Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
He said it in such a matter-of-fact way that it took my brain a moment to understand the words I’d just heard.
I blinked. “I… don’t follow. Your situation has changed in what way? I haven’t decided one way or another what I’m going to do yet, as I told—”
“Right,” Mike said, cutting me off with an agreeable smile, as if he wasn’t being maddeningly—and no doubt deliberately—obtuse. “But your shop isn’t the only one in town we’re in negotiations with.”
I blinked.
I hadn’t even considered that the corporate chain might be interested in my local competitor, Simply Flowers.
Fuck.
If Mike’s company bought out Simply Flowers instead of Patty’s Petals, they wouldn’t hesitate to undercut my prices and outspend on advertising.
Patty’s Petals would end up going under, and then I would have even more debt.
I couldn’t let that happen.
“Okay,” I said, trying to keep my expression blank. If I was going to negotiate now, I didn’t want to give anything away. “You have my attention.”
“Brady, I’ll be frank with you. We want to make a deal with you, and we don’t want to wait. I think we can get this deal locked down quickly, if you’re open to the idea. I’m sure you know that the wider market here is under-served, and we’d really love to partner with you as a franchisee or buy the business outright, get you plugged into our system where you can start taking orders from anywhere in the world, expand your delivery area—there really is so much more we could be doing here if we worked together.” He shrugged. “Obviously, we could do that across town, too. But your shop is the one we want. Let’s make this happen, Brady.”
It was more information that I hadn’t been prepared to take in, to even consider for another couple of weeks, at least.
Everything he was saying made perfect sense, but… franchising? Selling? Some kind of partnership? It had all been sort of abstract to me before now. Initially, I’d just been focused on selling and moving on.
And then… well, I hadn’t been focused on much of anything that wasn’t named Joanne for the past few weeks.
“I just—” I swallowed, trying to choose my words carefully. It was a skill I struggled with on the best of days, but this was pretty damn important, and I needed to get it right. “Everything you’re saying makes sense, but I honestly hadn’t thought much more about it since the last time I spoke to your New York office.”
Since my first date with Joanne.
“That’s completely understandable, Brady. But I’ve been told explicitly not to go back to New York without a deal—either with you, or with your competitor. Name your price, name your terms, and let’s start negotiating. The ball really is in your court now.”
I drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I was blown away and didn’t know what to think or how I felt about the whole thing.
On one hand, the words coming out of Mike’s mouth were music to my ears. It was an even better situation than I could’ve hoped for. I was basically being given a blank check, an opportunity to set the terms of the sale. What more could I ask for?
On the other hand, there was Joanne. And Naomi. Mrs. Linley and Mr. Robbins and everyone else who had come to enjoy and expect the personalized, one-on-one attention they got at the shop. They wouldn’t get that with some soulless corporate chain. They’d just be numbers on a ledger.
And there was no doubt as to whether Joanne would stick around. She’d either quit in protest or get fired for having too much passion, too much of her own vision to ever blend in with the corporate ideals of profits over people.
I couldn’t stand to think that I’d be the one who was responsible for that. I knew damn good and well that it wasn’t just a job to Joanne. The flower shop was a part of her life, a part she loved… just like my dad had loved it.
Was I really prepared to take that away from her?
I was pretty sure I’d never be able to forgive myself if I hurt Joanne like that. I was nearly certain she wouldn’t forgive me, either.
Not only was the potential sale a business decision, but I was pretty certain it would also be a make-or-break moment for whatever the future might hold between Joanne and me.
“I’m going to need some time,” I said, finally. “I can’t decide this right now. I need to think.”
“Of course,” Mike said, nodding. “I know this was probably unexpected for you. How about if I give you, say… forty-eight hours? I can come back, and we can talk more then.”
Two days didn’t exactly sound like much, but it was better than being put on the spot for an answer right that minute. It would at least give me a chance to clear my head a little, to weigh the pros and cons. To think.