Which was brutal.But he knew what she meant—not just hours or seconds in a day, but the time it took to figure out his life choices.Maybe it was his time to point out what had been obvious about her?
“You need it too, though.Why not you?”
She sighed.And he could see that sigh from more than a mile away.“Because I know exactly what I want.”
“Which is?”
She shook her head, and he smiled back at her.Snarking wasn’t going to get her to answer the question, not for herself and not for him.
“Fine,” she said.“My own events business.Whether it’s mine, grown from the bottom up, or, you know, taking over someone else’s established business.”
Jason nodded.“Okay then.So why don’t you need time?”
She laughed.“Because taking time to learn different fields isn’t going to change my mind.You, on the other hand?”
“Yes?”
“You changed your focus from personalized food delivery to small-batch catering with a few personal clients in the last five years.You’ve successfully pivoted, not because you had to but because you wanted to.I know you well enough to recognize the signs that your fingers are itching to change.”
“What?”he asked, as the answer shed new light on so many moments that had taken place in the last few months.“The fact that I somehow managed to test out the word ‘boring’ when I listened to a client complain about how I wouldn’t build a menu after foraging in the compost behind his house after it rained for three days?Or was it when I told you that I had to test yet another scone recipe for someone who was convinced ‘gluten free is not a thing and is not to be tolerated’ when half their family is celiac?”
She snorted.“Either.Both?Point is you’re in need of change.Why aren’t you taking it?”
And there was the biggest reason for his roadblock.“Because changing focus again will give my brother hope that I’ll come help him.And I’ve never wanted to do that…especially on the level he wants me to, especially considering how traditional the business he’s working with is.I can play guest knish chef, checking combinations and having fun, but he…”
A nod.“Wants you to share the business?”
An understatement.“Not just that, but to love it in my bones like he does.And though my life is Jewish food, I can’t say I want to dive deeply into Steven’s vision of…anything, really.”
The noise she made was the same as the one when she was getting ready to tell him about a flavor combination she couldn’t get out of her head, or an elusive design she wanted to try for a party.
“What is it?”
Her eyes brightened and widened, and she sat closer to the edge of the sofa.“What if…?”
He raised an eyebrow.“I’m listening.”
“What if you had a series of internships, stages, trying things that you might want to do?What if you took the time and did that?”
The idea was genius, of course.But it was Naomi.It always was.“I love it,” he said.“But planning something like that out is going to take a while.And I can deal with my current situation until I manage it.”
“I’m glad.”
He smiled at her.“I’m a lucky son of a bitch that I have you to bounce ideas off of.”
“Benefits of friendship with someone in an adjacent industry, I guess?”
He nodded.“Not just someone in an adjacent industry.You.”
And he had no idea what would happen if he lost her.Friendship was safe, especially when he reminded himself how important it was to trust someone who understood his industry and his personality as well as she did.
Especially someone who was always down to have some yummy cheese fondue on a random Tuesday night.
*
There was somethingabout being close friends with a guy like Jason Greenblatt.He’d be up for anything, up for listening without judgement and following a random thread anywhere they wanted it to go.So, when Naomi got the call from her sister, inviting her to a business meeting slash potential date at Abe Neumann’s house, he was the first person she called.
“Hello?”
