Daniel surveyed the General Store with something approaching pride. The displays were set, the counters and floor polished to a startling shine, and everything looked ready. Well, almost everything; Jill had not yet turned up with her sculptures, and there was a decidedly empty space in the corner of the shop where they were supposed to be.
"What do we do if she doesn't turn up?" Jenny said, worry etched on her face. Daniel had never seen her like this before. "I mean, we can't just drag more stock across. Everything's been placed with a purpose. Maybe you should call her?"
Daniel sighed. "I already tried, Jenny. Three times. I can't call her again. She'll get here."
"And if she doesn't?"
Daniel turned to face the brunette. She was always so calm and composed. This was a complete departure from the norm. Not that he blamed her in the slightest, though; tomorrow was the grand opening of the store and she was nervous. Terrified, probably. As it was, he was hardly the most relaxed man in the world, but it was Jenny's reputation here in Oyster Creek on the line. She needed this to go well.
And it would, of course. She was too brilliant to have got anything wrong. He knew things would work out, if only Jill would turn up with her sculptures. Even if she didn't, they'd think of something.
He stepped towards Jenny. "Relax. Things'll be fine." He let his eyes cast over her as her approached.
She was wearing a stylish black top, and a sheer black cardigan that looked nice but he wasn't sure how much protection against the cold it provided. Then again, she had a coat for that, he supposed. Tight dark blue jeans and short black boots completed the outfit. As always, she looked amazing.
"You're right," she said, taking a deep breath. "Whatever happens, we'll work it out." She glanced around, her mind clearly working furiously to come up with alternate plans. "I hope we don't have to move anything, though. It'll take us all night to rearrange the stock, and I can't call Claire and Rodrigo back in at this hour."
It was gone 11pm, so she was right about that. It would hardly be reasonable to call upon the staff now. As it was, even if Jill turned up immediately, he was unlikely to be back at his hotel before midnight. And given that the shop was due to open at eight and he really needed to get there at around seven, he was going to have less than six hours sleep.
Oh well, I can cope with that,
he sighed to himself. No, it was Jenny he was worried about. She needed to wind down.
"She can have another twenty minutes. If she's not here by then, we'll have to start moving things," the brunette announced then, staring at him.
"Fair enough," he agreed. He wouldn't argue with her.
A moment's silence passed between them before the chirping of Jenny's mobile phone sounded loud. She pulled it from her pocket, glanced at the caller ID, then picked up.
"Hey Lu, what are you still doing up?" she said, smiling at Dan and moving to stare out of the window.
He could only get one side of the conversation, of course, and so turned away to peruse the shelves and give Jenny as much privacy as he could without leaving the room. It seemed harmless enough, though like Jenny he wondered why Lucy wasn't grabbing what sleep she could. She'd be in the store in the morning like the rest of them.
"What?" Jenny said loudly then. She sounded shocked. "Really?"
Daniel turned to her, concerned. For the moment, she ignored him, too caught up in her conversation.
"Lucy, that's... that's amazing. You're brilliant, Lu. Do I tell you that enough? Oh my God, this is... just... wow."
A few seconds later she had said her goodbyes, and she hung up. Her gaze lingered on her phone just a moment, as if she couldn't believe what she'd just been told, and then she turned to Dan. She looked stunned.
"Everything alright?" he ventured.
She shook her head, as if discarding her reverie. Then she met his eyes. "Lucy called in a favour from an old friend, Dan. This is... amazing. It's more than I could have hoped."
"What is? What's happening?"
"We're getting a TV crew tomorrow. Lucy knew someone in the production suite. She got hold of him, and... well now they're sending someone tomorrow. Our grand ceremony? It's going to be on statewide news."
"It's what?"
Jenny grinned. "I know! I fucking know! This is big, Dan. Huge!"
It certainly was that. He felt dazed. He didn't know what to say. For all his time working at a big company in London, he'd never been anywhere near a television camera. Part of him hoped he still wouldn't; he was never one for the limelight, unless it was getting him laid.
"Oh God, this means we've got to get things ever more perfect," Jenny said suddenly, panic setting in on her face again. "We've got to fill that gap. Oh God."
The low rumble of an engine cut off her panic attack. Moments later, a large pickup truck pulled up outside.
The engine died, and a figure climbed out, hastily running round the front of the shop and knocking on the door. Daniel moved to open it.
"Dan! I'm so sorry I'm late," Jill said breathlessly when he had done so. The cold night air washed in and he shivered in his t-shirt.
"We wondered if you were going to turn up," he smiled, stepping outside. Jenny joined them, and Jill turned towards her.
He motioned towards Jenny. "Jill, this is Jenny, my partner in the business. And Jenny, this is Jill, our sculptor."
"Your
late
sculptor," Jill said sheepishly. "I'm so sorry. After you left, Dan, I just had to work. Your visit left my imagination... primed. I had to create that sculpture we discussed, and I totally lost track of time."
His cock twitched at both the memory of his visit and the thought of the explicit sculpture she had described to him. Then he shook his head, clearing the salacious fog from his mind. He had to get the sculptures into the shop.