Page 11 of Raspberry Cake
“Us,” she corrected. “You and I both own this company, remember?”
“You’re deflecting.”
“I don’t mind him working for me.”
“Of course you don’t. Maybe an office romance will form.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “What a scandal that would be.”
“A scandal this boring and low gossip office needs.”
With a sigh, she pinned her friend with a serious glare. “Jeronimo, please stop.”
“Fine.” And with his hands up in defeat, he stood again. “Just know that I wouldn’t mind the gossip and if hedidget cocky, I could kick his ass.”
“You wouldn’t have another choice, I’myourpartner,” she called after him before the door fully closed.
Trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, she busied herself with floor plans for a client. She’d always dreamed of being her own boss and with Jeronimo, they’d turned that dream into a reality. They were a fairly new company and had only celebrated their fifth anniversary a few months ago, but hard work and a little bit of luck had paid off. Largely it was due to Jeronimo, who had been in the business his whole life. He knew his way around, but he never hesitated to give Eveline all the credit—unwanted so.
The fact that they got along so well was the cherry on top. They had an open communication policy, and knew how to address problems in a way that never got personal. She loved how they both saw their little company as a professional family. While they couldn’t make everyone happy, they always seemed to be able to work things out.
When Jeronimo knocked on her door later that afternoon, Eveline knew by the look on his face that something was wrong. “We have a problem.”
“I’m sure we’ll figure this out.”
He let himself fall into the chair in front of her. “The chimney in the Brockview property isn’t up to code.”
“And of course it’s not an easy fix,” she chuckled, pulling up the files for the project. “C’mon, rip off the band-aid.”
“If they want to keep it, we have to rip it all out and build a new one.”
“Ouch!”
“Yeah…”
Resting her chin on her hand, she stared at her notes, matching them to the floorplan. “They were adamant about having one. Do we have to demo it anyway? Or can we change the operating system so we can keep the structure?”
“That might work.” He shrugged. “We would have to fix the cracks if you can convince them not to have a wood burning one.”
“I’ll play around with the floor plan to give them all the options—with and without one.”
“I’ll write up estimates based on your suggestions.”
“Look at us, such a dream team.” She laughed and blew him a playful kiss.
Her business partner frowned and shook his head. “How do you stay so happy? Are we being given the same coffee? Maybe I’m missing something.”
She flashed him another grin before playfully wiggling her brows. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Jeronimo shut his mouth, sitting back while she scribbled down a few ideas. Other than the occasional suggestion, he let her work quietly, being her anchor in the storm.
When Eveline showed up to work the next morning, she’d come up with a few more ideas and asked Jeronimo to meet her at the property. When he reminded her that he was already there with Renley, butterflies kicked up in her stomach. She’d just told him that they’d hardly see each other and here she was: popping up on his first day. She didn’t want him to think she was forcing situations to see him. Renley starting at the Brockview property had entirely slipped her mind.
As she usually did when visiting a worksite, she stopped to grab doughnuts—the guys loved it, and she appreciated the way their eyes sparkled at the small gesture. It was her way of thanking them for their hard work.
“You can’t spoil the brats like that,” Jeronimo scolded once he found the sweet treats in her backseat.
“Be a sweetheart and grab them for me.”
