Page 19 of The Deal Maker

“Do I need to handle that paperwork?” I ask. I’m not usually the one who gets to do the bigger prize packages. Just the amusement park certificates and setting up appointments.

“I’ll have the documents emailed to you. You’ll just have the winner fill it out once they’re announced.”

“Good to know. Thank you, sir.” It takes everything in me to calm down. I can understand giving people a hard time for not being in a relationship, but to judge their work and how high on the ladder they can climb without that connection? It leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

That has happened with several other job opportunities, but I can’t start thinking about an exit plan for this job. I have to pay back my grandpa. I’ll run out of possibilities if I keep up at this rate. So for now, I need to push down those thoughts and just keep moving forward.

NINE

MAGGIE

I’m really wishing Hope would postpone her wedding right about now. Not because I don’t want her and Jason to get married, but because of this whole date fiasco.

At this point, I’ve probably given myself an ulcer trying to figure it out. Actually, I’ve just been thinking about it non-stop, but doing nothing about it.

I try to think if any of my brother’s friends would be up for it. But they’re almost five years younger than me. That doesn’t always translate well to being a mature adult, and that’s exactlywhat I need when facing my extended family at a reception and wedding.

Yes, there is the option of asking Duke, but I don’t know if my pride can take that kind of hit. That would mean I’d have to be around him for several hours. I struggle as it is to be around him for the five minutes every morning when he’s here to get ice cream.

Would I have told him my ice cream theory had I been in my right mind? Absolutely not.

I head over to get a small bag of jerky, hoping that the tiredness in my jaw after chewing so much will help distract me from worrying about this.

Maybe I should just have the word “spinster” stamped on my forehead. I might get less heckling if I didn’t have to worry about explaining things.

I take a seat on the bench outside the jerky shop, checking my email. There’s one from the mayor, which is strange. I’m not sure when or where I would’ve shared that information with her. I’ve only met Martha Dobbs once and while she was polite, I didn’t take her for one of those people who remembers the little details.

Dear Citizens of Willow Cove,

We’re excited about how this summer has gone already and hope that the businesses and families here are benefitting from the increased crowds.

In an effort to promote tourism to the visitors here and to give more support to the shops and stores, we’re implementing the first annual Willow Cove Quest. It will be a two-week scavenger hunt to specific places around town. If you would like to add your business to the hunt, please reply to this email and let us know what you want to highlight or give away.

We hope that all residents will take this opportunity to join in the fun, in order to promote bonding and town unity. Because not all tourists will be staying for the duration of the hunt, we’ve got a different track for them to be able to accomplish things in a shorter time frame.

Thank you to Stanford Walker for creating the app we’ll use to achieve this. We hope to get this prepared to launch by next Monday.

We’ve been in talks with DreamTime Vacations and will be offering winners a grand prize of a trip to the destination of their choice to one and a cash prize of $5000 to another. We’ll also give away several smaller prizes to those who’ve participated.

We thank you for your willingness to create a town that people flock to in the summer.

Mayor Martha Dobbs

The idea of a scavenger hunt in Willow Cove is exciting. It gives the residents and visitors something to do and would be perfect for The Candy Jar to establish our spot in the shopping center.

But the moment I see DreamTime Vacations, I see red. Of course, I’m now unable to avoid any mention of the company Duke manages and the thing I despise the most.

My phone rings and I see Hope’s name on the screen. “Hey Hope.”

“Did you see the email from the mayor? What should we offer?”

Leave it to my cousin to know something the moment it happens.

“We can do mini bags of candy,” I say, trying to picture something that would be easy to give out. And a small sampling of what we sell might help them buy more candy.

“I think we have some of the cellophane bags out back. I’ll grab those and start experimenting. Will you email the mayor?”

Blowing out a breath, I nod. “Sure. I can do that. Aren’t you supposed to worry about the wedding prep?”

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