to get carried away when I’m enjoying myself and even more when I’m in the company of a not only pretty but intelligent woman.”

“Garth, flattery will get you nowhere. I need a drink, a shower and something to eat.”

“Dinner in an hour?” suggested Garth.

“And a half. It is easy for you to get ready.”

Garth laughed.
“Oh, I know that only too well. Liza, my first wife took hours to get ready for even just going to the country club to play tennis.”
“Shall we go?”

---

Kim took her bag upstairs to her room and threw it on the bed. Then she headed back to the bar. It had been quite a day.

“Large G&T please and hold the T,” she said to the barman.

“Any particular gin?”

Kim was about to get angry but held it in check.
“Gin! Proper Bombay Gin and none of that new flavoured Gin shit! Got it!”

“Ok, ok,” replied the barman.

He poured her the drink and placed it on the bar along with some ice in a bucket and some lemon slices. He obviously did not want another outburst this early in the evening.

Kim took the drink and consumed half of it.

“Put it on my room,” she said as she gave him her room key.

She grabbed it along with her half empty glass and headed back to her room.

Once inside, she downed the rest of the gin and stripped off her clothes.

Ten minutes in the shower had done nothing to settle her down.

As she dried herself, she wondered what had triggered the thoughts she was having.

Then it came to her. They’d come upon two people out riding their horses at a place called Brancaster Staithe.

“Riding!”
“That’s it.”

“I am such a fool. I’m being taken for a ride.”

Then she collapsed on her bed and started to hit the pillow.
“I’ve been such a fool!” she cried.

Then she started crying.

When she stopped crying she wondered if this was an audition for her favourite TV Show, ‘Suits’.

Then she felt the rough edge of the folder that Garth had given her.

She opened it and glanced at the contents. Her brain was still mush.

Then she saw the envelope that supposedly contained her job offer.

Kim literally ripped it open to reveal the contents. There were two pieces of paper inside.

The first item was a single sheet containing details of her salary. Her salary was indeed going to be a hundred thousand a year plus bonus.

The other was a cheque that was made payable to her. A yellow sticky was covering the numbers. It read, “This is your sign on Bonus. Get a decent car!”

She tore it off and saw the numbers.

£50,000

That did it. Garth could not buy her body.

Kim got ready to go down and face Garth once and for all. She made sure that she had her car keys with her so that she could make an escape once she’d told him to his face what she thought of him. She wasn’t sure of the words but she doubted that it would be pretty.

With a final check of her hair in the mirror, she left her room determined to do this properly.

She’d reached the top of the stairs when she stopped and thought again. Kim returned to her room and grabbed her overnight bag. Then with a new determination in her step, she went downstairs and out to her car. After putting her bag onto the back seat, she headed back into the Hotel carrying Garth’s offer under her arm.

---

Kim entered the restaurant and searched for Garth. He wasn’t there. She checked her watch and it said that she was more than five minutes late already.

Then out of the corner of her eye she saw someone waving.

She looked over and saw that it was Brian. Her heart fluttered for a few seconds before calming down.

Still determined to have it out with Garth she walked over to Brian.

“Hello Kim,” said Brian happily.

Kim looked at him and then at the table. It was set for two people.

“Where’s Garth? I need to speak to him?”

“He’s gone into ‘Wells next the sea’, by Taxi. He thought that it would be nice if we could spend the evening together.”

Kim felt totally defeated. She felt that Garth must have seen this tirade coming and ducked out to avoid a conflict.

“I… I don’t understand? I thought that I was going to have dinner with him?”

“He called me just after five and suggested that I come here and have dinner with you.”
“Anyway, you are looking beautiful as ever so please sit down,” suggested Brian.

Half of Kim’s brain said that she should to a runner and the other half wanted to be here with Brian.

The latter half won.

Brian ordered some wine and as they perused the menu Brian asked,

“Why did you want to see Garth? It sounded important?”

Kim didn’t answer. Instead, she opened her handbag and pulled out the cheque and the note from Garth.

“He gave me this a little while ago. I’m not going to sell myself to him and help him make even more money!”

Brian looked surprised by her words.

“Did he give you anything else?”

“Yes, this.”

She pulled out the contract. She’d screwed it up so it looked rather crumpled.

Brian spread it out on the table in front of him and looked at it intently.

“Have you read this?”

“No! I don’t need to. I know what he wants.”

Brian tried to suppress a small chuckle. He failed. Kim noticed.

“This is no laughing matter.”

“Kim, I know that. Garth has more money that he knows what to do with. He’s not here to make more. He’s here to give it all away. Not at once but over time. He has no children so who is going to get it when he dies?”

He passed the dishevelled contract over to Kim.
“Read the third and fourth paragraphs.”

Kim read the words but her mind was such a mess that none of it made sense.

“You tell me what it says. In simple terms,” said Kim as she gave up and passed the sheets back to Brian.

Brian picked up the contract and read the relevant parts again.

“Garth wants you to head up a charitable trust that will distribute around one hundred million dollars or the equivalent amount in Euros or Pounds to worthy charities and not for profit organisations. That is per year by the way. The board of Trustees of trust will be Garth, yourself, Samuel Benson, his UK Lawyer and Jan Simpson, who is his UK Accountant plus one other as yet unnamed person.”

Brian looked at her. Kim had not reacted.
“You are to run the show for him. You are the boss.”

“But…”

“But, I know nothing about this sort of thing?”

Brian smiled at her. Kim’s heart skipped a beat.
“At the moment that is true. But you are brilliant at digging out facts and getting to the truth. Researching the charities that apply for grants is right up your street isn’t it? You will have others backing you up and I’m sure that there are experts out there that could be employed to assist you in the daily operation.”

Kim was still shocked by this.

“The contract goes on to explain that Garth is putting aside two million dollars a year in addition to the funds for distribution for running costs of the trust. This is all coming straight out of his pocket.”

Just then, the wine that Brian had ordered arrived. Neither of them said anything while it was poured.

Brian picked up his glass and offered a toast.
“To the most wonderful woman I have ever met and to the future!”

Even though Kim was still slightly bewildered by what Brian had said, she picked up her glass and completed the toast.

“Why me?”

“Because you have shown that you have lots of drive. You dig and dig and keep on digging until you get to the truth. In my eyes, you are perfect for this role.”

Kim sat back in her seat. All the anger of even half an hour ago was fast disappearing like the wine in her glass.

Brian reached over the table and took her hand.

“I think the world of you. You know that don’t you?”

Those were not the exact words that she wanted to hear but they were better than nothing.

She managed a small smile.

“Come on Kim snap out of this fug that you are in,” said Brian in a much sterner voice.
“What I’m trying to say is, will you marry me?”

Those words went right over her head. Her mind was whizzing around in a total morass.

“Planet Earth to Kim?” said Brian quietly.

“Eh? Oh sorry,” replied Kim slightly embarrassed.

“Kim, your mind is obviously on other things tonight. Why don’t you just go to bed and we’ll talk in the morning ok?”

“The morning? Won’t you be at home?”

He shook his head.

“No. Garth gave me his room for the night. As I said, he’s gone into Wells and is staying there.”

“But we haven’t eaten yet?”

“I’ll get the restaurant to send up a baguette or something. You are clearly not in the right frame of mind to eat something and enjoy it tonight.”

She sat there for nearly a minute.

“I think you are right.”

Kim stood up and looked at Brian.

“I’m sorry for being a complete pain tonight. You deserve better than that? Than me.”

Brian smiled.

“Kim, you could never be a complete pain in the arse and you are nigh on perfect in my eyes.”

Kim left him before she started crying again. She made it past the reception desk before the tears came flooding out.

---

Kim had just walked into her room when she realised that her overnight things were in her car. With a sigh and a sob all mixed together, she went down and retrieved them. So much for her plan of giving Garth a mouthful and exiting the scene with her head held high.

It wasn’t until the middle of the night when Kim sat upright with a start.

“Fuck!” she cried.

“Oh Shit!” she said slightly quietly.

“Brian asked me to marry him and I totally dissed him!”

She turned over in bed and cried into one of her pillows and at the same time, she was punching the hell out of another one.

---

Kim was late for Breakfast in the morning. She’d literally cried herself to sleep after her nightmare of the small hours.

When she walked into the restaurant, Brian was just finishing a cup of tea.

“Brian, I’m so sorry for yesterday,” said Kim without even a good morning.

“Good morning Kim.”
“If you don’t mind me saying so, you look like shit.”

“I don’t mind. I do. My mind is going at a million miles a second.”

Kim sat down and looked at Brian.

“I’m so sorry for last night. I don’t know what I was doing. If I did something mega wrong then I apologise.”

“That’s all right. You didn’t and even if you did, you are forgiven.”

At that moment, Kim wanted to strangle Brian. How could he not be angry after what happened at this very same table the night before.

“Why are you so nice to me? I behaved, atrociously didn’t I?”

“Kim, as I said, you had a lot going on in your mind and I said the wrong thing at the wrong time. Please forget about it. Today is another day. Another day to be lived to the full isn’t it?”

Brian wiped his mouth with the napkin and stood up.

“Take your time today. I’m picking up Garth and taking him to the Office. He’ll be getting the purchase of the place you visited yesterday sorted out. Well probably just getting his legal people to start the ball rolling but you know what I mean.”

It was then that Kim decided what she was going to do next.

“Brian, if it is ok, I’d like to take the day off. My head is not in gear yet.”

Brian chuckled.

“It is Saturday remember?”

Kim had forgotten what day of the week it was. He shoulders visibly sagged.

“Kim, Garth is staying until at least next Tuesday. He obviously didn’t expect to find a place so quickly. We are having a Barbeque tomorrow afternoon. You are most welcome to come along.”

Kim hesitated. Brian saw her body language change.

“My ex won’t be there. She’s going away to a conference in Oxford this afternoon.”

“Thanks Brian. I might come along.”

“Good. Garth is chef for the day. If it is fine, he’ll be manning the ‘Barbie’.”

“Eh?”

“It was his idea. We talked about before he flew over earlier in the week.”

“Thanks Brian. I’ll think about it.”

---

Kim ate a few things for breakfast. She was not really interested in food. Her mind was still running at a million miles an hour.

Then she found that Brian had settled her bill which for a second made her angry but then she realised that was Brian being Brian. She could still not understand why he wasn’t angry at her from the night before. She’d behaved like a total plonker and a numpty rolled into one and yet he was so forgiving towards her. She’d never met a man who was anywhere near a nice as him.

Kim mentally kicked herself yet again. Brian was waiting for her to say yes to marrying him. Garth was waiting for her to say yes to a job that comes along only very rarely and she was dithering. She was dithering about saying yes to two wonderful men. She needed to… Kim could not decide what to do next.

[to be continued]

[1] Flint. The fields on North Norfolk are littered with it. Many buildings used it as a building material because it was there for the picking.
https://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/inspire/seven-natural-wonders...