Her gaze dropped to her hands. "No."
"So you're going to work for Hattie? You realize working there won't even come close to replacing your corporate income, don't you?"
"I'm not getting a job at Hattie's. Well, she did say I could have ten percent of the online sales, but I'm not doing it for the money."
"Then why are you doing it?"
She shrugged one shoulder as she ran her thumb nail along the edge of his desk. "I don't know. These people are really talented, and I guess I just want to help them recognize their potential."
"Their potential? You think these people need help recognizing who they can become? Who do you want them to be exactly?" Rudy was trying hard not to take offense.
"No. I don't want to change them. Maybe potential was the wrong word." She waved a hand through the air. "I want everyone out in the world to realize how talented these people are. But no one is ever going to know if all they do is sell their goods in Hattie's little store."
Are her motives really that selfless?
She locked gazes with him. "Believe me, I don't understand my desire to help these people any more than you do. All I know is this is the first thing that has felt right in a really long time."
"Okay, then." He pulled his wallet from his pocket and fished out his credit card. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into and won't let them down."
And I hope I don't regret trusting you.
CHAPTER8
"This is what the website will look like." Eden leaned forward on the settee and placed her laptop on the coffee table and rotated it toward Hattie.
She clicked on one dropdown after another, giving Hattie a feel of how the website was organized: Art & Decor, Kitchen, Living, Bedroom, Bath & Body.
"Right now, I only have a handful of pictures in each of these categories. They'll expand as I get more pictures uploaded."
Even as she spoke, more ideas kept filling Eden's head for additions to the website and organizational changes that could be made here in the store that would create greater appeal and aesthetics.
"Wow. You did all this last night?"
"There's still a ton of work to do, but Rudy is great at this stuff." Eden pulled a notepad from her oversized purse. "I also talked to Ben Young. He should have some contracts written up for the vendors by Monday."
"This feels like a lot of work." Horizontal worry lines creased Hattie's forehead. "Are you sure it's worth it?"
Eden picked up her phone. "Look at these comments. People want to buy the things you're selling."
Hattie propped the glasses that hung from a chain around her neck on her nose and eyed Eden's phone. "Those photos you took turned out pretty good."
She'd had to apply a filter to some of them because she just couldn't get the lighting right, but they had turned out pretty good.
"I need to take more. In fact..." Eden pressed a finger to her lips for a moment. "I'd like to rearrange some shelves, if you don't mind, so we can create displays that combine mediums in appealing ways."
And lessen the inventory. People are more apt to buy when they think the beautiful vase is the last one.
"I suppose that would be okay." Hattie looked around the store. "It's been years since I changed things around here. It could definitely use a facelift." She rubbed her gnarled hands. "I'm afraid I can't provide much muscle, but I have a grandson who could help."
"That would be great. Let me do a few sketches of new layouts and we'll see what you think. Then I'll see if I can find some boxes, both for shipping the orders that are coming in and for emptying the shelves so we can rearrange them."
So many ideas floated through Eden's head as she studied the high ceilings and considered new lighting options. She wasn't sure what to focus on first.
"I have plenty of boxes." Hattie pushed to her feet and motioned for Eden to follow her.
Eden followed the older woman to a storage room in the back of the store. Her eyes widened as soon as she stepped through the door, and she fell back a step. She thought Miss Georgie was a hoarder. But her boxes full of yarn had nothing on Hattie's...stuff.
The chaos out front all makes sense now.
