Page 104 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
“Excellent. I definitely have room for a third client.”
“Actually, this would be a solo gig. This client is okay with your shorter hours of availability, but they think they have enough to keep you busy and would like to pay for exclusivity.”
“So they’d be my only client?”
“That’s right. I’ll shift the two you currently have to someone else.”
I don’t love the idea of losing the clients I currently have. There was a learning curve when I started working with both of them, and I’m finally starting to feel like I’ve figured out how each client wants me to do things. “Why me?”
“A few reasons. One, exclusivity pays a little higher, so that will be a nice boost for you. It’s a higher rate, plus, instead of only getting paid for the hours you work, you get paid the same hours every day regardless of whether they have anything for you to do. Second, I actually know these people. Well, sort of. My cousinRosie—have I told you about her? She’s married to the famous YouTuber.”
“Right.Random I.You’ve mentioned her.”
“Yes! So, I guessRandom I—his name is Isaac—is best friends with a guy who married into the family that owns this farm down in Silver Creek. That’s close to where you are, right?”
“Yeah. About twenty minutes down the mountain.”
“So that’s another perk. It’s almost local for you. Not that I anticipate them needing you in person. I reiterated that you are avirtualassistant, and they get that, but they did like that your proximity to them gives you a working knowledge of the area. I guess they do a lot of wholesale with local retailers, and they have this festival coming up—”
“Wait, what kind of business is this? You said it’s a farm?”
“Oh, right. Stonebrook Farm and Event Center. So, a lot more than just a farm. Have you heard of it?”
“Shut. Up. Are you talking about the Hawthornes?”
“You know them?” Marley says.
“I knowofthem. But everyone around here does. They’re like North Carolina royalty. You know Flint Hawthorne? The actor? That’s his family.”
“Oh, that’s right! I remember Rosie telling me that.”
“They hold this enormous harvest festival every fall. It’s huge. Almost like another county fair. Though, I think half the people who go are mostly just hoping they’ll catch a glimpse of Flint.”
A memory pops into my mind. The last time I went to Stonebrook’s harvest festival, Jack and I had just moved home. Trevor hadn’t been dead more than a month, but I hadn’t seen my little boy smile in too many days. We needed to do something normal. Something to make him happy. I walked around the festival with a hollow chest, but Jack loved it.
“Olivia actually mentioned the harvest festival specifically,” Marley says. “I guess they’re way behind on the planning and are hoping you can step in and—”
“Olivia? Is she a Hawthorne?”
“Oh, right. Yes. And she’s the one married to Isaac’s best friend. But the most important thing for you to know is that Olivia and her brother run the farm together, and since she’s out on maternity leave, she wants to hire him an assistant.”
It’s not lost on me that Marley is sayingOliviais the one who wants to hire me. Which leaves me to wonder how the actual brother feels about me working for him.
“I don’t suppose Flint is the brother who’s running the farm now, is he? Good grief, can you imagine?”
Even just thinking about working for Flint’sbrotherfeels crazy.
Flint Hawthorne is huge.
So famous.
Maybe not Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise famous, but definitely Chris Hemsworth famous.
“Not Flint. His name is Perry. Olivia didn’t tell me much about him, but I get the sense they’re all really good people. Genuine. Honest. I think this will be a good fit for you, Lila.”
“Maybe, but I’m still concerned about the hours. With Jack, will they give me the flexibility I need?”
Truth is, even living in the town where I grew up, I don’t have much of a support network. I live right down the street from my grandparents, who raised me, but for lack of a better way to say it, they’reold.They live in one of those assisted living neighborhoods where, even though they’re technically on their own, there are people on standby to help with the basics. Grocery shopping, doctor’s appointments. Neither of them drives, and they aren’t quite mobile enough to keep up withJack, so even though we visit a lot, I can’t rely on them to help babysit or pick up the slack when I fall short.
