Page 119 of April

“Me too. I really thought we would work well together. I planned on having you run the office for a few years and asking if you wanted to be a partner.”

“Partner?”

“Yes, you and me. We’d be in this together, and you’d take over for me when I retire. It would be your company then.”

“You’re not all that much older than me,” Asher said.

“And I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon. I’ll work until it’s no longer interesting or challenging, but I wanted someone to pass the company down to, who loves doing what we do in the same way that I do. I thought that might be you.”

“And it can’t be if I don’t run the Dallas office?”

“I’m not saying that, but it would delay things,” Carolyn replied. “Dallas was your shot, Asher.”

“I get it,” she said with a nod.

“And you’re okay with potentially losing it?”

Asher thought about it and nodded again.

“Yes, I am. I don’t want to move. That’s what it boils down to for me.”

“You can’t plan Dallas weddings from here every day or run the office from here. And as much as the world is going remote, I still want an office for clients to be able to go to. If we’re catering to the wealthy and influential in Dallas, we can’t plan weddings over Zoom meetings. I’d want youthereto be the head of the company and represent us.”

“I know. I understand. And I’m good with my decision to stay,” she replied.

“Well, okay,” Carolyn said. “Now, forgive me for leaving because I need to take a long walk and sort out my thoughts.”

“Are we going to be okay, Carolyn? I hate putting you in this position.”

“We will. I just need some time to think and process,” her boss said as she stood.

Asher didn’t know what more to say, so she just let the woman leave the café and sat there for a few minutes to think as well. She’d just given away an amazing career opportunity, but she knew she’d have no regrets. Her heart hadn’t ever been in Dallas or running an office there. Her heart was here. She loved this city and her friends, old and new. She also loved Linden, and being with her but not really being able to be with her just wasn’t an option. Linden had been right to talk about the fact that Asher would be incredibly busy. Their jobs weren’t the standard nine-to-fives. Both of them would work most weekends, and that would limit their time together.

When she’d woken that morning, she’d found Linden there with her eyes open, smiling at her. They hadn’t even said anything, and Linden had moved into her, kissing her on the forehead, the nose, and then the lips. She didn’t look tired at all, despite the fact that they’d maybe gotten an hour of sleep after making love for hours. Yes, this was a hard decision tomake because she hated disappointing Carolyn or giving her more work to do, but Asher knew it was also the best decision she’d ever made. Well, maybe the second best. The first best might have been when Carolyn had been telling her about a new woman she’d hired and how she’d need a mentor. Her boss had been planning on giving Linden another planner, but Asher had suggested herself instead. Those years, with Linden sitting across from her, had set the foundation of their friendship, and without that, they wouldn’t be doing what they were doing now.

Asher stood up, having purchased nothing from this café, and left. She had to grab lunch for herself from her favorite sandwich shop, which made the best wraps in town, and then walk to Henry’s to get Linden her favorite Po-Boy. As she walked, she thought about what she was giving up and smiled because it was nothing compared to what she’d be getting. She also started to think about Carolyn’s plans. She hadn’t ever thought she’d take over for the woman one day. Carolyn had built an empire, to be sure, but inheriting an empire wasn’t the same as making something from scratch herself, and that had always been what Asher had wanted, what had excited her.

“You look very smiley today.”

Asher turned to see the fortune teller from the Square standing right beside her.

“Sorry?” she asked.

“You seem very happy. I saw you leave the shop, and you’ve had a wide smile on your face the whole time you’ve been walking,” the woman noted.

“I know you. You’re the tarot reader or psychic from the Square.”

“I’m one of them, yes.”

“Are you following me?”

“No, dear,” the woman replied. “I was just grabbing myself some lunch, and I saw you.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, have a nice day, then.”

“You too. Before I let you go, though… Can I tell you something?”

“Um… Okay,” Asher said.

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