Page 86 of Sweet Heat at Bayside
Gavin sauntered in with a cocky grin and a cup of coffee in each hand. He guided the door closed with his foot and said, “I’ll take my chances.”
“You’re either brave or foolish.” She waved to the chair across from her.
He set a coffee cup in front of her, then sipped from the other as he sat down. He crossed an ankle over his knee, sat back, and said, “Definitely both, butwow. You look awful. Breakup, nookie night, or PMSing?”
“None of the above.” She came around the desk and sat in the chair beside him.
“Don’t get handsy with me,” he warned.
She smiled. “I need advice.”
“Should I get cookies?”
“Probably, but there’s no time, so just go with it. Let’s say you got an opportunity for a new job.”
He wrinkled his brow. “Didn’t we just play this game?”
“Different job, and it’s in a place you love.” She sighed. “It’s too hard to be hypothetical. I’m exhausted, so I’m just going to say it, but it stays in this room.”
He pantomimed slipping something over their heads. “Cone of silence.Go.”
“The woman I used to work for, Justine, is selling her company, Shift, the small design firm in Hyannis I told you about. I just found out yesterday. She has an offer on the table and is supposed to sign the papers Tuesday.”
He leaned closer, listening intently. “My interest is piqued. That’s the place you said you loved working, but they didn’t have the business to hire you full-time, right?”
“Yes. But if I bought the business I could market it and, honestly, she said she earns fifty thousand working part-time. I could live off that if I needed to.”
“But is she going out of business because the business is failing? Can the local economy handle it? Was there too much competition?”
“No. She had a baby and wants more time with her. I know Justine. I know how much she loves Shift. She built it from the ground up. But when she had her baby, she changed. She became a mom, and I get that.”
“Will she let you look at the books?”
“Yes, but I don’t even know if I want to buy it.”
He blinked hard, like he was trying to make sense of what she said. “Doing what you love in the area you love. What’s the issue?”
“A couple things. I have a solid job here.”
“With a boss.”
She was too tired for games. “What does that mean?”
“You have issues with authority. Did you not know that? Sorry. I thought you did.”
She couldn’t suppress her smile. “Okay, that’s fair. I do, but only when I think my ideas are better.”
“Like I said.Issues with authority. What else?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem. What if I haven’t given this place enough time? What if things fall into place and my weekends become my own? What if Suzanne eventually respects me enough to let me handle Laura and Spencer the way I want to?”
He pulled out his phone, navigated around, then handed it to her. “This is my schedule for last month. You tell me—will things change?”
She glanced at the calendar. He had appointments on almost every Saturday, three evenings each week, and on one Sunday. She handed him back the phone. “Then there’s the biggest problem.”
“I know. The whole too-good-to-be-true thing.”
She rolled her eyes.
