Chapter 19

Rory

For Friday, we had booked a table at Luccini's for seven fifteen pm. It was arranged that John would drive us to pick up Kenny and then Marjory and he would drop us off at the restaurant around seven pm. We arrange that he would pick us up from the restaurant at nine thirty pm. When we arrived at the place Jessie gave us a warm welcome as we entered and said to me with a grin,

"Your table awaits you sir, would you please follow me."

She led us to a table which was set in a small bay window at the side of the restaurant. This created a little bit of privacy as it was the furthest from any other table.

Once we were seated she said to Kenny with a smile,

"Welcome to Luccini's Restaurant Kenny. It is nice to see you and Marjory here as the guests of Rory and Rebecca. They are special customers and guarantee that the service will be even better than our usual high standards."

Marjory smiled back at her and said,

"Thank you Jessie."

"I hope you will enjoy your evening," Jessie told her, "And that you will return to sample our wares at some future date. Would you like to order drinks now or will I return for your order when you have made up your mind?"

"I think we will order now Jessie" I told her. "Rebecca and I will have a diet coke."

Kenny and Marjory ordered the same and Jessie went off to fetch our orders.

"I did not know that Jessie worked as a waitress," Kenny said, "But then her name is Luccini so I suppose there is a family connection."

"Her mum and dad own the restaurant," Rebecca told him, "So when they are busy she helps out."

"Was she really giving us special treatment or was she just putting on a show because it was us?" Marjory asked.

I felt this would give us a lead into the business we were here to discuss, so I thought I would let them know why we were made so welcome.

"No she wasn't putting on a show" I told them. "We really are special customers. You see just recently McFarlane enterprises bought a stake in his Restaurant to enable them to continue with their expansion plans. So Rebecca's family are now shareholders."

Kenny looked a bit puzzled at this and asked.

"Why would a big organisation like McFarlane Enterprises be interested in a small restaurant business like this?" He asked.

Just at that Jessie brought us our drinks and laid the menus before us.

"Thanks Jessie," I said, "I will give you the nod when we are ready to order."

She smiled and left us to get on with it. Before picking up her menu Rebecca answered Kenny

"Well these are hard times for small businesses", Rebecca told him. "Rory came up with an idea how we could help them out and my father decided to put it into practice."

"In what way?" Marjorie asked.

"Let's order, I interjected. "And then we can carry on our discussion."

When everyone had decided what to have I signalled to Jessie and she came and took our orders. Once she departed, I then answered her question.

"Small businesses are having a hard time getting loans from banks because of the credit squeeze," I told them. "And they are being less than helpful to those who have already borrowed for expansion by raising their interest rates even at a time when the base rate has never been lower, So McFarlane enterprises has stepped in to assist them because they play a very valuable part in our economy. We have decided to do this by making funds available if we think they are a viable enterprise. Jessie's family is the first to take us up on that offer."

At that Jessie arrived with our starters and said with a smile,

"Enjoy your meal."

When she had departed Kenny looked at me;

"When speaking of McFarlane enterprises you said 'We' when you spoke of making funds available and earlier Rebecca said it was your idea to set up a scheme that would enable her dad's firm to do this. How come someone as young as you can set something like this in motion?"

I Grinned.

"Funny, you should ask that," I said, "Because it is part of the reason why we are here tonight. When Rebecca's brother died her father spoke to her about the future of McFarlane Enterprises and the need for her to take a greater interest in its ongoing development. This led to her asking me to tutor her in order to get her grades up her and this in turn led to me being her boyfriend. It also became clear to her dad that I was a very bright and talented young man so he recruited me for his firm by promising to fund me through university providing I would agree to come and work for him when I finished my studies. Of course with fees currently running at nine thousand pounds per annum I agreed and since then I have been involved in some of the workings of the company and will be working for them over the summer."

"Some people have all the luck," Kenny said. "He gets a beautiful young woman as a girlfriend and her dad sponsors him through university as well."

I grinned,

"Well some people are lucky with the spin off from that," I told him. "It was our courtship that prompted Marjory to seek you out and ask you to be her boyfriend"

"True?" He said, "So I don't suppose I should be complaining as I too am a beneficiary."

Just then Jessie returned to clear away our starters and bring out our main courses. When she had gone I resumed the conversation.

"You can be even more of a beneficiary if you want to be," I told him.

At this point I think Marjory was having difficulty keeping a grin off her face, because Kenny had made it so easy for us to put our proposals to him.

"What do you mean by that?" Kenny asked.

"Have you ever thought about how important McFarlane enterprises are to this community?" I asked him. "Through the various companies they own they are the biggest employers in the area. Not only that they have a policy of sourcing their needs from local companies wherever possible and this supplies even more jobs. Literally thousands of people rely on McFarlane Enterprises for their livelihood and its prosperity is vital for the well being of our town and the surrounding area."

"I suppose that subconsciously I realised that," Kenny said. "I just had not thought about it very deeply, but you are right."

"My dad takes that responsibility very seriously," Rebecca said. "This is why he has made me aware of it at this stage and is now encouraging me and Rory to take an interest in and gain experience of all the things McFarlane Enterprises does. He expects me and Rory if our relationship continues to be the ones who will ensure the continuation of our company's profitability and so the well being of our community."

"Gee that is a big responsibility to place on your shoulders." Kenny said.

"Until my brother's untimely death, he was the one who was expected to carry the main burden," Rebecca told him. "With his death the mantle has passed to me and with Rory's help I have agreed to respond to the challenge it presents."

I smiled at Kenny;

"Now that you realise how vitally important McFarlane enterprises are to the community I want to ask you a question. What are you aiming to do for a career?"

"I love economics," Kenny told me. "I am thinking of doing a degree in accountancy and then going on to specialise in tax consultancy."

"Then if McFarlane Enterprises saw you as another bright young man who could help it to maintain its profitability and continue to contribute to the area's well being, would you be interested in a sponsorship deal similar to mine." I asked.

Kenny's face suddenly split into a big grin.

"You three are a set of crafty buggers," he said. "That's what this foursome date is all about isn't it?"

Rebecca smiled.

"You have got it," she said. "We have spoken to my dad about you and he has told us to approach you to see if you would be interested in such a deal. If you are he would like to arrange a meeting with you and your parents to talk over what would be involved in the arrangement. So are you interested?"

"I am certainly interested," Kenny said, "I would be a fool not to be. I will talk it over with my mum and dad and then get back to you."

"That is great," I told him. "I hope you will accept and then we can all share in the future of our area. David has made it clear to me, that even if I do not become his future son in law, I can have a great future with his company and that there is no limit to how high I can climb if I am prepared to work for it. I suspect he will tell you the same sort of thing."

"I have made it easy for you to put this proposal to me by being interested in what you two were doing, haven't I?" He said with a smile.

"Yes you have," Rebecca told him, "But one way or another we would have got round to it eventually."

"I bet you would too." He said. "I suppose you also enlisted the aid of my girlfriend to get me here."

"Of course we did!" I told him. "If things stay as they are, she will have a vested interest in your future too."

"Well there is that," Kenny said with a grin. "This is another spin off from having a beautiful young woman hunt you down."

The rest of the evening went well and we enjoyed the meal and got to know a bit more about Kenny. We dropped Kenny and Marjory off at her house as she had told us that her mum would run him home. We concluded from this that Marjory had wasted no time in introducing him to her parents. Rebecca informed me that this was the first time she had ever done that.

Kenny

As we sat in the back of Rebecca's chauffeur driven car, I thought about the strange turn my life had taken. I had been astounded when Marjory had approached me and out of the blue asked me to be her boyfriend. Mind you when a beautiful well endowed, and intelligent young woman comes to you with that kind of request it is a no brainer. You are going to say yes and see what happens.

I had some reservations at first because of the difference in our social status. My dad is a foreman mechanic in one of the local garages and my mother is a nurse at the local hospital and we have a nice house and a comfortable income. Marjory's family on the other hand come from the town's ruling elite and their house is like a palace compared to ours. I was surprised that she introduced me to them so soon after we started going out together, however, they were warm and welcoming and made me feel at ease right away.

My parents were a bit overawed when I told them who my new girlfriend was, but when I brought her home she put them at ease by helping my mum to clear the table and gossiping with her in the kitchen. I already have strong feelings for this girl. She is fun to be with and she seems to want to spend a lot of her time with me, doing homework together straight after school at my house or hers.

She even came with me to the karate class where I instruct the young beginners and her mum picked us up afterwards. I spent the rest of the evening at her house watching television in the little sitting room cum study she has of her bedroom. When she suggested a foursome with Rebecca and Rory I had no idea that it was going to turn out the way it did. If it turns out that Mr McFarlane offers me a sponsorship through university that will certainly make things easier for my parents. So I will be happy to talk to him about it.

Thinking about all this in the car meant I had been very quiet on the journey back to her house. When we were dropped off Marjory was looking worried. She stopped before we got to the door of the house and turned to me and said,

"I hope you are not annoyed at me for setting you up like that Kenny," She said. Rather nervously

I pulled her to me and said

"Why would you think I was annoyed at getting an offer like the one Rory and Rebecca made me tonight? If it turns out to be right for me it will be a great opportunity and will make things a lot easier for my parents."

"It's just that you were so quiet in the car on the way home, I thought I had upset you." Marjory said.

"I was quiet," I said, "Because I was thinking what an amazing turn my life had taken. I had a beautiful girl ask me to be her boyfriend, and then because I accepted that offer I have received what could be a chance, not only to have my university education paid for, but a job with great prospects afterwards. That is a lot to take in and to think about I told her. So I am not upset, if anything I am so thankful that you have done what you did that I could kiss you right now."