Page 43 of The Estate
He laughed. “I gotta respect that. I don’t like it, but I respect it.”
“Hey,” she argued. “Some of that is for me.”
“A little peanut butter courage as it were,” he smiled at her. Her blushing surprised him.
“The PBF blondie may have become my new stress eating coping mechanism.”
Cal frowned. He didn’t enjoy hearing that she was stressed, but it was obviously bad news for the project. Before he could grill her, she continued.
“First, let me tell you about what Mrs. S said,” she waited for his go-ahead before continuing. “She has a friend who may need a new venue for a gala.”
“Really?” he replied as they turned into the sunroom. Cal walked to a set of chairs off to the left. Placing the box gently on the table between them, he gestured for her to sit in the chair on the right. That one would give her a delightful view of the patio and garden.
Rachel sat and excitedly told him, “From what Mrs. S said, it’s a pretty well-known event and they lost their venue. I gave Mrs. S Trace’s name and number and she is going to pass along White Hall as a suggestion.” She sat back with a big, satisfied grin on her face.
“Rachel,” he said, far more moved than he wanted to let on. She’d gone to bat for him. That type of support from an almost stranger left him feeling unsettled. “I really appreciate you recommending us and giving her the information.”
“It’s my pleasure, Cal,” she murmured, her eyes meeting his briefly before darting away. Had he noticed before how green her eyes were? Leaf green with swirls of emeralds. He wanted to reach over and grasp her chin so he could look his fill. Before his hand could move of its own accord, he shook his head to clear it of this train of thought.
Grabbing a cookie, he took a big bite and couldn’t help the groan.
“Right?” she exclaimed. “Everything there is so good.” She grabbed the blondie from the bag, breaking off a piece to pop into her mouth. They sat in silence, both enjoying the treats.
“Maybe I’ll swing into the bakery in a few days,” Cal said, sipping his coffee. It, too, was perfection. “One, to get some more of these cookies, but also connect with Mrs. S and see if her friend has questions.”
“Oh,” Rachel said. “Maybe that will be blueberry buckle day.”
“I’m sorry. What? Blueberry buckle?”
“I know, I know.” Rachel put up a hand. “I had never heard of a buckle, but my friend Lisa’s been preoccupied with the new blueberry buckle Mrs. S said will be ready soon. The girl is seriously around the bend about this pastry.” She paused, her head tilted. “Or pie? I’m not sure.”
“But Lisa hasn’t had it yet?”
“Nope. But then again,” Rachel gestured to the cookies. “Everything there is great, so I can see why she’s so excited.”
“Amen to that,” Cal said. “And seriously, I’m grateful for you recommending us. Our business has really only been weddings and I’d love to branch out into other types of events. Booking an event like a gala would be a massive win.
"Obviously, it would be good for the revenue, but it also sounds like the exposure would be great. Charity events help build a good reputation. That could be very helpful come distillery licensing time.” He paused. He had to be practical. “That is, if that’s ever a possibility,” he sighed.
He saw a million questions cross her face but chose not to entertain any of them, so he continued quickly, “So, why don’t you spill the beans and explain why you’re buttering me up with baked goods?”
Rachel popped another piece of blondie into her mouth. Her stalling technique was obvious, but he was a patient man. He would just wait her out.
He reclined in his chair and unbuttoned his sleeves, slowly rolling them up to his elbows. As he was doing it, he caught Rachel’s eyes tracking his movements, her gaze lingering. It was good to see he wasn’t the only person affected today. Whateverwas happening between them, he wasn’t alone in it. Or at least not entirely.
Rachel finally swallowed and said, “The treats were not completely about buttering you up. I needed an afternoon snack, anyway.”
“Right. Right,” Cal grumbled skeptically. “Tell me the bad news.”
“It’s not terrible news,” she replied. Seeing his obviously disbelief, she added, “There will be more work.” She talked above his groan. “It is a small amount of work, but in the end, it will make things easier and save you time.”
Cal leaned back into his chair, “Okay. You’ve got me interested.”
“You mentioned the issue with the invoicing and a few other back-end system issues. I’ve been attempting to collect the financial information we need for the assessment. Not just the budget, but overhead, vendor pricing differences. Information like that.”
She paused until Cal acknowledged he was still with her. “What would solve all of those issues is a new software system.”
“Absolutely not,” he interjected. No way in hell was he going to spend time putting in a system. It was always time consuming and led to more issues. Not to mention he’d have to learn a new system and train Trace on it. Lord help him.
