Chapter 3
MADDIE
Felix Faraday. I savored the name. It seemed just as yummy as the rest of him.
And having spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to dry him this morning, I had a pretty good idea about what the rest of him felt like.
I was trying to ignore that he probably also had a good idea about what the rest of me felt like, having mashed myself into him.
I could only take so much embarrassment in one day, so I was pretending that moment didn’t exist.
“Thanks for that,” I said, gesturing to the retreating rude mentor.
“I’m not sure why people don’t think coffee is a real business or that serving it is unimportant work.
I’m not saying we’re saving the world, but it seems pretty short-sighted for a bunch of people who lose it when they can’t get their caffeine fix and don’t own a coffee pot. ”
“Familiarity breeds contempt. They use coffee every day, and it gives the illusion of being easy because professionals make it a friendly transaction. It makes them complacent.”
The annoying lady with the triangle dinged it suspiciously close to us, and I jumped in surprise.
“Panel discussion!” She chirped forcefully.
“Thanks, Tricia,” said Felix with an easy smile. “We’ll be in shortly.”
I could see that Tricia really wanted us to move now, but Felix just smiled at her and waited.
With no conversational opening, Tricia had to give up and finally left with a huff of annoyance.
The ability to endure awkward silence was a master move that I did not have the skill for, and I had to admire it.
“Is the panel discussion worth sticking around for?” I whispered, peering into the meeting space. The networking event was being held at a hotel, and the meeting area had a glum sort of aura that didn’t seem encouraging to me. Standing in the foyer with Felix seemed like a much better idea.
“Ten to one, it’ll be Stanhope dominating all the questions to make himself look good.”
“Stanhope?”
That couldn’t be a real name, could it?
“Stanhope Wallace,” he said, pointing at the blond guy who didn’t think baristas should be anywhere but a coffee shop.
“His parents did that on purpose?”
“Probably,” said Felix with a shrug. “I’ve been assuming it’s why he’s such a bonehead.”
I chuckled.
“I think maybe I’ve had enough of Stanhope for one night. I was hoping. . .” I sighed and trailed off.
“Hoping for what?” Asked Felix, looking genuinely interested.
“I want to open a second location. But most of this last year has just been me googling and reading random books. I know about coffee and plants. I know about my business, but I don’t know how to expand.
That seemed like something that ought to be transferable between business types, and I was hoping to find that kind of information.
I kind of wing and a prayer’d my opening, and while I figured it out, I’d prefer not to do that again. ”
“A plan is definitely preferable.”
“Pumpkin Spice Day usually goes better than this,” I said sadly, pulling on my jacket.
Felix laughed as he straightened my collar.
“I did not realize Pumpkin Spice Day was a national holiday.”
“It’s more of a local celebration,” I said primly.
“Got it. I’m new to the area, so I didn’t get the memo. I clearly should have come prepared for the pumpkin spice swimming pool. My bad.”
“I am so sorry,” I said with a groan, which made him laugh again. He had a lovely voice and laugh with a lot of bass and gravel to it. It gave him a very authoritative sound.
“Come on,” he said, with a head nod toward the door. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“You don’t have to do that!”
“Yes, I do. Otherwise, Tricia will ding her triangle at me again.”
It was the most gentlemanly thing anyone had done for me in months, and that included all six of the dates I’d been on. Felix was only doing it to avoid aggressive triangulation, and I didn’t care. I would take it.
We reached the door, and I looked in dismay at the steady downpour outside.
“I guess I’ll be ending up in the swimming pool, too,” I said. “You really don’t have to walk me. I’m only down the block. I can run.”
“Mm, I don’t think so,” he said firmly. “Wait here.”
FELIX
Having seen Maddie in action around the café, I realized that she wasn’t bluffing.
She really was intending to walk her cute dress and good hair out into the deluge.
I knew I was old-fashioned, but I didn’t understand how a woman like Maddie could think escorting her for one whole block was too much trouble.
I found an umbrella at the valet stand and hurried back to Maddie.
I was relieved to see she was waiting for me.
I popped the umbrella up, happy to see it was one of the big golfing umbrellas.
“OK,” I said, holding out my arm, “squish in.” She did as instructed, and I stepped out into the rain with my arm around a beautiful girl. I only wished that I could make it a more pointedly romantic gesture.
“I’m just down there,” she said, pointing to the next block. “Right at the corner.”
The rain was making a hard patter against the fabric of the umbrella and the cement of the sidewalk. The streetlights had come on, creating pools of yellow light along the streets.
“Then we go that way,” I said, heading out but trying to match my strides to her shorter steps.
We had only gone a short way when her steps hitched, and then she began to fiddle with her purse. When we reached the corner, she stopped and began to paw inside the bag in earnest.
“Lost your keys?” I asked. She looked up, puzzled.
“No, they’re right here.” She held up her right hand with a set of keys.
There was a splash and the rattle of metal wheels in a puddle. I looked around as I caught the whiff of tobacco and unwashed human.
“Hey,” said a homeless man, pushing his shopping cart. “Five more bucks, and I can split a room with some people. You got any change?”
“Yes,” said Maddie, producing a ten-dollar bill as if she had been waiting to give it to him. “Please look out for Mr. Matinale.”
The man stared at her, his hand already reaching for the bill. “I will do that,” he said as she handed it over.
He wheeled his shopping cart away, and Maddie turned back to me. “OK, we can go.”
“Do you know him?” I asked as we stepped into the crosswalk.
“Never seen him before,” said Maddie.
We reached her car and paused for her to unlock it.
“You will come back to the coffee shop, won’t you?” asked Maddie, turning back to me with a worried frown. “I don’t usually have those kinds of accidents. I probably won’t douse you in latte again.”
“But only probably?” I asked, trying not to laugh.
“The future is not set in stone,” she said ruefully. “I try not to promise things I can’t deliver on, and I’m afraid that if you spend any time with me, you’ll realize that I’m always a bit of a wild card.”
“But wild cards have the best chance of making a winning hand.” Her face lit up with a smile. “You know, I do know about franchising and expanding. Usually, for a much larger corporation, but as you say, it’s fairly transferable. If you would like me to look over your plans, I can.”
“Really?” Maddie looked like I’d promised her a pony and a diamond ring. “Oh, I would love that so much.”
“Do you have time tomorrow? I can come into the shop.”
“Yes! Any time! I usually come in around nine.”
I didn’t want to say that I knew that. I’d pushed my own arrival time later in the morning so I’d be sure to see her.
“Then I’ll see you in the morning,” I said, holding open her car door.
“See you tomorrow,” she said, beaming.
I watched her drive away and told myself that it was just business. But never in my entire career had I stood in the rain for a business associate.