Page 39 of Stay With Me

Chapter Seventeen

Elise

Overthenextweek,I get my strength back. Young Jae is attentive, wanting to pamper me. His care while I was sick was more than I expected and every time we experience something we haven’t in our relationship, it heals a part of me I didn’t realize needed healing.

The more I’ve thought about offering to partner with Tash, the more I’m excited about it. But I don’t want to just text her without a plan, so I sit down with my laptop to create a presentation.

As I work, I also think about offering to collaborate with Ari. She reached out while I was sick to tell me that her parents have finally decided to set up a transition plan for retirement. It feels good knowing that their parents are going to finally live their life outside of work and Ari will have the creative freedom to make decisions for the business she is inheriting.

She seemed a little off when we chatted, but was adamant that she’s fine, just occupied with the transition.

Mary comes over to the table as I work, bringing me coffee. “How’s it going?”

“Good. I think I’m almost done.” I angle my laptop to show her the document I’m making with seasonal specialties I can cater to the inn while promoting the shop. “I don’t want them to have the same product, so I’m trying to set up a customizable plan that we would collaborate on.”

She reads over my shoulder as I wait anxiously.

“It’s brilliant. And what a way to showcase other small businesses. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.” Mary smiles, and I know she’s not just saying that. One thing I’ve discovered about her is that she is always honest, even when you don’t want to hear what she has to say.

The bell rings, a group of girls comes in and she heads to the counter.

I pull up my email, drafting a letter to Tash and attaching the proposal. I do the same for Ari. Leaning back with a sigh, I close my laptop and hope they consider my offer. If I’ve learned anything from hiring Mary and expanding the menu, taking chances like these makes work more fulfilling.

***

Tash stands on the porch of her inn, waving as I get out of my car. “Elise, it’s good to see you.”

I grab the folder of ideas I’ve been brainstorming and join her. “You too. I’m so glad you agreed to meet with me.”

“The proposal you sent was intriguing, and I don’t see the harm in going over things. Let’s head inside, I have an office at the back of the house. We can go over things, finalize the plan, and then I will give you a tour.” I follow her into the inn. As we head to the back of the house, I see a fat orange cat lounging on a piano bench.

He hisses and swats at me.

“That’s grumpy George. Despite his awful manners, guests actually really love him and get a kick out of his angry demeanor.” She pets him, the rumbling purrs at odds with his earlier hiss. “I’m the only one he likes. I rescued him from a coyote when he was maybe two years old and abandoned on the property. We somehow end up with a lot of abandoned animals here. A few years back someone dropped off a horse in the old horse pen.”

Gaping at her, I ask, “What did you do?”

“Well, at the time, same as now, I couldn’t afford the expense of such a large animal. I can barely keep afloat as it is. I called a local ranch and they came and got her. They’re regular guests at the inn. The Hyatt family, they’re what help keep me afloat.” She gestures around her. I can see the work she’s put into maintaining the place, but there’s also wear.

“What happened? Young Jae said he met you shortly after you bought it and it was doing well.” I soften my voice, not wanting to seem judgemental, but it doesn’t make sense. Tash obviously cares for the place.

She sighs, her lips pulling down. “The building is old, and it was never maintained properly. Which I wasn’t aware of when I bought it. It wasn’t until a pipe burst that the plumber told me I had to redo a lot of structural stuff. Plumbing, electrical, there was some rotting that was never dealt with. I had to shut down large chunks of space at a time, which reduced capacity. And I was never able to financially recover. Then you add in the normal wear and tear, which is a huge deal when you’ve gone hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt.”

Her eyes are glassy as she looks at me. “I’ve been pestered to sell it by a guy I know. His family used to own it. I worry I may not be able to resist for long.”

Tsking empathetically, I follow her into her office and sit in one of the chairs. “What about taking on a partner? Someone who has the cash flow but doesn’t want to be involved in the day-to-day.”

She grabs a tissue, wiping her eyes, the weight heavy on her shoulders. So different from the woman reflected in the photos around her. “I have been looking around. So far, I only have one solid possibility, but they want to stay anonymous until I sign off on it. That worries me, but I may not have a choice.”

It hurts my heart to think that she’s struggling so much. “Well, let’s see if we can figure out a way to get some business building up. Let’s go through my proposal together and we can tweak as necessary.”

We dive in, developing strategies to promote having Perk Up goodies at the Mistik Ridge Inn, including some mock-ups Rae did of the promotional material I would post in the shop.

Tash gets more and more excited as we go through. “This is great. If you can draft a contract and send it over, we can make it official.”

I grin at her. “I will! Now, I’d love to get a tour.”

She shows me around, her pride shining through as she shows me the rooms she has been able to upgrade and talks about her vision if things improve. I make a mental note to book a stay for me and Young Jae, wanting to support her how we can.

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