Page 102 of My Grape Crush
Dani looks crestfallen. I have yet to meet this character, but if Evelyn is willing to give him a shot, he can’t be a total idiot. I finish chewing my mouthful of chicken. “What will you do when you give it up?”
“Work on my slice serve,” she muses. “Stop and smell the roses. All that gobbledygook they keep saying is good for the soul.”
I’m speechless. In this short time, Evelyn intertwined with her vineyard felt as constant as the sun rising in the east—perpetual and enduring.
Evelyn nibbles on a piece of charred yam. “In the interim, with an eye to handing off this operation in its most stellar form, I need solid hands and brains to help me out. What do you think? Are you two up for it?” She lowers her sunglasses to peer at us.
“Us?” It squeaks out of Dani like she’s sucked on helium.
“Who else?” Evelyn asks with a shrug.
“Well, uhm...” Dani looks nervously at me.
“Actually.” I clear my throat. Our secret sits on the tip of my tongue, waiting for release. “We have some news to share.”
Evelyn’s face gives away nothing. No surprise, or alarm. And she listens to every stumbling, fumbling word that spills from our mouths. Our vision for the agency is still forming. Half-ideas and concepts. But we are undeterred. And our optimism shines through.
“Well,” Evelyn says, and I can tell she’s impressed.“This delights me to no end. Dani, I’m so proud of you. I know this was your dream. And what better way to start than with a loving partner?” She reaches across the table to squeeze my hand. “I had a feeling about you two from the start. Dani was so nervous about your arrival. I figured it had more to do with a jumpy heart than jumpy nerves.”
Dani blushes. I have no clue why her crush remains an ongoing source of embarrassment. Based on the very vocal proceedings of the past few weeks, every neighbor in her building knows how she feels about me.
“And what role will you play other than financial backer?” Evelyn asks me.
I take a swallow of wine. “Dani’s assistant? Office boy?” I smile at the irony.I’d escaped a similar fate sixteen years ago only to come full circle to the same entry-level job.
Evelyn tips her wineglass in my direction with a crafty smile. “I believe you might have a career in illustration.”
Dani laughs so hard, she starts choking. Me? I’m clapping her on the back, stricken for a millisecond. “That could be in the cards.”
Dani’s choking fit settles, and Evelyn pivots the conversation back to the immediate future. “Knowing all this, how long do I have you for?”
“We can discuss. I don’t want to leave you high and dry,” Dani insists.
“No, of course not.” Evelyn waves off a pesky fly that’s been buzzing around then gives us the full measure of her attention. “I’ll have to hire a replacement to handle the day-to-day, on-the-ground stuff, but what if Nero Vino was your first client?”
Dani and I share a look. Excitement creeps into my soul. Who says no to a golden opportunity like that?
“We’d be honored,” Dani says, a little breathless.
“We can create all your marketing materials,” I jump in, every stitch of me full of belief. “Manage your website. All the ad campaigns.”
Evelyn beams at me. “Look at you go. She’ll make an executive out of you yet.”
“Hold all the discussion,” Dani says. “I need to use the bathroom.”
Evelyn waves vaguely in the direction of her three-thousand-square-foot ground floor. “Take a right after the pool table. The powder room is the first door on your left.” As soon as Dani is out of earshot, Evelyn’s face brightens. “I love this,” she gushes. “For both of you.”
I lean back in the chair, profoundly, quietly happy. I’m grinning now and buzzing too. “We’re psyched. And to help you out would be dope.” The crust of my joy cracks a little as I continue, “And I wanted to say, it’s not fair for me to keep the fee. I did a week of work. And you shelled out for Francis and Rita.”
Evelyn waves off my offer like another bothersome fly. “I have enough money. You tuck that into your pocket. With the caveat that you splurge on something grand and sparkly for Dani when the time comes. She deserves the best.”
Damn right, she does.
Not only is she deserving, but I will support, encourage, and fulfill all her dreams because she makes me feel like the best version of myself.
What more can a guy ask for?
Chapter Thirty-Three
