Pushed

Chapter 17

If I wasn’t already halfin love with that woman, getting in a pranking war with her would have definitely pushed me in that direction.

I suspected she was ambitious, given her professional goals, but I didn’t expect her to jump in so quickly to retaliate against me for decorating her kitchen.

And getting her riled up and flustered… I had a feeling this was about to become my new favorite pastime.

And it wasn’t just because she was adorable when flustered. I wanted to lighten the mood in the place, especially with all the changes about to happen. It was my experience that if people were having fun, they went with the flow and accepted change more easily.

I didn’t expect her participation in this little battle to reveal such a fierce competitiveness—and make her even more irresistible to me. And now I was supposed to work with her every day and also pretend to be her fiancé? All the while keeping a professional distance?

I was in so much trouble.

In more ways than one. The hours I spent reading through the Moonstruck’s books killed my prank high faster than the pepper AJ had put in the strawberry had killed my mouth. By the time there was a knock on the door, eating another pepper was looking better than the books.

“Come on in,” I said. AJ poked her head in, and I waved her to a seat across the desk from me. “It’s your office, too. You don’t need to knock.”

“I didn’t want to disturb you if you were in the middle of something.”

“Well, what I’m in the middle of is figuring out what to do with this mess. Apparently, Mr. Quince wasn’t all that tech savvy. Most of his books are still on paper. So it takes longer to put it all together. But I can already tell that you were right. The restaurant has been losing money for years. It got a little better after you started here, but not enough to save it. Had he continued this way, it would have gone out of business in less than a year.”

Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath. “Do you think we can do much to save it in three months?”

“It’s hard to say. We give it our best shot and show that our methods are more profitable than what was done in the past. If he were to sell it right now, he wouldn’t get much for it. I intend to use that as our starting point when it comes to purchasing it.”

“That makes sense.” She paused and settled deeper into her seat.. “So, how should we proceed? I’m putting together a new menu. Do you want to give any input on that? And is it okay to go ahead and make those changes now?”

“I can give you a list of fresh ingredients that we have available now on the farm. And also a list of other farms we can contact for what Willowbrook doesn’t have. Would you want the menu to always stay the same, or would you like to change with the seasons?”

“I actually like the idea of changing with the seasons. There may be some items, like our signature dishes, that we keep all year round, but the rest change depending on what we have available, whether it’s seasonal or daily specials. That makes it fun for me, but also makes it more interesting for the customers. Hopefully, they will come in more often to try our new dishes.”

“I like the way you think.” I pulled up a spreadsheet and printed it for her. “Here. This is a list of everything Willowbrook farm has to offer, and approximately when it is available. Some vegetables won’t be available in the winter, but others can be grown in greenhouses or preserved for use in the offseason. Most meats will be available year round, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Perfect.” She scanned the paper. “I’ll use this to tweak my menu. I was also thinking of taking the most popular items on the current menu and improving them. This way, the people who are loyal customers can still get what they like, but it will be even better.”

“Right. We don’t want to shut down and start completely over. Though there are benefits of doing that. But with the arrangement we have with the Quince family, we have to show improvement in the current business. So you’re right, if we can transition in a way that retains the loyal patrons and also attracts new ones, that’s how we’ll move the needle in the right direction.”

“Okay. I’ll work on finalizing a transitional menu.”

“Let me know when you want to start it. I’ll put a shout out on social media and see if we can get some people to come check it out and start the town buzzing about it.”

“I’m starting to offer daily specials, too. It would be nice to put those out there to attract some attention. If you give me access to the social media accounts, I can post the specials each morning.”

“The Moonstruck doesn’t have much media presence. So I’ll work on getting that going right away.” I jotted down some notes on my growing to-do list. “About time we brought this place into the twenty-first century. Don’t you think?”

She lifted a hand. “Preaching to the choir. I’ve been telling him ever since he hired me that we needed to do these things. But he wouldn’t listen.”

“Now, it’s up to us. If you have any other ideas for how we can get the word out and bring in more customers. Let me know. Here is my number. Text me anytime.” I handed her my card with my cell number written on it. “This isn’t the only thing I’m working on, so if I don’t answer right away, it’s probably because I’m in a meeting. But I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as I’m available.”

“What other things do you do? If you don’t mind my asking.”

“Fair question. My fiancée should know these things, I suppose.” I gave her a flirty smile.

“And so should your business partner.”

“Also true.” I rocked back in my chair and intertwined my hands behind my head. “I work full time as a business consultant and financial advisor. I’ve recently moved home with my parents on Willowbrook Farm, and am working remotely for my regular job, while trying to help my dad with some of the farm business to lighten his load a bit.”

Her mouth dropped open. “How are you going to do all that and save this restaurant at the same time? You won’t have time to sleep.”

“I’m touched that you care.” I tapped my heart. Then, downplaying how big a load it actually was, I flicked my hand away. “It won’t be so bad. Sleep is highly overrated, anyway. But I’m efficient and have a good team working for me at my other job, so I can delegate a lot of that. It’ll be fine. It does mean I won’t be here all the time, though. I want you to understand that I am committed to this place. I just have other things to juggle at the same time.”

“I understand. Let me know what I can do, too. Since we’re supposed to be partners.”

“Well, like we talked about before, you’ll be in charge of the day-to-day operations, and I’ll be more behind the scenes in the office. I think it’ll balance out nicely and utilize both of our strengths.”

“Well, between your schedule and mine, we shouldn’t have to worry about explaining why we aren’t seen in public together as an engaged couple. We simply don’t have time, and that’s the truth.”

“Aww. Is my snookums feeling neglected? You know I’ll make time for you whenever you want. All you have to do is ask.” I meant it as a joke, but the truth of those words rattled me. I really would drop everything if she wanted to see me. No doubt about it. “Oh, and since we’re supposed to be engaged. You really ought to have a ring. Don’t you think?”

“I don’t like to wear rings when I’m cooking, so that can be our excuse.”

“I thought that might be the case, so I got a cheap ring and put it on a chain for you. Just in case someone asks.”

“Oh, okay. I guess that’s a good idea. We should probably coordinate our stories, too. Like, how did we meet? And how did you propose?”

“Let’s keep it as close to the truth as possible. We met at a charity event. It was love at first sight, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. I couldn’t help but propose to lock you down and make sure nobody would steal you away from me.”

“I guess as a twist on the truth, it could work. Do we admit that we only met a week ago?”

“No. Too close of a timeline. Nobody would believe we met and got engaged that quick. Let’s say it was a few months ago. There was an event that raised money for homeless shelters in August. I attended it and there were probably a thousand people there. We could have easily met there.”

“Funny thing is, I was actually at that event, too. We might have walked right past each other and not known it. That’s the perfect backstory.”

“Fate must have been spinning its magic already then, so when we did meet, you wouldn’t be able to resist me.”

“If only fate would have given me a heads up, I’d have run the other way.” She pushed my shoulder as she got up to leave. “Alright. Now that we kind of have a plan, I better get back to work.”

“Look at that. We got through an entire meeting without fighting. Maybe there’s hope for us yet.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. The day is young. You keep pushing my buttons, and you’ll have more than ghost peppers to worry about.”

“Sounds like a challenge. I accept.”

She shook her head as she rose from her chair. “Partnering with you, Jasper, is like a delicate reduction sauce—slow to build, easy to overheat, and prone to separation.”

“I better keep stirring the pot then,” I quipped with a wink.

She huffed before fleeing out the door. I sat at the desk, grinning. What would she come up with next? And how could I beat her at it?

I hadn’t been this excited about something in a long time.