Whiskey and Gumdrops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance (15 page)

"Right. Of course. Very nice." Her mother's soap operas were starting to look like a fine way to spend her down time.

He raised his bushy eyebrows at her. "Shall I proceed?"

She wanted to say no and walk out, but she nodded and pushed all doubts from her mind. She was paying for every word out of his mouth right now, so the sooner he got specific, the better. "Let's go." Her hands clenched the armrests and refused to let go. She glanced at the walls, seeking a clock.

Oh, very clever, John. No clocks. Just soothing prints of whales in the ocean. Of course he didn't want her to know what time it was. This was like bringing someone a full course meal and not telling them what the final bill was going to be, just giving them an estimate, which could be off by a whole heck of a lot.

She slowed her breathing, reminding herself this was a business expense that had been calculated into her budget. This was what business people did.

"John?"

John's pen, which had been tapping its way down the page as he highlighted his biggest concerns with the contract, from her having to lease the equipment to the size and amount of signage she would have to pay for, paused as he looked up. "Yes?"

"Nothing." She shook off the doubts.

John continued down his list as though there hadn't been an interruption. "You don't get to price around for your supplies, but I hear that's normal. And the franchise fees seem a tad high. We might be able to knock them down, even though they do offer a fair amount of support. They seem to have an overinflated marketing plan, which could kill your initial cash flow—"

"Wait. You saw the marketing plan? I haven't even seen that."

"Liz!" John called through the closed door. It popped open in a matter of seconds.

"Yes, John?"

John handed her a thick document. "Be a doll and copy this for Mandy, would you?"

Liz vanished with the document, looking slightly disappointed.

John returned his attention to his list. "What if you get sick? Can you afford insurance?" He looked over his glasses at her. "Have you looked into permits, registration, benefits and taxation?" Another look made her want to shrink in her chair. There were so many things to apply for, so many things she hadn't thought of or had merely skim-researched that it was all turning into a big jumble of knotted yarn in her mind. "Will you be the manager as well as the owner? Will they provide adequate training? Is Frankie okay with you modifying his building and do you pay for those costs or does he, as the building owner?"

"Um..."

John made a note on a fresh notepad and all Mandy could think was that she was paying for that notepad and he'd better take it easy.

"If you need any lease documents witnessed or anything notarized, I can do that for you."

"Thanks." Geez. Why didn't he just follow her around for the next few weeks and find more jobs for himself?
 

"Furthermore," John said, and Mandy had to suppress a stressed laugh. He was starting to sound like the damn documents. "What happens if they don't allow you to renew your franchise license? And what about this open loan he's offering? What about parking? We're going to need to request some bylaw exceptions or changes. There's a lot to consider here, Mandy." He swept the glasses off his nose and gave her a serious look. "Are you prepared to take on all of this?" He sized her up, assessing her fortitude as he had back when he'd coached her soccer team. Only in soccer, she had been certain of her limits and skills. But right now? She had no clue. Was she in over her head?

Probably.

Could she handle it?

Not a clue.

But she wanted it. Bad. And when she wanted something, she usually got it. One way or another.

She had a fortitude that could blast through walls. And right now, nothing was holding her back, other than figuring out a ton of monetary and business details.

"John," she said, leaning forward. "Just tell me if there's anything in here that's going to sink me, because otherwise I'm going to just sign this damn thing and get myself in business."

He sat forward and plucked the pen from her grasp. "There's always room to negotiate in a contract. Tell me what you want and I'll protect your ass like Attila the Hun."

Chapter
10

Mandy stepped out of Benny's to cool off in the fresh spring air. Her uniform was sticking to her after working the busier-than-usual breakfast shift. Jen had a big excursion today and obviously, none of her clients had eaten before hitting the road to come enjoy nature—which probably said a lot about the kind of lunches they'd packed. They probably expected to paddle up to a McDonald's when they got hungry.

And of course, because they had to be at Wally's Sporting Goods by eight-thirty to meet up with Jen, they were in a rush, pissing off all the locals who wanted their usual breakfasts at the usual time and at their usual tables. And making Mandy—who hadn't broken a sweat waitressing since Benny's air conditioner broke during a heat wave three years ago—ended up hustling so bad, she was now a gross mess. But also up an extra fifty dollars in tips compared to a typical Saturday morning. Not bad. She just needed to do that an extra couple hundred times to meet the little gap in her finances. Every time she turned around, there was a financial complication or more paperwork or another fee keeping her at a frustratingly long arm's length from her dream.

She gripped the front of her shirt and pulled it in and out a few times, creating a breeze against her skin. She glanced through the window to see Sasha, the weekend help, texting her boyfriend and chewing on the end of her ponytail instead of shuttling dirty dishes to the kitchen, as Mandy had requested before taking her break.

If she managed to find the last bit of cash to open a Wrap it Up, she was going to have to deal with employees like Sasha all the time. And because Sasha's dad, Ed, was the editor of the local paper, she'd end up hiring the likes of her despite her instincts. Not hiring the paper's daughter wasn't a help-you-up kind of move and only a fool would fail to notice how often Benny's place had been mentioned in the papers lately.

Leaning against the building, she wished she hadn't given up smoking in high school. But again, her stupid nosy-head stepmother had forced her to quit before she'd even managed to get addicted. That woman had a nose like a bloodhound. And in the way it caught scents, too. But a cigarette would remind her to exhale right about now so her brain could gather some fresh oxygen to help it think. Think, think, think.

John had tweaked the franchise contract to his exacting specifications and now all she had to do was sign. The only hiccup was the tiny little fact that John had noticed her bank's draw schedule for her loan was going to leave her short for her first payments to the franchise—even with the franchise loan. Basically, the bank wanted her to have more assets built up so they could advance more cash to her...but without the cash, she couldn't build up the assets. The only answer was to get someone to cosign her loan so the bank could increase her draw payments and pull her ass out of the fire.

The problem was who. There was no way her mom, who lived check to check, had the financial muscle to help her. And she'd rather live the rest of her life as a waitress than accept her father's offer of help because saying yes would mean she'd be granting her stepmother the opportunity to stand over her shoulder nitpicking and snoopervising every little thing. Mandy wouldn't even be able to buy a pack of gum without her stepmother hinting she could have used that money to pay them back. Beside every person on her list was a red light saying no.

"Heard you had quite the crowd this morning," Mary Alice said as she and Liz ambled by. A whiff of Mary Alice's familiar stale smoke smell hit Mandy, making her craving that much worse. She wanted to lick the woman's skin just to get the smoky flavor in her mouth.

"I love tourists," Mandy replied automatically, leaning away from Mary Alice. She stopped using her hand to fan her shirt and shoved both hands in her pockets. "Hey, uh, can I bum a smoke?"

Mary Alice gave her a long look, eyes narrowed. "Since when did you start smoking again?"

Mandy shrugged. "Do you have one?"

"At the store," Mary Alice said slowly. "But you don't wanna start up again. You'll never quit and you'll end up hauling an oxygen tank like ol' Sal. You'll have the likes of Lauretta hauling you outside for fresh air in a wheelchair. Besides, you need all the cash you got, dontcha?"

"That's right," added Liz. "And you'll smell like a chimney and taste like an ashtray like wrinkly old Mary Alice here."

Mary Alice shot her a disgusted look. "Like you've ever tried kissing me. No, thank you very much," she muttered. She dug around in her cleavage, her eyes never leaving her sister until she found what she was looking for. She defiantly popped a mint in her mouth and raised her chin. Still looking at her sister as if she was expecting some sort of sneak attack if she looked away, she swung the mints in Mandy's direction.

"Uh, no, thanks," she said quickly. Mints warmed by someone's cleavage probably weren't as bad as gum warmed in someone's pocket, but she didn't exactly want to test the theory. She came out here to freshen up, not get grosser.

"You're going to wear out your bra carrying around junk like that," Liz warned, watching Mary Alice pull out a cell phone and change purse before tucking her tin of mints back into her cleavage. "They aren't made for stuff like that." She added in Mandy's direction, "That bra is like a magician's hat. You never know what she's going to pull out of it."

Mary Alice gave her sister a sassy look and jiggled up and down, making her cleavage rattle with the sound of change, tinned mints, and some other unidentifiable things. "What's handier than a big ol' Double D cup? Frees up the hands." She shot Mandy a wink.

"Well, thanks, ladies," Mandy said with a sigh. "Guess I'll take up drinking instead."

Mary Alice gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Personally, I find sex to be a much healthier, stress-reducing alternative and opportunities pop up in the wink of an eye." Her gaze moved to the street, settling a few parked cars beyond Mandy. She gave Mandy a nudge and indicated the girl should adjust her cleavage. By the time Mandy looked up again, Mary Alice was hustling down the street with her giggling sister.

"You coming or what?" Frankie called. He had one leg in the Charger. The other supported him on the pavement as he leaned against the roof of the car, watching Mandy.

"Sorry?" Mandy blinked at Frankie.

"I've got to return the Charger. It's done. I called in some favors."

"And?" She shrugged, the cool air feeling amazing as it hit her overheated pits. Stupid polyester. She was hot and cold all at the same time.

"You promised you'd drive in. I need a ride back?" He tilted his head in question.

Mandy shook her head and shrugged again.

"We're supposed to pick up the beer fridge and a couple other prizes for the cruise night." He looked over her uniform. "You promised."

Mandy glanced down at her attire. "Shooooot." It was coming back to her now.

"You never changed your shift, did you?" Frankie asked, disappointment etched in his expression.

"I'm sorry. I forgot," she said, coming over. "When you hurt your shoulder, I figured you wouldn't need a ride and I got all wrapped up in the Wrap it Up stuff. Get it? All wrapped up?" She raised her eyebrows but Frankie didn't smile. "The good news, I guess, is that I'll be returning to real life again." She swung an arm through the air in a languid movement. "Woohoo." She flashed him a cheery smile that was as fake as Wrap it Up's claim about having homemade buns.

Frankie's forehead creased and he stepped away from the car. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't have the cash. I'm short." She stepped back, surprised at how suddenly she'd decided she needed to pull out of the deal.

"I thought Wini set you up with a loan?"

"I have no real borrowing record, not enough assets, nor enough income. The ratio was off by a couple of zeros. Or percentage points or something." She waved a hand. "Unless a fairy godmother falls out of the sky, the truth is—" she sucked in a deep breath "—I'm not going to be able to make Point A and Point B meet in the middle. My period of exclusivity is over and in a week I'll lose my deposit unless I sign. But why would I do that? I don't have enough money." She rubbed her face, wondering how she'd managed to get so far into this process before reality decided to show her pretty face.

"I'll cosign a loan." Frankie turned to the car. "We'll go talk to Wini first thing Monday."

"Frankie." She grabbed his arm. "You know I can't do that. I can't..." Her shoulders ended up somewhere near her ears. "If I'm having trouble seeing that I'm unable to make ends meet until it's time to pay up now, what's going to happen later?"

"I believe in you." He shrugged as if it was no big deal. "You'll figure it all out. And I thought about what you said." He paused and kicked at the road before looking up to meet her eye. "If you say the guy is okay, then I'm in. I'll help any way I can. I know you don't want to get me involved, but all it'll be is my name on a piece of paper."

"I can't ruin our friendship by letting money come between us, Frankie. It was all just a stupid idea. Like a midlife crisis."

"Then don't let it come between us." Frankie grabbed her hands and she stiffened as the few local pedestrians slowed to watch. "You
want
this. How can I, your best friend—" he paused to meet her eye again "—sit by when I have the means to make your dreams come true? That wouldn't be being a good friend. The truth is, this is something you've wanted deep in your bones for a long time. It's time to put yourself forward, grab your future and shape it around your dreams."

She jutted out her hip. "But what about you? You aren't following your dreams."

"That's different."

"No, it isn't."

"They've already found someone else," he said tautly.

"Oh, Frankie. I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. He returned the hug, his body fitting nicely against hers.