Rival Hearts (Suitor's Crossing: Hearts Collide) by Hallie Bennett

Author:Hallie Bennett [Bennett, Hallie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Arrowed Heart
Published: 2024-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

CALEB

After agreeing to join forces and become Crossing’s Cups & Cakes, we wasted no time getting the ball rolling by setting up a meeting with the owner of our building and business leases, Mike Jones.

“Do you think he’ll go for it? I mean we’re asking him to approve a major renovation. Going from two leasing checks to one.” Sierra nibbles her lip as I hold the door to Design Time open. Mike owns this embroidery and screen printing shop that also sells local sports memorabilia and keeps his office here for all meetings.

“We’re adding value to his building by upgrading everything as we go. Plus, there’s nothing stopping him from combining how much each of us pay into one lump sum each month, so he doesn’t lose out on money.”

“Hello! Welcome to Design Time,” a woman emerges from the back of the retail space and shuffles behind the cash register in the middle of the store.

“Hi, I’m Sierra Kipley and this is Caleb Vickers. We have a two o’clock meeting with Mike.”

“Oh, of course. He mentioned it earlier. You can follow me.” She waves a hand toward a long conference table squeezed into a makeshift storage space. “I’m Avery, by the way. I’ll let Mike know you’re waiting.”

We sink into two cushioned chairs and swivel to face the table. Mike joins us a few minutes later, and by tacit agreement, I launch into the plans Sierra and I have, pouring on the charm and enthusiasm in the hopes that our vision isn’t dashed before it has a chance to take flight.

“I’m surprised to hear the two of you want to team up. Figured there’d be too much bad blood between the businesses.” Mike steeples his fingers and reclines in his seat across from us.

“We’ve worked through our differences,” Sierra assures him. “The Cafe Clash gave us an opportunity for some honest conversations that brought to light how unfair I was being to Caleb and vice versa.”

“I see…”

The doorbell above the front door rings out, and Avery returns from a hall leading to the back of the building. Scooching closer to the table, Sierra and I try to give her room to squeeze behind us in the tight meeting space.

“I’d like to see the schematics before any demoing occurs. I need to ensure everything goes through the proper channels as far as building codes and licenses.”

“Of course. We’ll be happy to get those for you,” I agree, my hand drifting to Sierra’s thigh beneath the table and contracting around the soft flesh.

This is promising.

If Mike wants to see our plans for the new set-up, then that means his answer isn’t an immediate no. That means he’s considering our proposition, and we’re one step closer to making Crossing’s Cups & Cakes a reality.

Mike claps his hands in finality then rises to his feet. “Great, I’ll look forward to those, and if everything checks out, then we can move on to discussing updated staff uniforms and any merchandise you want to sell.” He grins and shakes both of our hands.

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