I’m not entirely sure what conclusion she’s come to, but I swear her smile gets wider as she sets whatever is in her hands down and starts to round the end of the desk. My eyebrows pull together as she steps closer.
“You must be Hollyn,” her voice is bright, and the curiosity is clear to read on her face. “I’m Greylin?” The name sounds familiar but before I can say anything, she blurts, “I don’t know if my brother mentioned me or not and hopefully this won’t make you run, but your arrival hasn’t exactly gone unnoticed in Storyville.”
I can’t stop the small groan from escaping my lips. Instead of being offended, Greylin grins. “Sorry,” I wave my hand dismissively with my apology. “I’m Hollyn, but it seems like you already know that.” My voice is teasing and I’m relieved when her smile grows a little bit wider. “It’s nice to meet you. I don’t know how often something like this happens to him, but Elwood was very quick to use you as a character witness and told me about the business you opened with your friends.”
“Hopefully he didn’t spill too much tea,” she teases.
I shake my head, unable to help the small smile on my face. Her attitude is infectious. “He’s very proud of you.”
Her eyebrows pull together, and she presses her hand to her chest. “That’s so sweet. I’m glad he’s in my corner. Not everyone has been thrilled about us opening Green Mountain High, but we’re here to stay.”
I look around the lobby area and notice the signs above a few doors indicating different areas of the business you can enter. I’m intrigued, especially by the café.
Look, the breakfast sandwich and coffee I had this morning before attaching Elwood’s keys to my own and heading out was delicious. It was cheesy and hit the spot.
But am I going to pass up at a chance to enjoy a tasty treat? Nope. That would be a crime.
“What do you mean that not everyone was thrilled about you opening? This place looks amazing.” I can’t help but look around again. Everything is very inviting. If every area is like this then it’s the kind of place I could see spending some time in. “He mentioned there are different areas you can enjoy here. A dispensary, bakery, and event space?”
Greylin lights up and exclaims, “Yes! It might have been easier for us to just open a dispensary, but we wanted to create a business that was a little bit more while utilizing our skills.” She must see the confusion on my face because she explains, “For example, Meadow is an amazing baker. She’s in charge of the bakery side of things, including working with our grower to get the best product she can to infuse into her baked goods. She’s very precise about dosage and purpose when it comes to her infused foods.”
I’m intrigued by the way they’ve set up the business. It’s an amazing idea and I’m a little jealous I didn’t think of it myself. The trick to a customer spending more money is keeping them in your building.
“What about you,” I find myself asking, “what are you in charge of?”
Greylin smiles and points toward the door that says dispensary above it. “I’m in charge of the dispensary. It’s my domain and I take great pleasure in knowing the details of every strain and product we carry on our shelves. I’m not the only one who works behind the counter in there, but I am in charge of ordering everything and training my employees.”
“You must be super organized,” I murmur with appreciation.
She giggles softly and nods. “I’m organized and I love to examine customer trends, but I’ve got nothing on Mayer. She’s a high-strung, super organized type A person. It’s why she oversees the business in its entirety. She keeps all of us on the same page, which we need since we’re basically running three businesses out of one.”
“What about the third space?” I nod my head toward the door that says it leads to the event space.
“Oh,” her words are bright as she waves a hand in that direction, “Gemma runs the event area. She’s in charge of the events we host and the calendar along with providing decorations for private events. The best nights are the Puff and Paint nights she puts together. They’re so much fun,” Greylin gushes.
It’s hard not to be swept up in her excitement and, honestly, it does sound like a lot of fun. It’s something I would do. Smoking couldn’t make the awful painting I would do any better, that’s for sure. But it would help me not care as much about trying to make everything perfect.
Before I can say anything, the front door slams open. I jump and turn toward the sound and catch the way Greylin rolls her eyes. I think she might mumble, “Here we go.”
A brunette who looks like she’s about to blow smoke out of her ears storms into the reception area. Her hands are fisted at her sides and every step she takes reminds me of when a rattle snake shakes its tail. It’s all venomous warning; one I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of.
“That asshole,” she hisses, “can’t just let it go.”
I look over my shoulder at Greylin who pulls her eyebrows together and shakes her head while waving her hand as if this is normal, everyday behavior. Maybe it is.
The woman waves around a piece of paper. “You’ll never guess what I found in our mailbox.”
“Another citation,” Greylin doesn’t pose it as a question. No, it sounds like a forgone conclusion.
To say my curiosity is peaked would be an understatement.
“Another citation,” the woman answers her own question without acknowledging Greylin spoke at all. I look between the two women and bite my lower lip. “Can you believe it? For the extra Christmas lights we put up outside and the big red bows on the windows.” Her lip curls up into a snarl. “For Christmas decorations. The citation says it violates some town ordinance. But have you seen the other stores decorated for the holiday season? I bet they didn’t get a citation.”
“You know the mayor has it out for us,” Greylin’s voice is neutral, and I turn toward her with wide eyes.
She’s far too calm about the whole thing which tells me this isn’t a new problem for them. I can’t imagine it’s easy to keep a business going if the mayor—one in charge of a small town mind you—doesn’t like it. It makes me wonder if it’s personal.
“Yes,” she hisses while turning from where she’s been staring out the front door as if she’s about to storm City Hall itself.
