Page 15 of Enemy Crush
I know he’s at the store so I set my phone aside, thinking it may take him a while to notice and reply, but my phone chimes back almost instantly like he’s been waiting for my text.
PAXTON: Absolutely. Where and when?
STELLA: Pizza and beer at Lonie’s? Say 6?
PAXTON: Sounds good. See ya then.
I smile to myself as I set my phone down and get back to work. I have a close friend who designs websites. I tap his number into the office phone and pick up the receiver.
“DJ Designs, how can I help you?” he asks.
“Hey, DJ. It’s Stella.”
“Oh, hey Stella. How’s it going?”
“Good. How have you been?” I’m tapping my pencil on the tablet of paper that’s on my desk. My hand is itching to mark this off.
“Good, business has been a little slow, but you know how that goes.”
I laugh. “I sure do. Let me know if you ever need help with that.”
“Nah, I just finished a few jobs early and have more booked. Just have a little down time in between. What’s up?”
“Well, I have a job for you, so your down time is perfect for me.”
“Awesome. What is it?”
“You know Paxton Reeves who owns the bookstore, right?”
“Yeah, of course. He was a couple of years younger than me in school, but yeah. He needs his website redesigned?”
“Well, that’s what I was calling about. The store is on the verge of closing and I’m about to start working with him to get it running smoothly again. I don’t know much about websites, but I was going to see if you’d take a look at it and see if it needs updating.”
“Sure. What’s the address?”
I give him the website address of the bookstore and wait on the line as he pulls it up and clicks through all the prompts.
“Yeah, I mean it’s all here. It has pictures of the store, a little about us page, all the books, but the design looks a little old and outdated. It could definitely use some freshening up.”
“Great. How much would you charge to build him a whole new website?”
“Stella, you know if you’re working for free, I won’t charge you.”
“How do you know I’m working for free?”
“Every business in town is free,” he states what’s practically our slogan.
I laugh. “Well, I don’t expect you to work for free. I’m not running a business here so I’m getting paid either way,” I point out.
“It’s fine. Do you think you can get me some updated pictures?”
“They’ve already been taken. I’ll get my hands on them and send them over with some updated info.”
“Perfect. Send me everything when you get time and I’ll see what I can do to start while I wait.”
“You’re a lifesaver, DJ.”
He laughs. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll talk to ya later, Stel.”
