Kenya smiled, unusual shyness stealing her words. “I don’t know about that, but thank you. It’s a team effort.” A team effort she resented, but at least she was here.
“I’m Althea, by the way.”
Kenya loved that the older woman introduced herself despite the printed lanyards they all wore around their necks.
“Can I settle down next to you?”
“Of course.” Each person had their own bucket seat in the luxury tour bus, but Kenya still shifted to give plenty of room to the woman in the lilac pantsuit who smelled of cinnamon and vanilla.
She glanced out the window at the attendees still milling about, taking a few last photos of downtown Hope Springs before they made their way onto the bus. The hosts from her agency assigned to corral the group waited patiently for everyone to finish.
Some of her colleagues had just begun their careers in event management. Kenya lingered on their beaming faces. The future was laid out before them in a multitude of ways. All because they had what it took to be in college and had done well enough to finish.
Who knew what the future would unfold for her, truly?
Was it always this? Coordinating and managing events?
She thought it would be, hoped, prayed, and begged this would be what she could do with the rest of her life, especially in the role of creative director. But the last several weeks had said differently.
But who was she without this job?
Althea’s warm presence next to her drew her attention, and as her name floated in her mind, she pictured the list of attendees that she had been given.
“You’re Althea of the Love and Tea Bakery and Gift Shop, aren’t you?”
The attendees weren’t required to share about other investments or current businesses when they were invited to join this tour, but some included that information on their intake forms.
Althea shimmied her shoulders. “The very one.”
“I love your scones.”
She chuckled and patted her hip. “As you can tell from the extra love I carry, I do too.”
They laughed together. Kenya had always prided herself on making people feel at ease. She didn’t know how well she’d done that the past few days, but this woman had no issue doing the same.
“I’ve heard talk that you might be opening up something in this area.”
Althea nodded, a little seriousness coming to her face. “Something like that, but a little different this time around.”
“You mean you’ve been on an undercover mission this whole time? Instead of looking for opportunities, you already made a decision. That means you are...” She paused for effect. “Spying on the competition?”
The older woman’s laugh was delightful. “You are a funny one. But why not feed two cats with one bowl?”
Kenya giggled along with her. “Except I’m not so fond of cats.”
“What a shame.”
“Let me reword that. Cats apparently are not so fond of me. Allergies.”
“Ah, that is justifiable, then. Well, make sure you don’t visit my location in Seattle. We have one cat there that refuses to leave.”
“You have a place in Seattle?”
“Yes, ma’am, I do. That was a fun one to set up. A little too rainy for my taste, so I let my associates handle the shops in that region.”
Kenya was impressed. “How many franchises do you have so far?”
Althea settled back in her seat as the last passenger got on and the bus started rolling. She lifted her hands, spreading her fingers wide. “Let’s see, Seattle, Redding, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chicago, Spartanburg, Houston, Dallas, Baton Rouge ... ooh, child, I’m running out of fingers. I’m going to have to count my toes now.”
