"You are not doing so bad yourself. But you always look like you are dressed to kill. I am very excited for today. Redford will be here in less than two hours. He already called to confirm he will be on time." Jasinda used a clean bar rag to pull the tray of muffins out of the toaster. "So how did you make out last night?"
"I made out way better than I ever could have imagined. I am working really hard at accomplishing what I set my mind to. It is amazing how energizing it is. I got my dad's or should I say my closet all cleared out. I painted my room and got everything we purchased set up in there. I took pictures on my phone; I will show you." Ginger walked around Jasinda and grabbed some paper plates from the dry pantry.
"I can't wait to see them. So how are you feeling about our meeting today?"
"I feel open to the possibilities and I'm not locking my emotions into anything. What is meant to be will be. Right?"
"That is true and I truly believe that the more open you are to the universe the more likely you hear what it has to say. Go with the flow and believe that the universe will provide you with what you need. Big things can happen. They just might not be what you expected." Jasinda backed out through the swinging doors.
"That is why I have decided not to expect anything. We will explore this option and if it makes sense, then I am going to give it my all. My attorney didn't tell me I should completely close the door on it, and that if I bring him everything he needs, then he will help me make it happen."
"Perfect," Jasinda said as Steve grabbed a muffin off of the plate before she had a chance to put it on the bar.
Ginger grabbed a muffin and Steve poured the coffees. Just as she was about to take a bite of her food, her cell started ringing. She pulled it out of her purse and felt her shoulders sink forward.
Roger.
Even thought she didn't want to answer it, she figure if he was going to waste his time calling her that it was probably relevant.
"What's up, Rog?"
"Good morning to you too."
"It was-"
"That's lovely, Ginger. Well it's about to get even less great."
"And why is that?" she asked standing up from the stool she just sat on.
"Sandra called and told me that the buyers for the house didn't submit their second deposit and apparently they never got their mortgage commitment either."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, so I told her to tell them to fuck off and that she could fuck off as well. I am having Ira send her office a letter informing her that we will not be continuing our relationship with them."
Ginger walked out of the front of the bar. She didn't want to be rude and start fighting with him in front of Steve and Jasinda.
"You can't just tell people to fuck off. And how about you call me and tell me what's going on before you decide to kill the deal on the house. Not for nothing, it is the last thing that is tying us together and no offense, but I am ready to move on with my life, Roger."
"You're telling me? I am supposed to be closing on a new place next month."
"I don't care what you are doing next month. You need to fix this. Or do you want me to call Sandra?"
"I don't need you handling my business." Roger started to raise his voice and it was more than she needed to tolerate, not anymore.
"First of all, I won't be talked to like that by you or anyone else. If there is a chance to save that deal and get that house closed, then it needs to happen. I do not want to spend time starting all over again finding a new realtor and new prospective buyers. Did you ever think that maybe she had a back up offer or someone else that might be interested in the house before you told her off?"
The line was too silent. She'd stopped him dead in his tracks.
"See sometimes, Roger, you need to think before you let your temper get in the way. Apparently you never heard the old saying that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Your approach is straight stringent."
She heard him huff on the other end of the line. "Yup."
"So are you calling or am I?"
"You can call her, Ginger. You can handle everything, ok. Get it done and get it done quick or I will lower the price so much that we will get a deal on it in a day. I'm sure you don't want to loose your last hold over my check book."
"Fuck you, Roger. I will call her. Don't call me again. I will have all the paperwork sent through Ira. I suggest that you email Sandra and apologize to her." Ginger was steamed up. She didn't like that someone else could have that kind of power over her.
She promised herself that she wouldn't let Roger continue to stay in her head rent free. She put her phone in her pocket and leaned up against the brick exterior of the building. She let the sun beat down on her face. With her eyes closed, she took a few deep breaths and released the tension that was building between her shoulder blades.
She knew that Sandra's office didn't open until ten and that was the same time that Redford would be arriving. She couldn't let this cloud her judgment or her focus, not on such an important day.
She pulled her phone back out and opened the app for her email account and put together a quick email to Sandra apologizing for Roger's behavior and notifying her that from now on she would be working directly with her. She asked Sandra if she could look into the possibility of keeping the deal they had together and if not, asking her if she had another potential buyer. She informed her that she would contact her later in the day after her meeting.
She finished up the email and hit send. She sent a quick text to Roger letting him know and then she decided it would be best if she just turned her phone off. Just before her phone powered down she noticed how late it had gotten. She had been outside way to long. Her muffin was most surely cold.
Chapter Eleven
WHEN GINGER WALKED BACK IN, Steve poured her a fresh cup of coffee. She appreciated that they didn't ask what was going on. It was unfortunately obvious that she had received a less than desirable call, and she was glad to not have to talk about it.
Ginger was counting on that money from the sale of her old house to help fund this project. Maybe Ginger's attorney, Ira, knew what had happened and that was part of why he was suggesting she be careful with this investment and to proceed with extreme caution. Or he knew that Roger was such a jerk that he was bound to somehow mess things up. Well, she wasn't going to let Roger adversely affect anything else in her life.
She picked at the cold muffin, but she didn't have quite the same appetite she had before the call.
Jasinda walked over and told her that Redford called and said that he would be a few minutes late.
"So have you thought an about what you would want to name the restaurant?" Jasinda asked.
"Me," she laughed, "no, should I be thinking about a new name? Do you want to change the name here?" Ginger was surprised that she wanted her input in that.
"Well listen, if we are going to do this right, I would assume that we should re-launch as a totally new place. And if we do it together, then of course you should have a say in it. Come on I know you must have thought about it a little bit," Jasinda prodded in a way to help pep her up.
"Funny thing is no, I had not really thought about that. I think my head was more focused on the concept and the business plan. Coming up with a name will be fun though." Ginger swept her bangs off to the side. She wished they were long enough to tuck behind her ear. She pulled out her high shine, lip plumping, power gloss and applied it to her soft pink lips.
Ginger looked down at her watch to check the time. She realized that she needed to get a new watch, one that she bought for herself. It was past ten o'clock so this Redford guy would be arriving any minute.
As soon as the thought entered her mind, the door opened and with it, a gust of hot air. Ginger could see how hazy it was out from the brutality of the end of summer humidity. She felt like she could have been in Florida with that kind of weather.
She felt first-hand the power of the sun less than an hour ago and clearly it w
as working overtime. The sun shone in behind the man walking through the entryway, it was hard to see him.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Ginger felt a flutter in her stomach. He walked in with a swagger and a confidence that most likely defined him as a man. He had on a well tailored charcoal grey suit and he carried a satchel large enough to hold a light weight laptop and some files.
The man approached the bar. She couldn't move her legs. She knew she should get up and walk over introduce herself, but she suddenly lost the ability to command her limbs.
He took off his glasses in a sweeping motion. It was like he had practiced the move in front of a mirror a thousand times before. He slid them into the inside pocket of his blazer. He put his bag on the closest bar stool and smoothed out the sides of his slick, silver hair.
His hair wasn't completely silver only along the sides of his head. Even though his hair had greyed, he still had a full head of hair. The salt and pepper crown was just long enough to style back. The silver made his blue eyes shine like two floating diamonds in a Caribbean sea.
His dark shirt was not quite buttoned up to the top. The man was very fit. She could see the definition of his muscular chest at the base of where his collarbone met. There was a clear line of I need to see more of what is under that shirt.
Thank goodness Steve came out before she had to say hello. Steve shook his hand.
"Nice to finally meet you, man. It's nice to put a face to the voice." Steve pat him on the arm just as their hand shake ended. "Let me introduce you to everyone."
"The pleasure is all mine." Redford dipped his head in Gingers direction. She felt like his eyes cast an invisible line in her direction. She didn't need to know what kind of bait he had, she would let him catch her with a piece of stale bread.
"This is my wife and partner in everything Jasinda."
Jasinda came out of the kitchen and tucked herself under the arm of her husband. She extended her hand to greet him. Jasinda looked over at Ginger and she didn't need to be a rocket scientist or a psychic to know what was going through her head.
Ginger stood up and made sure that her legs were steady before she started to walk. She made a careful effort so that she stood tall with her shoulders back with her breast leading the way. She rubbed her sticky lips together glad that she took the extra minute to coat them.
She imagined herself walking like she was on stage in the middle of one of the Victoria's Secret fashion shows. She hoped that she didn't look like she was trying to look sexy, but by damn she was. She prayed that the man did not have a wedding band on his left hand.
"Nice to meet you." Ginger's voice came out like she was answering a party line.
"It is really nice to actually meet you." He shook her hand, but closed her hand between both of his hands and slid them off with a softness that made her want more.
Ginger felt her cheeks flush at his comment. "Oh?"
"Funny, I never actually thought I would never see you again. This is a really nice surprise."
"You two know each other?" Jasinda lit up like a Christmas tree on fire.
"Not that I recall," Ginger said and smiled at him with her eyes pinched together looking at him again trying to see if she missed something.
"I'm sorry, no we don't actually know each other. I know I look different in a suit." He laughed and pulled at the lapel of his blazer.
Ginger laughed nervously wondering what she missed. This guy did not have a face or a body for that matter that she could ever forget.
"I bought you your coffee yesterday at Dunkin' Donuts."
Ginger didn't know what else to say other than thank you to Redford when he told her that it was he whom had seen her debacle in the parking lot the day before. That didn't stop her from thinking about the embarrassing moment non-stop while they went over what he was there for.
Steve and Jasinda explained to him what the status of their business was to date. They explained what they were happy with and what they felt could be improved on. Redford explained the varying things that he could offer them as far as his services went from a basic consult that included a business plan all the way up to being there every step of the way through training new staff and getting them up and running through the first three months after re-launch.
"So Ginger, tell me about what your thoughts are on what you would like to see happen in the kitchen and what experience do you bring to the table?" Redford asked her. His eyes met hers respectfully but as soon as she started talking his eyes lowered down to watch the way her lips moved as she spoke.
"I spent a number of years working in several different restaurants and bars. I worked all different positions from the dishwasher, to line cook, to bartender, to floor manager. I have had enough experience that I feel that I can work any position if need be in a restaurant. I do not however have experience as a business owner, but I am a fast learner and I am very good at applying what I learn.
"As for my idea about concept, tell me what you think about this. My background is in sports nutrition and healthy eating. Of course I know that people don't usually equate healthy eating with drinking and watching sports, but why can't they?" She posed the question to him, putting the ball back in his court, because she really just wanted to hear him talk again. He had a very sultry voice.
"We can make that happen," he answered still with his attention directed on her like a spotlight on a hot stage. "We can make that happen without them even realizing it. We can have the same food options that other bars have, but we can make them better, with fresher ingredients and lower calories. It can be done, it just needs to be done right."
"For example, who doesn't love to eat potato skins, right?" Ginger's energy level was amped up by the fact that he wasn't turned off by her suggestion. "Well, why can't we bake them? We can offer a variety of healthy toppings to choose from and serve it with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Less fat, more protein."
"Speaking from personal experience, I watch what I eat and monitor my fat and carb intake both for health reasons and for fitness reasons. Many times I will forgo the food at a restaurant and leave my calories for the cocktails. There are however a few locations that I frequent that breakdown their menu and have symbols next to each dish letting you know at quick glance their rough range of nutritional value. A few of them have a dietary book you can go through upon request with exact detailed nutrition facts."
Ginger could tell that he knew what he was talking about. Even covered in all those clothes it wasn't hard to see his attention to the detail of his body. She wondered how many hours a week he spent at the gym.
The gym, that was another one of those things on her to-do list she hoped to get to. Ginger's body was slender and naturally athletic looking. She was not, however,very fit. Her muscles were not defined by a workout regimen. Her stomach was flat, but she did not have 'abs'. She liked her body, but knew that it could look better if she just put a little bit of effort into it.
A guy like Redford probably dated fitness models. He sure didn't buy her that cup of coffee because he thought she was hot. Or did he?
"Do you agree, Ginger?" Jasinda asked.
"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry can you repeat what you said. My mind was stuck on potato skins. I think I am starting to get hungry, I never did eat that muffin." Ginger realized she was lost in thoughts about what Redford might look like with his suit strewn all over the floor.
"Oh for heaven's sake, woman. I will run back and get you one. I got half a dozen." Jasinda went to get up.
Ginger put her hand on her arm. "I'm ok, I can wait. Just tell me again what you said."
"Oh right, I really want to have pizza on the menu, but there are so many takeout pizza places around here. I don't know if we could compete," Jasinda repeated.
"There is never enough pizza. I think we would just have to make something about our pizza that is different than everyone else's. If we have something that customers can't get anywhere else, combined with the fact that most
pizza places don't serve alcohol, it could give us a distinct advantage."
"What would you do to make pizza different?" Steve wondered out-loud.
"One thing I can tell you is that I would not do a thick crust pizza. If we are going to cater to healthy eating, I would make the crust as thin as possible. I think the key would be to make sure we can make our crust strong enough to hold up to multiple toppings. What more could you want?" Ginger loved pizza almost as much as she loved football. "Maybe have a gluten free, and dairy free option as well."
"I will never really get the point of thin crust pizza. It feels like diet pizza to me, but I know that people go crazy for it. One plus is that you use less ingredients to make the crust which is always good for food costs," Redford interjected.
"What kind of pizza do you like?" Ginger found herself snapping at him. She surprised herself and tried to cover it up and make it sound more playful. "Maybe I will have to show you what good pizza is."
"I bet you could show me good pizza. But if you come to my city, I will show you what great pizza is."
"Oh sounds like there is a pizza battle brewing." Steve laughed. "Watch out, Ginger, Red is from Chicago, and he probably has a taste for the deep dish pizza."
Ginger saw Steve and Jasinda eyeballing each other. She knew when people were talking with their eyes. But what were they saying? She looked over and Jasinda gave her a look and half an eyebrow lift. Ginger felt her face flush again. Did it seem like she was flirting with this guy? How unprofessional.
"I never met a pizza I didn't like. How about I give you a quick tour and show you what kind of equipment we have here now. We can maybe talk more about the concept after you see the space that we are working with." Steve stood up and showed Redford to the kitchen.
Ginger was about to follow behind, but Jasinda grabbed her by the arm. Before she could speak, Ginger was already apologizing.
Jack and Ginger (Sacred Heart Coven Book 3) Page 8
