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Description
"Here's your cappuccino sir, and your mocha will be coming right up," Jenna Winters smiled at the well dressed customer as she handed him the small cup. In the corner of her eye she saw her friend and employee Helen Goldman preparing the mocha for the man next to him.
"Thank you Jenna," he said, clearly reading from her name tag. As his piercing blue eyes returned to meet hers, she had to give him credit, it was the only time he'd looked at her chest. His eyes were amazing though.
"You're welcome," she nodded back and he smiled a devastatingly handsome smile, which with his blue eyes could entrance a woman if she wasn't careful. His sand-coloured hair was swept back and fit his chiselled features. Out of her reach though, she thought to herself. By the cut of his dark suit, she could tell that he'd some serious money, that was also shown by his ring and cufflinks. Next moment Helen turned around with the mocha in hand.
"Here you are sir," she said with her cute smile. He too was a handsome man. Short, brown hair with rugged features and a ready smile. He wore a suit without a tie and it looked a little mussed, if clean. Both men appeared to be in good shape.

"Thank you, how much do I owe you?" the redhead asked.
"That'll be six pound and fifteen pence." The redhead reached inside of his jacket and retrieved an Amex, running it through the credit card reader which Jenna produced.
"So, do you ladies like working here?"
"I do, it is a fun job," Jenna answered.
"Yeah, it is a good job," Helen said. "Jenna is a great boss though and that makes a difference." The man’s eyebrows went up, he almost looked a little embarrassed.
"Oh sorry, you are the manager."
"I'm also the owner," she told him.

"I must remind myself to avoid making assumptions," he grinned. "I'm Gavin and my friend here is Dave. You have a lovely place, Jenna, and equally lovely employees." He was putting on the charm and Jenna could see a slight interest in her contained in his gaze and polite smile. Dave seemed to be giving her a subtle once over as well.
"Thank you Gavin. It is always nice to hear it, I'm proud of the place," Jenna replied. "I opened last August and we've just reached break-even, and with better spring weather we'll hopefully do better too," she glanced through the rain-stricken big window at the empty outdoor section, where rivulets of water ran down tilted chairs and congregated in puddles. Then she returned her gaze to her guest. "I've seen you in here before, Gavin, so tell me, what brings you back? Is it the atmosphere or the location? I like feedback and I'd appreciate any critique you can give me." Jenna went on, trying to sound professional, but damn it, if she wasn't a bit flirty too.
"Both I think. I work nearby and I'm addicted to your cappuccinos." He turned and looked over the place. He pointed at some of the paintings, mostly prints from Victorian London, that adorned the walls. "It is a calm place without being boring. The ambient piano music is a good choice by the way. No lyrics to distract, but not so downbeat it chases away customers. On the other hand, it is a bit cold in here, perhaps you could crank up the heater a few notches," he finished his critique. Jenna had to admit she was pleased with his response. She knew it was cold though, but there was nothing she could do about it but talking to the landlord, which she'd done several times around.

Dave was interested in the pastries and Helen went with him to the other end of the counter where the display was, to help him decide. She was always a little flirty. It was good for business and fun to watch. Although something about Gavin kept Jenna's attention.
"I worked as a barista earlier and when I inherited some money, I decided to open my own café. I knew what worked and what didn’t." Helen came back down after finding the apfelstrudel Dave wanted, and he was deploying his Amex once again.

"Well ladies we won't keep you longer," Dave said. "We're holding up the line. I'll spread the word about Green Door Corner in any case." Then Gavin and Dave went over to a window table and Jenna went over to take care of the next few customers, who also took tables, making the medium sized room about half-filled. The other nice thing Gavin hadn't mentioned about the music was that it was piped into the customer area but not behind the counter. The sound around the customers kept them from over hearing what was being said behind the counter. Jenna had seen many, otherwise good baristas, fired due to overheard comments.

"Wow!" Helen exclaimed with a slight grin. "That was cool. Those guys are hot, don't you think Jenna?" Jenna glanced over to where Gavin and Dave were sitting, they were looking out the window and chatting.
"I guess. A little out of our league though. At least Gavin is. Did you see his cuff links?"
Helen laughed. "You don't know who he is?" Jenna shook her head.

"You need to read the paper more, boss. Wait!" Helen left the counter and walked over to the magazine stand in the corner. Jenna tried to fill it with a miscellany of reading goods, to carter for every kind of customer that used to come here, thus it carried everything from The Times to a Hip hop magazine she had to admit she'd hardly even browsed through. But some of the school-skipping lads used to grab it when they stopped by in the weekday afternoons. Helen returned with a business magazine and placed it on the counter and started to leaf through, while Jenna filled up coffee for one of their regulars, an old lady with her dog who almost always came around this time a day. As a matter of fact, Jenna hadn't seen Daisy in a while now, and it had her slightly worried, but upon welcoming Daisy and her little Dolly back, Daisy told that she'd been up in Edinburgh visiting her sister. They exchanged a few more words, then Daisy took her coffee and the water tray for her dog and went to her usual corner table.

Meanwhile Helen had apparently found what she was looking for.
"See that tower!" she pointed to a picture in the magazine. "The one with the trees on top?" Jenna looked where she was pointing and recognized the building.
"It's the Eco Tower. Almost completely self-sufficient, I did read about that," Jenna said a little defensively. "Gavin Anderson is the owner, he likes to stay under the radar but he has five completely self sufficient business towers in the U.K. Then a handful in the U.S. and the rest of the EU. And one in Tokyo and another in Moscow if I remember correctly. Dave I don't know, but he obviously works with Gavin."

As ditzy as Helen could be she certainly was surprising about what caught her attention. Jenna's theory was that she liked the dumb blond tag so she could surprise people. Her stupidity was as faux as her blond hair, as a matter of fact, and only someone who met her daily, like Jenna, could tell the darker roots in both.

Jenna looked up from the magazine and gazed around the room. No one was at the counter waiting and all the customers looked occupied, even little Dolly who was sniffing with great interest at something beneath a chair. She then glanced at Helen, who had began collecting dishes and left-overs from two tables where six school-girls had just left. Helen was very curvy and a little shorter than Jenna. She called herself fat but she was not, as far as Jenna was concerned. She wore her apron snug around her waist and her blouse showed of her medium-sized breasts to good effect. With her heart-shaped face and cheery smile she was a great barista. She and Jenna had become fast friends shortly after Jenna had hired her and Jenna was hoping to make Helen a manager one day. One day when she got money enough to open up a second shop, albeit that was still sometimes in the unforeseeable future.

Jenna wore the same white blouse and black skirt with a green apron that caught up the colour of the door that had given the place its name. She had her curly, black hair up in a functional ponytail and she was recently taken to wearing snug sports bras so her larger chest was not quite the distraction to her male customers. She was proud though, of being able to keep her waist trim although her hips made sure she was considered voluptuous too. She learned long ago to accept what she was and that people came in as many forms and shapes and colours as it was possible to imagine and then some, and all were worth respect.

She served an elegant-looking, sad-eyed lady who bought a take-away pie. This woman, Sonya, spoke with a faint French accent, and she always wanted either the cheese pie or the chicken pie so Jenna made sure to always tuck away at least one of every kind the days she knew that Sonya might stop by.
"Thank you, Jenna," Sonya said and fought to smile, but it had a hard time reaching her fudge brown eyes. One day, Jenna hoped that Sonya would say something more, so that Jenna could begin fishing around why it was that Sonya was so moody. But she always said very little before taking her pie and walking out the door again, back straight as a rod and her long legs managing the impressive heels like a pro.

Moments later, she watched Dave and Gavin leave too, the latter waving his hand at them.
"Have a great day!" Jenna called out. she tried to say that to every customer, but she caught a different tone to this time, more personal. They had got to her, and it wasn't just about Gavin being Mr Eco Tower, far from it. She'd been affected with him even if he'd been a bus driver or something similar.

Now, the rain was holding up, so Jenna turned to Helen. "We'd better see if we can fix that tilted sun screen, would you give me a hand! Now when it's a bit quiet inside."
"Sure thing," Helen said and pushed the last tray with dishes in the trolley. "Be right with you!"

********

"Say hey babies, what’s your name babies, what’s your name!" came a rude call from a couple of passing young men as the women were struggling with the sun screen. They turned as they passed, leering at them and looking our bodies up and down. "Wanna go out on a date, babies. We could show ya a good time ya know!"
"You guys couldn't handle us," Helen shot back to them, waving them away. "Move along, there is nothing to see here!"

Jenna laughed. Helen was good at making her laugh, but that obviously didn't please the young punks.
"What's your problem bitch, you think you are all that! You ain’t nothing, you thinking we are nothing?" The men were now stalking menacingly toward Helen and Jenna. They looked mean and the tattoos she noticed on the skinny one gave off an ominous feeling. But just before they reached the woman, now backed up against the shop window, a policeman called out. "Hey, what are you two doing?!" he then came rushing down the street. "Get out of here and leave these ladies alone. I have warned you and I will haul your ass in. Go on, scram!" He was a big man and the punks backed, off glaring at the women, but speaking to the cop.

"We didn't mean anything by it, we just playing." They turned and hasted off down the street glancing back now and then. And Jenna felt how her heart rate started going down.
"Thank you officer," Helen said and Jenna joined her.
"Yes thank you very much," Jenna echoed, she noticed a few of her visitors had come out too. It was nice to know they like her enough to take an interest.

"No worries ladies, it’s my job," the young policeman said. "If they bother you again, just give us a call! Those kids are a pain in the ass."
"May I offer you a cup of coffee," Jenna said in return. "On the house."

The policeman declined, telling it was against their regulation accepting anything for free from the public while on service, and she understood him fully. As she watched him get on his bike and thunder off, she tried to shake the uncomfortable feel that had settled in her belly. Something told her that the problem with the tattooed men wasn't over with the policeman's interruption.

********

Jenna finished the dishes and put them on the drying rack, wishing that her little apartment had a dishwasher. Someday, she told herself, she wouldn't be living above her café either. She could not complain though, it was a nice little two-roomer and it was convenient to live here. Not to mention it came with the rent on her café, which made the apartment a tax write-off.

Helen came out of the bathroom and down the miniscule hall. "Thanks for dinner Jenna! I wish you'd let me clean up one of these days."
Jenna grinned at her. "Not until you let me clean up at your place next time."

Jenna and Helen invited each other to dinner at their respective homes once a week after work. It was a fun routine they both cherished. Relaxing with a friend every now and then was a great break from work.
"I think I changed my mind about this place." Helen said while putting on her grey suede hoodie. Jenna was surprised, her friend had never liked the idea of living above your place of work.
"What brought that about?" she asked as she handed Helen a plate of wrapped, leftover paella.
"I don't know, I think it is because you do keep downstairs separate from up here. I never see invoices or receipts lying around in the apartment. For a workaholic like you that must be hard. I'm proud of you." She gave Jenna a hug that was returned warmly.
"That is your fault honey. You've taught me to not mix business with pleasure. I appreciate your support."

Helen smiled a natural, warm smile, which not everybody got to see. Jenna always felt honoured by it. "Not a problem. I'll always do what I can. Before you ask, yes I'm taking a taxi home."

Jenna laughed. Helen was right, Jenna had been about to ask, she didn't like her friend walking home after dark, especially not after the incident outside the café earlier that day. Spring was not that far along yet but it was still getting dark early. Not that the neighbourhood was that bad, it was just you never knew in this city. They said their goodbyes and Helen left. Jenna went into the living room and looked out the window to see Helen wave a cab over. Just as the black vehicle pulled up by the kerb, she turned and waved at Jenna with an obvious laugh. 'Caught', Jenna thought with a smile.

Then she returned to the kitchen and filled up that last glass of wine before she flung herself in the sofa. She switched on the TV, but she didn't pay attention to what was going on. First she was shaken back to the uncomfortable event with the tattooed men. Hadn't that policeman showed up when he did...

To distract herself, Jenna curved her mind to the reminiscence of Gavin Anderson instead. That billionaire was handsome, sure enough. From the way his clothes hung on him she could tell he was muscular and fit, and she caught herself wondering what he might look like outside that Hugo Boss two-suit.

"Jenna, Jenna," she then scolded herself and sipped of her wine. Why would someone like him show interest in a small business owner like her. A man who could have his pick of any beautiful woman in the world. On the other hand, Dave might be more Jenna's fit. He didn't seem so upper crust. Dave was the sort of man who got that sort of reaction from her too. It had been a long time since she had felt that. Ron had been his name, but she hardly recalled his face. So it had obviously not been so strong.

She finished her wine and decided it was time to go to bed. As she removed her make-up, she remembered something Helen had said about her tendencies to be OCD. "Once a day do something to sabotage yourself. Nothing big, but in little ways. Shake yourself up." she giggled to herself and finished with her night cream. That one was of an expensive brand, then again, she indulged herself, because it did keep the wrinkles away, at least somehow. She didn't want to end up like her mother, the air stewardess, who'd tanned herself into a pattern of wrinkles criss-crossing her face before reaching fifty. Jenna might be but 32, but she thought it better to be prepared in good time. That, and staying away from the sun.

"On the other hand, daddy don't seem to care," she laughed softly as she crawled into bed. "Then again, he's rather patterned too. It's just me and big sister blowing things out of proportions," she thought, thinking of Jasmine and her husband and their three wild kids. It didn't take long before she was asleep.

In her dream, Jenna was in Hyde Park along the pond, sitting on a white blanket and was startled to find that she was in a white teddy with net stockings and a garter. It was very revealing yet for some reason it didn't seem strange. Nor did it seem strange that Gavin Anderson was on the blanket with her, wearing silk boxers and nothing else. His muscular chest was breath-taking. Gavin offered a crystal flute of champagne and fed her a piece of designer chocolate. As she swallowed the marvellous confection, Gavin touched her cheek, staring into her eyes. Such a powerful man with so much tenderness caused a warmth deep inside that made her flush. His hand moved down her neck to her shoulder and began slipping the shoulder strap of her top down.

Then there was an alarm that made her jerk and suddenly she was sitting up in bed. The warmth inside her remained until she looked at her clock and realized the alarm was fifteen minutes early. No! It was not the morning alarm. It was the alarm for her café!

Description
"Here's your cappuccino sir, and your mocha will be coming right up," Jenna Winters smiled at the well dressed customer as she handed him the small cup. In the corner of her eye she saw her friend and employee Helen Goldman preparing the mocha for the man next to him.
"Thank you Jenna," he said, clearly reading from her name tag. As his piercing blue eyes returned to meet hers, she had to give him credit, it was the only time he'd looked at her chest. His eyes were amazing though.
"You're welcome," she nodded back and he smiled a devastatingly handsome smile, which with his blue eyes could entrance a woman if she wasn't careful. His sand-coloured hair was swept back and fit his chiselled features. Out of her reach though, she thought to herself. By the cut of his dark suit, she could tell that he'd some serious money, that was also shown by his ring and cufflinks. Next moment Helen turned around with the mocha in hand.
"Here you are sir," she said with her cute smile. He too was a handsome man. Short, brown hair with rugged features and a ready smile. He wore a suit without a tie and it looked a little mussed, if clean. Both men appeared to be in good shape.

"Thank you, how much do I owe you?" the redhead asked.
"That'll be six pound and fifteen pence." The redhead reached inside of his jacket and retrieved an Amex, running it through the credit card reader which Jenna produced.
"So, do you ladies like working here?"
"I do, it is a fun job," Jenna answered.
"Yeah, it is a good job," Helen said. "Jenna is a great boss though and that makes a difference." The man’s eyebrows went up, he almost looked a little embarrassed.
"Oh sorry, you are the manager."
"I'm also the owner," she told him.

"I must remind myself to avoid making assumptions," he grinned. "I'm Gavin and my friend here is Dave. You have a lovely place, Jenna, and equally lovely employees." He was putting on the charm and Jenna could see a slight interest in her contained in his gaze and polite smile. Dave seemed to be giving her a subtle once over as well.
"Thank you Gavin. It is always nice to hear it, I'm proud of the place," Jenna replied. "I opened last August and we've just reached break-even, and with better spring weather we'll hopefully do better too," she glanced through the rain-stricken big window at the empty outdoor section, where rivulets of water ran down tilted chairs and congregated in puddles. Then she returned her gaze to her guest. "I've seen you in here before, Gavin, so tell me, what brings you back? Is it the atmosphere or the location? I like feedback and I'd appreciate any critique you can give me." Jenna went on, trying to sound professional, but damn it, if she wasn't a bit flirty too.
"Both I think. I work nearby and I'm addicted to your cappuccinos." He turned and looked over the place. He pointed at some of the paintings, mostly prints from Victorian London, that adorned the walls. "It is a calm place without being boring. The ambient piano music is a good choice by the way. No lyrics to distract, but not so downbeat it chases away customers. On the other hand, it is a bit cold in here, perhaps you could crank up the heater a few notches," he finished his critique. Jenna had to admit she was pleased with his response. She knew it was cold though, but there was nothing she could do about it but talking to the landlord, which she'd done several times around.

Dave was interested in the pastries and Helen went with him to the other end of the counter where the display was, to help him decide. She was always a little flirty. It was good for business and fun to watch. Although something about Gavin kept Jenna's attention.
"I worked as a barista earlier and when I inherited some money, I decided to open my own café. I knew what worked and what didn’t." Helen came back down after finding the apfelstrudel Dave wanted, and he was deploying his Amex once again.

"Well ladies we won't keep you longer," Dave said. "We're holding up the line. I'll spread the word about Green Door Corner in any case." Then Gavin and Dave went over to a window table and Jenna went over to take care of the next few customers, who also took tables, making the medium sized room about half-filled. The other nice thing Gavin hadn't mentioned about the music was that it was piped into the customer area but not behind the counter. The sound around the customers kept them from over hearing what was being said behind the counter. Jenna had seen many, otherwise good baristas, fired due to overheard comments.

"Wow!" Helen exclaimed with a slight grin. "That was cool. Those guys are hot, don't you think Jenna?" Jenna glanced over to where Gavin and Dave were sitting, they were looking out the window and chatting.
"I guess. A little out of our league though. At least Gavin is. Did you see his cuff links?"
Helen laughed. "You don't know who he is?" Jenna shook her head.

"You need to read the paper more, boss. Wait!" Helen left the counter and walked over to the magazine stand in the corner. Jenna tried to fill it with a miscellany of reading goods, to carter for every kind of customer that used to come here, thus it carried everything from The Times to a Hip hop magazine she had to admit she'd hardly even browsed through. But some of the school-skipping lads used to grab it when they stopped by in the weekday afternoons. Helen returned with a business magazine and placed it on the counter and started to leaf through, while Jenna filled up coffee for one of their regulars, an old lady with her dog who almost always came around this time a day. As a matter of fact, Jenna hadn't seen Daisy in a while now, and it had her slightly worried, but upon welcoming Daisy and her little Dolly back, Daisy told that she'd been up in Edinburgh visiting her sister. They exchanged a few more words, then Daisy took her coffee and the water tray for her dog and went to her usual corner table.

Meanwhile Helen had apparently found what she was looking for.
"See that tower!" she pointed to a picture in the magazine. "The one with the trees on top?" Jenna looked where she was pointing and recognized the building.
"It's the Eco Tower. Almost completely self-sufficient, I did read about that," Jenna said a little defensively. "Gavin Anderson is the owner, he likes to stay under the radar but he has five completely self sufficient business towers in the U.K. Then a handful in the U.S. and the rest of the EU. And one in Tokyo and another in Moscow if I remember correctly. Dave I don't know, but he obviously works with Gavin."

As ditzy as Helen could be she certainly was surprising about what caught her attention. Jenna's theory was that she liked the dumb blond tag so she could surprise people. Her stupidity was as faux as her blond hair, as a matter of fact, and only someone who met her daily, like Jenna, could tell the darker roots in both.

Jenna looked up from the magazine and gazed around the room. No one was at the counter waiting and all the customers looked occupied, even little Dolly who was sniffing with great interest at something beneath a chair. She then glanced at Helen, who had began collecting dishes and left-overs from two tables where six school-girls had just left. Helen was very curvy and a little shorter than Jenna. She called herself fat but she was not, as far as Jenna was concerned. She wore her apron snug around her waist and her blouse showed of her medium-sized breasts to good effect. With her heart-shaped face and cheery smile she was a great barista. She and Jenna had become fast friends shortly after Jenna had hired her and Jenna was hoping to make Helen a manager one day. One day when she got money enough to open up a second shop, albeit that was still sometimes in the unforeseeable future.

Jenna wore the same white blouse and black skirt with a green apron that caught up the colour of the door that had given the place its name. She had her curly, black hair up in a functional ponytail and she was recently taken to wearing snug sports bras so her larger chest was not quite the distraction to her male customers. She was proud though, of being able to keep her waist trim although her hips made sure she was considered voluptuous too. She learned long ago to accept what she was and that people came in as many forms and shapes and colours as it was possible to imagine and then some, and all were worth respect.

She served an elegant-looking, sad-eyed lady who bought a take-away pie. This woman, Sonya, spoke with a faint French accent, and she always wanted either the cheese pie or the chicken pie so Jenna made sure to always tuck away at least one of every kind the days she knew that Sonya might stop by.
"Thank you, Jenna," Sonya said and fought to smile, but it had a hard time reaching her fudge brown eyes. One day, Jenna hoped that Sonya would say something more, so that Jenna could begin fishing around why it was that Sonya was so moody. But she always said very little before taking her pie and walking out the door again, back straight as a rod and her long legs managing the impressive heels like a pro.

Moments later, she watched Dave and Gavin leave too, the latter waving his hand at them.
"Have a great day!" Jenna called out. she tried to say that to every customer, but she caught a different tone to this time, more personal. They had got to her, and it wasn't just about Gavin being Mr Eco Tower, far from it. She'd been affected with him even if he'd been a bus driver or something similar.

Now, the rain was holding up, so Jenna turned to Helen. "We'd better see if we can fix that tilted sun screen, would you give me a hand! Now when it's a bit quiet inside."
"Sure thing," Helen said and pushed the last tray with dishes in the trolley. "Be right with you!"

********

"Say hey babies, what’s your name babies, what’s your name!" came a rude call from a couple of passing young men as the women were struggling with the sun screen. They turned as they passed, leering at them and looking our bodies up and down. "Wanna go out on a date, babies. We could show ya a good time ya know!"
"You guys couldn't handle us," Helen shot back to them, waving them away. "Move along, there is nothing to see here!"

Jenna laughed. Helen was good at making her laugh, but that obviously didn't please the young punks.
"What's your problem bitch, you think you are all that! You ain’t nothing, you thinking we are nothing?" The men were now stalking menacingly toward Helen and Jenna. They looked mean and the tattoos she noticed on the skinny one gave off an ominous feeling. But just before they reached the woman, now backed up against the shop window, a policeman called out. "Hey, what are you two doing?!" he then came rushing down the street. "Get out of here and leave these ladies alone. I have warned you and I will haul your ass in. Go on, scram!" He was a big man and the punks backed, off glaring at the women, but speaking to the cop.

"We didn't mean anything by it, we just playing." They turned and hasted off down the street glancing back now and then. And Jenna felt how her heart rate started going down.
"Thank you officer," Helen said and Jenna joined her.
"Yes thank you very much," Jenna echoed, she noticed a few of her visitors had come out too. It was nice to know they like her enough to take an interest.

"No worries ladies, it’s my job," the young policeman said. "If they bother you again, just give us a call! Those kids are a pain in the ass."
"May I offer you a cup of coffee," Jenna said in return. "On the house."

The policeman declined, telling it was against their regulation accepting anything for free from the public while on service, and she understood him fully. As she watched him get on his bike and thunder off, she tried to shake the uncomfortable feel that had settled in her belly. Something told her that the problem with the tattooed men wasn't over with the policeman's interruption.

********

Jenna finished the dishes and put them on the drying rack, wishing that her little apartment had a dishwasher. Someday, she told herself, she wouldn't be living above her café either. She could not complain though, it was a nice little two-roomer and it was convenient to live here. Not to mention it came with the rent on her café, which made the apartment a tax write-off.

Helen came out of the bathroom and down the miniscule hall. "Thanks for dinner Jenna! I wish you'd let me clean up one of these days."
Jenna grinned at her. "Not until you let me clean up at your place next time."

Jenna and Helen invited each other to dinner at their respective homes once a week after work. It was a fun routine they both cherished. Relaxing with a friend every now and then was a great break from work.
"I think I changed my mind about this place." Helen said while putting on her grey suede hoodie. Jenna was surprised, her friend had never liked the idea of living above your place of work.
"What brought that about?" she asked as she handed Helen a plate of wrapped, leftover paella.
"I don't know, I think it is because you do keep downstairs separate from up here. I never see invoices or receipts lying around in the apartment. For a workaholic like you that must be hard. I'm proud of you." She gave Jenna a hug that was returned warmly.
"That is your fault honey. You've taught me to not mix business with pleasure. I appreciate your support."

Helen smiled a natural, warm smile, which not everybody got to see. Jenna always felt honoured by it. "Not a problem. I'll always do what I can. Before you ask, yes I'm taking a taxi home."

Jenna laughed. Helen was right, Jenna had been about to ask, she didn't like her friend walking home after dark, especially not after the incident outside the café earlier that day. Spring was not that far along yet but it was still getting dark early. Not that the neighbourhood was that bad, it was just you never knew in this city. They said their goodbyes and Helen left. Jenna went into the living room and looked out the window to see Helen wave a cab over. Just as the black vehicle pulled up by the kerb, she turned and waved at Jenna with an obvious laugh. 'Caught', Jenna thought with a smile.

Then she returned to the kitchen and filled up that last glass of wine before she flung herself in the sofa. She switched on the TV, but she didn't pay attention to what was going on. First she was shaken back to the uncomfortable event with the tattooed men. Hadn't that policeman showed up when he did...

To distract herself, Jenna curved her mind to the reminiscence of Gavin Anderson instead. That billionaire was handsome, sure enough. From the way his clothes hung on him she could tell he was muscular and fit, and she caught herself wondering what he might look like outside that Hugo Boss two-suit.

"Jenna, Jenna," she then scolded herself and sipped of her wine. Why would someone like him show interest in a small business owner like her. A man who could have his pick of any beautiful woman in the world. On the other hand, Dave might be more Jenna's fit. He didn't seem so upper crust. Dave was the sort of man who got that sort of reaction from her too. It had been a long time since she had felt that. Ron had been his name, but she hardly recalled his face. So it had obviously not been so strong.

She finished her wine and decided it was time to go to bed. As she removed her make-up, she remembered something Helen had said about her tendencies to be OCD. "Once a day do something to sabotage yourself. Nothing big, but in little ways. Shake yourself up." she giggled to herself and finished with her night cream. That one was of an expensive brand, then again, she indulged herself, because it did keep the wrinkles away, at least somehow. She didn't want to end up like her mother, the air stewardess, who'd tanned herself into a pattern of wrinkles criss-crossing her face before reaching fifty. Jenna might be but 32, but she thought it better to be prepared in good time. That, and staying away from the sun.

"On the other hand, daddy don't seem to care," she laughed softly as she crawled into bed. "Then again, he's rather patterned too. It's just me and big sister blowing things out of proportions," she thought, thinking of Jasmine and her husband and their three wild kids. It didn't take long before she was asleep.

In her dream, Jenna was in Hyde Park along the pond, sitting on a white blanket and was startled to find that she was in a white teddy with net stockings and a garter. It was very revealing yet for some reason it didn't seem strange. Nor did it seem strange that Gavin Anderson was on the blanket with her, wearing silk boxers and nothing else. His muscular chest was breath-taking. Gavin offered a crystal flute of champagne and fed her a piece of designer chocolate. As she swallowed the marvellous confection, Gavin touched her cheek, staring into her eyes. Such a powerful man with so much tenderness caused a warmth deep inside that made her flush. His hand moved down her neck to her shoulder and began slipping the shoulder strap of her top down.

Then there was an alarm that made her jerk and suddenly she was sitting up in bed. The warmth inside her remained until she looked at her clock and realized the alarm was fifteen minutes early. No! It was not the morning alarm. It was the alarm for her café!