Lola's Lurching Life Ch. 02

"It's wasn't saintly, Paulo. It's was just what people do."

"Over here on the island, perhaps. But Auckland City, no. Maria said you sent Helena home in a chopper at your expense as she was distressed at becoming such a public spectacle from her fall and, incidentally, I've heard over people over here talking about it. Not matter what you think, you are a minor celebrity around here because of it and Maria interpreted your actions as saintly. End of story."

"What's for dinner?" Lola asked calmly, and the family cracked up laughing.

Paulo asked what wine would Lola like with the slow-cooked beef steak casserole.

"Your premier blended Cab Sav of course but never mind..."

"Lucky you, it's the only wine I have opened to breathe, four bottles of it."

"Lucky me," laughed Lola, as the sole guest launching into the one of the warmest and most hilarious family dinners she'd ever experienced.

The social evening ended, with Lola electing to go home by taxi.

Nick said, "I'll come to you in the morning in your ute with mom coming in her car to return me home after I've looked at the Wallace's problematic vineyard. Mum wants to tell Dougal Wallace at last she's forgiven him for rear-ended her had had everyone crowding around us on Onarga's main street um thirteen months ago."

The half-drunken loud laughter of the family streaking through the soft-chilled star-light local area at 11.45 that evening, may have kept awake people and dogs for miles around. The booming laughter of which Lola had participated in still rang in her ears as the silver-coloured taxi began the reasonably short journey to deliver her home.

* * *

Next morning with Dougal and Helena fully immersed in deep conversation over coffee, Lola and Nick walked over to the sunken vineyard.

"We're standing in an ancient volcanic vent, right?"

"It is believed so."

"May I kiss you."

"No, shake my hand."

Obviously emotionally hurt. Nick whined had Lola heard rumours about him and the ladies.

"Yes, but I don't take much heed of rumours. Just once look at that bulge in your jeans is sufficient warning I should run for the safety of the hills."

The unshaven macho man with dark and tousled hair had a blush run over his weather-beaten bronzed face and said a little shakenly, "No female has ever confronted me like that before today."

"Aren't you lucky?"

He shuffled his feet and said, "Then this is a one hundred percent business meeting?"

Lola said yes and told Nick what she knew about the history and composition of the vineyard.

He nodded as if he were dealing with a knowledgeable client.

"And exactly what am I supposed to do here?"

"I see it at two stages, and am confident Dougal and Helena will approve of any business arrangement I make with you."

"And you have worked in vineyards?"

"No."

"Then you have knowledge of tactics used to bring up productivity on a similar vineyard soil structure contaminated with an ancient lava flow?"

"Yes,"

"Christ, what am I doing here? Either let's have sex or you order me off this property."

"Nick, be a man. You are here to accede to a prospect client's wishes and to steer her or he in the right direction if necessary."

"You sure aren't a 'he' and perhaps even more awesome than my mother who is recognised as the most dictatorial bitch on this island, from what I've heard."

"Nick stop bad-mouthing your mother and you used the word 'Christ' in a shameful way."

He crossed himself, and with eyes downcast firmly said, "Sorry Christ and my mother."

"Thanks Nick," Lola said, and he appeared startled as if not expecting to get off the hook so soon.

"Tell my want you want, Miss Hunt."

"Call me Lola at all times Nick; I feel we are friends already. I need some soil core sample test drillings to dispatch to a geologist working in Auckland that I know to assess the structure scientifically."

"No problem. I don't possess the necessary rig but can hire one as part of my quotation."

"Regarding pricing, how many core samples could you take and have delivered to that geologist that I inform her to expect, keeping the firm quote to $3000 or less?"

Nick scrubbed his chin and walked around a bit and turned to Lola who looked rather ravishing shaded by her black sun hat and dark sunglasses.

"Your picture should be front cover of Vogue."

"And you will be writhing on the ground holding your balls unless you concentrate on the job in hand," she said sweetly.

He beamed and said it was a delight to meet a pretty babe skilled at handling a male.

"Nick!"

"I'm quoting low as there will be more work for me here if the core samples indicate that the lava problem is surmountable. My quote for 10 random core samples, roughly representative of the entire vineyard, is twenty-one hundred dollars, all up and includes the drilled holes refilled with scoops of near-by surface material."

"Wow, is that all?"

"Then let's make it the more realistic $5400."

"Thanks for the choice, Nick. Being your friend, I accept the $2100 quotation."

"Without reference to your superiors?"

"Yes, Nick. They have given me this as my project."

They walked back to the house, the three adults watching the duo walking slowly and chatting, almost touching. No comment was uttered.

When arriving, Nick said, "Mum, can we go now. I'll finish the Ingram's job late tomorrow and collect a core sample drilling rig on the way home and start here at 8:00 the next morning to produce 10 core samples on contract."

"Good boy; if you had refused such a small job for Lola, I would have called you to account."

"Mum, get off my back. This babe appears to instinctively know what needs to be done but never having worked in a vineyard."

"Now you know why females consider themselves superior to males," Maria said, sending everyone into laughter.

When the visitors had left, Dougal bought out three coffees to the shaded front deck and said, "How much?"

"He's quoted $2100 for ten core samples and sending them to my geologist friend's firm."

"Christ, what did you have to do to get the quote that low?"

"Just by talking like a man to him and declining his request to kiss me. That combined kept him on his back foot. He's probably thinking he'll get his pound of flesh sooner rather than later and who knows, he might get lucky."

Dougal said to his wife, "Helena, stop gawking like that. We know the girl's a winner and there are tactics that are part of the weaponry that a girl on the move has to have on hand to use appropriately."

"Dougal, where did you get the knowledge to talk like that."

"Oh, I read passages of some of your books you leave lying around, for example, 'Debbie's Battle for a Seat on the Corporate's Board."

"Omigod, you read filthy stuff like that?"

"Only because you lead by example," he smirked.

Lola broke the silence by saying, "I may have stumbled across a suitable and possibly more upmarket job that could suit Iona but please, say nothing to Iona for the moment. The wheels of assessment are about to begin."

"What kind of job?" asked Helena.

"Will it present the challenge she yearns for?" Dougal asked.

"How could you stumble on to something like that when you practically know no one on this island?"

"But I do move around a bit," Lola said and got their agreement that Iona's in-laws would say nothing to anyone about a job opening possibility.

She then artfully got Helena and Dougal refocused when saying, "Guys, you realize that these preliminary investigations into the possibility of increasing the productivity of your vines could end up a total failure?"

"How could that be? We are proceeding carefully and are dealing with the appropriate consultants, but so much of what lies ahead in this investigation is unknown."

Dougal and Helena continued listening anxiously.

"Two things immediately come to mind. Comprehensive testings will produce the evidence that your vineyard soils are totally unsuitable even with supplementary actions for really successful commercial grape growing and the thickness in the hidden lava flow could be deemed too thick or too deep or both too thick and too deep to break through economically."

The Wallace's nodded glumly, having been reminded of that possibility on several occasions but never having heard it stated so emphatically."

"It's a gamble that I'm willing to take," Dougal said, and Helena chimed in and said, "Me too."

"Good," Lola said. "That means my job here continues. Be aware, right from laying the first core samples in containers to send off intact, Nick will have some evidence of part of the depth and thickness of part of the scoria bed and will inform us on site. That, my friends, will provide some indications if the odds of success are in our favour."

"You are enjoying this, aren't you?" Dougal said.

"Oh yes, and if you think about it, it an inherited part of land development. And so, what we face here is nothing new. I want success as much as you, as owners of the vineyard do. Possible triumph over adversity is something wonderful to experience and satisfying to the soul, at least that's how I view it."

Arms held out, Helena said, "Come to me darling, you are such an inspirational person."

Chapter 10

Combined, the results of the bore samples and soil testing produced an encouraging result.

Dougal shouted they were fabulous results but Lola urged caution, saying they were random sampling of core drilling although the soil testing samples were taken at more precise and closer distance spacing.

Both reports had arrived in the mail on Saturday morning and Lola called and invited Nick Orsini over for Saturday lunch at 1:00.

"Sorry, can't. I'm working on erecting trellises on a vineyard extension for a client."

Mindful that she'd not given him any encouragement when he was drilling the core samples and, presumably because of that Nick he kept his distance on that day, see cooed, "Oh, I thought you'd want to check out my tits again."

Lola was on the front porch making the call, but nevertheless she heard eavesdropper Helena in the kitchen on the left, well away from her blurt, 'Christ almighty'. "

That irked Lola into thinking, did a girl have to go a mile away before making a personal comment on the phone on the Wallace's property.

When the short call finished, Lola entered the kitchen and said, "Is it okay that someone unexpected comes for lunch?"

"Not at all?" Helena smiled thinly. "Providing it's not that jerk Nick Orsini, heart-breaker and arrogant seducer of innocent females."

"Careful, Helena, if Mr Orsini is not welcome here, I'll have to abandon you for this particular lunchtime and meet him for burgers at the café where your daughter works. Imagine missing the opportunity of possibly seeing right before you applying his incredible techniques of attempting to lure me to removed my panties and hang them over his protruding hot tongue as a sign of surrender."

"What?" said Helena, attempting to take in that massively potent comment and simplify it into terms that she could more readily mentally digest.

Meanwhile, Lola resisting telling her the news that she and Nick's mother had lunched at the café with Helena's daughter worked as manager and that both Maria Orsini and Lola had been suitably impressed by Iona's interaction as an active floor manager during the café's peak customer patronage of the day. Iona performed the roles of café staff management giving directions to staff, helping to deliver meals and clearing table-tops for patrons waiting to be seating and dealing with mini-crises with apparent ease.

All that Maria had said was, "The girl is good", leaving Lola to hopefully assume right now Maria was preparing her job offer to Iona to manage the Orsini's' winery café. Perhaps that would not happen, but Maria would be fool if that was her decision, Lola concluded.

Lola said to Helena, "Then have I misinterpreted your comment and in fact Nick is welcome to lunch here today?"

Helena said "Of course," possibly thinking she'd been out-manoeuvred by a younger upstart.

Nick arrived and Lola raced out to greet him and members of the family who had a view of that meeting, including Helena, witnessed their guest being caught in a bear hug with the contractor in dirty jeans but wearing a fresh shirt and his hair appearing freshly combed. All eyes were on one of Nick's hands fully gripping the left side of Lola's butt.

Lola led Nick into the gazebo where the family were seated, feeling aroused but noticed Helena's thin-lipped appearance with chin thrust forward. She thought omigod, Nick was about to receive a tongue-lashing and being told to behave modestly when touching Lola.

"Lola, Helena and every one, you all will remember the charming err, err Mr Orsini junior?"

Even Nick joined in the call that his name was Nick.

"Oh, silly me, I had a memory blip being a little over-wrought that Nick would be too busy to come because of a sudden emergency on his contract job. But he assured me when greeting me in a quite gentlemanly manner for him I guess, that he wouldn't miss an invitation to share a meal prepared by Helena Wallace unless the sky was fallen in."

Everyone one clapped, including Helena and Nick, who were probably wondering that was the most unlikely comment, even allegedly, to come from tough-guy Nick Orsini, who was viewed by mothers on the island as a carnal-focused animal.

Helena shook her head in wonder at the young woman who was probably capable of talking the tracks off an attacking tank under a civil uprising.

"You are very welcome here Nick," Doug said, taking a mouthful of wine.

Nick saluted Doug by holding up his glass and took a sip.

"What the fuck, is this your wine Doug?"

"Yes Nick," Helena said proudly. "It our Viognier about to be released, finished with light use of quality oak which is new for us. I appreciate your reaction. I'm aware, of course, that your family winery uses it in some of its blends of Cab Sav. I'll give you a case as a courtesy to take to you family to try drinking it straight."

"Thanks Helena and Doug, much appreciated."

Lola had to supress a giggle watching Helena beaming at Nick as he made that comment. All appeared well with Helena over Nick. However, she sighed, knowing that she had reservations about Nick. Was he a womanizer of the magnitude that gossipers alleged? Having passion was one thing, but sharing that passion around with anyone willing to be tailed was something hugely different. She must stay in the side-lines and wait.

Just before 6.00 pm two days later, Lola arrived home, tired after calling on several grape growers within 5 km of the Wallace Winery and talking to them or their managers about their vine mulching and watering practices and adding supplements to their vines, if any.

Initially they were wary about talking in such detail wondering why Dougal Wallace would be sending a recent arrival to the island to pry for such information, and female at that.

But mostly they were won over by Lola's openness and declaring that Dougal and Helena Wallace were painfully aware many on the island thought their winery was in an inappropriate location.

Lola's response was, "The Wallace accept that, but promising soil testing results and the fact that their winery is in a hollow, protecting it from prevailing winds off the sea, give them hope that work to encourage vine roots to penetrate lower into better soil and paying attention more precisely to nutritional needs will bring big change. They intend sticking to the Viognier rootstock and so it appears to me they won't be in direct competition to you guys around here."

"I understand that Dougal with his rather fetching personality and directness, make him pretty popular with many winegrowers."

Inevitably that short speech would trigger the flow of conversation and information."

Iona came running from the house, and as Lola parked the pick-up, Iona wrenched open the door and climbed in over Lola, smothering her with kisses and crying, "Oh you darling, oh you darling."

When she eased off, Lola said, "What is this; has Mrs Orsini been in contact with you?"

"Yes, oh yes," said Helena and Dougal's daughter-in-law, flushing in excitement. "I've accepted her offer to manager their winery's café on much more money than what I have been receiving, but it's a much larger eatery than the Drop-in Café and my responsibilities and workload will be much larger."

"She said you had instigated the offer and I would be on a month's trial first. But without thinking I asked would that be acceptable to you. Mrs Orsini thought for a couple of moments and then said yes, I was right, you could be offended that your judgement would be compromised if I were put on trial. Therefore, that condition no longer applied."

"Omigod Lola, how could you have influence her on your worthiness in such a short time. I've heard people talk about her critically, describing her as a hard-nosed but highly respected bitch."

"How would I know, Iona?" Lola said. "I met her, we talked and I suggested we go to the café where she could observe you in action. It was entirely up to her to decide what she thought of me and at the restaurant I didn't attempt to influence her decision and I guess she gave me a big tick mentally for that."

"Gosh, you think in such a complicated way, Lola."

Lola patted Iona on the back and said, "You should remember to casually make nice personal comments to Mrs Orsini and her family and the winery busines at times. She may accept that in an off-hand manner but she will think better of you for saying such things to her privately. Another thing is, be careful what you say about her and her family to your staff. Good discretion is called for, but I've never heard you being indiscreet about anyone, and that's a good sign."

"Come, you appear tired and need a drink. And thanks for being so appreciative of the small part I played in having Mrs Orsini take a special interest in me."

"She must have a compelling reason for taking me on because I have limited experience in the hospitality industry,"

"Tut-tut, darling. Instead of that, think that she sees big potential in you and that you possess a desirable engaging manner with fellow staff and customers."

Over drinks, Lola reported verbally what she had done that day and said next day she would summarise in a written report on what she'd been told over two days of attempted fact-findings and from that make several suggested recommendations on vineyard management."

"And tie in recommendations from the soil testing on the core drilling results. We need to get going having that layer of different thickness under the vines shatter soon while the vines remain dormant over late autumn and winter."

"I agree, Dougal. You'll have my report mid-afternoon and you and Helena can reach your decisions by dinner time."

"Hey, Lola, don't push us."

"Push yourselves, boss. All the information unless you wish to engage experts, will be before you with recommendations by tomorrow afternoon. So why procrastinate? My thinking is that drilling will be the quickest way to penetrate being each vine, far quicker than attempting to do it by impact hammering which anyway would require drilling in many places where scoria layers are thickest."

"Slave driver."

She replied, "Potential procrastinator."

Dougal sighed and said that he'd bet Lola would win this one and decision-making would finalise by nightfall the next day.

"Christ girl, get off the gas pedal," Dougal muttered.

Lola called Nick at 6.45 next evening.

"Hi, it's Lola."

"I know, I can read the name of the incoming caller's phone."

"Oh, but the person using the phone might not be the phone's owner. The confirmation I had was hearing your sexy voice."