Page 28 of Bloom and Burn
“I’m volunteering!” Her protest only makes me cross my arms. “Okay, fine. You can make me pretty bouquets and teach me about flowers. Or you can help me look after the ones they are planting in the garden.”
I… guess that sort of works, if I do both. Just barely. And seeing as she doesn’t look like she’ll take no for an answer, I don’t think I have much choice in the matter. She’s decided to help me out.
“Fine,” I yield, sighing. “But it’s temporary, okay? And you don’t have to come in every day.”
“Yes, of course, whatever you say, boss.”
Why do I not trust her words? I can already imagine her arriving before me every day. But I could use the company, and it’s not like I’m swamped with admin work. If she’s seriously interested in learning more about flowers,I’m happy to oblige. It would be great practice for the workshops I want to hold when I rebrand the Orchid as a garden center.
“Okay, then. See you tomorrow at nine,” I say, unable to stop smiling as I watch the SUV drive off with my first ever employee.
10
Jack
“YoushouldaskRyanout on a date,” Emily says the next day when she joins me in the lounge for breakfast.
I nearly choke.
She raises her shoulders. “What? You two are perfect for each other, so why not give it a shot?”
I rub my forehead and roll my eyes. “Emily!”
“I’m not blind.” She places two poached eggs, slices of avocado and bread on her plate. “If you like him, just go for it.”
Despite her direct delivery, she’s right, I suppose. If I like Ryan, I should give this a go. Like, a real one. I wanted to get the sale sorted out first, but with how things are looking, it’s going to take a while before any meaningful progress is made. And now that Emily brought it up, I kind of don’t want to wait that long.
Still, out of principle and because I do have some concerns about potentially dating Ryan, I counter, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, considering his parents aren’t exactly my biggest fans.”
Emily shifts her attention to the TV, where the host of the traveling program I put on is currently touring Japan. “Good point,” she concedes, eyes still on the show. As the view of Mt. Fuji changes to a busy train station, she finally turns back to me, mouth turned up in a smirk. “Then you just gotta make sure they don’t find out you are dating their son.”
I snort. “Yeah? Thanks, Em. Starting a secret affair with the son of the people I’m trying to convince to sell to me is exactly what I should do.” I fold my arms to emphasize exactly how bad an idea that is. Hiding it, I mean, not actually going out with Ryan. “They will be totally thrilled the moment they find out that not only do I want their shop, but also their son.”
Emily winces, though the smile doesn’t drop from her face. “Okay, when you put it that way… It might backfire, I agree. But onlyifthey find out.” She squints at me, buzzing with excitement. “You know, I just realized something. Accidents happen all the time,” she says, trying to maintain a serious expression, but coming short of it as mirth fills up her eyes. “Especially to people who don’t want to bend over and do what the big evil corporations demand.”
Laughter bubbles out from me. I know exactly where her weird brain is going. I suffer from the same, but I do try to keep the morally questionable ideas down to a minimum. She’s the opposite, but fortunately, it’s only when it’s just the two of us or when we are among close friends. “Em, just don’t.”
“But think about it! That’s two rabbits with one stone! We get the Orchid’s share and you also get the cute guy at the same time!”
Ryaniscute. And he’s also worth the risks. He and Emily are fast becoming friends. He doesn’t treat my sister any differently because of her wheelchair. There’s no tension, no awkward pauses or pitying glances. She’s just another person to him, and I love that.
“First, it’s two birds with one stone. And are you sure you can redirect that kind of ‘accident’ funds without raising red flags with Finance?”
She’s the one laughing now. “Depends. Are you serious about it or not?”
To be fair, Emily could pull it off if she wanted to. She has the skillset to be an asset bad people would kill to have in their ranks. Or she could be the leader’s wife, helping them run their mafia circle at least until she decides to stab them in the back and take over.
Either way.
Waving her off, I hang my head back and study the strips of recessed lights forming a square along the edges of our white ceiling. “I guess I could give dating Ryan a try,” I say after a minute of companionable silence.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the motion of her shoulders as she shrugs. “Go for it, Jack. This and the property sale are two different things.”
“They are,” I breathe out. “I just hope his parents see it that way, too.”
I spend the next few days mostly at the two bakeries, setting up the cookies & feedback promo. Ryan and Emily came up with the questions while I found a website we could use to host the survey so we have both a printed-out version and an online one. It came with a QR code, so I added that to the promo announcement poster, which the owners of both shops were nice enough to display at their counters.
As I thank the owner of the bakery in the center, I pull my phone out and check the website. Responses arealready flooding in from both places, so we’ll get some data to work with by the end of the week. I quickly glance at the answers—they confirm what we thought, which is awesome. I can’t wait to tell Ryan and Emily.
