Cakewalk: A Calhoon Small Town Romantic Comedy Page 8

  Griffin frowned. “That’s not the name of my company.”

  “Which leads me to my next point. You need to rebrand, and fast. Reed Enterprises has a certain… reputation.”

  “It is my last name. As much as my father is… who he is, I’m not giving up my family name.”

  “I’m not suggesting you change your last name. I just think distancing your business from his would be a good first step toward fixing your public image.”

  I didn’t think he would go for it, but then Griffin shrugged and took out his phone. “I’ll email my assistant, tell her to put together the paperwork.” He glanced up, hazarding, “And this is you before your morning coffee?”

  “Yup, so buckle up, buddy!”

  He laughed, mumbled, “Lord have mercy,” then started composing his email.

  Griffin and I worked late into the evening, brainstorming mission statements, business plans, and a total rebrand. He treated me like a professional, not once doubting me, or breaking our agreement about avoiding any romantic notions.

  And honestly? I could hardly stand it. We were so in sync with our ideas, our line of thinking, that I almost wished he hadn’t hired me at all. At least then clothing could be optional when we were together.

  Somehow Griffin left me not feeling like I didn’t know what I was doing. I initially thought I had gotten in over my head—I mean, who was I to have any useful ideas for a multi-million dollar company? But my experience as a small town resident helped me shoot down plans that I knew wouldn’t make a lick of difference, and suggest some ideas that would have been bonkers under normal circumstances.

  But Calhoon wasn’t normal.

  Ariana, Griffin’s assistant in Atlanta, had set up all kinds of social media, with stock photos and mottos and everything, but they were all things I knew would fall flat here. No inane statements like “Together, we can build something new” or “A new opportunity for small businesses” would ring true to the townspeople I grew up with. They’ve been given such promises before.

  One only needed to remember what happened with the closed paper mill—and the lame duck council who bought the town after—to know that this town wasn’t about to place its hopes and dreams on one big company again…

  So Griffin told Ariana to nix it all, and that we’d be sending her a new press kit in a week or two.

  Once that was sorted, Griffin went over his plan to have a team come in from the city to evaluate and clean the land he had purchased. The chemicals from the paper mill still polluted much of the soil, and the land had turned into a veritable town dumping ground for just about anything that was too much of a hassle to dispose of properly.

  “Cancel the cleanup crew,” I said, and he momentarily looked at me like I was crazy.

  “Okay… But why?”

  “Because you have Calhoon. The town itself can clean up the property.”

  “Like… free labor?”

  “No, like a volunteer opportunity. And a source of pride. As in, ‘We cleaned up Calhoon.’”

  Griffin nodded, adding, “And for every hour volunteered, I’ll vow to plant a tree in the part of the property I’ve earmarked for a park.”

  “Yes! Perfect.” I started writing it down. “We’ll still want to hire an expert to evaluate the cleanup job and to handle the polluted soil. But I think this is the way to go. It’ll help us heal the old wound left by the mill.”

  “Very good thinking, Jade.”

  His praise left me with a big smile on my face that persisted late into the work day, and by the end, we had an action plan that I felt would change most people’s perception of Griffin.

  With the sun well past the horizon, I parked in the Davidsons’ driveway, stepping out with my high heels in my hands. I wiped my brow and let out a huff, wondering if every day would be as long as this one.

  Not that I would mind if I was in Griffin’s company.

  With that, I padded up the sidewalk, preparing myself for a very cranky King Kong inside.

  Chapter 11

  Jade

  When Friday afternoon came, I must’ve been giving off a sense of dread, because Griffin looked up from his computer to ask, “Something wrong, Jade?”

  I smiled up at him from my new desk. He had purchased a proper one for me, along with a chair Wednesday morning, much nicer than what he was working with. “No. I’m fine.”

  Griffin’s deep blues narrowed on me, and it seemed like he wasn’t sure if it was his place or not to prod further. We had been keeping things surprisingly professional, despite the close proximity and memories of that night making me want to tear his clothes off sometimes.

  Finally, he decided to hell with it and asked me his first personal question in days. “It’s your sister, isn’t it? You haven’t told her?”

  “I will tonight.”

  “What are you planning on telling her?”

  “That I’m working for the big bad Reed Enterprises. Though… I’ve been avoiding the subject of this entire thing so much that I’m not even sure yet if she knows you’re a completely separate entity from your father.”

  “Probably should start with that.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, probably.”

  “But definitely stop before the part about the fountain and the park.”

  My cheeks heated as I remembered the ecstasy of him deep inside of me. “Oh, I’m not even going near that night. I thought we agreed it didn’t happen.”

  He gave a wistful sigh and stood. “We can call it a night, then. Good luck with your dinner, and I hope you have a good weekend.” He started piling some things into his briefcase.

  I stood after him, but I wasn’t done. “Wait. What can I tell her? Can I explain the whole thing about your dad framing you? And can I tell her what we’re planning with the business? I think she’ll be impressed.”

  “Tell her what you must, but it might be better to wait until I can address everything next week at the town hall meeting.”

  I nodded diligently. “Thank you, Griffin. For trusting me. And giving me a chance.”

  His eyes softened. “You’re the one who gave me a chance. It’s the least I can do.” He lifted his briefcase. “Anyway, see you Monday.”

  I watched him as he headed out. This was the first time he was leaving before me, so I peeked out the blinds to see how he managed to handle a motorcycle in his business attire. He strapped the briefcase onto the back, onto the seat where I sat that night, then he popped on his helmet and took off.

  His mood seemed to drop at the very end there. I guess me insisting that night didn’t happen must have been like a punch to the gut.

  If only I could tell him he wasn’t alone in that feeling. But that’d only encourage it, wouldn’t it? And we’d both be screwed if we gave into those whims again.

  I sighed and closed up the office, trying to mentally prepare myself for tonight’s dinner.

  Chapter 12

  Jade

  The warm yellow light of the hanging lamp over the table did little to combat the wintry chill coming off of Courtney. She knew something was up. I cleared my throat and smiled at James, her husband. “How’s the general store?”

  “Bit busier than usual,” he answered between bites of mashed potatoes. “Some blogger wrote an article about it. Called it something like ‘a quaint step back in time, but with a bit more inflation.’”

  “That sounds about right.” I often dropped by to grab an old fashioned soda, but it certainly wasn’t five cents a bottle anymore.

  Mom and Dad sat opposite each other, doting on their daughters and son-in-law like they hadn’t seen us in ages, even though the last time we had dinner was a few weeks ago. Mom started, brushing her gray hair behind her ear. “Courtney tells me you quit the cake shop. Do you have something else lined up?”

  Courtney added, “And she has a new car. How’d that happen, Jade?”

  “It’s a rental,” I started out defensively, setting down the cornbread. Ugh, couldn’t these questions
wait until after I had a few bites? “It’s a work car.”

  “Well,” Courtney continued. “Who’s the lucky employer? You haven’t told me yet.”

  “You’ve met him already. He’s renting the apartment above the cake shop.”

  Courtney frowned and started putting things together. “Griffin? What’s a spiffy-looking guy like him doing here, anyway?”

  “I’ll just say it.” I took in a deep breath, bracing for impact. “His full name is Griffin Reed.”

  My sister set her fork down, no longer interested in her steak. “Wait. He’s Calvin Reed’s son?”

  “Yep,” I said stupidly. What else was I supposed to say?

  Courtney let out a little, “Uh huh,” then grabbed her knife and started making short work of her poor steak. “So Griffin is Calvin’s son. And he’s renting our apartment.” Half of the steak was damn near shredded now. “And you’re working for him. For the company that routinely stormed into towns, paid the absolute minimum in wages, bled all the subsidies and tax breaks, then left without so much as a ‘Thank you, ma’am.’ That’s the company you’re working for.”

  “It’s under new management,” was my whimpered response. Did I really stand a chance at explaining myself, or was Courtney going to steamroll ahead on her crusade? “He’s different from—”

  “The peach doesn’t fall far from the tree, Jade. Everybody here knows that.”

  “Okay, but really, he’s estranged from his father. They don’t talk anymore.”

  “Then how’d he get the company?”

  “It was part of his… severance package, I guess you could say. It’s entirely his to do as he wants with, and he’s going to turn it around. He’s not like his father.”

  Courtney’s eyes narrowed, and it was like our parents and James weren’t even in the room anymore. It felt like I was sitting in an interrogation chair in some dank basement, a hanging light bulb above me. And that made Courtney my interrogator, with her instruments of torture gripped tightly in her hands, a fork and a steak knife.

  She continued, “Is that right?”

  “Give him a chance. You can put him through the wringer at this upcoming town hall meeting. He’ll be there to address any concerns.”

  “Sounds like corporate speak to me.”

  “Honestly, I took the job to see for myself if he could be trusted. He opened everything up to me. He needs some guidance, but he’s fully willing to listen and has already started to put into effect some of my suggestions.”

  “Like what?”

  “The clean-up, for one. It’ll be a community event, and he’s going to set aside part of the land to plant trees and build a park.”

  “Sounds like empty PR to me. What’s a park when he’s robbing the rest of the town blind?”

  I had to hold in a groan. Instead, through gritted teeth, I said, “But he’s not going to do that.” It was my turn to murder my steak. “Can’t you just trust me, Court? Mom and Dad didn’t raise a dummy, did they?”

  Mom and Dad both pulled back a little, as if they wanted no part in this.

  Courtney thought about it, looking between Mom and Dad, then settled her eyes back on mine. “Fine, Jade. I’ll trust you. But I hope you know you’re risking your reputation on this. Nobody in town supports this development.”

  “Yet. But I think they can be convinced.”

  Courtney nodded, and I felt the interrogation room fade back into a cozy little kitchen.

  Lord help me if she learned about his criminal record or our little fling. I dug into my food while I could, worried the next set of questions would be incoming at any moment.

  To my relief, Courtney changed the conversation topic over to the local festival scheduled in two months. She insisted Dad bake his county-famous apple pie, and have Mom pause her retirement for just a few days to decorate the cupcakes for the cake shop’s booth.

  Conversation then turned to Suzy, the new girl who was working at the cake shop, and how she was quite the student. Eventually I relaxed, realizing that my sister really was going to do as I asked and trust me.

  I just hoped neither of us would regret it.

  I texted Griffin that night as King Kong lazed around my shoulders. The scaly bastard’s nails were like mini daggers in my flesh, but I endured the suffering, not wanting to incur his wrath.

  Me: Cat’s out of the bag

  Griffin: Uh oh. Yet you’re still breathing?

  Me: I convinced Courtney to trust me. She sure as heck isn’t trusting you, but she dropped it when I pulled the ‘Mom and Dad didn’t raise no fool’ card. But maybe she didn’t want to challenge me on that with Mom and Dad right there, lol.

  Griffin: With any luck, I can finish the job at the town hall meeting.

  Me: Just prepare yourself for an interrogation of a lifetime. I think since the baby’s not due yet, Courtney’s channeling all her mama bear energy into protecting the town. Bring a suit of armor.

  Griffin: Yikes. Didn’t think I’d ever be scared of a cake maker after five years of hard time, yet here I am.

  Me: You and me both.

  I wanted to ask him what his plans were for the weekend. Hell, I wanted to demand another damn date with him. But I had been the one to beat the drum of professionalism and keeping things appropriate. I’d just have to slip back into my old single ways, subsisting off the memory of that night instead. Then he sent another text.

  Griffin: Got plans this weekend?

  I nearly wanted to hurl my phone into a wall. This temptation was murder.

  Me: Just gonna make sure King Kong doesn’t rampage too much around the house.

  Griffin: What do people do for fun around here?

  Was he asking for himself, or for us? I winced as I typed.

  Me: The bar has a pinball machine, though the left flipper doesn’t work anymore. There’s also a corn maze, though that’s only one month out of the year. So basically, there’s nothing to do. Unless you have a boat and like fishing.

  Griffin: Good God. No wonder all the kids flee to the city as soon as they get a car.

  Me: Yup. All Calhoon has going for it is a few cute stores and zero traffic.

  Griffin: Want to introduce me to a few of the shop owners? Maybe I can set up some preemptive defenses against your sister’s incoming nukes.

  Me: Why not. Tomorrow afternoon should be a good time. It’s Calhoon at its busiest, which essentially means like five out-of-towners.

  Griffin: Five? How will I survive such crowds?

  Me: I think you can manage.

  Griffin: How about we meet up where you assaulted me with a cake?

  Me: Done deal.

  Ugh, this was sounding a whole lot like a date. Or maybe I just wanted it to be. But as long as we could treat it like a meet and greet with the small businesses, at most have a coffee together, then maybe it’d still have the feel of a professional outing. Nothing more, nothing less.

  I just had to channel my inner King Kong and forget all these warm-blooded, lustful feelings I’ve been having.

  Chapter 13

  Jade

  Griffin stood outside on the sidewalk, leaning against a light pole near the haberdashery. In greeting, he pointed at his shoes, which were shiny enough to see my own reflection on. “Got my shoes shined.”

  “By Killian?”

  “I was early, on account of my apartment being a one-minute walk to the crime scene, then the owner of the haberdashery saw me and convinced me that any gentleman worth his salt always kept his shoes in tip-top condition.”

  “That would be Killian, then. Did you tell him who you were?”

  “I figured I should wait for my PR officer before I tried that.”

  I smiled. He knew how to make me feel needed. “All right, then. Let me properly introduce you to him.”

  Inside the store that smelled of wood and leather, Killian’s demeanor changed just a hair when I first explained to him who Griffin was, but he was the least liable out of anyone to cause a fus
s over it. He concluded, “I guess this town has nothing left to lose. Might as well see how this all shakes out.”

  “All traffic to the Marketplace Square will have to go through Main Street,” Griffin started. “So you can expect plenty of people stopping by as they ask themselves, ‘What the hell is a haberdashery again?’”

  Killian laughed. “Ah, you’ve identified my key demographic.”

  We were out about ten minutes later, after Killian convinced Griffin that a certain vest would match perfectly with his suit. Outside, Griffin squinted against the sunlight, pointing vaguely in the direction of the cake shop. “Should we stop by your sister’s?”

  “Not a damn chance, now that she knows who you are.”

  He pouted. “I figured. I guess that means no cupcakes for me until I make her a Griffin convert.”

  “I can still pick some up for you on the sly. But yeah, best to wait until after the town hall meeting.”

  Griffin turned the other direction. “Then next would be Madison’s boutique?”

  I almost choked. “That will probably never happen.”

  “What’s the beef between you again?”

  “She got mad that I went out of town for college. Thought I wouldn’t come back, like all her other friends. I guess she expected me to stay in town forever and just work at the cake shop. But I told her I’d come back.”

  Griffin glanced at me. “Seems our roles will have to be reversed. I’ll act as your PR officer. Come.” He started walking, and I grasped after him to stop him, grabbing nothing but air instead.

  “Wait!” I nearly shouted.

  He glanced back at me, all innocent.

  “I can’t deal with her. Especially after I destroyed her cake.”