“I would never,” he said, trying not to laugh.
“Good, because I’m not a fan of vampires.” Not that Dean needed to know my PDA preferences from here on out. The ruse was over. I dropped his hand. “Did you get what you needed?”
He nodded. “I did. So now let’s talk about you.” He led me over to his car and opened the passenger door for me before going around and getting in, suddenly all business again.
His car smelled good too. Like expensive leather and his cologne, and it still had its new car smell, which made no sense, because he’d had this Audi for a few years. He had other vehicles, but he drove this one the most.
I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes for a moment. Even the quiet sounded expensive. My car didn’t have this kind of soundproofing. My car had cloth seats and the perpetual scent of fries, because Piper always managed to drop them into the abyss where all food pieces go when you eat in your car. I vacuumed regularly, but I couldn’t quite eradicate it.
I opened my eyes and turned to see Dean frowning at a tablet he had propped up on the console between us, his lips pursed in concentration.
When he noticed me watching him, he cleared his throat. “Let me start by saying, I don’t believe they could run you out of business. I do think they could start a price war that would make you have to run leaner, and that would be unpleasant. They might make you want to quit.”
“Or reconsider selling to them?”
“Exactly. But they’d definitely offer you less money the next time.”
“After my earnings dropped.”
“Mm-hm.”
“It’s all so cut-throat. Should I even sell to someone who does business like that?”
Dean gave me a sad smile. “It’s very corporate. It’s the opposite of how you go about treating people, and that’s a good thing.”
“Is that how you do business, Dean?” I shouldn’t have asked, because it had nothing to do with helping me, and everything to do with my curiosity.
I think he knew that, based on the smile that ghosted across his face before answering. “Not unless they start it. And with that in mind, if you sell, it will be with a deal that will send them straight into a private meeting shouting and pointing fingers at each other. That’s why it’s a very good thing you have me.”
“Your gigantic ego is the thing I like best about you.”
“Thank you.” He smiled bigger, not the least bit offended, before turning serious once again. “If you were dead set against selling, I’d go to them on your behalf and tell them never to contact you again or set foot on your property. We could escalate it from there if necessary. We could make it a PR nightmare for them if they did decide to open up shop right by you.”
“That’s door number one.”
“Yeah. So, let’s figure out if you really want to sell or not. I’m going to ask you a series of questions. Don’t think too long, just answer. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.” If it would somehow help me make up my mind, I was all for it. Business owners were supposed to be decisive, but that had never been me.
“Okay, a customer comes into your shop, but it’s no longer yours. They miss the way things used to be. On a scale from one to ten, how badly do you feel? One is not bad at all. Ten is a broken heart.”
I felt a twinge of sadness and took in a deep breath before answering. “Six.”
“The money you get from the sale after taxes is enough to give you time to pivot to a new career, but it won’t support youand Piper indefinitely. Are you scared to hear that? Scale of one to ten. One, not scared at all. Ten, terrified.”
I’d been treating illustration work like a secret hobby, but I could do more. I already had the connections and the experience. “Four.”
“Really?” Dean leaned forward, a lock of hair falling across his forehead. “What do you plan to do?” he asked.
“I’m not ready to say.”
“Oh, come on.”
I sat back and folded my arms. “I’m ready for the next question.”
“Fine.”
He gave me a few more, testing out things like how I felt about relinquishing control, how much I liked my routine, what I liked best about owning a business, and what I dreaded most when I woke up in the morning.
