“Oh-okay. Um, have you met my brother?” I ask as Santi trails behind us.
“We’ve met,” Santi says and I look over my shoulder to find a curious look on his face.
I shuffle behind Daisy as we weave in and out of festival goers until we reach the booth that Steele Nuts has set up. Thankfully it is on the opposite side of the food alley from our booth. When we step under the canopy I see Maggie talking with a couple and Burke standing nearby, adjusting a display.
“Look at this.” Daisy grabs the sign near the case Burke is fussing with and hands it to me.
My eyes scan the sign that features the logo of Steele Nuts and Loves Peach Farm along with some information listed below.
In collaboration with Loves Peach Farm, Steele Nuts brings you the first product of their new dessert line,
Nutty Delights.
Our first product, Toasted Pecan Peach Ice Cream, will be a part of the this year’s food contest and soon, you can find it in local stores near you.
You love our nuts, but now you’ll fall for our treats.
I read it over twice and feel my blood begin to slowly simmer.
“You’re starting a dessert line?” I ask with an accusatory look at Santi.
There aren’t many people who know about what I am trying to get started with a new product line through Regal, but my guess would be Santi shared it with him somehow. He’s like an overly happy golden retriever and practically pees himself when he’s excited.
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?” Burke’s voice is deep and agitated.
I direct my attention back at him with a narrowed gaze. “I just didn’t realize your little operation had the capacity to handle something like this.”
His nostrils flare and his jaw clenches. “You don’t need millions of dollars and a twenty thousand square foot warehouse to be successful.”
My teeth chew on the inside of my lip as I try to contain the words that would like to leave my mouth. Self control is difficult but I’m learning now that I’m a CEO, I must work harder at it.
I scan the table with bags of their nuts, samples for people to munch on, and a strange contraption that looks like a science experiment. A clear glass box fills with smoke from dry ice, and a metal bowl sits atop it, a small glass bowl inside and what looks like a scoop of ice cream topped with chopped pecans and thin slices of peach.
It’s quite beautiful actually, but it’s a must that I remain impassive.
“I designed it,” Maggie says, having finished with her customers. “We needed a way to keep the ice cream cold long enough for people to view and to display for the food contest.” I pass Maggie a small smile and return to inspecting it.
The box is large and accommodates a metal bowl filled with crushed ice. It acts like a freezer to keep the ice cream chilled. It’s eye-catching and will definitely draw people in with curiosity.But moreover, it will have people wanting to try it and buy it. It makes our plastic covered charcuterie board with the offensive goat cheese and crackers look like a kindergarteners lunch.
“Oh, hey Bob.” The name has me spinning around and now my blood that was simply simmering is now boiling over.
“Burke. Oh, and Miss Leòn. What a surprise to see you here.” Bob, the man from Queen Foods that I met with just a few weeks ago, comes stepping into the tent and joining the five of us. “Did you come to taste the ice cream, as well?”
“N-no. I just…” My eyes wander from face to face as I try to think of a reason why I’m still standing here. “ Simply stopping by to say hello to a fellow farmer.”
Bob smiles and moves closer to the display that we all admire. “Wow. Isn’t this something? If it tastes as good as it looks, we’ll have no problem getting it in stores.”
“Excuse me?” My words are harsher, and louder, than I intend them to be, but what in the actual fuck.
A cocky grin crawls across Burke's face and a glint in his eyes outshines the sun. “I thought Daisy mentioned it. We’ve teamed up with Queen Foods to get this into some local grocery stores. Not bad for alittle operation.” He throws my words from moments ago back at me and it makes me want to reach out and throat punch him.
“When Burke approached me with the idea, I thought it was brilliant. Austin Love and Steele Nuts are already in local grocers, so it will be easy to convince them to carry a combined product.” My face grows tight listening to Bob.
This idea wasmine. I was supposed to be his priority and he should be pushing our product. We’re the larger company and while we have relations with plenty of stores in Texas, I really wanted him to market a larger product line using his connections. Regal Pecans may produce millions of pecans every year, but at the core we keep things small. Our sales departmentcould never handle such a big campaign, and it’s the reason I sought Bob out.
Clearing my throat, I adjust my sunglasses and try to make my face less…judgy.
“Well I hope things work out well for you, Burke. And Bob,” I continue, addressing him while trying desperately to ignore Burke. “I guess we can touch base next week about what our next steps are to push the Regal Apps and Sides line.” I throw that little bit out there and watch Burke go from smug to unbelieving.
