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“You’re killing me,” she groaned. “Give me something. Anything.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not bad.”
“Your face says otherwise.”
Calvin set down his phone, giving the tablet between them one more scan before looking up at her. “No really, it’s not bad. Today went well.”
“Of course it went well,” Kevin chimed in. He was sprawled out on the couch, a plate of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies balancing on his chest. He reached for another and shoved it in his mouth. “I had all the faith in my dear Jessica.”
“That makes one of us,” she grumbled.
“Even after considering the percentage of your profits that will go toward inventory, taxes, salary, rent, you were in the green today,” Calvin explained. “It was a successful opening.”
Jess loosed a breath. “That’s good to hear.”
“But…”
The short-lived smile on her face fell. “But what?”
“You’ll need to have days like this every day if we want to keep things afloat by the end of the summer.”
“So a bustling crowd with a line out the door should be the norm?” Jess quipped. “Great. Awesome.”
“You can do it,” Kevin chimed in. “I believe in you.”
“Believing in yourself doesn’t bring in customers. Marketing does.”
Kevin grunted, holding the plate of cookies steady as he sat up on the couch. “Call me Mr. Marketer then. What do you need me to do?”
“How do you feel about Speedos and spinning arrow signs that say freshly baked?”
Kevin cackled, the plate slipping out of his hands. Jess caught it before it fell to the floor, setting it down on the table.
“Are we really resorting to objectifying my body? We can’t be that desperate already.”
“Social media is a better place to start,” Calvin replied. He winked at Kevin. “Although a shirtless picture of you on a bike eating a muffin wouldn’t hurt.”
“Is this what they teach you at business school? Should I be worried for you?”
“Calvin makes everyone at Scoops wear shirts a size too small to show off certain assets,” Jess added in. “Biceps, pecs, boo—”
Kevin shoved him so hard he fell to the floor. “Calvin, we are going to have a serious talk…”
The sounds of her and Calvin’s laughter interrupted him from finishing.
Kevin scowled and crossed his arms, his position similar to an angry-looking puppy. “This isn’t funny, guys.”
“I beg to differ, you should see your face right now,” Jess said, catching her breath. His expression softened as he watched her wipe away tears. He tsked and snatched a tissue, handing it to her.
Calvin sat back up and crossed his legs. “Post photos of your specials, offer discounts, repost things customers tag you in, let people know about your Haverfest booth and other events. Adding location tags also helps with getting on certain explore pages for people in the area.”
Her eyes widened. Managing social media on top of everything else—keeping up with inventory, baking at wee hours of the morning, saving enough money to find her own place, the list went on and on—it all had her head spinning.
“Jessica, c’mere.”
She felt an invisible tug as she obeyed, standing from the floor and plopping down on the couch next to Kevin. He gently grazed his knuckles across her knee as he spoke, his featherlight touch leaving goose bumps across her skin.
“Today was amazing, you are amazing,” he said. “We take this one day at a time, yeah?”
