“That’s because it involved expectations and guilt, our lifelong companions.”
The two of them continued to tease each other, but I was hung up on yet another person saying it was okay to disappoint people. Was the universe trying to send me a message? And why was that the message?
After making plans for Lucy to come over and play the following week, we said our goodbyes, and I followed Grace and Piper back to their house.
Piper got out a unicorn puzzle and dumped it out on the kitchen table. We helped her find the side pieces while reading through the email from Flowers United together.
There was a long summary page, a contract for each offer, and the non-compete we’d asked for. The non-compete was basically their promise that having seen the inner-workings of Grace’s business, they would not take those details and use them anywhere in any business they currently owned or would buy within a fifty-mile radius of her flower shop over the next five years. I hadn’t liked putting a time limit on it, but that was standard.
It seemed sort of backwards, that in order to best protect Grace from getting run out of business, we had to show them more of her business, not less; but they never would have signed the non-compete otherwise. This way, if she turned them down, she wouldn’t be looking over her shoulder.
Of the two offers they’d made, one was a lump sum to take it over completely, keeping or terminating employees and changing operations at their discretion. If accepted, thetransition would happen in July, contingent on sales staying consistent month-over-month until then. We’d have to nail down the definition of “consistent.” She’d need an actual threshold she was expected to reach in sales every month. I got that they didn’t want her to suddenly let the business lapse, but we would need clarity on their expectations.
I could feel Grace waiting on me to say something, anything, but I wasn’t reading through it the way she was. I had to take my time with each section and write down anything that stood out to me. Like a dentist pressing on enamel, I was looking for words with give. Cavity words, I called them. Half of negotiation was knowing what the other side was actually asking for.
The second offer they’d made was for Grace to stay on as the general manager, acting in the capacity she did now, with a yearly payout over the next three years. The three-year payout would be substantially more than their first offer, like adding on a salary to the cost of buying the business. At the end of three years, they’d cut ties, and she’d be free to walk away.
“What do you think?” Grace finally asked, running her hands through Piper’s hair. Her fingers got stuck in a sticky section and she apologized to Piper for tugging at it. “You need a bath, child.”
“Not yet.” Piper shook her head and opened her mouth in a deep yawn. She smelled like sweat and grass clippings. I’d forgotten what that was like, playing so hard that I stunk and I could barely keep my eyes open, and yet never wanting to do anything that would remedy either of those things.
I finished typing up my last thought and leaned back in my chair, stretching my legs out. “Money-wise, it’s fair.”
“I think so, too. What do you think about the second option?”
“Staying on for a couple of years and managing things is tempting to a lot of owners, especially if they’re really attached to their business. But it’s not a good idea.”
“What if you’re not as attached?”
“In that case, it’s worse. If you’re itching to be free of something, tacking on three years is…awful.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m itching.” Grace crossed her arms, ready to fight the battle of the labels.
“I’m not judging, Grace. It’s just how you feel.”
“Why aren’t you judging? It’s literally what you do for a living.” Piper started to climb on the table to reach the top of the puzzle, and Grace gently pulled her back so she was kneeling in her chair again. The move was instinctive, a multi-tasking management system built into moms. If Grace ever dated again, the guy had better embrace that aspect of her with everything he had.
“People are allowed to change their minds about things. Being rigid is not necessarily a virtue. Sometimes it’s a vice. A lot of the businesses I see failing are failing because the owner hates what they’re doing.”
Grace studied me. “Okay, but is it always a bad idea? What if you love your business and you’re sad to let it go?”
“They’re asking you to manage, not consult. So, you’ll run everything, but you’re not the boss anymore. You’ll hear about the problems, but you won’t have any say in how to fix them. There will be policies and procedures you may not like. Your old customers may not like them either, but you won’t be able to do anything about it. And if you want time off, you’ll have to ask. Moving from an owner to an employee is a mindset shift not many people can handle.”
“Gotcha.”
“That’s not to sayyoushouldn’t consider it. Especially if you don’t like the being-in-charge aspect of running your business. It would give you three years to plan for something else. You still haven’t told me what that something else is, though, which makes it harder for me to give you advice. As your business consultant or as your friend.” I tapped the side of my knee against the side of hers. With her wearing shorts, I was blatantly reminded of how nice her legs were.
She tapped my knee right back, though her gaze stayed away from mine. “You just said it was a bad idea.”
“It’s a bad idea to not know what you’re getting into.”
“Okay, okay.” She put her hands in her hair and took in a few deep breaths. “So, setting that aside. You do think I should sell?”
“I think you have options. I would never tell you to sell unless this was a sinking ship and they were your lifeboat. That’s not the case here. It all comes down to you. As it should.” I turned in my chair so we were face to face. We’d never stopped our knees grazing each other, and I was blatantly lying to myself about it being a friend thing. Friends didn’t go out of their way to touch each other’s legs. I could see the swirls of blue and grey in her eyes and the touch of added red seeping into her skin because of our proximity. I wished I knew what she wanted from me. “Grace Romano, what do you want?”
Chapter 17 – Grace
What did I want? I wanted him to reach out for me. I wanted to have this conversation tucked under his chin with my arms around his waist and my hands on his lats. They were probably as ripped as his biceps. My fantasy reel was starting up again, and now I didn’t have the convenience of retreating or freezing him out to keep me from doing something stupid, like asking him to love me.
