“Are you sure it’s okay for me to ask for your help?I don’t want you to get in trouble with your boss or anything.”
She had put her gloves back on and had glanced at her watch while doing so.It was getting late.If he didn’t get out of here soon, he’d be late for work, too, so he opened the door for her.
“Sandra will be pleased to hear you want my opinion on your design.She’s been wanting to expand her business to be more of a full package thing for clients.”
“Full package?What does that mean?”Fred asked as they walked to Tiffany’s SUV.
“Well, she already has a list of contractors – including your brother and Nate – and I’ve asked if I could do some design consulting for her because I know she would like to include that, and then, she’s been creating a list of landscapers.You know, all the things that someone might need to make the house they just bought their home exactly how they want it.”
“Wait.Are you a designer?”
Tiffany looked away from him as she nodded.“I was for about a year.It’s what I went to school for.”
“And you’d like to be one again?”
Again, she nodded but added a shrug to it this time.
“So why are you realtor if you’re trained as a designer?”
She unlocked her car.“It pays the bills, and it felt like it would be a good fit with design.”She looked up at him.“How do you think I knew what to suggest to make you want to buy your home?”She grinned.“It really does come in handy.”
Fred chuckled.“So how much do you charge for consulting?”
She shook her head.“Nothing right now.”Her breath puffed out on the air.“If I can help you, then, maybe Sandra will let me do some other consults that would pay.I’ll tell her that you’re my demonstration of what I can do.”
“So, really, I’d be helping you while you’d be helping me?”
“Yep.”She opened her car door.
“Well, then, let’s do this.”
“Tomorrow at noon?”
“That’s what I’m planning.And I’ll bring my lunch.Want me to pick something up for you?”
“No, I already have tomorrow’s lunch waiting.Just bring yourself and your options,” she said as she slid into the driver’s seat.
Fred took a sip of his coffee and turned to go to his own vehicle.
“Fred?”
He looked up.“Esther?Why aren’t you at school?”
“It’s a professional development day – or more precisely a day for us teachers to get everything ready for the concert on Wednesday.We’re meeting up to go through costumes and make sure mics are working and all that starting at ten, so I thought I’d take them some treats from Emma’s place.They’ve really been such a great team to work with on this concert.”
She was rambling.Esther didn’t ramble unless she was nervous.
“I’m sure it’s going to be huge success.”That was what likely had her bubbling over with anxious words.
“I don’t know.I’m a little worried that it is going to flop.”
“Not going to happen.”
Her smile was half-hearted.“I wish I had your confidence.”
He sighed.It wasn’t the first time she had said that to him.“It’s not confidence.It’s truth.You’re really good at what you do, and I’m not just saying that as a friend.Remember, we’ve played more than one concert together.And that practice I attended went well even if you thought it could have been better.”
“I know you’re right, but you know how my nerves can be.”
