Page 80 of Maid in Heaven

“It’s a business proposal. I’ve been working on it for a while now.”

Will flipped to another page and nodded, not nearly as excited as shewas.“Uh…huh.”

Ava leanedacross the table and turned some pages to the projections section, which was full ofcolorful charts and graphs.“So look, this is a fully fleshed-out businessplan that willappeal to clients who have lots of disposable income in the Jackson Hole areaand even potential investors, but best of all, if you turn to the back, you can see how easy it would be for us to eventually branch out and make it a national or worldwide chain, sort of likeChippendales.Actually, I modeled some of it after them.”

“Us?” Will repeated, his face suddenly pale.

“Us. You.” She frowned, upset that he wasn’t getting excited over what she’d just given him. “Look. I’m a finance gal. Business-minded.You need someone to keep your tax documents in order and keep an eye on expenditures and profits. That’s where I come in. That way, you can focus on the actual cleaning and getting together a potentialfleet. Then you can manage cleaners to make your money instead of doing the actual cleaning.”

Silence.

She continued, trying to sell him on the idea. “According to research for similar businesses in like income areas, your profitability, not just forgrossprofit, butnetprofit is very high. With no overhead, this could eventually be a cash cow, Will. You could be making so much more. We could hire new talentto give clients somevariety and not run you ragged.”

“Is this about Lena Putnam?”

“What?” She was appalled at the accusation.

“Is this because you don’t want me anywhere near clients because you don’t trust me?”

“What? No! This is about realizing the full potential of your business.” She pressed her hands into the table and tried to smile to de-escalate the situation. “I’ve already taken the liberty to set you up a website, got you a domain, optimized your SEO, and started your presence on the web.” She smiled with desperation. “I’vedone some of the heavy lifting for this. This is my gift to you.”

“But I didn’t ask for this gift. I didn’t want this gift. Ava, this is… this is a bit of an overstep.”

“An overstep?” Her feelings were genuinely hurt. “Will, all you have to do is sign and file the incorporation paperwork, and you are literally in business. Officially. Legally. With the ability to expand. You can start bringing on more cleaning staff, more costumes, and providing your own cleaning solvents. I canschedule clients for you. Eventually,we could expand to other wealthy areas and major cities. The sky is seriously the limit with this, Will.”

“This… this is too much.” Will leaned back in his chair and pushed the packet toward her like his body was rejecting it.

Ava’s heart sank.All the work and time she’d put into it…

She thought he would bethrilled.

Instead, he seemed genuinely pissed off.

“What about it is too much?”

“All of it,” Will muttered.

“I worked really hard on this.”

“I’m sorry, Ava. But nobody asked you to do this. We just started dating. We haven’t even slept together. Now you want to manage my business?This is my livelihood.”

Ava furrowed her brows. “Yes! That’s my point exactly. It’s your livelihood. This time next year, you could be making ten times as much.”

“Life’s not all about money.”

Ava reeled back, recoiling like a snake ready to strike. “Iknowthat.”

“I appreciate it, but… I wasn’t preparedfor this. Ithought tonight would go differently.”

“This is who I am, Will. I’mdriven. I’m ago-getter. I don’t just sit around and let opportunities pass by. If I see a solid investment, I’m going to do everything I can to make it thrive.”

“Iseethat.”

Ava felt defeated.

All that time. All the research. All of the effort.

Wasted.

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