10. Sydney
10
SYDNEY
Sydney stood and extended her hand as the woman approached the table. She was just as Katie had described: dark blonde shaggy bob, bubbly presence, and a wide, genuine smile.
“Rachel?”
“That’s me.” Rachel shook her hand. “You must be Sydney.”
Sydney gestured at the chair across the little round table. “Have a seat. I was just about to order my coffee. What can I get for you?”
“Oh, no. You’re helping me out today. Let me get the drinks.”
“No worries,” Sydney said. “My treat. This way if you don’t like what I have to say you’ll still have gotten something out of this.”
Rachel laughed. “That’s some wild logic. Thank you. Caramel Macchiato.”
Sydney put in their orders and paid, then returned to the little table by the window while the barista prepared their drinks. The place was vibrant with a wall of windows and a high ceiling with exposed beams and ducts. Photos of local jazz performers dotted the white brick walls, and there wasn’t an empty table to be found besides the one Sydney grabbed just before Rachel arrived.
“So what can I help you with? All I know is Katie said you could use some financial advice. I’m not an official adviser, for the record, and I don’t specialize in any kind of entertainment finance, but I can maybe help guide you to what you need and who could help with that.”
Rachel didn’t answer immediately. She just grinned and studied Sydney in the most peculiar way.
“Did I say something wrong?”
Rachel shook her head. “Not at all. It’s just how you said her name.”
“Who?” But Sydney could feel her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
How had she said Katie’s name? What had given her away?
No. There was nothing to give away.
Except for every ounce of reason she’d thrown aside with that kiss two days ago.
“I’m sorry,” Rachel said. “But are you also pretending there’s nothing between you? I figured it was just Katie being a goober.”
“Sydney!”
Saved by the barista.
Sydney jumped to her feet and retrieved their order. When she returned, Rachel was still grinning at her but didn’t say anything as Sydney placed a cup in front of her. The caramel and coffee aromas were warm and rich, but the smell apparently wasn’t strong enough to distract Rachel from the line of questioning she’d had a moment ago.
Sydney tried shifting the conversation in a more comfortable direction. “So what is it that I can help you with?”
“I don’t know what Katie’s told you so far, but basically our band manager has been handling everything herself. Booking gigs, organizing and setting up PR stuff, and collecting and dispersing our payments.”
“Sounds like a lot for one person.”
“Too much,” Rachel agreed. “And with a new big tour coming up, she needs to take some things off her plate. She wants to do the stuff she’s good at, the planning and organizing, but she’d like someone to handle the money. Especially while we’re on tour.”
Sydney processed it all while she tapped the sides of her mug with her neatly trimmed fingernails painted in a pinkish nude polish. “So you need bookkeeping, and… more?”
“I don’t know what, but we should probably get someone to handle all the money things. Including taxes and booking fees. Oh, and payments. Basically, everything?”
“Ah. Okay. Then you definitely need an accountant that specializes in entertainment finance.” Sydney blew over the top of her mug to cool the drink down. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find one around here.”
The conversation shifted Sydney’s concentration to her own dilemma. Was entertainment accounting something she might like to do? It was an in-demand field if she moved back here. It seemed interesting enough, but she’d need to do a lot of learning, and probably some new certification.
But it sounded like something she’d enjoy. And she would never shy away from learning something new.
She’d unexpectedly added another notch to the pro moving back column.
Since she’d been here, she’d been putting a lot of notch marks in that column. And she’d somehow kept everyone’s opinions out of the mix.
Well, everyone except Katie.
Katie hadn’t tried to influence her decision at all. Even if she did that inadvertently.
But Katie wasn’t part of the plan, so she couldn’t be part of the decision.
They talked a little more about what Brynn had been handling for the group, and Sydney took notes on exactly what they needed help with. It was a pretty substantial list, but Sydney was sure she could find someone to work with them.
“I’ll do some digging and make some calls. I’ll send you a shortlist with some notes and let you all take it from there,” Sydney said. “Sound good?”
Rachel put her mug down and waved her fingers in excitement. “So good! Thank you.”
“Not a problem. I’ve got time while I’m here.”
Sydney again thought about how long she’d be there, and how much longer might be in the future plans.
“So it’s my turn to repay this favor.” Rachel took a small sip of her hot drink, then added, “Some relationship advice in exchange for financial advice.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Sydney said, eying the woman curiously. “And I’m not in a relationship.”
“That look on your face tells me otherwise.” She placed her mug on the table and steepled her fingers. “Now, Katie’s my cousin, and I adore her, so I’m biased.”
“Fair enough,” Sydney said. “But I’m not in a relationship with Katie or with anyone else.”
Rachel ignored Sydney’s statement and continued on with her speech. “My cousin is straight-up wonderful. And you seem great, too. I know I haven’t seen how you two are together, but I’ve seen how you talk about each other. Don’t pretend there isn’t something between you.”
“Okay, maybe,” Sydney said. “But there can’t be anything between us.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you have rules, too.”
“Rules?”
“Katie hasn’t told you her big list of things a relationship needs to tick off so she can consider it worthy of her time?”
“She did say she was looking for something serious. I honestly don’t know why she agreed to hang out with me Monday.”
“That’s exactly my point. She’s so stubborn about those rules, but she threw them out for you. It was just a day, but it’s the point that she spent time with you. Time that she might consider wasted and with no potential. That’s not nothing.”
“Oh.” When Rachel put it that way, it sounded like a bigger deal than Sydney had thought.
“Right.” Rachel chuckled. “And from the looks of it, you’re probably throwing a few of your own rules out the window to hang out with her, too.”
“Not rules, exactly.” Sydney took another sip of coffee, stalling before she continued. “I don’t want to fall for the first woman I kiss after divorcing my husband.”
Rachel’s smile widened. “Then don’t fall for her. Just kill some time together until you have to leave.”
With every passing moment, Sydney wanted to move back here more and more.
But it couldn’t be because of Katie.
“As nice as that sounds,” Sydney said. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Who said everything has to be a good idea?”
Sydney didn’t really have an answer for that. She was so used to numbers fitting neatly into columns and calculated by formulas with easy-to-see answers.
But life decisions weren’t numbers.
Her heart surely wasn’t made of numbers.
But Katie had her list. And there were apparently more boxes Sydney didn’t check off than being an accountant and being unavailable in the short term. Sydney would love to see that list of Katie’s.
Or maybe not.
Actually, no. She didn’t want to know how far off she was from all of those items.
Rachel stood. “I should get going. This place is nice, but the chairs kill my already wrecked back.”
“I should probably go, too,” Sydney said. “Dinner with the family tonight, and I’m hoping to get some quiet time alone with a book before everyone shows up.”
“Thank you so much for the advice. Really. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Glad to help,” said Sydney with a smile. And she truly was glad to help. Meeting Rachel was great, and she always loved helping people, but their conversation brought up new paths Sydney hadn’t considered before. “I’ll let you know what I dig up and send you a list of names and my thoughts on each.”
“Perfect. Thanks!”
Sydney followed Rachel out of the coffee shop and walked in the opposite direction toward her rental car. A million possibilities jumbled in her brain, and she struggled to keep them all in check while she concentrated on the drive home.
Entertainment finance.
Huh.
Not something Sydney might have come up with on her own, but the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. No matter if that was back in San Diego or here in New Orleans.