Page 88 of Swiped By My Dad's Best Friend
“You probably already get recommended on Facebook by past clients,” Cooper had said.
“Referrals are my best business source,” I acknowledged.
“Right! And some of that goes through Facebook. But you don’t even have a business page. And look, I know business pages don’t get much interaction, but it’s like having a storefront. Recommendations will convert much better if people can tag your page, if people can see your reviews…”
He’d gone on at length. Not only about having a Facebook presence, but other digital marketing plans that would give Laurie & Sons more visibility. “Legacy has billboards all over town that people see while driving,” he’d said. “You can have the equivalent of billboards all over the Internet.”
“Legacy won’t have that too?” I’d asked.
Cooper had grimaced. “They will,” he said. “But you can compete for a lot less money online. There are a lot of different ways to get in front of potential clients.”
Cooper had shown me his project proposal—a campaign for my company—and in the end, he’d sold me. Even if it didn’t work, I’d been really touched that he cared enough to try. And hell, if he wanted to do free marketing work for me as part of his schoolwork, I’d take it. I didn’t know the first thing about social media marketing; I’d always thought my work was the kind that could rely on word of mouth around town and a few trade publication ads. Maybe that’d been true once, but I couldn’t deny that with Legacy scooping up so much new business, I’d have to adjust.
But that also meant I had to stop ignoring my business, no matter how much I wanted to spend more time with Cooper.
“I’ll be back before you know it.”
“You don’t have a seminar this weekend.”
“No, but you’re here, so I will be too.”
That seemed to mollify him a little. We climbed into the pickup, and I reversed out of the parking spot in front of the B&B and turned onto the road. I’d have to enter the campus proper to drop off Cooper, but it was so close it’d take only a minute or two.
Beside me, Cooper fidgeted. “I could come to you for Thanksgiving. Dad and I are on the outs, but I could borrow someone’s car, maybe, or—”
“I don’t want you driving with these headaches,” I interjected.
“They might be better by then,” he argued.
I reached for his hand, squeezing. “Best not risk it. Besides, you should go to your father’s. Maybe you two can make up.”
“I’m not going without you,” he said.
“It’s a holiday,” I said. “It’s a good time for families to mend fences.”
He shook his head. “I put my foot down with him. If I go back on that now, he may never bend. I won’t go there alone as if you don’t matter to me so that my father can be happy! I can’t pretend for him anymore.”
“Okay, brat,” I said. “Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
He gusted out a breath. “I don’t mean to be a drama queen.”
I chuckled. “You’re not, believe me. I’ve met some queens in my day.” I winked at him. “And what you’re feeling makes perfect sense.”
“I want to see your house,” he admitted. “I want to eat at your table, and sleep in your bed, and snoop around to see what you keep in the fridge and under the bed.”
“You might be disappointed in my vast beer and cheese selection,” I joked.
Cooper smirked. “I live in a frat, don’t forget.”
“True.” I mulled over what he said as I pulled up in front of the house. It was tempting to offer to take him with me right now. A whole week together in my private space sounded like heaven. But Cooper was still worried about his grades, and I knew he’d try to return to class sooner rather than later.
“Look, I don’t have any holiday plans,” I said. “How about I come back up so we can spend Thanksgiving together? I mean, if you’re absolutely sure you don’t want to spend it with your family.”
“I can’t,” Cooper said. “I’d just be spending the holiday all alone.” He sighed dramatically. “Feeling sad and lonely.”
I was pretty sure there would be other kids on campus not going home, and possibly some gatherings. But I let him play me like a fiddle anyway. “Well, we can’t have that.”
He grinned. “It’s just being a good Daddy to take care of me on the holiday.”
