Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Chapter Seventeen - Joanne
I adjusted my position on the uncomfortable lobby chair and glanced at my phone.
I’d told Naomi to text if anything came up at the shop—or if Brady finally showed up. However, I’d spent the better part of an hour at the bank filling out paperwork to see if I even qualified for a loan, and despite checking my phone every few minutes, there were still no calls and no new texts.
I nibbled at my lip and resisted the urge to immediately check my phone again, even though the rational part of my brain knew that I hadn’t suddenly missed a call in the two seconds that had passed.
Friday afternoon wasn’t usually one of our busiest times—unlike the bank, where a seemingly endless stream of people advanced through the teller lines—but still, shouldn’t there have been something? Anything, really, that might get me out of the too-bright, too-busy lobby and back to my familiar shop.
I glanced up and across the lobby to the little glass office where the loan officer—Will Whitley—was going over my paperwork. Was he frowning? Scowling?
I squinted my eyes and tried to make out the man’s exact expression from across the room, but I really had no way of knowing.
And maybe Will made that face—the one with the crinkled brows and pursed lips—every time he went over someone’s paperwork. It didn’t have to mean he thought my application was a waste of his time.
Will looked up and I quickly looked away, feeling the heat flush my cheeks as I’d no doubt been caught staring.
Great. Probably thinks I’m checking him out. He’ll for sure deny the loan now.
And sure, objectively speaking, the guy wasn’t bad looking. But that was really the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. If I had really wanted eye candy, I could have just waited for Brady to show up again.
My interest in Will was strictly business. I needed information. Answers.
Besides, the man couldn’t really sit in a glass office and not expect people to occasionally watch him while he did… whatever it was he did.
Oh, God.
Will was standing up. He was looking at me.
Oh, God.
He was walking toward the lobby where I was sitting. Was he smiling? Maybe?
Oh, God. OhGodohGodohGod.
“Joanne, why don’t you come back to my office, and we’ll go over your paperwork.”
I nodded and scrambled to follow.
Will had seemed pleasant enough, but… did that mean anything? Not necessarily. I wasn’t usually in a position to tell people no at work, but the few times I’d needed to, it had been with a sympathetic smile.
Had Will looked sympathetic?
Shit.
I just. Didn’t. Know.
“I didn’t even realize Patty’s Petals was for sale,” Will said, once we were settled in the slightly more comfortable office chairs. “But now that I think of it, it makes sense. I can’t really see Brady running that place. Not like Henry did, anyway.”
“You… know Brady?” I was completely thrown off by that little revelation. Sure, it was a small town, but damn. Brady had barely even been there a week.
“Well, I don’t really know him. Not anymore, anyway. We graduated high school together, but I haven’t talked to him much since then. But if he’s anything like he was all those years ago, he can’t stand to be tied down. Owning a neighborhood flower shop just wouldn’t be his thing. Maybe he’s changed, but…” Will shrugged. “Anyway, back to the business at hand. I think it’s admirable that you want to buy the shop. According to your loan application, you’ve worked there almost since it opened, is that right?”
“Yes, almost since then.”
Will nodded without saying anything else and looked back down at the paperwork, his maybe-a-frown expression reappearing.
I clasped my hands together in my lap to avoid fidgeting, but it really felt like I was on trial. Like my entire past was under consideration, and my entire future might hinge on this one brief meeting.
Luca had been right, though. I couldn’t afford to let the opportunity slip through my grasp. I had to at least try.
“It really would be a dream come true to buy the shop,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. If there was ever a time to sound confident and sure of myself, it was now. “I’m familiar with all of the day-to-day operations, and all of our regular customers know me by name. I think we’d get a lot of support from the community, if you’ll give me a chance.”
Will met my gaze and nodded thoughtfully, then gave me what could only be described as the kind of sympathetic smile I had been dreading earlier.
“Well, I certainly don’t like to tell people not to follow their dreams and knowing how much Henry loved that shop makes this an even more difficult decision. I’d love to see it stay in local hands if it does have to be sold.” He sighed and pushed back from his desk a little. “Unfortunately, there’s just no way I can justify giving you a loan at this time. Maybe once you get some of the things that are negatively affecting your credit cleared up, you can try again. Maybe try working with a credit counselor? I’m sorry, but there’s really nothing more I can do.”