Page 33 of Here's to Tomorrow

I swipe away the tears and take a deep breath, trying to sober up some.

“I’m fucking with you, Hudson. This is just a business meeting. Come on, you’re buying me a coffee for being so late—and so gullible.” I grab my purse and head to the front counter, leaving Hudson sitting at the table gaping at me.

I’m looking over the menu when I feel him approach. He steps into me, his warmth falling over me like a blanket. He’s nearly plastered against me, causing my breath to catch. There’s no way he doesn’t hear it.

“You’re something, Rae. I like it,” he says softly in my ear, his lips ghosting the shell of my ear.

Luckily the barista turns toward us, his words drowning out my shallow breaths.

My words are nonexistent, and I guess I stand there longer than I should because Hudson orders for me. “We’ll take two large black house coffees, please.”

We.The word rings in my ears, causing my heart to flutter and fill with warmth. That word sounds good…too good.

“Thank you. How’d you know what I wanted?”

“Shot in the dark. Can’t go wrong with plain coffee. You can change it if you want,” he says.

I shake my head and make my way to the pickup counter while Hudson pays. I take the opportunity to study him from afar. He’s dressed in simple jeans and a semi-tight short-sleeved baby blue shirt, making his eyes and messy dark hair stand out against his lightly tanned skin. He must have spent the day outside yesterday because he’s a bit darker than he was on Friday night.

“Here you go, gorgeous,” the barista says as he slides my coffee toward me and winks.

I thank him and look over in time to catch Hudson scowling at the poor high school kid. Laughing, I pour a generous amount of cream and sugar in my coffee, topping it off with a few shakes of cinnamon.

“Cinnamon?” Hudson crinkles his nose in disgust.

“Don’t hate. It’s delicious.” He still has a look of disbelief plastered on his face. I sigh. “Let me guess, black? No sugar or anything?”

He smiles, takes a sip of coffee, and lets out an exaggerated, “Mmmmm.”

As we settle down back at the table, I flip open my small folder of ideas. “So, I’m not entirely familiar with your situation at Jacked Up, but I did a little research after work last night.” I flip to my page of notes and begin reading off some facts I found. “It opened in 1985, so you’re coming up on your thirty-second anniversary. It’s locally owned, obviously. You have six employees total and don’t seem to have much of an online presence, or at least not one that I could easily find.”

“It’s one of the things I want to work on. Our website is shitty and in desperate need of an update. You couldn’t find us on social media because we don’t have any accounts, which I know we need to remedy. Currently we have one small billboard and a tiny spot in the phone book—not that anyone really uses that anymore—but, yeah, that’s about it.”

I cringe. “That’s it? Dang. That’s not a lot. Well, you’re already aware of your lack of social media presence, so that’s good. I know a few up-and-coming web designers that would be more than happy to help you out for a reasonable price. It’ll help build their portfolio and give you something fresh, so it’s a win-win for both of you. How do you feel about a whole new look?” I ask hopefully.

He thinks on it for a minute.I like it.I like that he takes the time to think about what’s best for his business instead of just jumping into anything.

“I can be persuaded. I’m not entirely fond of what we currently have, but I also don’t want it to turn into a huge expense.”

“We can talk with the graphic designer about that when we do the website. You’re going to want everything to blend together anyway, so updating it all at once would probably be best, and cheapest. Speaking of that, how about business cards? I know you have them, but have you thought about passing them around town? I mean, you’re a small business, and in little towns like this, the small guys like to stick together. I think if you talk with a few places about getting some counter space for business cards, it could be good.”

Hudson nods. “Yeah, I think a few places might be open to doing that. Could work out well for both of us, too. I’m liking this, Rae. Anything else?”

“Hmmm…well, other than what we’ve already hit on, which I think would help a lot, I would strongly suggest considering getting rid of your wasted space in the phone book and put that money into advertising in the local paper and possibly even those little free thrifty magazines. Maybe even take out a few spots in Boston? For all we know they could have some real shitty auto shops over there, so it wouldn’t hurt too much to stretch your advertising area.”

He takes another moment to think, and then nods again. “I like this. I like it all. You have some great, small ideas I didn’t think of that could help get the word out about the shop a little more. I have to be honest, Rae, I was nervous to hear your thoughts. I wasn’t sure how we could help boost the business in a way that wouldn’t cost me a fortune, but I think you’ve managed to throw out some great ideas I can work with.”

His compliments make me blush a little. “You’re welcome. It was no problem at all. I even did a little research on ad space prices,” I say, handing him the folder.

He eagerly takes it and begins looking over the info I’ve gathered. I can see the approval on his face, and damn if it doesn’t make me feel like I’m floating among clouds.

After several minutes, he smiles to himself. Then he turns the charm my way. “How about we go on a real date now? Not a business meeting, not a coffee date, but an actualdatedate?”

* * *

Hudson

“Please.” It leaves my mouth before I can stop it.

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