Hayley and Maxine returned to the reception after repairing their makeup. They walked in holding hands. This was noticed by Maxine's grandmother, who made a bee-line towards them.

“About time too,” she said smiling.
Then she added,
"Don't either of you mess this up, or you will have me to answer too. Got it?"

"Yes, gran," said the couple in unison.

"Good. Now, where is Cliff? It is time he took me home."

Maxine smiled as her gran headed off towards the cloakroom.

"She is some woman, your gran," remarked Hayley.

"She is, and I love her to bits."

“Then we had not screw this up then?”

"What if it does not work out? Us, I mean?" asked Maxine.

“Then we go and tell her together. Deal?”

Maxine smiled.
“Deal.”

"Good. Now, are you going to give me a dance?"

“Who will lead?” asked Maxine.

"Dumb question," muttered Hayley as she almost dragged Maxine onto the dancefloor.

---

Before Pauline and Sally left for their honeymoon, Sally came and found Maxine and Hayley.

"I see that something has happened between you two. Maxine, your Mum is very happy and that makes me happy.”
That made Maxine blush. Sally turned to Hayley.
“Hayley, take some time off and work out whatever it is that you two have to work out. I just want both of you to be happy with each other and what you decide for the future."

Maxine let out a small groan.
Sally looked concerned, but Hayley came to her rescue.

“Her gran has already read us the riot act.”

Sally laughed.
“That’s ok. Maxine’s Gran is not someone to get on the wrong side of. I was read it too when we told her about you Mum and me. I mean it Hayley, go and work out what the two of you want to do. If it does not work then, your job will be waiting for you but believe me, when I say that I… we wish the two of you well."

"Thanks, Sally and sorry for the groan."

"Don't worry about it, my new daughter. You could never hide your feelings from me. Now I have to go. Our ferry won't wait."

“Ferry?” exclaimed Maxine.
“Where are you going?”

“We have to get down to Portsmouth for todays’ ferry to Santander. We are going to Galicia for a week. Pauline knows that we are going abroad but nothing else. I have rented us a villa for the week. Very quiet and peaceful.”

“Have a good time,” said Hayley.

“Don’t forget what I said,” said Sally as she turned away.

---

Maxine steered Hayley away from the crowd as the newlyweds prepared to leave.
“Don’t you want to catch the bouquet?” asked Hayley.

“Bouquets. Plural. And, no, I don’t.”

Hayley gripped Maxine’s hand.
“Don’t want to appear in the spotlight then?”

“Exactly.”

“Then I’m good with that.”

---

“What do we do now?” asked Hayley once the happy couple had left.

“I was planning on going down to Devon. I have some papers to sign at the Solicitors on Monday.”

“Is this to do with the property that you are buying?”

“Yeah…”
It was clear to both of them that Maxine wanted to say more but couldn’t.

“Are you inviting me to come with you?”

"Yes. It will be your home as well, you know… If we make a go of this, that is?"

“You don’t sound so certain?”

Maxine looked Hayley right in the eye. Hayley gave a momentary shudder. This was more like the Maxine that she'd seen in Birmingham. Positive and to the point.

“It is not that. This is very much uncharted territory for both of us, isn’t it?”

"It is and, it makes me excited. What about you?"

“I’m not so sure.”

"Don't be afraid of falling flat on your face. You did that to me once before, remember?"

Maxine looked puzzled.

Hayley grinned.
“The first time you tried on a pair of high heels. You were trying to out-Dawn Dawn when it came to how high they were. You put them on, took one step and fell over.”

Maxine went red in the face.
“That wasn’t my finest hour, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

Maxine laughed.
“Dawn went back to that shop later and bought those very shoes. Those were the ones she fell off and twisted her ankle.”

“Oh! I’d forgotten about those shoes. That is the best sort of Karma striking home, isn’t it?”

"Without those shoes, the Maxine as you see here today might well not exist,” remarked Maxine.

“That’s where you are wrong. She was always there and just needed to find the right opportunity to be let loose on the world. I like to think that was what your Mum wanted to see as well. I know Dawn saw it when we were out shopping and hated you for it. Isn’t it true that your Mum, told you to be upfront with Sally?”

“She did. That was just as well as Sally saw right through me in a second. I was sort of prepared for being read but no way was I ready for what happened.”

“You didn’t pretend but were yourself. That’s what got you the job…”

“Humph!”

“Don’t go all ‘Humpfy’ on me. Are we going to go to Devon or what?”

“I think we are.”

"Good. Then let's head to my place where we can change out of these wedding duds!"

---

“There it is,” said Maxine.

“But…? It is a Farmhouse?” remarked Hayley.

"So? I'm only buying the buildings. Most of the land belongs to my friend Michel. He lives down the valley with his wife, Delphine. I get about twenty hectares of land.”

“What are you going to use that… that big shed for?”

"All in good time, my dear. Let me show you over the house. I know where the keys are kept."

“When does the sale complete?”

"In two days, all being well. The money has been with the lawyers for over a month, so hopefully, there won't be any last-minute hang-up's. I’m signing the last papers later today.”

Hayley looked worried.

Maxine smiled.
"Don't worry. When my home in Reigate is sold, I'll be well over two hundred grand in profit. I'll use that to make improvements to the property."

Hayley wasn’t convinced. Maxine could see that.

"I want your inputs on the changes to the house. It needs modernising, but I'd like something classic in the kitchen. None of that grey so-called contemporary stuff. I find grey so dull and lifeless.”

“Me?”

"Yes, you. Are you part of this team or not?"

“Well… yes.”

“Then this will be your home as well, won’t it?”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way before.”

Maxine smiled and looked at her friend. Things had moved on a lot between them since the wedding in Bristol only two days before.
“Better get used to it. I never want to move again.”

“Never?”

"Yes, never. This place is somewhere we can put our stamp on and make it ours."

“Sounds like you have everything worked out already?”

"I have an overall plan. If I didn't have some sort of idea about what I was going to do in the future, we would not be standing here today. As for the detail and implementation? Other than a few things, it is a huge void."

Maxine soon found the keys to the back door and let Hayley into the building. It seemed cold and lifeless. That was because it was empty of furniture and all the other ephemera that signifies a place being lived in. The only thing of significance that remained in the kitchen was a huge range cooker.

It was then that Maxine saw that Hayley was looking a bit worried. She was staring at the range cooker.

“That monster heats the house and hot water. It is wood-fired."

“No gas?”

“There never has been any gas to this property.”

“How will we keep warm in winter?”

“There are radiators supplied from this beast plus we will have plenty of electricity. A heat pump will supplement its output.”

“Isn’t that very expensive?”

Maxine grinned.
“Not when we generate it ourselves. I’ve already ordered solar panels for the roof of the barn.”

Hayley didn’t look convinced.

"Don't worry, Hayley. I'm sure that it will all work out in the long run."

“As I said before, you seem to have it all worked out already?”

“I have some of the major items sorted. I had to work out a lot before I said, 'yes, this is the place for me'. Beyond that, there is little or no detail. There will be plenty for us to argue over."

Hayley didn’t look convinced.

Maxine took her hand and squeezed it.
“My ultimate aim is to go off grid like our neighbour Michel has already done. I’m taking a lot of inspiration and help from him. He’s where we’ll get all our wood from. That’s his wood that we passed on our way up the drive. He coppices the trees mostly for charcoal but also for firewood. There are piles of it all over the wood drying out naturally. Four cubic metres of that is ours as soon as the sale completes.”

Hayley still didn’t look convinced about what Maxine was saying.

“Come on. Lets’ finish the tour outside, then we can go and meet Delphine and Michel.”
"I'm sure that they'd love to meet you, and then you can see their setup."

“Won’t they mind?”

Maxine chuckled.
“They’ll be only too pleased to see their neighbours.”

“Do you know them well?”

Maxine grinned.
“They have me to thank for introducing them in the first place. For Delphine, it was just about love at first sight. When you meet them, you will see why that is for yourself.”

“Oh?”

“Yes Oh! I first met Delphine when she was having a bit of trouble charging her car. I helped her out, and we became friends. I already knew Michel. He is a supplier to a business that I'm one of the owners."

"What sort of business? You have been very circumspect about what companies your business owns?"

“Sorry. I’ve sort of gotten rather protective of them since… since Adrian died. That’s business and for later. Right now, this is about us, isn’t it?”

Hayley smiled.

“The move is a big step for you, isn’t it?”

Maxine nodded.
"And you. Life down here will be very different to what you have experienced in the big city of Bristol or even small town, Trowbridge. Working for Sally is one thing, but Lorelei Investments is basically me… and soon to be you, I hope?”

Maxine squeezed Hayley’s hand.

"Michel runs a smallholding where he grows Herbs. He sells these to restaurants and hotels in the area. He also has a stall at the Saturday Farmers Market in Totnes. He also raises Ducks, Geese and Chickens. He and Delphine live totally off the grid. By that, I mean that they generate their own electricity. They even supply their own water."

"Isn't life a little difficult being off-grid?"

“Since he married Delphine, they have a dire need for more electrical power. The two of us have been working on a solution to resolve that. My end of that will be that two shipping containers may well be occupying one end of the barn before long. They will contain batteries that will store the electricity generated by the solar panels. My grand plan was to run the house off those batteries as well as being able to charge our cars."

“Our cars?”

“Yes, our cars,” replied Maxine.

“You have seen mine. Delphine has one just like it. She is a wickedly fast driver. You can have a car of your own as long as it is 100% electric.”

“You are really into this green revolution thing, aren’t you?”

"Why not? If there is no need to burn hydrocarbons, then don't. Once you meet Michel, his infectious enthusiasm will convince you that this is the way of the future."

Hayley wasn’t that impressed.
"Don't worry, Hayley. I was even more sceptical about all this stuff before Adrian put me on the board at the Hotel. Once I understood how much power they used, it was a no brainer to put in solar. In a couple of months, they should be self-sufficient for over half the year in Electricity consumption, and that includes providing charging for Electric Cars."

Maxine decided to change tack.
“Why don’t we go and see Michel and Delphine tomorrow. Then we can go to the Hotel after I sign the papers at the Solicitors in Totnes. Then you can relax for a bit. I’ll make sure that Jules cooks up something nice for us tonight. The Hotel is one of the businesses that I own a part of.”

“You don’t have to go to any trouble just for me?”

Maxine chuckled.
"This isn't for you. We always have something a bit special on the menu on Mondays. This is the quietest night of the week so putting on something different gets the punters in. The last time I was down here, we had 'Black Beef', slow-roasted. It was so good that it almost melted in the mouth."

She added,
"We are so lucky here. Almost every item on the menu is sourced from within twenty miles. If it is outside that, then it comes from Cornwall, Dorset or Somerset. Both the Hotel and the Pub in the Village have a very good reputation for their food."

“Pub?”

"Yeah. We bought a former hotel in the seaside village that is less than a mile from the hotel. We use the rooms above it as places to live for the Hotel Staff. The rest is a small pub with an attached Restaurant.

Hayley just shook her head. She'd heard about some of the projects that Maxine was involved in from Maxine's mother but seeing them up close and personal was a very different matter.

Maxine noticed a frown on Hayley’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I… I never expected things to be so big as this. The projects you are involved in seem huge.”

“Compared to things like building the second Severn Crossing, mine are small, close to minuscule, but there is a lot to get your head around at first. I felt totally out of my depth for a long time when I first went to work for Adrian. Then he shoved me in at the deep end and put me on the board of directors at the hotel. Luckily, Adrian knew what he was doing. Belinda and Nina are a great couple. They clocked me in a flash, but it didn't matter as Belinda is like me."

“As in Trans?”

Maxine nodded her head.
"It was through the purchase of the hotel that they managed that I got to eventually, know and meet Garth Samson."

"Your Mum told me about him. I'd never met a billionaire until the conference. I only had a brief chat with him on the phone about the conference, but he seemed a nice person.”

Maxine laughed.
“He is a very down to earth man from Kentucky which is totally the opposite to his reputation in business. He now lives over in Norfolk with his 3rd wife. You met her at the conference. He’s become an ardent birder, so Norfolk is like living in nirvana for him. He’s a nice guy unless you are from the media. Then it is no holds barred. Over in the US, he has a fearsome business reputation, but once you get to know him, he isn't so hard-nosed.”

Then Maxine said,
“Sorry, I was repeating myself. Garth is a one off sort of guy. I’ve seen both sides of him and I know which side I don’t want to be on.”

"I think, I understand, a bit.”

“I’m on the board of the charitable foundation that his wife runs. Over time, it will spend all his billions of dollars. I’ll have to take you with me the next time I go up there for a meeting.”

Hayley just shook her head. She had been doing that a lot in the past few days. This version of Maxine was proving to be a very different beast to the one she knew from their home in Trowbridge yet, underneath it all was the old Maxine.

---

Maxine emerged from her solicitors into the wintry late afternoon sun. For the first day in what seemed like weeks, it had stopped raining.
“That’s the last of the papers signed. Two days from now, I’ll be the owner of the cottage, the land and the buildings that go with it.”

“Unless you are gazumped?”

Maxine shook her head.
"I doubt it. The current owner Janice, and I agreed on a plan. If she pulled out once all the purchase price was in her solicitor's client account then she'd have to pay me twenty thousand. All she wanted was a quick sale without the complications of a chain. I was able to provide that.”

Hayley shook her head.
“I would not want to cross you in business.”

Maxine laughed.
“I had a very good teacher. For him and now me, it is straight down the line. I don’t get off playing one customer off against another. It just does not achieve much in the long run. I know that some businessmen and it is the men… do it for the sheer pleasure of it but the side effect is that those who do that get a bad reputation. It is like paying bills. With me, they are done at least a week before the due date. That way, companies know that we pay on time or before it. In many cases, that allows them to give us slightly better prices. For a small business to survive, is all about managing their cash flow. We have the cash in the bank and with interest rates close to zero, holding onto it does not earn the company much money in interest so why not pay your debts and get some goodwill in return. That is the whole ethos of the company.”

“What about the sharks, scammers and grifters?”

"In the age of social media, there is little that is bad that does not get posted sooner or later and usually sooner. Even though I have no real visible presence on those cesspits of drivel, my assistant Cliff does. He has become immune to the crap and can filter out the good from the bad, and the truly awful. Before I do any business with a company or an individual, I make sure that I know an awful lot about them. That is both good and bad. That allows me to make up my mind when we finally meet. If I get a bad vibe despite good reports from Cliff, I walk away. I watched Adrian do that on more than one occasion. Am I making sense?"

“That’s the Boy Scout in you coming out?”

Maxine laughed. Her former self, Tom, had briefly been a scout. Their motto of 'Be Prepared' was how Adrian and now Maxine approached their business dealings.

"If you put it that way, then yes. But Adrian was also always prepared to simply walk away from any deal, even at the last minute. It takes a lot of guts to do that."

"Have… have you ever had to do that? You know, pull out of a deal at the last minute?"

Maxine shook her head.

"No, thank god. I've never been closer than a week before the deal was due to be signed. But… those are very rare occasions. The first time it happened to me, Adrian was still alive. He told me to sit back, watch and learn. The company in question was taken over by some Vulture Capitalists less than a month later. Within six months they'd sold all the assets, licensed production to somewhere in India. They made all their UK staff redundant. A year after that, they sold the business at a great profit and a huge debt burden for the people who bought it. It went bust less than a year after that. I decided that was not the way I wanted to do business.”

---

[That evening over dinner at the hotel]

“What do you think so far?” asked Maxine.

“I'm not sure. There is one thing that I do know, and that is you can't carry on like you are."

“What do you mean?”

Hayley didn’t reply for a few seconds.

“The load is all on you. You are the company. What would happen if you were run over by a bus?”

Maxine smiled.
“I have asked myself that very same question many times since Adrian passed.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“What answer did you come up with?”

“None. A big fat zero.”

“Isn’t succession planning a big part of business and its success? Weren’t you the planned successor to Adrian?”

“You got me there. Are you up for the job?”

Hayley laughed and shook her head at the same time. Maxine remained impassive.

Then Hayley asked,
“You are serious, aren’t you?”

[to be continued]