Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 118780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
She lifts her sunglasses and frowns. “Does it come naturally?”
“What?”
“Skirting around conversation about yourself?”
“I wasn’t.” My mouth snaps shut when she tips her head and glares.
“Okay, fine. I gave Shelby three days off, and my schedule was packed. Between the admin responsibilities, clients, and working on my line, it’s been insane.”
She flashes me a satisfied smile. “How is the line?”
“The line is great. Each day, I’m inspired to try a new formula. Some are better than others. But it’s the business side that has my head spinning. I don’t know what I’d do without my dad.”
“How’s the lawyer?”
Major’s dad, Jim, came through with a recommendation of a lawyer he knows who will help us get started with the legalities involved. “He works with Dad mostly, and Dad relays to me. I’m more of the creative side of this partnership.”
“That’s understandable. Everyone loved the products you gave us at the wedding.”
Pride fills me and I send her a grateful grin. “Next step is to research manufacturing facilities.”
“That sounds fancy.”
“Not too fancy. But the small lab in my studio apartment won’t support large batch production.”
“How large?”
“Nothing crazy, but I want to be able to sell in my salon.”
“What about elsewhere?”
“Elsewhere?”
“Have you thought about an online store? Or partnerships?”
“Partnerships?”
“Yes, Rowan, partnerships. Your roommate is the partial owner of the hottest formalwear store in the city. Putting your products in Clyde’s could mean huge potential. Think about all the visibility.”
“Umm, no, I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Or Tom’s? You could put your soap in the women’s room. And me? I work for a record label and have tons of contact with people. Sayge is on fire right now and you are friends with their manager.”
“Slow down.” My head is spinning. “No, I haven’t thought of that.”
“Rowan! The world needs to know about your brilliance. I am a marketing professional. Use me!”
“I didn’t create this line to go wide open.”
“Then why did you create it?”
I think about my answer, knowing it would be easy to go the botanical and natural ingredient route. But that’s only partially the truth.
“I wanted to carry on the love my grandmother taught me about creating something beautiful.”
“You’ve been working on it for years and concealed that side of your life from all who care about you. Why?”
The hurt in her question twists in my gut. “I didn’t know if it would ever come to fruition, and I didn’t want to be a failure.”
“Finally! That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Telling you my fear of failing?”
“No, opening yourself up. Jesus, Rowan. Do you know how many times I’ve failed at something? Too many to count. But it doesn’t define me.”
I want to argue that failure can define someone, but that would be bitchy.
“All of that is a moot point now since you’ve created a fabulous line of products that are going to fly off the shelves.”
“I’ll be happy if I can sell my first round. The investment is steep.”
“How much?”
“How much?”
“Yes, how much is your initial investment?”
“Taking out legal fees, I’m starting with ten.”
“Ten thousand dollars?”
“Yes.”
“Does that include ingredients, packaging, branding, and marketing?”
“All that except marketing.”
“Double it.”
“Double it? I can’t justify it. What if the inventory sits on the shelf?”
She rolls her eyes dramatically. “I’ll throw in ten.”
“No way!”
“I have money saved from working at Tom’s that obviously isn’t sending me to Europe. I want to put it somewhere.”
“I’m not taking your money.”
“Then take yours. We all know you have the money from your inheritance.”
I forget my finances became public knowledge when Craig kidnapped me. Another thing to add to the ever-growing list of things I hate about him. “Just because I have the money doesn’t mean it’s smart.”
“What’s smarter than investing in yourself?”
Her eyes flame and her cheeks flush. A bell in my head tells me to shut this down before she gets on a roll. “I’ll think about it.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch movement on the patio. Tera walks out in her suit, coming our way.
“Talk about this later?”
“You bet we will. Don’t think you’re off the hook, Hollywood.”
I swallow a gulp of water, hoping Tera doesn’t notice the abrupt end to our conversation.
She drops a towel on the chair next to me. “Mind if I join you?”
“Please.”
“Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?” Harley kicks up the conversation.
“Good. Work has been demanding a lot of my attention. It’s nice to have a day off. I hate I missed the wedding.”
Not wanting to be rude, Jewls invited Tera to come to the wedding. I wouldn’t say they are closer, but sharing a house means they see each other. In the week since the wedding, I’ve only run into Tera twice when staying over. She’s usually coming in late. I know she works at the television station, but I’ve never really asked about her position.
“What exactly do you do?”