Page 115 of Bayside Heat
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.
“No Kane’s Donuts around the corner?”
“Crap. I hadn’t thought about that. She named a doughnut after me and Drake. Perpetual Bliss. Pretty cool, huh? I bet Abby would mail them overnight delivery if I asked.”
“First of all, that’s wicked cool, and second, maybe you can convince her to move to the Cape.”
She sipped her coffee and said, “Look at you, strategizing my life.”
“Someone has to.”
“That’s just it. Nobody has ever had to figure things out for me. I’ve done it myself forever. That’s why this is throwing me off so badly.” She got up and went to the window, gazing out over the city. “This was what I thought I wanted. A big city, posh clients, and a job with a big-name firm. I wanted everything my mother didn’t want to achieve.”
She’d told Gavin about her mother the other night, and it hadn’t fazed him in the least. He’d said, Every strong woman I’ve ever met had a parent who failed them, a parent who did well by them, or siblings to compete with. There’s no magic. We all become who we are because of someone else.
She turned around, taking in his sharp blue suit and shiny shoes. She had fancy clothes, but she still felt like an imposter in them. Her heart would never be in this company.
“I know what I want, and it’s not this,” she said confidently. “I want to go to work every day without the fear of being hamstrung by a boss or having to take on projects I don’t want to. I don’t care about the money. I care about doing what I love and being around family—Drake, Chloe, Mira, Rick, Emery. The whole gang.”
