Page 16 of Bridesmaid Undercover
I glance at my drink and then back up at him. “A caramel mocha. I try to distract my tastebuds from the taste of coffee as much as I can.”
“Chocolate and caramel is a good combination to go with.” Ugh, he’s so handsome, just look at those dimples trying to peek past his beard.
“What are you drinking?” I ask, feeling so weird because this is such a casual conversation that I would never imagine having with someone who owns a billion-dollar business with his brother. Well, is it a billion dollars? Maybe, who knows. I know they have a lot of investments, but who can be sure? He has a lot of money—let’s just leave it at that.
“Been liking this almond milk vanilla latte lately. Pretty good.”
“Oh, nice. I think that wouldn’t be much of a disguise for my tastebuds.”
He shakes his head. “Definitely not. I think you would need a lot more than the hint of vanilla syrup and frothed up water-soaked almonds.”
“Probably,” I answer. “And are they even Hopper Almonds?”
“I glanced at the milk they’re using…” He leans and whispers, “It’s not a company we work with.” He holds his fingers up to his lips in a hush-hush kind of way, which makes me chuckle.
“Drinking the enemy…how does that feel?”
“Not like a Hopper Almond, that’s for damn sure.” He sips his drink and then smacks his lips. “Yeah, you can tell the Hopper standard isn’t in this secreted almond.”
I try to hold back my smile but I can’t, as I’m completely charmed by him. “And what would the Hopper standard be?”
“Well, high-quality filtration during the pulp removal process for one, and then of course, clearly, no one is smiling at these almonds and that’s a key ingredient to a great-tasting almond, the smile.”
“Oh, is that right?” I ask. “You smile at your almonds?”
“Not just me, all of the staff. From the beginning part of pruning, to removing the husks, to cracking open the shells, and safely cleaning the kernels, there are smiles all around, all day.”
“I can see how that would produce a happy almond.”
He sips his coffee again and then winces. “Yeah, you can taste it immediately. These competitors are all frowns.”
I chuckle and pick up my mug. “Maybe you should try to speak to the manager, get them on your side.”
“Perhaps…” He nods. “Perhaps I will.”
God, he’s cute.
And funny.
And easy to talk to.
Like I said, the man is perfect.
“So,” he says, “shall we get down to business?”
“Of course, not that I want to stop you from educating me about your almonds, but Maggie told me you might be in need of our services.”
He nods and grows serious. “Yes, my friends Polly and Ken are getting married and, well, their maid of honor is a bit overwhelmed and out of her comfort zone with the responsibilities. I know she wants to be able to do this for Polly, but she needs some handholding. I told them about Bridesmaid for Hire, and Polly was very interested. I told her that I’d feel you guys out and then set up an intro if it’s a good fit.”
“Well, first of all, thank you. We’re just getting this portion of Magical Moments by Maggie up and running, so this means a lot to already have someone interested.”
“Of course,” he says. “Maggie did so much for Haisley that it’s the least we can do.”
“Well, actually, she wouldn’t be heading up this side of the business, it would be me. I hope that’s okay.”
“I know that,” he says and winks. “I took a gander at the business proposal. I know from what Maggie has said, you can handle this effortlessly. She even told us that you’re the backbone for the business.”
I feel my cheeks blush. “Thank you,” I reply. “I’m very lucky to have such a great boss.”
