Follow My Leader

Has Mari found the perfect man? Can she make herself into his perfect woman? Or will her hopes sink in a fishing lake?

- TESS NILAND KIMBER

Mari loved her mystery shopping M job at Hidden. It was exciting, combining acting and spying. She’d imagine she was a secret agent, hiding her identity, whilst discovering all she could about the firm, managers or staff at various local offices and shops.

But what she most loved about mystery shopping was meeting Carl through it. Carl Manning worked at Lynas’ Furniture Store. He was tall, bearded with stunning flame-coloured hair giving him an Ed Sheeran vibe. The shade mirrored her own long, red hair.

“So, youre after bedroom furniture?” he’d smiled on their first encounter.

“Yes,” she said, carefully pointing the tiny camera concealed in her special mystery shopping handbag towards him.

“Is that for a double bedroom?”

Mari smiled. Was he trying to find out if she was single? She hoped so. She hadn’t been this attracted to a man since splitting from Joe, six months ago.

The mystery shopping assignment went well. Carl was great at his job, so much so that it had been hard to extract herself from a sale.”

Writing her report later for Lynas’ owners she gave a glowing assessment. She wasn’t making it up; Carl had earned the perfect scores for consideration, knowledge and warmth. If she’d been judging him on looks, he’d have scored twenty out of ten!

Normally she quickly forgot about her completed assignments but Lynas’ or rather, Carl stayed in her mind.

Back again?” Carl smiled when Mari returned to the store for the third time that week.

“Er, yes... I’m thinking of maybe furnishing my dining room before the bedroom,” she invented.

This time she didn’t have a hidden camera and her inquiries were genuine although she couldn’t yet afford to refurbish her small flat.