The Exciting Life by Karen Mason Read Free Book Online Page A

her, offering his
hand.
    ‘ Yes,’ she replied. ‘Mr Glass?’
    ‘ Mr Glass junior,’ he smiled, causing dimples to form in his
cheeks. He was the most attractive man she’d met since Patrick. ‘My
father isn’t feeling too well today so he’s asked me to see
you.’
    ‘ Oh I see. I can come back if it’s inconvenient.’
    ‘ No, I like being here. It reminds me of being a boy and Dad
bringing me to work. I know the business like the back of my hand,
so I think I can manage. But, this isn’t the most salubrious office
in the world. How about I take you round the building, so you can
have a look; then we grab lunch somewhere more
glamorous?’
    ‘ Sounds good to me…’
    ‘ Eddie.’
    ‘ Sounds good to me Eddie, thanks.’
    He
strode off and Annie followed, feeling rather pleased at this nice
surprise. It was always a treat to meet a handsome man; and since
Patrick’s rejection of her in favour of Iris, she’d been feeling
pretty neglected in that department. Not that she knew anything
about Eddie Glass. He was probably married with a hundred children.
But he was nice to look at and there was no harm in
looking.
    He ran
up a flight of rather rickety stairs, while Annie held tightly onto
the piece of rope at the side, to steady herself. When he got to
the top, he looked down at her and smiled playfully, his blue eyes
twinkling.
    ‘ Come on Slow Coach,’ he teased.
    ‘ I’m scared my foot will go through one of these stairs,’ she
fretted, positive they were swaying.
    ‘ Rubbish. These have had three generations of Glass men running
up and down them.’
    When she
got to the top, Eddie grasped her arm and pulled her up onto the
landing. Part of Annie objected to him handling her roughly.
Another part of her quite enjoyed it.
    He let
go of her and walked into the large workshop. It looked like a
Victorian sweatshop – with half the windows boarded up; one of the
electric lights not working and the brick-work chipped and cracked
in places. Elderly men sat over their workstations, hammering and
cutting bits of leather.
    ‘ Who do you make shoes for?’ Annie asked loudly, over the
noise.
    ‘ Mostly Adams, Forbes and Delawares.’
    ‘ Shoe shops then?’
    ‘ Yes.’
    ‘ But my shoes are going to be exclusive.’
    He
looked at her and pretended to be offended.
    ‘ We can handle that.’
    ‘ Those men look very old. Are you sure it’s good for them to be
sitting like that all day?’
    ‘ It’s all they know. Dad looks after them, don’t you
worry.’
    He
walked off and Annie followed. Across the way was a canteen area.
It was small but clean, and behind a little counter in the corner
was a chubby woman wiping a tea urn.
    ‘ Who’s your girlfriend Bubbelah?’ she asked.
    ‘ She’s not my girlfriend Aunty May,’ Eddie laughed. ‘Miss
Holland wants us to make shoes for her.’
    ‘ Does she now?’ May replied. ‘What shop do you work for
love?’
    ‘ I don’t. I have my own company,’ Annie replied.
    ‘ Well, we don’t have many like you round here. Lot of your
sorts take their work abroad nowadays.’
    ‘ No, I want to keep it in England.’
    ‘ Well good for you.’
    Eddie
left and headed back down the stairs. Annie hated the thought of
walking down them – they seemed almost vertical. Like a gentlemen,
Eddie held out his hand and she took it and let him guide her down.
When they got to the bottom, he led her into a room where great
sheets of leather hung up ready to be made into shoes. The smell
was horrible and Annie quickly walked out.
    ‘ You’ve got to get used to the smell of leather if you’re going
to make shoes,’ Eddie laughed.
    ‘ I’m not the one making them,’ she retorted.
    Sliding
into the car and feeling the cool leather interior against her skin
brought back so many memories of being with Mario to Annie, and she
felt strangely at home. Eddie got in, and she liked the thought of
sitting in a beautiful car with a handsome man in a well-cut suit
beside her. It was