Finding Normal . . . Or Something Like That
Chapter Twenty-One
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just imagining what I would do if I did.
Just a short little snapshot into the inner workings of Hatter's mind, when things get thrown his way. It's not a terribly long chapter, but I do hope it makes up for the fact that I've been away from this story for quite a while now.
In this chapter, Alice and Hatter have been married for over a year.
Here's chapter twenty-one, in which a businessman makes an offer to Hatter and the tables get turned.
The bell over the door of the shop chimed merrily. Hatter briefly smiled, pausing from the dreaded paperwork of doom that lay in a very large mound on his desk. After a moment, and a long gulp from his tea cup, draining it, he looked back to the paperwork in front of him.
It was that time of the month when he had to work on said paperwork or else everything would get behind. It was also the time of the month where he was the grumpiest. He had been the exact same way in Wonderland, except, in Wonderland, it hadn't been this tedious to do paperwork.
Alice had told him that he had to finish the paperwork. She had used a few very creative threats to ensure that he would actually do it, including denying him sex. He smiled at the thought. If nothing else, his wife was very creative that way. In the past year, he had really gotten to know her cheeky and crafty side.
Maybe it was her inner Hatter that was finally coming out or maybe it was just him rubbing off on her, he didn't know.
Hatter shook his head as he focused on the chart in front of him that detailed the shipment of baking supplies into the shop in the last month. Anderson was very detailed about this, so he didn't have to worry about things not adding up. Hatter just liked to look over everything, to make sure that the books were balanced and that they had everything that could possibly need for the shop.
A knock on the door drew his attention.
"Come in," Hatter called out. He looked up as Francesca carefully pushed the door open. "Francesca, good. You can distract me!"
She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Sorry boss, as much as I would love to distract you from the great terror otherwise known as paperwork, that's not why I'm here."
Hatter flinched inwardly. She only called him "boss" if something bad was happening.
"Okay, what's going on?"
"There's this guy, this suit, who wants to talk to you."
Now Hatter really did flinch. He rose from his desk and, after taking a moment to select a hat from his hat rack, looked to his manager. "Okay, show him in."
Francesca nodded and stepped outside. A moment later, a man dressed in a very crisp business suit and carrying a briefcase, entered. Hatter raised both eyebrows at the man. He was a stark contrast to Hatter that much was for sure.
"David Hatter," the man said. Hatter nodded. The man extended his hand and he took it, shaking it, warily. "Julian Reeves. I work with the Cairn Corporation."
Hatter nodded. He had heard of the Cairn Corporation. They owned a number of chain restaurants, stores, and shops, including a few rival tea shops. Instantly, Hatter didn't like this man. He got a bad vibe off of him.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Reeves?" Hatter said, pulling his old Wonderland mask of courtesy over his face. He indicated for Julian to sit down in one of the chairs facing his desk, which the man did. Hatter sat back down in his chair, leaning back casually, fully glad that Alice had insisted on one that was very comfortable.
Julian pulled a file folder out of his briefcase. "Well, on behalf of my employers, I want to offer you the opportunity to join our company. Oh, you'll still have managerial control over the shop, but it would become a part of our corporation." The man cast a brief, judgmental look around the eclectic office, which Hatter caught. "We are interested in expanding on your theme here and creating a chain of shops based on this one, which you'll also have control over, by the way."
Hatter tilted his hat back a bit. "Why would you want to do that?" he asked.
A shocked looked crossed the man's face. "You've become reasonably well-known and successful in the short time your shop has been open. Cairn took notice of you a while ago, Mr. Hatter. Not only that, but you have quite the literary analogy going on here. Personally, I would suggest playing up the Alice in Wonderland theme in future shops."
His stomach clenched and his blood boiled. Was this man serious? Did he want to buy Hatter's shop?
Julian must have seen the look on Hatter's face because the man immediately opened his folder and pulled out a few pieces of papers. He slid them over to Hatter, who glanced at them and was floored by the large sums of money represented on the page.
"As you can see, we are prepared to be quite generous with our offers, Mr. Hatter. Your shop will remain as it is now, with a few minor cosmetic changes and a couple of staff turn-overs. Cairn likes to have standardization among all of its shops, as you can well expect –"
Hatter raised his hand to silence the man.
"No."
"This is a good offer, but we are always willing to negotiate terms."
"No," he repeated. Hatter leaned forward, putting his elbows onto his desk, letting his hat fall forward some. "I know what you're trying to do, Mr. Reeves. I've seen your kind before, but I want you to know that I'm not the kind of man who can be bought by money."
The man in front of him looked very surprised. "Mr. Hatter!"
"Please, it's just Hatter." He smiled, briefly. "Still, I'm not going to take you up on your offer. I don't want a big chain based off my tea shop. I like having this one store, even if it drives me nuts. It's mine and the people who work here do so because they enjoy working here and they enjoy the atmosphere. That's something you can't create if there are lots of Hatter's Tea Shops around."
Julian sat back in his chair. Hatter pushed the paper back to him.
"You won't reconsider?"
He smiled and shook his head. "Nope."
"I guess my employers were wrong then." Julian smiled. "You really are just a small business kind of guy aren't you?"
That was an easy question to answer. "I don't like a lot of hassle. I like when things are simple."
"I used to be the same way."
Now Hatter was intrigued. "What happened?"
"My parents pushed me and told me that, in order to be very successful in life, I had to make a lot of money."
Hatter glanced at the photograph on his desk, the one of Alice jumping onto his back and smiling at the camera, her eyes bring and dancing, while he was slightly turned, laughing. He remembered why he came to this world and he remembered his own family. For a moment, he considered the differences between himself and the man in front of him.
"I have the choice of being put in that position," Hatter said slowly, keeping Julian's attention, "but I stood up to my dad and I was able to find something that I truly loved to do and a woman who loves me for me." Here, he turned the photo frame to face Julian. "That's my wife, Alice."
Julian laughed briefly. "You really do like the Alice in Wonderland metaphor."
"I'm a slave to convention." It was funny, whenever he thought about it. "Anyway, Julian, you seem like a nice guy. You should listen to your heart sometimes. It might help you find your way."
The man nodded. "Well, I'm sorry things couldn't work out between our companies and I wish you and your wife the best."
Hatter nodded to him. He seemed like such a genuine man. "And good luck to you."
"Thank you."
Julian gathered his things and, a moment later, left the office. Hatter did wish him well.
He reached for the photograph and turned it to him, looking at it. Alice would be proud of him, he knew, if she ever found out about this little heart-to-heart conversation, though he didn't know what she would say about him turning down an opportunity to expand the shop. They were doing fine for money, between the tea shop and the dojo, but he knew that it might be better to put away some more money, for when they wanted to start a family.
He sighed, as thoughts hopes for a family with Alice raced cheerfully through his head. Hatter hadn't realized until recently how much he would love to have a family with Alice.
Shaking his head, Hatter settled himself back into his paperwork routine. He reached for his tea cup to take a sip from it and realized that it was empty.
"Damn!" he cursed, then smiled.
Making himself more tea was always a good distraction from doing paperwork.
What did you think? You know what to do! I will endeavor to get another chapter of this story posted as soon as possible.