Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“Not at all, Elizabeth,” Polly replies. “Do you know Ryan Wild?”
“I don’t think so,” Elizabeth says, shaking her head. “But I just moved to Bitterroot Valley last year, so I’m still meeting people.” She smiles and holds her hand out to shake mine, and then she frowns up at me. “Wait. Are you that Ryan Wild?”
I cock an eyebrow. “Which one would that be?”
“Yes, he’s that one,” Polly says, laughing. “What can I help you with?”
“Sorry.” Elizabeth chuckles and clears her throat. “It’s nice to meet you, Ryan. As you know, Polly, I sell real estate, and it’s actually going very well. Better than I’d hoped, being new to an area. Bitterroot Valley is popular right now. But you said something at a meeting not long ago that made me think.”
“That could have been anything,” Polly says with a laugh.
“You mentioned that we shouldn’t spend money on trends to plug our business. That it can be a waste and not profitable.”
“Ah, that. Sure. I mean, it depends on the trend, of course, but yeah.”
I’m listening raptly, and the change that Polly’s entire demeanor takes, from the carefree woman at a party to a fierce businesswoman, is a sight to behold. Both sides of her are alluring as fuck.
“There have been some new trends circulating in my field that seem fun,” Elizabeth continues. “But holy shit, the out-of-pocket expense on them is huge, and I don’t feel like there’s much ROI there, you know? But it’s so pretty.”
“I’m the queen of loving pretty things,” Polly says, tapping her chin. “But, Liz, are the pretty things helping your bottom line? Or are people going to buy or sell regardless? Because at the end of the day, I’d want the money in my account so I can buy myself something pretty, or simply save the money for something else in my business that will bring in more money on that end.”
“You’re right,” Liz says with a nod. “It’s just so tempting to jump on the fun trends.”
“But is it a good business decision?” Polly counters. “I’m just playing devil’s advocate here. If it’s not going to elevate your business or drive income for you in some way, it’s not worth it.”
“Thank you.” Liz exhales and grins at both of us. “I already knew that, deep down. I just needed to hear it.”
“Trust your gut,” Polly advises. “You’ll be great. Have fun tonight.”
“Oh, I will. Now, I have to go find my husband. He was talking with someone named Drew Montgomery about football, which means I may never see him again.”
Liz walks away, and I bend down to whisper in Polly’s ear.
“I want to carry you out of here, find a quiet spot, and fuck you until you can’t breathe.”
Her green eyes fly up to mine in surprise. “Why? I mean, no complaints here, but what did I do?”
“You’re fucking brilliant at your job, Polly. You should be a business advisor.”
“I am. That’s why we started this collective. For exactly this.”
We find our seats at a table with the other four women, and I sit next to my sister. Rem and Erin are across from us, and it seems Abbi, Summer, and Chase are off mingling somewhere.
“Have you thought of taking this outside of Bitterroot Valley?” I ask Polly and Erin.
“Yes,” the two women say at the same time.
“We already have some interest in Missoula and Bozeman,” Erin explains. “And I think my cousins are looking into starting up a collective in Seattle.”
“We are writing up bylines, trademarking the name and logo, things like that,” Polly continues as Erin nods in agreement. “There are legalities and the challenges of making sure that the different branches are led by women with strong ethics and a passion for helping others.”
“It would be best if we could sell franchises,” Erin says, tapping her chin. “So we’re not legally held responsible for every single city that wants to participate.”
“I was thinking about that,” Millie says as Abbi, Summer, and Chase join us. “I think we could handle most of the branches in Montana, but outside of that, we’d need to sell franchises. There are so many legalities to think about, and this way, we don’t have to put in that kind of work. We all have businesses of our own already. It would be a lot to handle.”
“You could hire a staff,” I suggest, and all eyes turn to me. “If you wanted to keep it in-house, that is.”
“We don’t generate much money,” Abbi reminds me thoughtfully. “Really only enough for the Collective to pay for itself. We sell tickets to the monthly meetings, just to cover the meal and a drink. The speakers donate their time. Even the ticket price for tonight was just enough to cover dinner, the band, decorations, and such. Erin and Remington donated the facility for the night, which is amazing, by the way.”