Page 37 of Bloom and Burn
With a slightly forced smile on my face, I get off my pickup and head inside the shop. I’ve got a couple of custom bouquets to put together, then I have to finish the wreaths for the festival, after which it’s time for my first ever workshop. Jack and Emily will be the only attendees, but I am excited nonetheless, especially since flowers won’t really be the focus. This is my opportunity for a test run and I can’t wait to see how it goes.
I study the Japanese good luck charm that Jack got me when we visited his favorite restaurant in Portland for one of our dinner dates. It was a five-star experience for sure, and not just because of the food. The ambience, the tatami mats, the koi fish aquarium, it was all so beautiful and serene. We were also meant to meet his friends, Alistair and Josh, but apparently there was some last-minute snake royalty thing they needed to attend, so they couldn’t make it.
The bell above the front door chimes, pulling me out of my thoughts. Emily enters the shop with a giant smile, making me raise an eyebrow.
“Good morning, dear boss,” she says, drawing out each word.
“Good morning, dear employee. You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Indeed I am.” She presses her palm to her heart. “Today, I finally get to hold the fort while you do deliveries.”
Ah,so it’s that. It’s been a blast working with her. She’s such a fast learner and so funny, and she’s also gotten my accounting in order.
“Do you want to help me with the bouquets? The wreaths can wait until after I’m back.”
“Of course! Let me get the ceramic buckets.”
We get started arranging flowers. I did a couple of tweaks to the shop to make it more accessible to her—nothing fancy, really, I just focused on functionality so she has an easier time helping me around. With the two of us working on the flowers, we are done in half the time it would’ve taken me to do them myself, so shortly after arriving, I head out.
“I’ll go through the list of stuff that needs ordering and do that for you,” she calls out from the door as I load the flowers in the pickup.
It gives me pause. “Wait, you already organized the stock?” I blink, not sure when she managed to do that.
“Yep. There was a bit of downtime yesterday while you were dealing with the festival stuff.” She bats her eyelashes innocently. “I got bored.”
She’s helped me so much in such a short time. Not just with the books, either. Everything is so organized now, and the tips she gave me have been such a time saver. I love working with her and part of me regrets that it’s only temporary until I hire somebody. Three people already called, and I’ve set up interviews for the next few days. Emily and I will be interviewing them together.
“See you in a bit, Em!”
“Don’t be too long! I get lonely.”
With a smile on my face, I start up the pickup and get on with my deliveries. Estacada is a small town, so it doesn’t take me long to visit all the addresses on my list.I stop at a deli Em and I like on the way back, picking up food for both of us.
The afternoon is dedicated to the wreaths, and then I pop out again to deliver those. By the time I return, Jack has arrived, looking cute and sexy in a pair of camo pants and a tight T-shirt.
“Hey, sexy. What brings you here?” I drawl, wiggling my eyebrows and biting on my bottom lip.
He laughs, pulling me in for a quick kiss. “You are a treat.” He ruffles my hair and breathes me in. “It’s so nice to see you after a long day. You have no idea.”
“Oh? Did they give you trouble at the company?”
He spins me around until my back is plastered to his front, and rests his head on my shoulder. His phone appears in my field of vision, with survey results loaded on the screen.
“Nope. Everything went well. Things have been finalized other than the Orchid’s stake in the building. As soon as we sort that out, we are a Go.”
I skim through the survey. We have more than a hundred online responses so far, and more than seventy percent come from customers at the bakery in the center. It’s telling, and I can’t wait to see the fancy graphs and diagrams Em has been working on. We’ll use those to convince my parents.
“How was work? Did you get the festival props to the town hall alright?” he asks as we head toward the backroom after I lock the door.
“Yep. I managed to dodge both my parents.”
“You know, I do feel bad about causing tension between you and them.” It’s the twentieth time he’s said that even though I keep telling him it’s not his fault. Yes, he gave me the nudge I needed, but I’m doing this because I wantto and because it will benefit me. The fact that it also helps him is more of a lucky side-effect. “And I have to say that it never crossed my mind they might be spying on their son making out with the hot billionaire.”
I swat him playfully. “Gross. And since when are you a hot billionaire?”
“Well, that’s been going on for a while, to be honest.” He takes two chairs out and sets them in the middle of the room where I’m pointing. “But thanks to a certain cute florist, I think I’ve evolved into a super hot billionaire.”
He’s such a dork.
