33. Matter To You
MATTER TO YOU
“ I t’s all set?” Phoebe asked on Monday night.
He’d just walked in her door after driving back from Charlotte. He hadn’t planned on coming here since it’d been such a long day, but he missed her already.
Who the hell thought love would feel this deep?
“It’s on its way for our first collaboration,” he said.
His heart had been racing most of the day with excitement.
More than when Fifth Kid Brewing was officially his.
He remembered walking into the building after he’d bought it from the failing brewery prior.
He wanted to get up and go right away. Most of the staff stayed on rather than being laid off, but they had to adapt to his brewing style and how he was going to run his business.
Many left over the years, but a few clung on and were loyal hard workers.
“I hear how happy you are in your voice without even looking at the smile on your face,” she said, moving into his arms. “I’m so happy for you.
This is huge. I know it is. You’re big on your own and will continue to grow, but it’s hard taking a step out like this knowing not everything is in your control. ”
He hugged her tight. “That’s it exactly. I knew you’d understand.”
“Trust me,” she said. “I do. I could have stayed in Charlotte and done what I’ve been doing and what was comfortable.”
“Then you wouldn’t have met me,” he said, giving her waist a squeeze.
“That’s right. Being comfortable in life isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” he said. “Anything.”
“Do you find it odd that we never fight?”
He laughed. “Not really. I’m pretty laid back and you like to redirect and I let you. That avoids fights.”
Her chin lifted, a slight fire jumped into her eyes. “You let me?”
He tapped her nose and pushed her curly hair behind her ear. “Are you getting ready to fight? See, we can do it?”
She shook her head. “You set me up,” she said, crossing her arms.
“No,” he said. “Just pointing out that fighting means nothing. Talking prevented it, didn’t it?
Just like you got annoyed when I called you my woman.
The same when you were upset I hadn’t told my mother about you.
Or when you found out West told me to bring you to the wedding and you thought that was the only reason you were invited. ”
“That makes it sound like it’s always my problem,” she said, frowning.
“No,” he said. “I’m only saying that things come up when one of us is annoyed and we don’t get to the fighting part. That’s not a bad thing.”
She crossed her eyes at him. “Got it. Did you talk to Mason about everything that is going on?”
“I did,” he said. “Mind if I get a coffee? It’s been a long day and if I have a beer I’ll fall right to sleep.”
“I’ll get it for you,” she said. “A fancy one or basic?”
“You’re the fancy one of us. Basic works.”
She laughed and moved to her machine that he still got nervous touching half the time while he worried coffee would spew out the top and sides if he hit the wrong button.
She brought him the coffee quickly and he took a long sip.
“I don’t think you’re as basic as you say. You’re still processing that you had to admit to Mason what was going on, aren’t you?”
He moved to the couch and sat, the mug in his lap. Phoebe sat next to him.
“Yeah,” he said. “I can’t keep it from him. It wouldn’t be right. I’m putting a lot of my business and reputation into his hands as he is into mine. I’d want to know if something was going wrong there too.”
“What did he say?” she asked.
“Until I can get things figured out here, we won’t start on the next collaboration brewing in my plant. I understand completely and would have done the same thing in his shoes.”
There was too much on the line to risk it.
“That hurt, didn’t it?” she asked.
“Like a bee sting on an open blister,” he said. “But it’s the right thing. I talked with Travis. He’s going to come in this week and look my setup over. Foster is giving him access to what we’ve got and he thinks he can add to it. I know that will go a long way with Mason.”
They couldn’t prove everything happened on purpose, but he wasn’t buying the coincidence.
He just couldn’t.
“Whether it did or not,” she said, “it has to matter to you. Are you okay with monitoring things this closely in your business? Some employees are going to feel as if it’s big brother watching over them. That they aren’t trusted.”
“I thought of all of that, but if one person is causing issues, it fucks it for everyone if I lose business.”
“Completely agree,” she said. “I didn’t ask if you were hungry.”
It was seven now. “I ate a big lunch around three there.”
“But I’ll grab you some snacks now. Are you staying tonight or just want to stop and talk?”
“I’d like to stay,” he said. “If you’re okay with it?”
“It’s always okay with me,” she said.
“Good,” he said. “I’ve got mixed feelings about what is going on. I don’t know if someone is causing problems. If they are, then why? If they aren’t, then it’s a run of bad luck. Am I overreacting by adding more security?”
“What does your gut say?” she asked.
“That there is more going on and it pisses me off that I didn’t know it or don’t know,” he said. “But I don’t want to be wrong either.”
What was he missing?
What was he not seeing?
Were his priorities skewed now?
“Ask yourself this. If you do nothing and more happens, will you be pissed you let it go?”
“Extremely,” he said.
“Then be cautious if you can afford it. I think you can’t afford to not do anything when you look at the bigger picture. What did Foster say about it?”
“He agreed to talk to Travis. That I based a lot of things on Fierce when I started. What I could. I admired how they did things and studied them more than anyone else when I was setting up my business. But because I knew I was going in another direction, I adjusted.”
“You needed a base to follow,” she said. “You picked a good place for it.”
“I did,” he said. “This is a dream on so many levels and I can’t let anything happen. Not when I’ve got bigger plans to expand.”
“Let’s talk about that then,” she said. “And don’t worry about the rest.”
“I have nothing in writing yet. I’m searching for land. That’s the biggest part. I’ve got data where beer is purchased.”
“Data like what?” she asked.
“Zip codes on credit card charges. I can see how far people are traveling from and what direction. I ask myself if I go in that direction will I bring even more to me that way? Will it remove business from this site?”
“So you could lose revenue here that will go there,” she said. “But it could mean those people buy more with frequent trips because they are traveling less to do it.”
He smiled. “I’ve thought of that too.”
“It’s all a crap shoot,” she said. “And you can’t be in two places at once so are you willing to let someone else run it? Someone you can trust?”
“And that is the kicker,” he said, sighing. “That’s what I need and don’t have.”
If he had a family member interested in his business it’d make life easier.
“It will come to you when it’s meant to,” she said. “Just like you came into my life at the time you did.”
“You’re getting sappy on me,” he said. “I didn’t expect that of you.”
“Neither did I,” she said.
“How would you feel if I was around even less?” he asked. It had been weighing on his mind.
As much as he wanted to expand he also knew that it would pull him away from Phoebe.
A life he never realized how much he wanted until it landed in his lap.
“Don’t put this on me,” she said. “I mean it. You have your priorities and I’ve got mine.”
It wasn’t what he wanted to hear her say.
It went back to her never wanting to talk much about the future. It always came back to her saying she was giving it one to two years.
If she hadn’t put her head on his shoulder, he’d be a lot more hurt than he was.
But she was showing a vulnerable side that she rarely did.
He ran his hand over her head.
“Do you think our priorities will align someday?”
She snorted. “I think they already are more than you want to admit. Maybe more than I want to do too.”