Page 9 of Holly versus Mr. Ivy
Trevor:Text Noah on a different thread.
Holly:Fine
Noah: ‘Night, bro!
I shot off a new text to my cousin.Holly:So, the food truck? [donut emoji]
When Noah didn’t respond right away, I hopped in the shower. The hot-as-could-be-without-giving-myself-second-degree-burns water pounded into my achy muscles. The spray melted away my terrible day.
I hopped out of the shower and put on my loose pink pajama set, complete with little lobsters all over them. Noah had given them to me for my birthday last month, and I absolutely loved the silky material, even if Noah had meant them as a joke.
Grabbing my e-reader off my nightstand, I snuggled into my plush bed, ready to pick up where I’d left off in my latest fantasy romance novel. When the hero cradled the heroine’s cheeks, my phone pinged. Annoyed, I ignored it. The kissing scenes were my favorites. Noah could wait.
The characters’ lips met right as my phone buzzed again.Come on, Noah, you’re ruining the best part!I lovingly set my book aside and angrily snatched my phone.
Noah:Goin’ good. I should have enough money to open my donut shop next year. [party popper emoji]
Noah:Are you coming to the fall festival? I’ll be there.
Part of the charm of living in Lampton was the festivals throughout the year. Every major holiday was celebrated in the town square, and I loved the music, food trucks, and vendors selling homemade gifts. The event committee spared no expense when it came to decorating. I loved seeing our usual drab city center transformed into a scene from a movie.
Holly:Depending on how my mom is doing, we’ll swing by in the morning.
Noah:Perfect. The pizza guy will be there…[wink emoji] Want an introduction?
Noah loved trying to set me up on dates. I didn’t have time between work and caring for Mom. Sadly, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone out with a guy.
Holly:Pass. [arms crossed over face emoji]
Noah:Hols, you need a real-life man, not just the guys you read about in books. [eye roll emoji]
Oh, how wrong my dear cousin was.
Holly:Actually, I don’t. Book boyfriends let me escape real life, and I need that.
Noah:Book boyfriends can’t kiss you and, my dear sweet cousin, you could use a nice long make-out session. [kissing emoji]
A laugh blurted out of me. I loved that my cousin watched out for me and cared about my love life, or simply my kissing quota. But the mere thought of putting any sort of effort into dating right now sent me into a panic. My life did not have a spare minute for men. My focus was on my job and Mom.
Holly:Your feelings on the matter are noted. [checkmark emoji]
Noah:I have a breakfast to cater in the morning. ‘Night [sleeping emoji]
No skin off my back. My book burned a hole in my comforter, waiting for me to get back to it before I fell asleep and repeated my schedule all over again. I might not have a real boyfriend to kiss me goodnight, but I’d happily settle for living through the characters I read about.
Holly: ‘Night. [blowing kiss emoji]
Chapter 4
Rhett
Withintendays,Ieasily concluded we had problems. Major ones. How had the restaurant been profitable at all? Instead of starting from scratch, since we really didn’t have time for that, my focus was on working with what we had.
But it wouldn’t be easy. Good thing I tried to find the positive as much as possible, since Holly’s employees constantly talked about her behind her back and rolled their eyes at her any time she spoke. Granted, she ran a tight ship, but more often than not, they deserved the reprimand. We somehow had to get her employees to show some respect.
The servers acted like they’d never done their job before. When a table’s order was set under the warming lights, they should have immediately taken it out to customers. It baffled me how often Kevin, the senior chef, had to remind the waitstaff that food sat there clogging the counter.
Those weren’t the only issues. We had little to no online presence, and our menu hadn’t changed in years. After observing and diving into the operations of the restaurant, my report to turn The Boardwalk into a well-oiled machine was as thick as an encyclopedia.
