In his office cabinets Lucky kept documents on each franchise; the deeds stayed with lawyers. The problematic cafes massed in Lucky’s mind. The Blymaki family, in the suburb of Erskineville, had suffered break-ins of late, with cigarettes and drinks stolen; Nikos Dimostenis, unhappy in Oberon, shut his shop on weekends; in Queanbeyan, Helen Kalasoudas couldn’t break even; down in Mildura, Jim Melemenis got himself into trouble with the Italians; Mick Papacostas and his brothers were playing too much dice in Camperdown; and the Kostarelou boys of Fairfield had turned their Lucky’s restaurant into an old-fashioned kafeneio, where women and children were unwelcome. Once a week or so, Lucky drove into the city to see the bookkeepers. He called it ‘the paper run’. They said forget all the other problems, his loans for new constructions were the biggest worry. Loans massed like a lump in the throat.

Lucky Mallios was getting tired and he welcomed new ideas on the franchise, a new structure, partners, saviours. For the fifth time a meeting with Shirley and Sam was arranged and this appointment they kept. He went to their offices on Hunter Street and, on level four, the investors’ secretary showed him to a meeting room, where he shook hands with Sam, who wore what looked like a school tie, and a light yellow-suited Shirley, who gave off an energy that sprawled and seemed to contain her quiet husband. They both looked to be in their late twenties.

Lucky peeled off his blue jacket and hung it over the back of a chair. Once all were settled, Shirley pointed at the wall behind Lucky, where they’d pinned up sepia-toned maps of six states and the Northern Territory, moving left to right from the most populous state to the least, with little black toothpick flags planted over each map. About twenty of these black flags spidered across the wall. With two hands Sam pushed a grey folder across the table to Lucky, who didn’t pick it up. Real professionals handed objects to each other. Already he didn’t like Sam.

Shirley spoke: ‘On the maps we’ve marked possible Lucky’s restaurant locations. We’ve done our sums. We plan to expand the business, perhaps even twofold. We want to bring in a payroll system, too, in line with how franchises function in the US. Respectfully, the business is a little outdated.’

‘With payroll systems,’ Lucky began, and this was a subject that came up now and then, ‘I’d be at the mercy of payroll operators who could overpay and underpay staff, depending on how they screw up that month. The monthly fee is easy. It’s worked for me.’

‘It’s antiquated,’ said Shirley. ‘You’re paying too much for that ease.’