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Chapter Two
A week had passed, and Peter once again found himself sat in a restaurant, waiting for Carla. There were a few differences this time, however. Firstly, Carla had picked this restaurant and it was a decidedly more causal setting than the week before. There was no mood lighting, no dress code, no hostess to guide him to his seat. It was still a nice place, of course, Carla would never choose a dump. But he was under no illusion as to what her choice in venue was trying to say – this was not a date. Maybe he had got a little bit carried away last week, but he had been so shocked when she'd finally agreed to dinner that he wanted to ensure it was a night to remember. And as much as she'd teased him for being 'ostentatious', she seemed to have enjoyed herself. In the days following the dinner he'd waited patiently for her to contact him. They'd crossed paths a couple of times that week and she'd said a friendly 'hello' but hadn't stopped to chat. By Friday Peter was sure she'd changed her mind until suddenly a text arrived, simply stating a time and a place for the following evening. The text had reminded Peter of when they'd first started seeing each other, and whilst memories of those months of stolen moments at her flat and furtive looks shared across The Rovers bar used to bring him a rush of excitement, now he just felt shame. No wonder he'd ruined things between them, he'd mistreated her from day one. She'd always been too good for him, and whilst her clearly superiority boosted his ego so much when she'd lean on him in her hours of need, it would shatter his pride anytime he was required to lean on her.
Another slight difference from last week was that Carla was late. Considering how long it took her to get ready, Carla being late was unusual. When they first got together Peter had assumed getting her out of the house on time would be a laborious process, and whilst she took her time with her hair and makeup every day, she had it down to a fine art and was often the one telling Peter to hurry up and put his shoes on. Peter considered texting her, but he decided against it. He didn't want her to feel pressured, or like he was checking up on her. He knew he was on thin ice as it was. Just as he was debating his options, she appeared in front of him looking harassed.
"Sorry!" she said as she placed her handbag down beside the table and began to remove her jacket.
"I thought you'd changed your mind." He said playfully.
"Nope, just traffic." She smiled as she sat down in front of him.
"To be honest, I thought you'd changed your mind your mind about the whole thing until I got your text." His tone was casual, but he was silently digging for answers. Her contact had been so brief and the text so clinical, he assumed she'd been having second thoughts about their arrangement, if you could even consider two dinners an arrangement.
"Yeah sorry about that, it's been a busy week." Peter didn't think this was the whole truth but decided to leave it at that.
"Well, I'm glad you're here anyway."
She rolled her eyes at him but smiled as she reached for the menu.
"How's Simon doing?" She asked as she perused the starters.
"He's fine, he's still in Cornwall with Ken, I'm lucky if I get a text." He laughed. Peter hadn't heard too much directly from Simon, but his Dad had been keeping him up to date on their adventures.
Carla smiled, "I bet he's wearing poor Ken out."
"Oh, I dunno," Peter laughed. "According to me Dad, Si's been the one walking Eccles every day, if anything I think my Dads spending most of the day in an armchair with a book in his hand."
"Well he deserves it, putting up with you lot." She joked.
"You're not wrong to be fair," Peter laughed, "the past few months have been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest. But for once it wasn't me who caused any of it."
"Peter Barlow the mature grown-up, who'd have thought it." She smirked at him.
"Well once you've hit rock bottom the only way is up, I suppose."
"Don't I know it." She said quietly.
They sat in silence for a few moments, Peter certain they were thinking about the same thing.
"Are you ready to order?" The waitress appeared as if from nowhere, pulling them back into the real world. They smiled awkwardly at one another.
"I think we need a few more minutes." Peter told her.
They ordered their food and ate in an amiable silence, exchanging the odd bit of chit chat, but pointedly avoiding anything that might lead their conversation into dangerous territory. Peter was really enjoying having this time with Carla again, however, as they spoke he noticed Carla didn't seem as invested. She constantly had one eye on her phone. At first, he didn't mind too much but as time went on, he became increasingly frustrated. If she didn't want to be here, why didn't she just say?
"Am I keeping you from something important?" He asked, a sarcastic edge to his tone, he couldn't help it, he'd never been great at keeping his temper in check.
She looked up quickly, in her defence she looked slightly embarrassed.
"I'm sorry." She said as she placed her phone face down on the table in front of her, as though to avoid distraction. "I'm waiting for an important email, but that's not excuse for being rude, I'm sorry."
"What's the email?" Peter asked, suddenly intrigued.
She sighed and looked as though she was trying to gather her thoughts.
Peter held his hands up, "do you know what, it's none of my business, sorry."
"No, it's fine." She paused. "Basically, I'm trying raise the funds to buy back the factory."
"Since when?" Peter was shocked, last week Carla had said Alya had no plans to sell the factory to Carla, now suddenly, what, she'd changed her mind?
"It's a long story," Carla sighed, running a hand through her hair, "basically she's had a change of heart, she's selling the factory, and she's offered me first refusal. Unfortunately, I can't afford it on my own. So, I'm trying to find an investor."
Peter sank back in his seat, "Oh."
"Yep."
"Any luck so far?"
She shrugged. "Well it's striking that balance between someone who has the money, and someone I actually want to be lumbered with."
"How many people have you tried?"
"A few. Some more sensible than others."
"And nothing yet?"
"Well that's the thing, yesterday I finally got a lead, after a couple of days of calling everyone I know in the business."
"Who?"
"An old business associate, you don't know him."
Him. An unwelcome wave of jealousy passed over Peter. He wasn't a massive fan of Carla being in close quarters with any man, but she had a particularly bad track record of becoming romantically involved with her business partners, and it had yet to yield a positive result. He wouldn't voice this opinion though, he didn't want to sound judgemental and he knew all she would do was, rightly, inform him that her romantic life was none of his business.
"Anyway," she continued, "that's what's I'm waiting for. He's going to email me his answer. And then I'll know for sure."
She looked nervous. "Do you know this guy well?" He asked.
"Well enough," she shrugged, "besides, I want the factory back. I'd sell my soul to the devil at this point." Her tone was light, but Peter knew she was only half kidding.
He took a long sip of his now lukewarm latte. The sale of The Rovers had just gone through and he'd been trying to decide what to do with the money. He was planning on investing in a business, and the factory, despite the chaos that had ensued there over the years, was a sound investment when thing's were running smoothly.
"I'll be your partner." He said decisively.
Carla nearly performed a comedy spit take of her coffee, which would've been funny to Peter in any other circumstance, but the look of sheer horror on her face dampened his mood somewhat.
"You can't be serious?!" She looked positively aghast.
"Why not? I've got the money from the Rovers, I want to invest in a business, and yours is as good as any."
"Peter, we've been partners before and it was a disaster. Why would this time be any different?"
"Well maybe this could be my way of making it up to you?"
"No, I'm sorry Peter, it's ridiculous."
"Ridiculous? Oh well thanks very much, never mind a thank you for my generous offer." He folded his arms in a huff.
"Peter, I didn't ask you to offer. I didn't tell you this so you could come riding in on your white horse!"
"That's not what I'm doing, it's a serious offer."
Carla sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look. Thank you for the offer, but I'm pretty sure Tom is going to go for it, so if you- "
"Tom who?" He cut her off, he wanted to know who this guy was, so he could do some research, see if he was trustworthy.
"Peter, I'm not telling you his full name because I know you'll be right onto Google trying to find out everything you can about him."
"I will not!" He protested, even though she'd got it in one.
"You know, I'd appreciate it if you'd trust that I'm a grown woman who knows what she's doing. I've managed without your input for five years and done just fine."
Peter raised an eyebrow, he felt like reminding Carla of some of the less than wise decisions she'd made in the time they'd been apart - Nick Tilsley being one of them. But she was right, her life was none of his business, not really.
He held his hands up. "Look, of course you know what you're doing. But it's always a risk going into business with someone you don't know. All I'm saying is, going into business with someone you do know is less risky."
"Are you trying to tell me you're not a risk." She deadpanned.
He smiled, "Better the devil you know?"
"Hmm, I'm not so sure about that."
"Look, why don't you think about it?" he implored her. She opened her mouth to protest but Peter wouldn't let her. "Even if this Tom guy says yes, it's not a done deal until he's signed on the dotted line, right? So just sleep on it, you might feel differently tomorrow."
"If I say I'll think about it can we please talk about something else?"
"Happily." Peter grinned.
"Fine, I'll think about it. Now let's change the subject."
Peter conceded, although he didn't particularly want to. What he really wanted was to find out who this Tom person was. He wanted to torpedo their deal somehow, but he knew she'd never forgive him. Was the idea of him investing really that ridiculous? Despite their personal circumstances, when he'd last worked in the factory, he'd been pretty good at it, and, more importantly, he'd enjoyed it. He knew she didn't trust him yet, but surely she could trust him with her business more than a virtual stranger? Peter knew she probably assumed he had an ulterior motive for wanting to invest, and to be fair she wouldn't be completely wrong. Of course, working side by side with her everyday would hopefully lead to them getting closer and maybe eventually lead to them getting back together. But he also genuinely wanted to invest in Simons future, in a decent business. Underworld was everything he was looking for. And as for Carla, he still believed they were meant to be together; it was only a matter of time.