Jamie dug her fists into the small of her back and stretched. “Busy today.”

“It’s picking up,” Pumla agreed. “We’re taking some of the lunchtime trade away from Antonia’s, and also from the Earl & Badger. I think people like the fact that the food is fast and fresh.”

“They like the fact that they can walk straight out of their offices and into a coffee shop,” Jamie said. “No need to get the car out and fight for a parking space, not to mention paying for parking.”

“Well, whatever. It’s picking up, anyway. We turned over seventeen tables between midday and 2pm. That’s up on last Monday. If you can hustle them out of here faster, we’ll bring that up to twenty.”

“People don’t like to feel rushed when they’re having their lunch break.”

Pumla shook her head. “They want their bills processed quickly so they can get back to the office. They want speed and efficiency.”

“Then they can go to McDonald’s.”

“We don’t want them to go to McDonald’s. We want them to come here. Fresh, homemade food with McDonald’s efficiency.”

“That doesn’t mean bringing them the bill before they’ve even asked for it. What if they want another cup of coffee? Or what if they change their minds about ordering a slice of cake to go with it?”

“You can’t compare the price of one slice of cake with turning the whole table over so that someone else can order lunch from scratch.” By now they were standing toe-to-toe and arguing in fierce whispers. They sprang apart as the front door swung open.

Jamie fixed a professional smile on her face and picked up a couple of menus. “And if they feel rushed, they’ll never come back again,” she hissed, hoping for the last word.

“They’ll come back because the food’s good,” Pumla hissed back, thwarting her.

The routine of welcoming the elderly couple settled Jamie down. They were regulars, so she made a special effort to make them feel at home.

The trouble with going into business with someone you’d known forever was that you kept reverting to old behaviour patterns. Every morning Jamie made a private vow not to fight with Pumla, and every afternoon she gave in to temptation.

They were too similar, that was the problem. At school, they’d competed for the same honours in academics and sport, and they’d hung out with the same crowd. Things got heated when they’d gone after the same boy at the age of seventeen. Then they’d found out that he was also looking for Mr Right, so no blood was spilt.

On the last day of high school, Jamie had honestly believed she would never lay eyes on Pumla Maseko again. The thought had not brought a single tear to her eye. She was going to hotel school to pursue a career in the hospitality industry, while Pumla had been accepted to study business science at the University of Cape Town.

But Jamie’s younger sister Ella had stayed in touch with Pumla over the years. Ella had been the one to tell Jamie that Pumla had left her high-flying job in the corporate world to buy up a failing bakery only a block away from their childhood home. And when their grandmother had died and left them each an inheritance, Ella had conveyed the news to Jamie that Pumla was looking for an investor to add a small coffee shop onto the bakery.

Burnt out after nearly ten years of working in hotels and restaurants, Jamie had jumped at the chance. She’d been looking for a way to stay in the business, but to cut back on her hours so she could finally get serious about writing. The fact that the coffee shop was only open on weekdays made it perfect. She hadn’t thought for a moment that their old rivalry would be a problem.

They were grown-ups now, after all. Women of the world. They would put all that high school nonsense behind them and build a successful business together.

Jamie almost snorted at the memory. It had taken less than a week for the veneer of politeness to rub off and the bickering to start. But Delucia’s was doing well, despite the friction between its owners. They’d each invested too much money not to take it seriously. So their squabbles came to nothing, and they kept their eyes on the prize.

“What bug crawled up your butt today?” Pumla asked as Jamie handed over the elderly couple’s order. “Apart from the usual, I mean.”

Jamie rolled her eyes. “Don’t pretend you don’t know. You saw my tweets and my Facebook update.”

“Oh, yes.” Pumla smirked. “Hot Running Guy turns out to be Mr Rude. How could I forget?”

“Do you know him? Has he ever been in here?”

“You know, I think he actually has. He’s come in once or twice for breakfast, which is why you’ve never seen him. He was with a little black boy both times. I just assumed he was taking the maid’s kid out for a treat.”

“Well, he wasn’t. That’s his actual son.”

“Poor kid. He’ll never know his own culture. He’ll never feel like he belongs anywhere. He’s just a rich man’s toy now.”

“Yeah. He would have been so much better off if he’d been left with the police. Just think, he could have been raised in an orphanage and shunted around to different foster homes. What a great life he’s missing out on.”

“It’s better than being picked up like a stray puppy.”