Page 46 of The Sexy Part
I turn in the doorway. “It’s a date.”
She cocks her head. “Ha-ha. I’d better get back to work.” She rushes to the office.
See what I did there?Smooth move, Cooper.
9
Rowan
By Friday, I’m in a groove at Love Junkies, launching Hailey’s winter marketing campaign, as well as digging into online marketing to get some buzz. I even started social media accounts for Love Junkies. All they had was a business page on one of the social media channels that they never updated. I can’t believe I’m the voice behind a place called Love Junkies considering I’m the farthest thing from a love junkie. I’m now staunchly anti-love like Mackenzie. I was never much of a romantic, and Dave killed whatever shred of romanticism was left in me.
Hailey stops by at the end of the day after finishing three back-to-back consultations. “How’s it going in here?”
“Great. I set up some low-cost online ads for you like we talked about. It might be good to update a blog on your website with relevant keywords. It’ll bring you up in searches more. Maybe even get some free publicity with your articles.”
She points at me. “Sounds like a great job for my assistant.”
“But I don’t know anything about bridal articles.”
“I’ll give you some ideas, and you run with it. I trust you.”
“I really appreciate that trust, but—”
“Did you know that last couple mentioned they followed us on all the social media platforms? I checked, and we already have hundreds of followers. How did you do that?”
“I’ve been posting pictures you have in the marketing campaign folders with fun captions. I also found popular hashtags and glommed on to that.”
She parks a hand on her hip. “Aren’t you a wonder? I’m so glad I hired you.” She goes to her drawer and pulls out an envelope. “Here’s your first paycheck for the week.”
I walk over and take it. “Thank you, but I thought I was going to work off my debt.”
She gives me a small smile. “About that. I’m going to take off my personal fee from your wedding. We’ll work out a payment plan, okay? You go ahead and crunch the numbers and pay me back as much as you can afford. I want you to start rebuilding your savings. I know you’ll need it to move on.”
“Right.” Move on. Just like I’ve been planning this whole time. Back to the city and my old life.
But do I want that?I’m actually more comfortable and relaxed in Clover Park than I’ve been in a long, long time. It’s a beautiful town with wonderful people. Not a lot to do, but I’m really connecting with people in a way that I wasn’t in the city. We were all too busy.
I haven’t even tried to find new business for my solo ad agency. I just need a breather before I make the hard decisions, like whether to give up the career I’ve spent years building and find something else that works for me. Clover Park is my breather while I wait for my condo deposit and for my case to be heard in small claims court. I suppose I could get started on researching new possible careers and see if anything appeals.
Hailey puts on a cardigan and gets her purse from her desk drawer. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning for setup for the Rothchild-Smith wedding. You should be done by noon.”
“Yup.” I get my purse and light jacket and follow her out. She locks up and sets the security alarm.
“Any plans this weekend?” she asks.
“Other than trying to figure out what I want to do with my life? No.”
“Maybe Mackenzie and Harper will have something fun you can do together. And you’re welcome for Sunday family dinner.”
“I’ll be there for dinner, thanks,” I say.
She gives my arm a squeeze. “Have a good night.” She heads to the back parking lot for her car.
I stand on the porch for a moment, enjoying the crisp fall breeze and the pops of color in the trees. One day I’ll look back on this and see it as a gift. A fresh start to a life of my choosing.
I walk across the street, my eye catching on the Happy Endings bar sign. Cooper’s probably working tonight. No. I’m not going to stop by. I need to go home and figure stuff out. I peek at my paycheck. After taxes, it’s…a start. I’ll work out a payment plan and share it with Hailey on Monday.
I head down the block to Mackenzie and Harper’s house. My phone chimes with a text.
