The floors were poured concrete, and the ceiling was painted black and had exposed ventilation ducts, electrical conduits, and beams. Oversized photos of Old Hollywood era stars, such as Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, were hung on walls of exposed brick. Several emerald-colored tufted couches lined the left wall, there was a large wooden farm-style table on the right, and bistro-style chairs and tables filled the front area.
Pastries and sandwiches filled several glass displays and open shelves, and Audrey Wells-Bianchi, who co-owned the shop with her sisters, stood behind the counter.
Niko scanned the dining area and immediately spotted his manager. It was hard to miss Jessie Sloan-Courtland. Her iron-straight blonde hair was short, falling just above her shoulders, it framed large brown eyes and full lips, giving her a Disney princess appearance, which was a stark contrast to her shrewd business sense, take-no-shit attitude, and zero-small-talk policy.
She was on a call, so he went to the counter to order.
“How was the wedding?” Audrey asked as soon as he approached.
“Good. I can honestly say I never thought I’d be walking my Yaya down the aisle.”
“It’s the Hope Falls Effect.” She picked up one of the mugs on the side of the counter.
HOPE FALLS EFFECT™
Hope Falls:
noun (place)
1. a small, picturesque town tucked in the Sierra Nevada with an idyllic landscape backdrop of lush, deep green pine trees and dotted with colorful aspens. The heart of the town, Main Street, is a five-block stretch of small storefront businesses, lined on each side with wooden sidewalks filled with a cast of colorful characters sure to enrich your life.
Effect:
verb (action)
1. someone who never thought they would ever fall in love or fall in love again, and suddenly they meet their soul mate
2. a person who thought that their career was over suddenly gets a new opportunity that changes their life forever
3. someone who is running from something bad in their past or has issues with their family, they move here and the situation resolves itself
4.those who are lonely find support from the community
5. things magically fall into place in the following areas: love, career, friendship
6.saves people
7.heals people
8.is the missing puzzle piece in people’s lives
Niko smiled. “Yeah, I guess so.”
He placed his order, a flat white with two pumps of vanilla, and stepped to the side to wait for it.
The Hope Falls Effect was a marketing strategy that Audrey’s sister Viv had come up with, and Niko had to admit, it was genius. She’d licensed it to the city for marketing and added it to Brewed Awakenings as well.
As soon as he had his drink in hand, he headed to the table to find out exactly how deep in shit he was. Jessie didn’t make house calls to share good news, so this face-to-face was not going to be pleasant.
“Morning, Sunshine.” Niko lowered himself into the chair across from his publicist.
She lifted her forefinger, indicating she was still on the call, which he couldn’t tell because she had AirPods in. He gave her a quick nod, leaned back, and sipped his drink.
From his vantage point, he had a clear view out the glass windows on the north and west sides of Brewed Awakenings, which sat on the corner of Main Street. Across the street on oneside sat the fire station and boxing/MMA gym. On the other, he had a clear view of the auto body shop owned by Audrey’s husband, Josh, and also a partial view of Om Sweet Om yoga studio, which was what had his attention now.
There were arms and legs in the air, and the place appeared to be packed. From what he’d heard, you had to make reservations, and classes sold out weeks in advance. Niko wasn’t surprised. He’d never taken a class from Tiana, but besides not being bad to look at, she had an aura, an energy that he could see people being drawn to.
He’d started practicing yoga after a particularly gnarly injury his senior year of college and had even gotten certified through the Soma Institute in New York. And four years ago, he spent two months in Bali in an immersive program as a student under a yoga master. He’d done it trying to repair his body, but with yoga, it’s always mind, body, and soul that benefit.
