Page 2 of Moving to Love
“If you had been here on time, you would have been introduced. This is my mom, Joci,” Gunnar scowled.
LuAnn ignored Gunnar’s comment and eyed Joci. Joci smiled and held her hand out to shake LuAnn’s. LuAnn reached out to shake Joci’s hand, barely touching her fingers in the feable handshake Joci had ever felt.
“All right, what worked?” Jeremiah continued.
Discussion turned to the Veteran’s Ride held just two months before. Joci felt LuAnn’s stares throughout the meeting but continued doodling on the tablet she had brought with her, taking notes when something of interest caught her attention.
As they started discussing what should be changed, without thinking, Joci blurted out, “You need a logo.”
Jeremiah looked at her; everyone else stopped talking.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, “All you have is Rolling Thunder Motorcycles, Inc., painted on the wall. Your advertising and marketing are mostly word of mouth. What you’re doing here is great. You need to brand it. Make it yours. When people see your logo, they’ll know exactly who it is and what it means.”
Jeremiah nodded once, never taking his eyes from Joci’s. She felt her face flush at his scrutiny, but couldn’t stop herself. Looking down at her tablet, she slowly turned it and slid it in front of Jeremiah. He looked at it for a long moment. Joci’s heart raced. Not only was he the most good-looking man she had ever laid eyes on, but she could tell the people in this room, Gunnar included, respected and liked this man. She didn’t want to overstep her bounds.
“What colors are you thinking?”
Joci’s eyes snapped to Jeremiah’s as he addressed her. “Black, orange, and yellow. Bold, hot, sexy.”
Joci looked down at the tablet she had placed in front of Jeremiah, her face now a bright crimson.
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” LuAnn sneered.
Joci jerked her head up to look at the angry snarl on LuAnn’s face. Stupid? Joci was far from stupid, and graphic design was her business.
“I think it’s a perfect idea. I’ve been meaning to do something with branding the business, but I simply haven’t had the time. This is exactly what you just said: bold, hot, and sexy. I think it’s perfect.” Jeremiah smiled at Joci, and her heart started beating a wild tempo in her chest.
His smile was breathtaking. Beautiful, straight teeth surrounded by full, shapely lips. His green eyes shone with light flecks of emerald she hadn’t noticed before. All of these features alone would be any woman’s dream. Put together in this package, Jeremiah was…magnificent.
Joci swallowed and leaned back in her seat as Gunnar said, “Let’s see it.”
Jeremiah slid the tablet down the center of the table, and everyone leaned forward to take a look at Joci’s drawing. “Fuck. That’s cool!” JT stated as the others around the table stated their praise. Gunnar nudged his mom, the smile on his face speaking volumes.
LuAnn reached over and put her hand on Jeremiah’s arm, and rubbed up and down a few times. “Do you think you need that?” she asked quietly. Joci was paying attention. She wondered if Dog and LuAnn were an item. Disappointing, because if there was one man Joci would finally be interested in, it would be Jeremiah.
Jeremiah pulled his arm away as he said, “Yes. We really need it.”
We, he said we. Did he mean he and LuAnn or the business? Joci’s mind raced as the meeting continued with a new level of excitement. As they were wrapping up the meeting, Jeremiah reiterated what they had discussed, made sure each person knew what he or she needed to do before the next meeting, and started bringing the meeting to a close.
“And finally, Joci. Can you have a color logo for the next meeting? Just let me know what it costs.”
“Yes, I can have a color logo. I’ll also have the digital files for you. You’ll want to add it to your website, invoices, labeling, letterhead, business cards, and, actually, anything you use for the business. Maybe have a painter come in and paint the walls downstairs.” She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
Jeremiah laughed. “This is going to cost me big, I think.” He gathered his papers together, and everyone stood to leave. Jeremiah looked at Joci, “If you want to step down the hall to my office, I’ll get you a business card so you have my numbers in case you have questions.”
Joci nodded and stood. JT and Angel started throwing away the food wrappers and empty cans as the others walked out.
LuAnn stood and stretched as Jeremiah stood, thrusting her breasts in his direction. Jeremiah looked at Joci and nodded, “Follow me.”
Joci traipsed after Jeremiah down the short corridor to his office. He pulled open a desk drawer and took out a business card. Plain white card with silver lettering. Nothing else. B-O-R-I-N-G. This is going to be fun. Joci took the card from him and smiled as she looked at it.
“Would you have dinner with me?” Jeremiah asked.
Joci’s head snapped up as she met his stare. “I. I…um. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
With LuAnn hanging all over him and whispering in his ear, why was he asking her out? Joci had no intention of hooking up with another man like that.
“Are you seeing anyone?” He held his breath, his posture rigid.
