Chapter Twenty-Seven
Tessa spent the following day writing a business plan.
She wasn’t sure how to find new clients for her online business, but she was certain she could run the company once it existed.
She’d start small, work with start-up shops and owners on a budget.
But she’d need start-up funding. Even without an office space, employees, and overhead, spreading the word about her company required money.
She’d need to create ads and launch them strategically online, via podcasts, and any other way she could.
The research and preparation took time but gave her much-needed hope.
It was something she could do, could work toward, and hold on to.
Though the specifics were still hazy, the possibility looked less like a dream and more like a reality for her future with each passing hour.
She’d fallen asleep the night before thinking of how Kate had gone all in on her new branding, come what may.
She had the mindset Tessa needed, one she’d started with but lost along the way.
She needed to be steadfast and determined. Tenacious and dogged.
No jobs available? No problem. She’d create a whole damn company. Then she’d run it.
That was what the heroine in her story would do.
Hours slipped away as she planned and prepped, creating an online portfolio of ideas, spreadsheets, and vision boards. Her version of Hallie’s Vampire Dinosaur Café binder.
She’d taken short breaks for water, made a call to her dad, and texted Grant to provide the gist of her frenzy. Of course he’d understood her harried excitement. This sort of plotting was his happy place too. And he’d helped as needed every time she’d messaged throughout the day.
She paused to stretch her neck and fingers, when her phone buzzed and Grant’s name appeared on-screen.
Grant: How’s it going?
Tessa: Good
Grant: Hungry?
Tessa checked the time on her laptop. Nearly seven in the evening. She’d missed lunch, and dinner threatened to come and go without her too. Her stomach growled, demanding she rearrange her plan.
Tessa: Yes, but no time
Several minutes passed, and she returned to her spreadsheet.
Grant: Anything I can help with?
Tessa smiled again, not only at his generous ongoing offer, but because Grant was kind, hopeful, helpful, supportive, and encouraging—all her favorite things in a human.
She held her phone more tightly, thumbs hovering, mind working. She really was hungry, but she felt both frantic and exhausted from all her mental effort. Going out, even for an hour, felt like an insurmountable challenge.
Tessa: Raincheck
Grant: On food or help?
Tessa: Food. I’m too tired to leave and I’m stuck on a few points in this plan
Grant: So, I can help?
She smiled.
Tessa: Always
She set her phone down. She needed to finalize the business plan and submit it to top banks offering the best interest rate, and she wanted to finish before bed. She needed sustenance to keep going. She should’ve agreed to get food with Grant.
Several minutes later, having made no new progress, Tessa forced herself upright and went to the kitchen in search of dinner.
And maybe a fresh pot of coffee. This would be an all-nighter, but that was better than dragging the process into a new day.
Her nerves couldn’t stand it. Better to wake knowing she’d done all she could, and the ball was no longer in her court.
Peering into her fridge and pantry reminded her why she hadn’t eaten. Late-night Tessa did not want a salad. She wanted something salty and greasy and comforting.
The doorbell rang, and she froze. Kate and Hallie came to mind, but she’d left her phone on the couch. She crept to the door and peered through the peephole.
Someone stood outside holding a bag of takeout food in front of their face.
The logo identified the delivery from the Bistro on Main.
Her name was scripted in black marker across the front.
The bag lowered slowly while she puzzled over how this had happened and which angel of heaven had sent her exactly what she needed in the exact moment she needed it.
Then Grant’s handsome face came into view. And he winked.
If she’d had more strength in the moment, she might’ve pulled the door off its hinges in her enthusiasm to open it.
“What are you doing?” she said, already pulling him inside. “How’d you find me?”
“Your address is on the business plan. Is that creepy?”
He’d read over her progress a half dozen times today.
She smiled, grateful for his initiative, dinner, and all the help he’d offered off and on throughout the day. “Yes. Exceedingly. Can I get you a drink? I have water or rum or Coke. Or rum and Coke. And I’m making coffee.”
“Coffee,” he said. “I hear this could be an all-nighter.”
She pulled two mugs from the cabinet. “What’s in the bag?”
Grant unpacked a series of takeaway containers and set them on the countertop.
Mouthwatering scents rose into the air as he worked.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I got a little of everything,” he said.
“Mushroom and Swiss burgers. Sweet potato fries. Their signature apple pecan salad. Chicken soup and chocolate.”
Tessa turned away from the coffee machine upon hearing the final word.
Grant held an open container with a slice of layered chocolate cake so decadent looking she nearly wept.
“I think I’m in love,” she said teasingly, then turned away when she felt her cheeks heat with a blush.
Grant arranged the meal on the island, and Tessa delivered two cups of coffee a few moments later.
A fresh burst of energy rose through her as she inhaled the perfect salty aroma of her awaiting burger, mixed with the spicy scent of Grant’s cologne.
Fresh affection, relief, and gratitude washed through her as she lifted the burger and took her first bite.
Hours passed, and the business proposal took its final form.
Together, Tessa and Grant created extensive support documentation with well-planned proposals for all potential pitfalls.
Tessa was elated and proud. Grant had brought her dinner.
He was in her home. Sharing her coffee. He’d helped her all day on a business project instead of the other way around, and they’d made an incredible team.
She walked him to the door with fresh bolts of adrenaline despite the hard-earned fatigue.
“Thank you again for dinner,” she said. “For being here for me and for all this help. I couldn’t have done it without you.
” In fact, despite her fierce, long-standing independence, she’d enjoyed working together.
She had a far better time with him than without.
“I had fun,” he said. “Thanks for letting me stay, and for not calling the police when I showed up uninvited.”
She grinned, stepping closer and arching her neck a little, for a better look into his eyes. “I would never.”
“That’s good.” His cool gaze flickered over her face and rested on her lips. “I wouldn’t make it in jail.”
She laughed, and his hands came to rest on her forearms, holding her gently in place.
“The last time I said goodbye to you in person, I kissed your cheek.”
“I remember,” she said, more breathlessly than she’d intended. The enticing scent of him pulled her closer, the lure of his voice, the warmth of his touch.
“I’ve been thinking about doing it again,” he said.
Her arms snaked upward on instinct, drawn by the crackle in the air between them. She set her fingers on the nape of his neck and felt the soft brush of his hair on her knuckles. “Oh, yeah?”
Grant stepped forward, closing the inch of space between them. He cradled her in strong arms and held her eye contact as he lowered his lips to hers.
Tessa’s eyes closed, her body tingled, and the sweet press of his lips was everything she knew it would be.
He kissed her chastely at first, gently, reverently as she melted into his embrace.
Then she was flying, fireworks blasting, and all the other silly things Kate swore a first kiss should be.
Things Tessa didn’t know existed before.
Grant’s kiss delivered it all to Tessa. And more.
Tessa woke the next morning with soaring rockets of hope. She’d finished the business plan, with Grant’s help, and she was quite possibly falling in love.
She’d submitted the polished proposal package to several online lender sites before going to bed and falling into a deep sleep.
Based on her scant personal finances, a business loan was a big ask, but her thoroughly researched and heavily supported documentation forecast a significant ROI within two years.
Hopefully, that would make her request much more reasonable on paper.
She and Grant had run the numbers a dozen times and were confident in their findings.
She might have to exist on instant noodles for a while, but the sacrifice was more than worth the reward.
Best of all, if the lenders saw things as she did, Tessa would be an independent business owner in a matter of months!
She hopped out of bed and dressed quickly, then made coffee. She imagined an inbox filled with positive responses and calling Grant to help her assess the details and determine which offer to choose.
She smiled as the coffee brewed, enjoying the possibilities ahead and her growing relationship with the handsome investor.
When the coffee was ready, Tessa carried a steaming mug and her laptop onto the balcony to check her email in the fresh morning air.
She hated that she couldn’t continue her work with all the small shops and cafés she loved, but when her former clients’ contracts with Hello, Marketing ended, they might choose to work with her for their next campaign.
Hopefully they all knew that was an option.
Maybe she could send out postcards and other materials to clarify that point. Perhaps she could donate goodie bags with swag from her new company at the next HHHH meeting.
Maybe she was putting her cart before the proverbial horse.