Chapter 24
Brenden
"Are you sure about this, sir?" Jasper asked me again.
"Sure about the deal, or sure about Faith?" I countered.
Jasper ground his teeth and I could practically feel his glowering look through the rear-view mirror. We'd been sitting in my car for an hour and he was getting antsy.
"I can drive you to Faith's apartment. It's nearby." Jasper tried again.
"Stop worrying," I told him. "Weren't you the one that told me I should believe? More than that, I know this is the right thing to do."
Jasper's hands strangled the steering wheel; I could hear the leather squeak. I rolled my window down and listened to the bustling sounds outside instead. The sidewalk was busy. I could hear the rattling roll of stroller wheels and parents talking in tired voices. I heard students rushing by as they worried about pop quizzes, and older couples enjoying an easy stroll.
"The location is quite good," Jasper conceded.
"Are you doubting my business acumen?" I laughed. "I practically had to fight off other investors when I mentioned it. This was the right move, Jasper. Trust me."
"It's not you. It's just--" Jasper stopped.
"She's here, isn't she? I was right!" I rolled up my window to muffle my excited voice. "Faith showed up, didn't she!"
"Yes, sir, just like you said she would."
Jasper described the scene I had already guessed would happen. Faith marched down the sidewalk with a grim look of determination on her face. She stopped at the shop-front and looked in all the windows. Then she made an impatient phone call.
"Is the realtor here?" I asked.
"Coming down the sidewalk now, sir," Jasper said.
I got out of the car and hoped Faith wouldn't see me. Not yet. I heard Jeanne's voice greet Faith and inched closer to hear their conversation.
"I'm sorry I can't help you, Faith," Jeanne said. "And I'm not supposed to put you in contact with the new owner."
"Owner? I thought it was just a new lease. They actually sold it outright?" Faith's voice was edged with despair.
"Yes. And it was an amazing cash deal. Think of the couple that owned this place before. Now they can retire and not worry one more day," Jeanne said.
"I know, I know. It was probably amazing for them, but they'll love my idea, they'll want to be involved. I just need to be able to talk to them," Faith pleaded.
"The papers are already signed," Jeanne said. She shifted uncomfortably and I knew she'd spotted me. "I think it all worked out for the best, if you'd just take a minute--"
"'Take a minute?' This is my life, my dream! Are you trying to tell me the new owner of this shop is going to love it more than me? Are they going to offer the community something they really need, or is it just going to be another stop on the consumer race track?" Faith's voice wavered.
"No one's going to love this shop more than you," I said.
Faith gasped. "Brenden! What are you doing here?"
I heard her swiping away tears and brushing back her hair. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to surprise you."
"Surprise me?" Faith's voice dropped low with suspicion.
Jeanne happily stepped back and let me join Faith on the sidewalk outside the store front. I reached out my hand and had to grope for Faith's.
"A little help here?" I joked.
Faith reluctantly held out her hand but her fist was wrapped shut. "I didn't ask for your help. I told you this was something I had to do for myself."
I pried open her fingers and placed the keys to the shop front on her palm. "This isn't help, it's an investment. You know that's my job, right?"
Faith flipped our hands and left the keys with me. "Investment? You bought the building, didn't you."
I shrugged. "It was the better deal. In the long run it saved me enough to hire you a design team. They can be here in about twenty minutes if you're ready."
"Ready? No! Brenden, you can't do this. You can't just buy the building and hand me the shop." Faith paced away down the sidewalk and then back. "Don't you see I can't accept this?"
"Why not?" I reached out and caught her arm. "Just think of me as an angel investor. And I'm not just investing in you. Look around, Faith. This community wants your idea. It needs your idea. You'll flourish here."
Faith pulled away from me and I could hear her wrap her arms close to her body. She was standing stubbornly in the middle of the sidewalk and I wanted to shake her.
"I can't accept this, Brenden. It's too much," she said.
I felt my way to the shop front door and fumbled to get the key in the lock. Faith dropped her hands to come help me, but I figured it out. Then I swung the door wide open and held it for her.
She stepped slowly into the empty shop front.
"You should see the light coming through the front windows right now," she said softly.
I stepped inside and smiled. "I can feel it. I can also hear it in your voice. Tell me more."
"The floor is gorgeous. I mean, it will be once someone sands it down and waxes it. Real hardwood makes it feel so warm," Faith said.
"And where do you imagine putting in the counter and the case?" I asked.
Faith gave a little sigh. "Along here, opposite the windows. There'll be little cafe tables where you are standing."
"And will the kitchen be closed off or open?" I shifted in the space, feeling it as I imagined it.
"Open. I want there to be a pass-through window so people can see what I'm doing and I can visit with everyone that walks in the shop."
"I should get you a bell for the door," I said.
"You've done too much already," she said.
I groaned. "My part doesn't make it any less your dream. I believe in what you have planned. There's nothing wrong with that!"
"I know," she conceded. "I just wanted to prove to you that I could do this on my own."
"You did. I heard your entire business plan when you insisted Jeanne forward it to the potential buyer. I was impressed. So were my colleagues. They signed on to the project without one second of hesitation."
"So I can really do this?" Faith asked.
"Can you trust me?" I asked.
Faith stopped and I could hear her hesitate before she sighed again. "I suppose I should. Investing in businesses is your business, after all."
I held out my hands. "I only ask one thing in return."
Faith took my hands but held back. "What's the one thing?"
"That just this once we mix business with pleasure," I said.
She kissed me, and I knew she was the best investment I had ever made.