The silence on the other end of the phone made him nervous, so Jeremy immediately filled it up with talk. “If you hate it, don’t worry. It was simply an idea without any thought behind it. It seemed like it might benefit both of us—”
“Hey, Jer?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up a sec. I think it’s a fan-fucking-tastic idea.”
“You do?”
“Yep. My only question is, how soon? I could bring my beds next week and work on some flyers and stuff for marketing. How much rent will you charge me?”
A knock at the door broke into his conversation.
“Hold on a sec.” He took the phone off his ear. “Yeah?”
The door opened, and Gino stood at the entrance with Carter waiting behind him.
“Sorry to bother you. You said to come get you when Carter came in, but he asked to see you anyway, so…”
“No prob. Thanks, Gino. Come on in, Carter, and have a seat. I’m on the phone, but you’re gonna want to hear this.” They shook hands, and he waited until Gino closed the door before speaking. “Hey. I’ve got a friend on the phone who’s a masseur, and we’re trying to figure something out.”
“Okay,” Carter said, taking a seat on the sofa. “I think I have an idea what you’re going to say, but tell me.”
“Well, I’m going to keep talking and you’ll get the idea, okay?”
At Carter’s nod, Jeremy hit the Speaker button on his phone.
“Mikey, you still there?”
“Yep. Figuring out shit in my head, like prices and packages.”
“Awesome. I got a friend of mine here who’s handling my publicity, and I want him to hear our plans. Carter Haywood, Mike DeChienza.”
“Hey, Mike.”
“Hi, Carter.”
“So I’m gonna bring Carter up to speed. Mikey was saying business was a bit slow now, and I thought, what the heck. Lots of gyms have massage studios, and I’m thinking the spare room in the back could be converted and is perfect for him. We can do deals and packages and—”
“Jeremy?” Carter rubbed his chin, biting back a grin.
Jeremy took a sip of the cooled down coffee and grimaced. “Yeah.”
“Take a breath, man. You were talking so fast, I’m not sure your brain got enough oxygen.”
Mikey hooted with laughter. “Oh, snap, man, he’s got your number.”
His mother often said his mouth worked faster than his brain. “You got me. But it’s a great idea, right?”
Carter took out his iPad from his briefcase and started tapping. “Yeah, it’s fucking brilliant. And I bet we could tie it in with the juice-bar thing. Like maybe a spa package.”
“Juice bar?” asked Mikey. “You’re opening a juice bar?”
“Kind of. We’re going to start selling these fresh-made juices and some grab-and-go snacks. What do you think?” Jeremy respected Mikey’s opinion and was curious to hear his take.
“I think it’s about time. Why shouldn’t you make the money? They’re only gonna go get it somewhere else.”
“Exactly what I said to Jeremy when we first started talking about the project.” Carter nodded and gave Jeremy a thumbs-up. “And I’m thinking if they get a massage, they can get a discount at the juice bar.”
