Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“What do you call five billionaires attending a Christmas-wreath-making class?” Byron asks.
“Unusual,” Bennett replies, and I can’t hold back my chuckle.
“Anyone want to tell me why we’re doing this? Of all things?” I ask.
Leo shrugs. “It’s a chance to hang out. Chew the fat.”
I know that’s not the only reason. These guys are trying to keep my mind off Sophia. It won’t work—it’s impossible. But I really appreciate that they’re trying.
I glance around the room at these four super-successful guys who I get to call my best friends. “Thanks,” I say. “This is unbelievably weird, but… yeah, thanks.”
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt like I can lean on people. I’ve just always let people lean on me, because I’m strong enough to carry them. This is the first time I feel like I’m not shouldering everything alone.
I pick out a large rattan wreath big enough to fill the door of the brownstone. I give my coffee order to Rose, the woman with the rosy cheeks. Her name suits her personality and her job. Floristry was clearly her destiny.
My phone buzzes. It’s Avril asking me to meet her at Ninth Street tomorrow afternoon. I have a feeling that’s less about trying to keep me occupied and more about trying to get me to change my plans for the building.
“Tomorrow we thought bowling rather than the usual brunch,” Fisher says.
“Bowling?” I ask in case I misheard him. “I’m meeting my sister in the afternoon.”
“She still want to make Ninth Street a hotel?” Bennett asks.
I nod, turning my wreath in my hands, trying to figure out if I should find one that’s less haphazard or if they’ll all look like this.
“You want my advice?” Bennett asks.
I set my wreath on the bench in front of me. “Sure.”
“Take out all the arguments she’s making about family legacy and ask yourself if buying the hotel will make you happy.”
It’s not the advice I expected from Bennett. I thought he’d talk about break-even points or projected inflation over the next five years. “Happy?”
“Yeah, with something like that, you’ve got to put business aside. Do you want to work with your sisters? If so, is it the hotel business you want to get into? Not for profitability reasons, but because that’s what you’ll enjoy doing.”
“I don’t think I’ll be involved on a day-to-day basis,” I say.
“But you’ll still be the owner,” Bennett says. “Only say yes if you think you’ll enjoy it.”
I’ve never made business decisions based on personal enjoyment. “Really?” I ask, and even I can hear the skepticism in my voice.
“We’ve all got more than we could possibly ever want. You’ve secured your family’s future, Worth. No matter what happens, you and your sisters and your mom—you’re all okay. Do what makes you happy, not what you think you should do, or what will make someone else’s life better. Forget about the money and whether you should do it. Just ask yourself if you want to do it.”
I don’t get a chance to let his question marinate before Fisher pulls out a wreath from the center of the counter. “We can do bowling early,” he says, almost out of nowhere. “If you have to go to Ninth Street in the afternoon, I mean.”
“I think I’ll take this one,” Bennett says, choosing a wreath even bigger than mine. “It will take a big bow.”
I might have unwittingly slipped into the twilight zone. We’re not a natural fit for a crafting workshop.
“It’s safe to leave me on my own, you know. Monday is just around the corner, and I’m not taking any of you to work.”
“I could meet you for lunch,” Leo says.
“I have a lunch,” I lie. “But thanks.”
“Then Monday night is our normal get-together,” Fisher says.
“But we swapped Friday out instead of Mon—” I realize they weren’t swapping Monday out; they added Friday to be with me.
I have the best friends.
“Then Tuesday, you want to go for a run in the park?” Byron asks.
“And if you feel like ditching the day job, I could do a gym session, maybe pitch some business ideas at you and you can tell me I’m crazy.” Fisher pulls out a length of ivy from a pile of greenery, then thinks better of it, abandoning it in a verdant pile.
“Thanks, but I’m going to be busy at work this week.”
“Good,” Fisher says. “Not good that you can’t come to the gym with me, but good that you’re going to be busy at work. That will be… good.”
Bennett rolls his eyes at Fisher’s awkwardness, then thanks the person delivering our coffees.
I don’t want to tell them they’re being overbearing mother hens—even if they are. I appreciate them more than they can ever know.
“Okay, guys,” says Rose, clapping her hands together. “Is everyone ready to create their own festive wreath?”
Never in my entire life have I been as ready as I am right now, on a December afternoon, surrounded by my best friends, drinking coffee—like this is just another normal day.