Page 27 of All For You
I had a feeling Aspen was more innocent than she let on.
“So,” I began as I took a step back, hesitating as I released the hold on her wrist. “What’s in store for today?”
The corner of her lip twisted like an evil queen’s, and I worried for a second that she had something nefarious planned. Color me surprised when she said, “I’ll be busy running data most of the morning and then checking the books for some way to move around the budget.”
“Oh, what for?” I studied finance in college as a way to learn how to manage my money when I went pro.
Aspen licked her lips and glanced out the window for a split second, before replying, “I would like to lease somefarmland to some local cattle farmers. I need to see if it's in the budget to add a fence and shelter.”
“Well, what if I helped you?”
I stunned her silent, as her eyes widened, staring at me like I’d grown two heads. “You want to help me?”
“Sure. I mean, I’m not a professional, but I’m pretty good with finances. It was my major, after all.”
Aspen paused and seemed to weigh her decision, her teeth nipping at her plump bottom lip. “Okay. I suppose you owe me anyway, right?”
“Owe you? Our deal is mutually gratifying.”
She giggled, and I was turning into a fool for that sound. “I wasn’t talking about that deal, Owen.”
“Yeah? Then why do I owe you, cricket?”
She moved around the kitchen and back toward the main hallway, calling over her shoulder, “I found you a place to rent while you’re here. Now, let’s get started. My dad’s office is this way.”
Her dad’s office was a combination of both organization and chaos. I didn’t know how anyone could find anything beneath the stack of papers and books, but Aspen skirted around that space and moved toward a computer in the far corner. It was more modern than the ancient desktop on the oversized wooden desk in the center of the room that looked like it came out in 1994.
She sat in the chair and then swiveled toward me, gesturing for me to grab one of the extra chairs against the wall. It wasn’t nice like hers, but it was cushioned enough that I wouldn’t lose all sensation in my ass.
“So, my brother Andrew and I have been working to move all the books for the last ten years into a computerized system. It makes it easier for both us and the accountant. It makes sense to Andrew, but to me, it’s just a bunch of pie graphsand dollar signs. Finance was not an area I excelled in, and Andrew has been swamped with new contracts for the farm.”
As she mentioned her brother, I wondered why he wasn’t at the forefront of taking over Sunny Brook. But I didn’t think we had moved far enough away from rivals to a friendship to ask those personal questions about her family.
She flipped open a laptop that I hadn’t noticed and logged into the device before shifting it over toward me.
“I’m looking for a range of ten to twenty thousand that we could maneuver. The bookkeeping software is on here, as well as the manufacturer and wholesaler catalogs for the items we use on rotation. You’re also welcome to search for a better deal anywhere else. If you find them, then that’s up to Andrew. I just want to see if we can come up with a proposal, you know?”
“Sure. Sounds easy enough.” I watched her boot up another desktop with a thin, sleek monitor. “What will you be doing?”
She went on, talking about the robot she sent out to test some fields this morning and how she wasn’t sure of the quality. The details were vague, but it seemed she was hoping to add new crops to the land. “Essentially, I’m running some data and comparing it to our control field, which produces our healthiest crop of corn.”
“That sounds neat, actually. I didn’t know things like that existed.”
“They didn’t until recently. Nate sold the patent to a huge firm with enough investment to keep it affordable to farmers. We’re the backbone of the country.”
“You’re proud of that, aren’t you? You like being a part of something that’s a legacy in its own right.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “I’m surprised you figured that out. It’s why I’m afraid to… leave. What happens if I do? The alternative scares me.”
“That’s something for your family to figure out, Aspen.”
The moment the words slipped from my lips, I immediately regretted them and tried to apologize, but no sound came out.
“Let’s… um… get to work. Then we can grab your car and check out the rental.”
I spent an hour analyzing all the numbers for Sunny Brook Farms. There was a large lump sum withdrawn recently, which gave me pause, but I knew none of that was my business. Clearly, they were in the black and doing well. I did not need to question what they spent their money on.
I glanced over at Aspen a few times, enraptured by the way she pursed her lips and twisted her hair as she compared multiple data points on the screen. It looked like a mashup for line charts, but she seemed to know what she was looking for.
