Chapter 8 #2
I smiled. “I do. I will help, absolutely, but you two seem really excited about this. You can sit at the table where I do consultations and start to come up with ideas for a little while. You’re here another hour?”
“Yes, sir,” Gail said.
“I don’t expect a full proposal today, but I don’t want you working on something like this off-hours when you aren’t getting paid. This is something that will add money to the business, so it needs to be supported by the business.”
“Thank you, sir,” Carson said.
“You both make me feel old.” The door jingled with the arrival of a customer. “If it gets busy, I’ll let you know, but otherwise, start coming up with plans. We’ll try to get this started in the next few weeks, if you both think that’ll work.”
“Yes, sir,” they said together.
I chuckled and shook my head, waving them to the back while I greeted the new customer.
Carson and Gail’s proposal was good. Damn good. They thought of things I hadn’t in just an hour. I told them both to keep track of any hours they worked on it when they weren’t at Blossom & Grow, but encouraged them not to work off-hours. They needed to enjoy life, too.
But me? Blossom & Grow was my life at the moment, so I spent a few hours after I closed considering all the things I would need to do to make this venture successful.
I sat on the couch with a beer and the notebook Gail and Carson started their work in and thought over everything that would go into it.
There was time, supplies, and transportation, obviously.
But there was also marketing and setup. In some cases, we would have to set up the planters at the location.
If I found standard containers, we could bill by the size, but not everyone would want the same thing.
The theater would need tall and skinny planters that meant less plants but more dirt and filler.
A place like Ramsey’s office would likely need something that fit on top of a desk or table.
I could do custom prices for everything, but that would make it harder to plan for and advertise. If I wanted to advertise. How much could I do before I ran out of time in a week?
My mind was spinning with thoughts and ideas when my phone dinged with a much needed distraction. I set the notebook down and picked up my phone, smiling when I saw a notification from Book Boyfriends Wanted.
TooBusy
How was your day?
DirtyLife
It was good actually. How was yours?
TooBusy
Good. I had lunch with a friend today. It was a nice break from my normal routine.
DirtyLife
It’s good to shake things up once in a while. And time with friends is always a good idea.
TooBusy
I agree. I’ve been thinking a lot about you and shaking things up.
DirtyLife
Is that so? In what way?
TooBusy
Just wondering if we’re going to meet sometime.
I sucked in a breath. Before Casey, I was hoping to get a chance to meet TooBusy in person. She was always talking about work and her kid, but she made me laugh. I liked that. A lot.
DirtyLife
Is that your way of asking me out?
TooBusy
I don’t want to be too forward. I know some guys don’t like that. But I think lunch could be nice.
DirtyLife
Like you had with your friend today?
TooBusy
I work a lot, and I have my daughter, so lunch is my only free time most days.
I scrolled back through all our conversations. Daughter. Working multiple jobs. Divorced a year ago.
No. My match was Casey?
Shit.
I drew a breath. The woman I was teaching to flirt so she could find another man to sleep with was using my lessons against me.
And she clearly had no idea.
How the hell was I supposed to handle this? Did I tell her? Did I keep it to myself?
I wasn’t positive it was her, but I was pretty sure. If it wasn’t her, I had zero guesses. Hell, I had zero guesses before, but after meeting her, it made sense.
It had to be her.
TooBusy
Are you still there? I wasn’t trying to make things weird. If you’re not interested, I understand.
DirtyLife
No! I’m interested.
I’m definitely interested.
I just don’t have a lot of time for lunch.
A definite lie, but I couldn’t tell her I owned my own business and could do whatever I wanted.
DirtyLife
Are you available on Saturday?
TooBusy
Sorry. I have my daughter home all weekend.
DirtyLife
Crap. Okay. We will figure something out eventually. Don’t give up on me, okay?
TooBusy
I won’t if you don’t. But if you have plans with anyone else, I can’t ask you to wait until I’m free.
DirtyLife
No plans with anyone else.
At least I was telling the truth about that. The only one I had any plans with was her. Flirting lessons in person and with her as my match once I figured out how to make this work. The more I thought about it, the surer I was that TooBusy was Casey.
DirtyLife
What’s your favorite thing to do with your daughter?
TooBusy
Anything I get to do with her is nice. She’s getting to the age where she’s not as interested in being around me. We’ve always liked picking out pumpkins in the fall. We didn’t do it last year, but this year, I think we’re going to do it again.
DirtyLife
Are you a pumpkin spice person?
TooBusy
LOL! No! I love pumpkin pie, but I’m not a pumpkin drink person. Give me a regular coffee with a little cream and sugar, and I’m good to go.
DirtyLife
Same. But I do love a good pumpkin muffin.
TooBusy
I’ve never had one.
DirtyLife
You’re missing out. It’ll change your life. Or pumpkin cookies. Have you ever had those?
TooBusy
I think you’re talking nonsense. Where does one get these things?
DirtyLife
Stick with me, sweetheart. I’ll share all my secrets.
TooBusy
LOL! It sounds like you’re a really good guy to know.
DirtyLife
You bet I am.
I smiled at my phone, wondering if I could get her to fall for me online and in person at the same time.
Then I realized what I thought and tossed my phone onto the coffee table. It dinged, but I ignored it.
I was not going to fall for Casey. Either Casey. She wasn’t looking for the same thing I was. She’d already admitted that to me in both places. I had to keep that in mind.
Or I’d end up hurt all over again.