Page 47 of A Lot Like Adiós
Gabe’s grin was full blown. “I loved it. Jas was great. You must be proud of her.”
Michelle set down her fork. “I am.”
Some part of Michelle appreciated that, even though Gabe hadn’t reached out in all these years, he’d watched Jasmine’s show.
“I’ll play chauffeur today,” Michelle said, getting back to the topic at hand. “No offense, but I don’t trust you to drive my car around Manhattan. I’ll bring my laptop and do some work in cafés, or in the car if we can’t find parking.”
Gabe frowned. “Why would you do that?”
“Because you’ll be in meetings.”
“So? I want you there.” He said it like there could be no other option.
It made logical sense, so she nodded. Seeing the potential spaces and meeting the celebrity they were thinking of working with would help her formulate the best plan for the campaign.
But inside, warmth kindled at the thought that Gabe wanted her with him for his business meetings. Whether it was because he valued her input or couldn’t bear to be apart from her, she didn’t know. The possibility of either made her a little giddy.
Instead of her usual tank-top-and-jeans combo, Michelle put on a royal-blue dress from her Rosen and Anders days and a pair of red wedges. She swapped out her Captain America–themed mini-backpack for a red Kate Spade shoulder bag, and left her hair down instead of sweeping it into a messy bun. When she met Gabe in the living room, he did a double take.
“Never mind,” he said. “I think we should just stay here. In bed.”
It was hard to say no when he was looking so good in dark slacks and a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to expose his exquisitely muscled forearms. But Michelle wanted to see Business Owner Gabe in action, so she grinned and shook her keys at him. “Let’s go.”
AFTER VISITING FIVElocations with Carter the real estate agent, Gabe welcomed Michelle’s suggestion that they stop at a café before driving uptown for the next meeting. With his oat milk latte in hand, Gabe leaned back in the front seat and took a long, slow sip, trying to forget that he’d quit caffeine years ago.
He and Michelle had viewed potential spaces all over Manhattan from Harlem to Soho, and gotten stuck in traffic twice, where they were forced to make small talk with Carter, a sandy-haired guy who looked to be about thirteen. Carter was a self-proclaimed HGTV addict.
“I never want to hear aboutHouse Huntersever again,” Gabe muttered, lowering the to-go cup.
Michelle snickered. “It’s a whole channel devoted to his profession. I’d be more concerned if hedidn’twatch HGTV. I hope he knows most of those shows are fake, though.”
“Don’t tell him that. You’ll ruin his life.”
She took another sip of iced tea, then set the cup in the holder between them. “Did you prefer any of the spaces we saw? You played it pretty cool, so I couldn’t tell.”
He’d worried she was going to ask that. “I don’t know,” Gabe finally said. “The Soho space was nice. I could see it matching the vibe of the Los Angeles location. High ceilings, lots of glass, et cetera.”
“Do you want it to have the same vibe?” Michelle asked. “Or do you want it to be its own thing?”
“I don’t know,” he said again. “Fabian is supposed to do this part. I’ll send him the pictures and let him decide.”
“We should talk about your audience,” she said, starting the car. “Have you analyzed your social media following to see where they’re located? I’m guessing most will be in the Los Angeles area, but we’re going to want to build out your New York City and tri-state area audience, because they’re going to be your new customers.”
“Um, Fabian would know.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Should I email Fabian about some of these things?”
“Yeah, probably.” Gabe hated that he couldn’t answer her questions, but all of this was Fabian’s area of expertise. Gabe trained the employees and worked on classes and curriculum.He connected with vendors and equipment providers, and handled the hiring and firing. Fabian was the one who usually interacted with the investors, bank, and anything having to do with décor or social media.
“Okay, I’ll email him, maybe set up a call,” Michelle said, pulling out of their parking space. The woman had a sixth sense for finding parking spots in Manhattan. “What’s next on the agenda?”
“We’re heading to a restaurant near Columbus Circle to meet our investor, Richard Powell, and the celebrity spokesperson he has in mind.”
Michelle shot him a quick look. “Shouldn’t it be whoyouhave in mind? Or Fabian?”
Gabe shrugged. “Powell has a lot of strong opinions. And this actor is a member at the gym.”
“Ooh, it’s an actor? Let me guess.” She tapped her chin in thought. “Sylvester Stallone.”
