Page 87 of Truth or Pack

"Hey, Taryn, how can I help you?" she asked as she stopped in front of Bea and I. “Oh, a new face!”

“I’m Bea, the bestie,” Bea said with a grin. “I love your shop.”

“Thanks! We have a bit of everything here,” she said, blushing at the compliment.

"Actually, I wanted to chat with you for a second if you don’t mind?” She glanced at me and her smile fell a bit.

“Is everything okay?”

“I hope so. But I have a bit of an offer for you. I’m looking at opening up a shop and distribution center here for my mystery date books. I was wondering if you'd like to combine your bookstore with my business? You’d still have control of this part, but then we can offer special services on the side. I know there’s a lot of logistics to work out, but I didn’t want to go forward without discussing it." I looked down at my feet and waited for an answer.

There was a high-pitch squeal of excitement from Dani before she pulled me to her and hugged me hard. Dani jumped up and down, still holding on to me and I didn't speak until she stopped. The relief was too strong at first.

"Is that a yes?" I asked, needing her to say it out loud.

"What? Oh! Yes, sorry I got a little too giddy. I would love to; what, when and how do we make it happen?" she questioned. “I know jumping in might be crazy but this town is tiny and business is alright, but nothing insane. With your help and a whole shipping center, I could open up the online store as well. Expand, make an online presence as well.”

"Then it sounds like we have a lot to discuss, since I’ll be working with Taryn, too. I have a realtor lined up to show us some spaces, if you can close up shop for a little bit?"

"Yes, sorry, I’m Dani," she said, holding out a hand to Bea. "I'm not normally this over excited but we need some new blood in this town and I may be a huge fan of Taryn's work."

"Speaking of work," Bea started and turned to me, "where is that sneak peek you promised?"

"Oh, are the videos ready?" Dani asked, a grin spreading across her face. “I’ve been waiting to see how they turned out.”

I pulled out my phone as I answered. "They are, but I haven't decided when to start posting. I have one that is a teaser that I want to post and see what the audience thinks.”

They were both leaning closer as I opened the app and navigated to where I had the videos saved and clicked on the first one. The first image was the new logo that Mathias whipped up for me. It was a wolf head with flowers around it, but there were bookish items among the flowers, tying it all in together nicely.

“Here’s the logo Mathias made for me. If we do a dual business, with both our names, I’ll use this for my side,” I explained.

Dani squealed again. “Oh, imagine that on your wrapped books! A colorful sticker or a foil one would be an amazing touch.”

I smiled, relieved she was so excited for the new business plan. Then I started the slideshow of pictures with flashes from my guys reading and even a frame or two of me with Ash.

On the last frame, it said, ‘new website coming soon.’ With the right music, my hope was that it would hype up my followers to follow us through the change.

Bea and Dani didn't say anything once it ended, so I thought maybe it was a flop. That was until Bea asked to watch it again.

"What? Why?" I questioned.

"That was the hottest fucking book-business commercial I've ever seen," she replied fanning herself.

I gave her a playful smack on her arm, "You bitch, I thought it sucked and you didn't want to tell me."

"Taryn, you are a true artist. I can't wait to see the videos of the guys reading and yes, I know they are yours, but they are a good selling point," Dani told me. Honesty rang out in her tone and I appreciated that she was a mix of sunshine and serious when the situation called for it.

"So, I should post it?" I asked them, just fucking with them at this point.

"Is that even a question?" Dani countered as she rolled her eyes. “Post!”

"Why haven't you posted it already?" Bea questioned.

"I think it's because I'm in there," I admitted.

"And you look hot," my bestie told me as her phone dinged. "To the car, ladies, we have places to be and Taryn needs to get that video on socials asap."

"I'm going to lock up and meet you two outside," Dani said as she hurried towards the back of the bookstore.

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