Page 20 of Bloom and Burn
“Of course not,” I agree. “I wasn’t implying otherwise. But it can help attractnewcustomers that might not know about you.”
“I don’t appreciate you telling me how I should run my business.”
I wince. Why is she so bitter? I feel for Ryan. Also, I’m not telling her anything and besides, it’sRyan’sbusiness now, so if he is okay with and willing to move, then shouldn’t his mom be helping him figure out where, instead of trying to get in the way? I know that I am biased because it benefits me directly, but, objectively, there is little downside to relocating. Even less so since I am willing to pay more than the shop is actually worth. Speaking of…
“I’m willing to pay above market price,” I toss at her, hoping that helps make her more willing to hear me out.
It’s always weird when I flounder money like this and I can’t say that I enjoy paying more than what something is worth, but in this case, I am inconveniencing the current owners. Plus, I really need them to sell or I can’t build the facility and help Emily. There are a few other options in case Estacada doesn’t work out—I made sure to be prepared so I don’t make the same mistake as I did in Sandy—but since they are all outside of reasonable commuting times, we’d have to move. Again. And after the verypleasant time I spent with Ryan, I kind of wish everything will work out so we can stay here.
“This is about the Blooming Orchid’s history and its brand, Mr. Keller. We’ve always done things in a certain way, and we always will. It’s calledtradition. Not that I expect you young people to understand… How much you are offering is irrelevant,” she raises her voice, aggravated. “And even if it was, my husband and I still won’t take the dirty money of a corporation! Our town has enough factories as is!”
I get the sentiment, but she’s really not listening to me. What I want to do is help people like my sister. I’m not building a factory or looking to exploit the locals. The town would benefit from the medical facility both in terms of jobs and visitors. But I don’t think I can convince her over the phone—we need to meet in person. “Could we maybe meet in person to discuss this? I can show you an overview as well as the building plans.”
“No, I don’t think so. No matter what you say, I won’t change my mind. The Blooming Orchid will stay where it has always been. You can build your factory somewhere else. Goodbye.”
I gape at my phone after she hangs up on me, having trouble comprehending what happened. Pinpointing the exact issue Margaret has also proves challenging, or maybe it’s just that it’s not a single one, but a combination of a few. Gathering my backpack and coat, I exit my car and head inside the house, going through the list of reasons why Margaret doesn’t want to sell to me.
The Blooming Orchid’s history, Margaret’s lack of trust in Ryan, dirty money… I count them on my fingers. Oh, and it seems like she is the type that needs to be the one in control.
I sigh, halfway through taking my shoes off. Well, shit. That might be problematic then. I see now why Ryan warned me. My usual go-to in difficult situations is charm and money, but I’d say the approach kind of backfired. But I won’t give up, I can’t, now even more so than before because there is an extra incentive that wasn’t part of the plan. I’m just not sure how to go about it, but luckily, when I’m feeling lost, there is one person in the world who always has my back.
My sister, Emily.
“Uh-oh. Cute flowers, but he doesn’t want to sell, does he?” Emily says as I enter the lounge and find her awkwardly pushing herself off the wheelchair’s armrests so she can hang a bunch of photos on the wall.
I crack a smile despite the pang of disappointment slithering through me. I really wanted to succeed, to make this happen so I could abide by the timeline I’d set myself, but it looks like it might take a bit longer. I left some wiggle room, so it’s not the end of the world, but I really need a win or we might not make the deadline for starting construction in August.
“He actually does,” I counter, crossing over to the fridge for a cold can of coke. I place the flower basket on the kitchen island.
“But he didn’t sell it to you…?” Emily prompts me impatiently as I gulp down a third of the can. Too much sugar, I know, but it’s very welcome right now due to both lack of sleep and my slightly irritated mood.
“He couldn’t. While he owns the business, the actual building share is in his parents’ names.” For a heartbeat,I wonder if maybe I should’ve tried Ryan’s dad first, but since he gave me his mom’s number, I assume the dad would’ve been even less inclined to listen to me. Crap. “I called his mom and, well…” I shrug—the rest is obvious. “I need your help.”
Emily looks less entertained by my failure than she does normally. It tells me she is quite serious about the whole living in Estacada thing. So, I must make it happen, no matter what.
I give my sister a rundown of my conversations with Ryan and Margaret, omitting the part where I also fucked the cute flower shop owner.
“Okay, yes, that sounds pretty bad,” Emily scoffs. “I swear, everyone’s parents should take an example from ours and let their grown-up kids do things their way. I mean, look at us—we actually make millions now.” She makes her way over to me and snatches my coke can, taking a sip. “Maybe the son can help us convince them. Or at least get them to agree to meet with us.”
I considered that on the way here but wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, what with Margaret’s attitude. Even if Ryan vouches for us, what’s stopping his mom from just waving it off… Plus, what if it gets him in trouble? Margaret sounded disappointed when I brought up his willingness to relocate. On the other hand, unless they sell, both me and Emily have no reason to stick around, which is the opposite of what I want to do.
Leaning my hip against the breakfast bar, I nod. “Sure, I’ll go back and talk to him.”
“We,” Emily corrects. “I’ll come, too.”
I open my mouth to say she doesn’t have to, but I stop myself. I mean, why not? Ryan is a nice person and Emily needs friends if we’re going to stay here. I’ll be sacrificingone-on-on time with Ryan, but something tells me we’ll get plenty of opportunities for that.
“Sure.” I tousle her hair. “We’ll go tomorrow morning, after the rush.”
After Emily shakes my hand off, she takes out her phone and fingerprints it unlocked. “Let’s whisk something together,” she announces, spinning around and pointing at the cupboard with baking stuff. “Brownies or cookies? This will help get him on our side.”
“You want to bake Ryan something?” I arch an eyebrow, but know better than to point out how it might be a weird thing to do when you are meeting the owner of a business you want to technically displace. Even if I’ve been flirting and having sex with said owner who’s seems onboard with actually moving. I guess it’s fine then.
“Yes, why not? I want to leave a good impression.” She leers. “We can also tell him you are the one who did the baking. Then all you have to do is work your charm on him and make him agree to help us.”
I start laughing because the way Emily says that makes it sound like we intend to take Ryan hostage and torture him by feeding him my sister’s killer brownies while I attempt to seduce him into agreeing to speak to his parents on our behalf. It’s ridiculous and so very Emily at the same time.
“That might not be a bad idea,” I agree and let her handle the baking while I update Legal about the possible construction delays.
