Chapter 21 #2
“Ha. I suggested some possibilities. Businessy ones, like find a manager for the studio. Turn the farmhouse into a bed-and-breakfast. He actually seemed to listen.”
“Interesting,” I said slowly, eyeing my future roommate. “It’d make an awesome B and B.” Ian just didn’t seem like the type to run one. But really, I didn’t know him at all. “You should come over before I move out and work on him some more. It sounds like you have influence.”
Dakota laughed. “I don’t know about influence, but I can bother him some more.”
“Sounds like you better bring those feminine wiles,” Cambria said as she finished tying one more ribbon. “You guys are the best. It would’ve taken me till midnight by myself. Now all I have to do is box them up and put the mailing label on.”
“We make a good team,” Dakota said. “And speaking of, we should probably talk about this business thing.”
Cambria eyed the ceiling before leaving her work on the table for a few hours. “Why don’t we sit on the porch. I’ve got snacks we can munch on while we talk. And more wine if we need it.”
“More wine is always a good option,” I said. That bubbling feeling was back in my gut, the mix of excitement and nerves.
“Come on, Jethro,” she said to the snoozing dog.
The three of us walked to the house. Cambria insisted we sit at the high-top table and let her bring the food out, so Dakota and I did exactly that with both dogs settling nearby.
“How was the picnic last night?” Dakota asked me once we were alone.
I’d forgotten I even mentioned I was going since it’d been last-minute.
“Typical teacher get-together,” I said nonchalantly. “Food from Henry’s, BYOB, a cutthroat volleyball game. No one got stupid drunk. No one did anything scandalous. It was over by eight.”
“Did you see Max?”
“Yep.” I took a drink of wine. I hated keeping a secret from her, but Max was her brother. She might’ve been the one who dared me to bid on him, but I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about us sleeping together—more than once. I wasn’t going to find out either, because Max and I agreed to tell no one.
Which was killing me more than a little.
“That’s all?” she asked. “Just yep?”
“Yep,” I repeated. “He was there with Danny. He hung out with the math teachers.”
“What about you?”
“I sat with Dorie Ludwig and her mom.”
The door opened, and Cambria carried a tray out with a cheese ball and crackers, summer sausage, and chocolate-covered nuts. Plus a bottle of chardonnay.
“You’re my kind of human,” I said as she slid the tray to the center of the table.
Not only did she have excellent taste in snacks, but she’d saved me from more questions about Max.
We emptied the moscato into our glasses as we filled our plates with food.
“So,” Cambria said as she slid onto her chair. “My mind has been going nonstop since Sunday. I feel like it wasn’t a coincidence that you two came along when I was mulling over how to pivot.”
“Maybe it was fate.” Dakota popped a chocolate almond in her mouth.
“I almost didn’t even look at the shop when I saw the square footage,” Cambria continued, “but being on the square…”
“You can’t beat that location,” I said.
“Exactly. So my mind was spinning the minute I saw it, coming up with possibilities. Then you two mentioned your jewelry and your ceramics.”
“We’d just been talking about how some of us regulars at the studio have quite a stash of our work because we don’t have a good way to sell it,” Dakota said.
“Let me tell you some of my ideas and see what you think.” Cambria had opened the chardonnay inside and poured some in our now-empty glasses. “Sorry for not washing those out first. Party foul.”
“I’m not a purist,” I assured her.
“Same.” Dakota held her glass up. “To laid-back bitches.”
We clinked, laughing.
“Tell us what you’re cooking up,” I said after taking a sip.
“My candles; your jewelry, Harper; your ceramics, Dakota; and I know a girl who makes soaps, lotions, that kind of thing. I think she’d jump at the chance to sell through a retail store.
I’ve researched some other product lines that would fit what I have in mind—candle holders, crystals, geodes, stickers, incense, some other decor, and gift items. Basically an eclectic mix of handmade merch and unique items we can order from smaller suppliers. ”
“I love it,” Dakota said easily. She said it so fast that my head whipped in her direction. “What?” she asked me. “You don’t?”
“No, I do,” I said. “I’m intrigued. I can picture it. Sort of an earthy, artistic vibe?”
“Yes!” Cambria said. “I had an idea for a name.” She made a face as if hesitant to tell us. “What do you think of Earthly Charm?”
I let it roll through my head for a second. “I like it.”
“It’s perfect,” Dakota said. “You’re good at this.”
Cambria laughed. “Trust me when I say I’ve been obsessing.” Her eyes were wide with enthusiasm that was contagious. “So there’s a couple of different directions we could go.”
She paused to take a bite of sausage, and I didn’t miss her use of the word we.
I gulped some wine and waited.
“I’d love to have partners. You two if you’re interested.
We could open this business together as co-owners, either apply for a small business loan or find investors, and develop it together, equal shares.
Or if that’s more than you’re wanting to bite off, I can be the sole owner, and I’d love to have you as my first two employees. ”
I blew out a breath with an overwhelmed wooo sound. “That’s…big. Both options are a huge deal.”
“Huge deal,” Dakota said. “Thank you for including me.”
“If you hate it, no hard feelings,” Cambria said in a rush.
“I don’t hate it,” I said. “I’m a little freaked out about the partnership. Are you sure about that?”
Cambria picked up an almond but didn’t put it in her mouth.
“I’ll be honest. I’m freaked out too because it’s a big endeavor to open a store on the square.
I was originally thinking a tiny storefront with a large enough back room to do my work in, but then this opportunity came out of nowhere.
I’m a risk taker, so I want to do it either way, as long as I can get financing.
But I’d love it more if you two were in it with me. If it was our business.”
“You know I’m a bartender, right?” Dakota said. “I can make a mean mimosa and a killer martini, and I can make change when I have to, but I’ve never owned a business.”
“If you’ve sold your mugs, you technically have,” I pointed out, surprising myself because, by those standards, I was in business too.
“This is such a bigger scale,” Dakota said. “How long do we have to think about it?”
“However long you need, as long as nobody else gets serious about that storefront. Darius said he’d give me first dibs.” Cambria looked to me. “What are you thinking, Harper?”
“I’m thinking I need more wine.”
We all laughed, and I held my glass up for her to refill.
I nodded. “I need to make enough money to pay the rent and live on.”
“I plan to include payroll in the financing,” Cambria said.
“This girl is smart,” Dakota said.
“We can totally do this,” Cambria said, her eyes lit with excitement and determination. “Going into business together would be an adventure.”
I laughed giddily and wondered if the wine was hitting me. Because I liked adventures and was really considering this. “I need to make sure you understand that, like Dakota, I’m great at customer service but inexperienced with business stuff.”
“You’re both creative and smart and have good taste,” Cambria said. “I like business. I’ve watched a ton of videos about it and learned a lot. That said, I’m green too. We’ll figure it out together.”
I met Dakota’s gaze and lifted my brows. “Thoughts?” I asked her.
With her grin widening, she shrugged. “Where’s the downside? I love the Henrys, but I could use a change. It’s outside my comfort zone, and they say that’s supposed to be a good thing.”
“Yeah.” I’d lived most of my life deeply ensconced in my comfort zone. If I wanted to be more like Naomi—and I did—I needed to seriously up my game.
“Worst-case scenario,” Dakota continued, “the store doesn’t make it, and we have to find new jobs.” She shrugged again. “But with the collective creativity and girl power at this table? I don’t see how Earthly Charm doesn’t rock this town.”
I swirled my wine in my glass, watching the pale-yellow liquid swish around, my heart hammering. I’d never been an over-thinker. I went by my gut. Right now my gut was screaming to take the chance.
“I think we should go for it,” I said. “I’m in.”