Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
“Nah. He’ll demand I get kicked out, and when you refuse, he’ll throw another tantrum and leave by himself. Then he will threaten to sue us for not refunding his membership fee, so send the funds to his account in advance. That might spur his departure faster. He’ll find that offensive.” We share a grin. “I’m off. Don’t work too hard.”
“I’ll try not to, but the owner is kind of an ogre.”
“Lies. I heard he’s a prince. Best guy ever. Walks on water.”
Karla rolls her eyes. “How does Violet put up with you?”
“What are you saying? I’m the best brother in the world. Also, the best owner in the world.”
“And then he skipped out on the rest of the match after accusing me of being a woman hater!” Dean’s voice echoes down the hall.
“Good luck,” I tell Karla and escape out the door. I call my sister as I’m driving home. “What can I pick up for dinner?”
“Chef made burrito bowls so nothing. Actually, can you bring me scones from The Daily Drip? I’ve been craving them.”
“You should come with me sometime and have them in the café when they’re steaming hot. The cream practically melts on your tongue.”
A prolonged silence greets my suggestion. I swallow a sigh. “Or I can swing by The Daily Drip and bring some scones home with me.” I try one last time to get my agoraphobic sister out of the house. “I bet my wife to be is working. You could meet her.”
“You can bring her home with the scones.” Violet hangs up, and I make a detour to The Daily Drip to lick my wounds by admiring Eden.
“Twice in one day,” mentions the kid. “That’s new.” His nametag says Ryan.
“My sister wants scones. You know how sisters are. If you don’t do what they say, it’s endless nagging.”
“Yeah, I hear you.”
“You older or younger?” I ask, just trying to confirm that we’re talking about Eden here.
“Younger. You?”
“Older but only by five minutes. Violet’s my twin.”
“Oh, damn, but that’s kind of cool.”
“My mom said it was a nightmare,” I confide. He starts to dump coffee into the drip contraption. “Shouldn’t you put a filter in there?” I ask.
“Fuck. Yes. Sorry, man. I can make all kinds of pastries, but this coffee shit sometimes escapes me. I’m not really a fan of coffee, actually. I usually get my caffeine from pop. I guess I like cold drinks. We serve some killer blenders here. Have you tried them?”
I lean against the counter. “No. I’m not much of a coffee drinker either.”
“What? You come here every day.”
“Right but that’s because…” I trail off. Should I really be admitting that I’m hot after this kid’s sister? He might find that offensive. “Because I heard you make the best coffee in town and everyone was right because once I tried it, it’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted.”
“That’s fucking cool. We should make that our slogan. Maybe we’d bring in more money.” He slides the coffee into my hand.
“This place is packed all the time. You’re not making good money?” This is probably an inappropriate conversation to be having, but the kid doesn’t realize it and I’m not going to tell him to shut up.
“I don’t know exactly, but my sister’s stressed a lot and gets grumpy after looking at her computer at night. We were eating Chinese and watching a movie last night, but she couldn’t concentrate. Feels bad, man.” He rubs one hand along his forearm.
This isn’t good news. I’ve been sitting back, enjoying the view, biding my time, but my girl’s suffering? I’m going to have to take action. “I’ve done a little marketing in the past. You should let me take a look at your accounts. I can do some studies about foot traffic, per customer value, margins, and the like. It’s what I do for a living.”
“Really?” His face brightens but falls immediately after. “I’d have to get permission from Eden though, and she doesn’t like outsiders in our business.”
“Are you bothering our customers, Ryan?” Eden appears in the doorway behind her brother. Ryan starts and gulps.
“Nah. We were just talking.” I hold my hand up for a fist bump. Ryan gusts out a relieved sigh and dabs me back. I reach past him toward Eden, my love. “I’m Miles Monroe, your new management consultant.”
Chapter Four
Eden
I hesitate for a moment before I take his hand. I suck in a breath, jerking my hand back at the barrage of emotions that hit me from the simple touch. What the heck was that? It must have been in my head. I’m tired or the stress of trying to figure out why our profits are in the red when we should be in the black is finally getting to me.
“I’m Eden,” I finally manage to get out. Get it together. You’re making yourself look like a fool right now.