Chapter 6
Chapter Six
The next morning, Eden was surprised to walk into her office and find Randi sitting at her desk using her computer.
“Good morning?” she said, setting her purse on the desk.
“Hey,” Randi replied, rolling the desk chair away and standing up.
“Did you need to use my computer?”
“What? No.” Randi walked around the desk so Eden could sit in her chair. “While I was waiting on you I decided to get a little work done.”
“You were waiting on me?”
“Duh.” Randi sat in the chair opposite Eden. “I want to hear all about your coffee date with Tennie.”
“Oh.” Eden sat back in her chair.
“Oh? Come on, tell me everything.”
Eden smiled and appreciated Randi’s enthusiasm. Whatever was going on with her yesterday seemed to be gone. Maybe Randi was just distracted with the upcoming author pitch. Anyway, this was the attentive, sometimes nosy, best friend Eden knew and loved.
“She is very interesting,” Eden said.
“Interesting? You’ve got to give me more than that.”
Eden chuckled. “For starters, she was dressed differently than yesterday. Today, she had on business attire that really suited her.”
“Explain.”
“Yesterday, she was on her way to a work site so she was wearing jeans and boots. I told you she works in real estate development, right? Anyway, she explained that occasionally she goes to work sites where the construction is being completed. Most days she’s behind a desk in her office.
So, today she had on slacks and a crisp button-down shirt. ” Eden smiled. “She looked nice.”
“Am I interrupting?” Analise said from the doorway.
“No, I’m getting the details on Eden’s coffee date this morning,” Randi replied.
“Oh! How did it go?” Analise asked.
Eden chuckled. “I guess Randi isn’t the only one invested in my dating life. You are too?”
Analise shrugged. “Yes. I’m curious about the outcome of the event the other night. The whole concept was different.”
“Eden was telling me how her date looked. Hmm, I can’t remember when you’ve dated someone who is rather butch.”
Eden shrugged. “I told you that looks don’t matter, especially since I’ve already met her. Anyway, that’s not the interesting part. She’s artistic which I guess is understandable in her job.”
“Her job?” Analise asked.
“Doesn’t she work with blueprints and street layouts, that sort of thing?” Randi asked.
“Yes, but she sketches, too. Oh, and she reads. We talked a little yesterday about books and I gave her a few recommendations today. It was really nice.”
“Nice?” Randi gave her a skeptical look.
“Yes, nice. We weren’t together that long, and nothing seemed awkward. It was a nice conversation and a very pleasant way to start the day.”
“That does sound nice.” Analise said, looking over at Randi. “There’s nothing wrong with nice or reading books.”
Randi smirked. “I know that.” She turned to Eden. “Are you seeing her again?”
“Yes. She’s rather athletic, I think. We’re supposed to go bike riding.”
“Really?”
“This is the perfect time of year to do outdoor things,” Analise said. “The weather is lovely now. Before you know it we’ll be burning up.”
“Yeah, it’s not your standard go-out-to-dinner kind of date,” Eden said.
Randi looked over at Analise. “She also has dates planned with two other women this week.”
“Oh?”
Eden grinned and raised her brows. She wasn’t accustomed to all this attention, especially about her dating life.
“I’m going to a small club to hear live music with Kelly,” Eden said. “Since you’re going to be there too, I thought you might invite Cari.”
“You’re going on the date too?” Analise asked.
“Yes, I’m going to be there, just in case.” Randi shrugged. “You know.” She turned to Eden. “Why would I invite Cari?”
“Have you not seen her client profile?” Eden asked.
“I haven’t shown it to her yet,” Analise said. “She spent yesterday researching the genre. I emailed you her information this morning.”
“What’s a client profile?” Randi asked.
“We gather information about an author then have them complete a questionnaire on how they think we can help their career and business,” Analise explained.
“Cari did one for us a few weeks ago. I’ve been trying to get her to come in so we could do a full presentation.
It’s much more effective than simply sending an author a detailed plan or doing it virtually. ”
“Oh, I agree. So what made you think of Cari?” she asked Eden.
“She mentions book trailers with music on her profile,” Eden said. “It would be a good way to find out what type of music she likes in a casual atmosphere.”
“She already likes you,” Analise commented. “Interaction with her before the presentation could be a good thing.”
“Just because she likes me doesn’t mean she’ll trust us with her marketing and promises to further her career,” Randi said.
“Oh no, the presentation will do that,” Analise said. “I seem to remember you saying something like she won’t be able to say no.”
Eden raised her brows. “Oh yeah? Was your confidence showing?”
Randi sighed. “I’d just made a fool of myself. I was trying to dig myself out of that!”
Eden laughed. “Oh honey, that’s when you’re the cutest.”
Analise laughed. “Don’t worry, Randi. We’re all counting on you.”
The look on Randi’s face made Eden want to get up and give her best friend a hug. “Hey, no one knows marketing like you do. The pitch is going to be great, just like you.”
Eden was one of the few people who could see Randi’s doubts creep in and knew how to push them away. Randi smiled at her and Eden could see her confidence returning.
“I’d better get to work then,” Randi said.
As they left her office Eden turned to her computer.
“Hey,” Randi said from the doorway. “I’m glad you had a good time this morning with Tennie.”
Eden smiled. “I am, too. But hey, still no sparks.”
“That’s okay. Sometimes it might take a minute. Besides, you have two other dates this week.”
“I think Tennie is going to become our friend.” Eden liked the woman and was looking forward to getting to know her better.
Randi nodded and walked away.
Eden wrinkled her nose and sat back in her chair. She thought back to her other relationships and remembered feeling sparks almost immediately. Maybe this was different. She shrugged and turned her attention to the work she needed to complete today.
Randi walked into the office across the hall from Eden’s.
This would be her space for the rest of the week when she wasn’t practicing her pitch in the conference room.
She looked around the space then back over her shoulder.
It would be nice to be able to walk the few steps into Eden’s office to run ideas by her or to just take a break.
Randi knew a lot about Hook, Line & Reader because she’d spent a lot of time there over the years, meeting Eden to go out for lunch or after work, or because she had something important to share and couldn’t wait for the workday to end.
She’d even given Eden suggestions from time to time that she’d shared with Analise which in turn had been beneficial to the company.
In just one day Randi had realized there was a lot more for her to learn.
Yes, she was good at using social media or other marketing strategies to sell products and services, but this was different.
She was beginning to feel the pressure and importance of this presentation for the company’s bottom line.
Randi was a people-pleaser and wanted to help Hook, Line & Reader, but especially Eden.
It would give her a thrill to land Cari DeWare as their newest client.
Yes, she was just one author, but she could also open the door to other sapphic authors giving HLR a chance.
This excitement, anticipation, preparation, and pressure were the things that made Randi love her job.
She thrived on it. Eden often chided her on changing jobs regularly, but this was why.
Oftentimes, after she’d been in one place for a while the job began to feel mundane.
She never wanted to become complacent, so she changed jobs, her outlook, and looked for new marketing strategies for other products.
Randi was already familiar with Cari DeWare because she’d read her books.
The more she knew the better able she would be to present Cari with options.
She opened her email and found Cari’s profile.
She read through it and took a few notes she’d use to hone her approach to Cari’s author business.
Sure enough Cari mentioned using music in her social media posts because she often referred to specific songs in her books.
Maybe it would be a good idea to invite her to join them Thursday. Randi could get to know her better and tailor the pitch even more. She knew Cari was only in town for a short time so maybe a night out listening to music would be welcome.
“Hmm,” she mumbled while staring at the computer screen.
The thought of turning Eden’s date into an informal client meeting didn’t sit well with Randi. She was supposed to be covertly looking out for Eden, not trying to gather information for her presentation. Still, Eden was the one who suggested it.
Randi sighed then looked up the contact information for Cari. She used the company phone so Cari would know who the call was coming from and punched in the number.
“Hi, Cari,” Randi said into the phone. “It’s Randi Powell at Hook, Line & Reader.
Cari chuckled. “Hi Randi. That was so formal.”
“Oh? I wanted you to know it was me.”
“There’s this thing called caller ID and I have HLR in my contacts, so I had a pretty good idea it was you.”
Randi wondered if Cari must like teasing her because it certainly felt that way.
“Seems like I’ve heard of that.” Randi chuckled. “I was wondering, if you aren’t busy Thursday night, would you like to join me to listen to live music at a local bar?”
“Oh,” Cari said with surprise in her voice. “That actually sounds nice. Wait—you’re not asking me out, right? Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest?”
Randi paused and decided to tell Cari the real reason she was going to the bar.
“That’s a yes and a no. Yes, I’m asking you to join me, but no, I’m not asking you out. Do you remember the Pitch a Friend event where we met?”
“Of course I do. It was just a few days ago.” She gasped. “Does this have something to do with it?”
“It does.” Randi smiled. “Eden, my friend I was pitching, has a first date at the bar. She’s meeting a woman there who is supporting a friend that will be performing that night. I’m going along in case Eden needs me.”
“Oh, how sweet.”
“Mmm, she’d do the same for me. We look out for each other. But I will be in stealth mode, so instead of sitting alone or roaming around the bar looking creepy…”
“You thought of me and wanted someone to look creepy with you?” Cari laughed.
“Not at all! I know that you include music in all of your books. It would be nice to hang out and listen to music. I didn’t get to talk to you at the pitch event, so maybe we could do that.” Randi winced at her awkward delivery.
“Sounds like fun. I can be a stealth wingwoman with you. Maybe I’ll get something good to put in one of my books.”
Randi smiled. “Great. I’ll text you the location. I’m looking forward to hanging out with you.”
“Me too, Randi,” Cari replied. “Although I may be a tad disappointed you’re not asking me out. I love a good forbidden romance or hook-up, whichever it might be.”
Randi widened her eyes. She wasn’t sure if Cari was teasing her again. One thing she knew for sure was that Cari DeWare wasn’t shy.
“So you’re always looking for good stuff to put in your books,” Randi replied.
“You’d be surprised at the things that happen around you if you stop, observe, and take notice.”
“Good to know. In other words, you’re always watching.” Randi would file that information away and remember it Thursday night.
“Yuck, that makes me sound creepy.”
Randi laughed. “The jury is still out on that one.”
“Okay, I’ll plead my case Thursday night.”
“See you then.”
“Thanks, Randi. This will be fun.”
“We can only hope.”
“Bye.”
Randi hung up the phone and shook her head. She’d have to be on her toes around Cari DeWare.
“Eden!” she called from her desk.
“Just a sec,” Eden’s voice filtered into the room. “What’s up?” She stuck her head in the doorway.
“I talked to Cari DeWare,” Randi said. “She’s meeting me at the bar.”
“Oh, great!”
“We’ll see.” Randi sighed. “She is one bold woman.”
Eden came in and sat in the chair opposite Randi’s desk. “How so?”
“I explained why I was going to be there,” Randi said. “She was disappointed I wasn’t asking her out. I think her comment was something to the effect that she loves a good forbidden hook-up or romance.”
“Wow!” Eden’s eyes widened comically.
“I know!”
“Does she think it’s weird you’re going to be there for me?” Eden said. “Just in case?”
“Not at all.” Randi chuckled. “It seems she’s always looking for new material, so we may end up in one of her books.”
“How about that.” Eden laughed. “Oh, would you come by after work and help me pick out an outfit for Thursday night?”
Randi nodded. “Sure.” She didn’t know how many times she’d sat in Eden’s bedroom for a style show of sorts and Eden had done the same for her.
“Okay, I’ve got to get to work on this pitch. See you later.”
Eden hopped up and gave Randi a little salute. “You’re going to be great.”
Randi smiled as Eden left the office. She had always been Randi’s number one cheerleader and vice versa.
Maybe Kelly would be the one for Eden. Why did that leave such an unsettling feeling in the pit of Randi’s stomach?
They’d both had girlfriends over the years, but worked to maintain their close friendship. Surely this wouldn’t be any different.