Chapter Twenty
TJ took the pastry box from Deb and delivered it to the conference room while she made a pit stop at her office. Win came in and didn’t waste any time picking through the doughnuts. Darcy trailed in, checked the percolator, and sat next to Win. Deb appeared, and the vision of her on top of him, naked, immediately popped in his head. He tried desperately to think about scheduling and payroll, anything that would distract him from revisiting their nooner.
“How was your last day?” Win asked her.
“Good. Felix got me balloons and the staff got me a cake.”
And TJ had given her an orgasm. He was going to need to have a conversation with Win soon. Not about the orgasm, but about him and Deb.
Colt and Josh came in together and pulled up chairs to the table. Although TJ and the lawyers had already briefed his parents, his dad came for the meeting and sat across from TJ. Gray gave him the nod to start.
“I’ll cut right to the chase so as not to waste time,” he told everyone. “Our lawyers want us to settle with Stanley Royce.”
“Why?” Win stood up. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Because in the digital age, Royce can drag GA’s name through the mud, which he’s threatening to do. It’s just not worth it.”
“So basically, it’s extortion,” Josh said, looking pissed.
“Pretty much,” TJ agreed.
“Just so we don’t get a bad Yelp review.” Josh wouldn’t let it go. He’d always stood firm when it came to principle. TJ was more of a realist.
“How much is it going to cost us?” Colt wanted to know because he was all about the bottom line.
“He wants six figures. Our lawyers think he’ll walk away for between fifty and sixty-five thousand.”
Win let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of money for a guy who ignored the danger tape on that porta-potty.”
“What about insurance?” Colt crossed his arms across his chest.
“They want to fight it, we want it to go away. Not to mention that if we go through them, it’ll likely cost us more in premiums over the long haul.”
“Your brother’s right; settling is our best option,” Gray broke in.
“Where do we take the money from?” Josh asked, and everyone looked at TJ.
“Our reserves, which means we’ll have to be careful about not robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
“Put that in English,” Colt said, frowning.
“So far, the retail operation isn’t paying off the way I’d hoped. It’s still early, but we’re only getting a few orders a day. We did better when we beta tested. Either our clients were initially psyched about buying swag and quickly got over it, or Colorado Adventure is taking all our business. Right now, we’re financing the store with our reserves, which was always the plan until it became profitable. But now . . .”
“What about a magazine article?” Josh asked.
“I called Dan Reed at Outdoors, Stephanie Row at Adventure, and Wendy Miller at Action. None of them are interested because Outside already did the story on Colorado Adventure. It would be too similar. And even if they were interested, their lead time is three months, so a story wouldn’t even run until June.”
“And by then we’d be out of business,” Josh said.
TJ nodded, because at this rate it was true.
Colt clenched his jaw, typical Garner body language that signified he was pissed. Colt didn’t say anything, but TJ was sure he’d get an earful after the meeting, in private.
Deb cleared her throat. “I have a few ideas.”
“Like what?” Win got up and poured himself a cup of coffee.
She sheepishly turned to TJ, then said, “Some tweaks I want to make to the online store and a few other . . . uh, assorted things.”
“In other words, we’re winging it.” Instead of directing his words at Deb, Colt glared at TJ.
“This is new to all of us, Colt. And no one could’ve predicted Stanley Royce rolling down the mountain in a porta-potty.”
Colt nodded. “That’s the truth. Hopefully, you can bring up sales or I’m telling Delaney to cancel her exclusive deal with us.” With that, he got up and walked out.
“Someone woke up on the dick side of the bed this morning.” Win took a sip of his coffee.
Josh leaned his chair back on two legs. “Hannah might have some ideas.”
Selling gift items and home furnishings in a tourist town wasn’t the same as selling adventure gear, but TJ would be grateful for any insight.
“I’ll talk to her,” Deb said.
“What other ideas do you have?” Win asked Deb, and she told them about sponsoring athletes.
“I think that’s a great idea, kiddo.” Gray squeezed the back of Deb’s neck, looked at his watch, and stood up. “I’m going to leave the rest of the meeting to you guys. I have a tour in twenty minutes.”
After Gray left, Deb asked, “Do any of you know anyone who’d be willing to represent Garner Adventure in competitions?”
Win thought about it for a few seconds. “The problem is, anyone with a big-enough name already has sponsorship.” He looked at Josh. “Can you think of anyone?”
“Not off the top of my head. I love Delaney, her stuff is killer, but her reputation is in fashion. The big leaguers wear Spyder, Burton, North Face, you know the names.”
Deb nodded. “I’ll do some asking around.” No one had to tell her it would be an uphill battle. She knew how pro sports worked.
“We all will,” Josh said. “I’ve got a cave tour in two hours and need to get the equipment ready.”
TJ bobbed his head at Darcy. “You have anything you want to add?”
She shook her head. “I’ll help Deb with whatever she needs.”
“Thanks,” TJ said. “Then I guess we’re adjourned.”
Josh grabbed another doughnut on his way out and Darcy got busy on the cleanup. Win and Deb helped and TJ went back to his office, feeling discouraged. Ten minutes later, Win came through his door.
“You that worried?” he asked.
“We’ll lose our initial investment, but it won’t be the end of the world.” Though TJ knew he couldn’t justify Deb’s position without the retail division.
“You can’t let her go, bro.” Win had obviously read TJ’s mind. “Everyone already thinks you gave her the job because of me. Then to lay her off . . . People can be cruel, TJ.”
“I didn’t realize you gave a shit about her.”
Win jerked back. “Whoa. Where’s that coming from?”
TJ tried to rein himself in. None of this was Win’s fault. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Hopefully, things will pick up.”
Win stretched out on TJ’s couch. “I’m confident it will.”
That was Win, always an optimist. It drove the rest of them crazy.
“How was the exhibition?”
“I barely made it in time. Britney needed me to come over.”
“Everything okay?” TJ closed his door.
Win sighed. “Not the greatest, to tell you the truth.” He rubbed his hand down his face, and for the first time, TJ saw the toll this was taking on his brother. “I thought maybe I could grow to love her, you know? But TJ, I don’t even like her.”
For a long time, TJ didn’t say anything. He just let Win’s words sink in. Garners didn’t walk away from their responsibilities, but shotgun weddings seemed arcane nowadays. “What would happen if you didn’t marry her?”
Win pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t tell anyone this, but I don’t trust her with my kid.”
“The drinking?” Britney had downed more glasses of champagne at the party than TJ could count and he hadn’t been keeping constant track.
“Not just the drinking.” Win paused. “This is a hell of a thing to say, but I get the feeling she’s using the baby as collateral.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like it’s her ticket to financial security.” Win sat up. “Like it’s extortion.”
TJ didn’t know her, but he trusted Win’s instincts. And from the minute he’d met her, he’d gotten a gold-digger vibe. “What are you going to do?”
“What can I do? It’s my kid.”
TJ wished there was something he could say. It was a screwed-up mess, and if he could save his brother from going through this, he would.
Win pushed off the sofa. “I’ve got to motor. See you tomorrow.”
“I’ll walk you out.” TJ needed to smooth things over with Colt. He swiped his jacket off the hook and followed Win outside, where they parted ways.
TJ continued to the police station, where he found Carrie Jo in a heated argument with Jack. Colt came out of his office, yelled for the two of them to shut up, and motioned for TJ to come inside.
“What was that about?”
“Who knows? They’re like two randy high schoolers. I wish they’d just sleep with each other and get it over with.” Colt sat behind his metal desk. “So, we’ve really gotta pay off Royce, huh?”
“It seems like our best option.” TJ took a seat on the couch. “We’ll survive it.”
Colt gave him a hard look. “I’m gonna reiterate how much I love Deb. You know I love her. But TJ, we’re running a business here.” He took a breath. “What’s going on with you two?”
“Nothing,” unless you counted over-the-top great sex.
“Nothing?” Colt shook his head. “If you don’t want me to know, then tell me it’s none of my goddamn business, but don’t give me this nothing shit.”
“It’s complicated.” Not just because for the last fifteen years everyone had had the expectation that she would wind up with Win, but he might have to fire her now. And that was a straight-up deal breaker. You couldn’t give someone a whole new shot at life and then rip it away without it blowing up a relationship.
Colt got up and joined TJ on the sofa. “If you care enough about her, you’ll make it happen, despite the complications.”
Easy for Colt to say. He wasn’t responsible for the family business; TJ was. And Deb wasn’t what he’d come here to talk about.
“I want to make this right with Delaney,” TJ said, changing gears. “If she wanted to branch out to other retailers, I would understand. She should strike while her line of adventure wear is hot.”
“My fiancée’s stuff is always hot. You’ll have to talk to her, TJ. I’m staying out of it.”
“I will. In the meantime, you need to talk to Win.” TJ wouldn’t divulge any of their baby brother’s confidences, but Colt was good at fixing problems.
“What’s he done now?”
“I don’t think he should marry Britney.” He rose and paced the room. “You met her.”
“Too soon to judge.” Colt went back to his desk and checked something on his computer. “Mom and Dad want to have her for dinner so we can get to know her better. But I’ll talk to Win.”
“Maybe Josh could talk to him, too.” Win needed all their support right now.
“Sure. But Win’s a grown man. At some point, we have to let him handle his own problems.”
“Just talk to him. That’s all I ask.”
* * *
Deb took the long country road to Delaney’s headquarters. The former John Deere warehouse was a funny place for one of the world’s premiere fashion designers to house her business, but somehow it worked. Of course, Delaney had done all kinds of renovations before occupying the building. Now it was a showplace.
Deb thought if anyone would know how to increase sales it would be Delaney. She might not be a sports enthusiast, but she ran a retail empire.
A guard at the entrance recognized Deb and let her through the gate. Colt had insisted that Delaney put in security. The warehouse sat in the middle of nowhere and stored millions of dollars’ worth of samples and equipment.
Deb parked and went inside.
“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked. It was Candace Kelly, who Deb had gone to high school with.
She wanted to say, Really, Candace?
Just then, Karen happened to come out to the lobby. As usual, she was perfectly put together. Cute suede skirt and a sweater to die for. Not the kind of stuff you saw around Glory Junction. Deb thought about her with TJ and felt a familiar stab of envy. TJ could have any woman he wanted.
“Hey, Deb. You here to see Delaney?”
“If she’s not busy.” She probably should’ve called first.
“Come on back.” Karen led the way, and Deb flashed Candace a snarky grin.
“She’s in the design studio. Hang tight.” She dropped Deb in Delaney’s office and went in search of her.
Delaney floated into the room in amazing wide-legged trousers and a matching blazer, looking runway gorgeous. Jeez, Deb could get a complex hanging out around here.
“You designed that, didn’t you?”
“I most certainly did.” Delaney kissed Deb on both cheeks. “Great party the other night.”
“Thank you, Delaney. It was the best birthday I ever had.” Of course, the after-party had been even better.
“It was mostly Hannah and Foster. Those two know how to throw an event.” Delaney slipped off her shoes and sat next to Deb in one of the overstuffed chairs, tucking her legs under her. “You here just to say hi or to talk about the adventure wear line?”
Deb let out a breath. “I came to pick your brain. You’re going to hear this from Colt, but so far our sales aren’t doing as well as we had hoped.”
Delaney shifted in her seat. “The online store has only been up a week. That’s way too early to gauge your progress.”
She told Delaney about Stanley Royce and how a settlement with him would bite into the company’s budget.
“TJ’s pretty worried about it and it’s my job to make the retail end a success.” TJ believed in her and she didn’t want to disappoint him, or herself. “The sad truth is, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m here to ask for any guidance you can give me.”
Delaney went to her desk and picked up the phone. “Candace, can you please bring us some soft drinks. Thanks.”
She sat back down. “First, you have to spill about what’s going on with you and TJ.”
“Huh. What are you talking about?” Deb played dumb. And honestly, other than sleeping together, she had no idea.
“Come on.” Delaney all but rolled her eyes. “I saw you two at the party, I saw you disappear together, and Colt’s convinced you met afterward.”
Ah, crap. “Do people think it’s pathetic, like I’m a Garner groupie?”
Delaney laughed. “Honey, we’re all Garner groupies. But I know what you’re asking and no, of course not.”
“It just sort of happened. I don’t even know what it is yet. There’ve been no discussions.” Just a lot of sex.
“What do you want it to be?” Delaney asked.
“I don’t know yet. I’m still digesting it and I don’t know where TJ stands. He’s not exactly forthcoming.”
“Have you thought about asking him?”
Candace knocked, then walked in with their drinks. Deb hoped she hadn’t heard anything. In high school, Candace had been a gossipmonger.
“Thank you,” Delaney said and took the tray from her.
Deb waited for her to leave while Delaney poured them both flavored, fizzy water. “I don’t want to yet.” She leaned her head back on the couch. “I just want to enjoy it.”
“I think you should talk to him, Deb. TJ strikes me as a fairly deliberate person, not the kind to mess around with a longtime family friend without having emotions invested in it. I’d hate to see either of you get hurt.” Delaney handed her a glass. “Okay, enough talk about your love life. Let’s get down to business. First off, sales and marketing aren’t my areas of expertise. I’m a designer and my ex always ran that part of the company. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to ask Karen to sit in on this. This is more her forte.”
Deb didn’t know how TJ would feel about someone outside the Garner family knowing GA information. But she wasn’t too proud to pass up help from an expert. “That’s fine.”
Delaney left the office and returned a few minutes later with Karen in tow. Deb explained her thoughts on the online store and they gathered around Delaney’s laptop to look. Karen made groaning noises.
“Then I’m not off-base thinking this isn’t helping us?”
“Noooo,” Karen said. “It’s all wrong for your brand, don’t you think, Delaney?”
Delaney grimaced. “I wish I would’ve paid more attention to this. It was a cute idea in the eighties, not so much anymore. And especially not for a company that’s promoting hands-on performance wear.”
“I’d present the clothing and gear in regular photographs and illustrate performance with pictures and videos of guides actually wearing the stuff while skiing, bouldering, mountain biking, whatever.” Karen pointed to the text. “Forget these cute little sayings. Show me, don’t tell me.”
That was exactly what Deb had thought and felt vindicated hearing Karen confirm it. She’d have to convince TJ, though.
“Change all this,” Karen continued. “Your biggest challenge is getting the word out, and we can certainly help with that.” She looked at Delaney. “We can add Garner Adventure to that big ad we’re doing in Women’s Wear Daily.”
“Absolutely.” Delaney poured more fizzy water in her glass. “Though I don’t know how much that will touch on the adventure-sports market. But we can come up with a list of possible advertising vehicles for GA.”
Deb cleared her voice. “About our market: I was thinking that we should sponsor athletes. A skier, a big-time kayaker, a rock climber, like that. The problem is, the high-profile ones all have big sponsors already. It’s not like we can compete with Reebok or Under Armour, uh, no offense.”
“None taken.” Delaney’s lips curved up. “I’m known for couture and ready-to-wear, not adventure clothes, so I see your dilemma. Though I think it’s a great idea if you can make it work.”
“I don’t think you necessarily need someone high profile,” Karen said. “What you need is a high-profile event. A big amateur ski competition or toboggan race, something like that. It would be great if it was televised or had a social media component. Your clientele is the weekend warrior, not a pro. That’s who you want to appeal to, so you need someone who does this stuff for fun but is very proficient at it.”
“Someone who can win,” Deb said, loving the idea.
“Ideally,” Karen agreed. “And Deb, you have to promote the heck out of it. Are you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest?”
She winced. “No. I guess I should be, huh?”
“Yep. Garner Adventure’s online store needs to be all over the place,” Karen said.
“What about the tent jacket?” Delaney asked.
Deb wondered if Delaney was joking. “Is that something you’d be interested in designing?”
Delaney paused. “Uh, it’s not my brand nor do I know anything about tents, but I think it’s a great idea. Let me ask around to see if there’s a designer better suited for it. It’s something that could be exclusive to GA and bring traffic to the site.”
“Absolutely,” Karen said, and for the next hour they outlined a strategy.
By the time Deb pulled up in front of GA, it was dark and her head was swimming with ideas. When she got inside, everyone had gone home for the night. Everyone but TJ.
“Hey. I thought you’d left early.”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “And I’m glad you’re still here because I’ve got a ton of thoughts on how we can increase sales.”
“Yeah?” His lips tipped up in a heart-stopping smile and her stomach did pirouettes. “Whaddya got?”
“I met with Delaney and Karen and they gave me a whole approach.”
“They’re high-fashion, Deb. Not our market.”
She poked him in the chest with her finger. “Instead of being a know-it-all, why don’t you listen to what I have to say?”
“Can we eat first? I’m starved.”
“Sure.” Was it a date or a work dinner? “Where do you want to go?”
“Indian place.” The restaurant’s name was Zaika, but everyone regularly referred to it simply as the Indian place.
“Let’s go.” She swung her tote bag over her shoulder. It had all the notes she’d taken at Delaney’s.
They walked the few short blocks to the restaurant. Deb felt a chill nipping at her legs. She should’ve worn tights or leggings under her dress.
TJ gazed up at the sky. “More snow’s on the way.” He casually draped his arm over her shoulder and she had an overwhelming urge to snuggle closer.
She thought about what Delaney had said, about how TJ likely cared or he wouldn’t be fooling around with her. She dared to hope but didn’t know how to open the conversation.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“Nothing . . . Is Colt mad that you hired me and not someone with crazy marketing skills?”
“No,” he said, but she knew he was lying.
Deb understood that Colt was only looking out for his fiancée’s best interests, which any good boyfriend or husband should do. And sweetly, TJ didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so in a way he was looking out for her. The knowledge of that warmed her even more than the gas fireplace at Zaika.
One of the owners showed them to a table, and TJ asked for an order of naan while they perused the menu. He kept sneaking peeks at her, and she wondered if he was thinking about earlier, about their spontaneous sex.
“You want wine or beer?” he asked.
“Just water. I want to go over the stuff I learned.”
His eyes were on her lips, but she didn’t think he was listening to a word she was saying. “Do you want to wait until we’re done eating to talk shop?”
“We can talk about it,” he said, but he didn’t seem that into it.
“Then quit staring at me.”
“Why?” he asked, and she couldn’t tell whether he was teasing.
“Because it’s hard to concentrate and I’m trying to prove myself, TJ.”
He pulled his chair in closer to the table. “Okay, tell me what you got.”
“Don’t get mad, but both Delaney and Karen agree with me that the online store isn’t the flavor we want. Karen had some ideas that I totally agree with. Can I talk to Jillian and make the changes?”
Their waters and naan came. Deb ordered her usual chicken tikka. TJ got the tandoori and a bunch of sides for the table.
“We’ll have to pay her,” TJ said. “I hope it isn’t throwing good money after bad.”
She couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t be or that it would even increase sales. But she didn’t think it could get any worse. “How much money are we talking about?”
“If we can keep it under a thousand bucks, go ahead. Anything over that and I’d be inclined to say no.”
“But if it’s under a thousand, I can do what I want?”
He slowly nodded, but she could tell he was already regretting his decision.
“You sure?” She was giving him a chance to back out, even though her gut told her the online store was all wrong and it would be well worth the money to make the fixes.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
She tilted her head, skeptical. “Are you just trying to get me in the sack again? Because, TJ, you don’t have to work that hard.”
He tossed his head back and laughed. “I want to continue sleeping with you, but that’s not why I’m letting you spend the money. Why can’t you believe that I have faith in you? You never struck me as someone with low self-esteem.”
“Are you angry that I went to Delaney and Karen?” It probably wasn’t a good business practice to tell your star designer that her clothes weren’t moving. But Delaney was part of TJ’s family.
He let out a huff. “Drastic times call for drastic measures.”
“Delaney didn’t think it was drastic. She thought we haven’t given it enough time.”
“I wish we would’ve gotten the spread Colorado Adventure got in Outside magazine.”
Their food came and the server took his time removing the domes from all the platters. After the waiter left, TJ put a scoop of everything on her plate.
“The retail store was my idea.” He shoveled in a bite. “I sold everyone on it, even though they argued that we didn’t have the resources. So every day it doesn’t make a profit and every day it takes our focus away from the adventure tours is on me.”
“That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself. There’s no way you could’ve known about Royce.” He shrugged and she continued. “You came up with an idea you thought would make money. If it winds up you were wrong, no one is going to blame you.”
“I’ll blame myself.”
“Jeez, TJ, you’ll get an ulcer like that.”
“Successful people have ulcers, Deb.”
She pointed her fork at him. “You’re already successful.”
He waited to stop chewing his tandoori chicken and said, “Not in everything. I haven’t done a good job of finding balance in my life.”
“Explain,” she demanded.
“I don’t want to be just a paper pusher. And I don’t want the buck to stop only at me.”
“You don’t want to be in charge anymore?”
I don’t want to be the only one in charge.” He served himself more helpings of the side dishes. “I’d also like to guide an occasional tour.”
“Easy enough. You need more minions. Give me and Darcy more responsibility.”
He laughed. “You’ve been here less than a month and you already want a promotion. Let’s see if we can save the retail division first.”
She wasn’t looking for a promotion; she only wanted to help. “Sure, but would divvying up the responsibility give you more balance?”
He stopped eating and looked at her for a long time. “I want someone to come home to.”
The statement threw her. Men, at least the ones she knew, didn’t say things like that. “Who do you want to come home to?”
Maybe he hadn’t found that person yet and was still looking. Or maybe he already knew. She held her breath waiting for the answer, her heart racing.
His blue gaze held hers. “It’s complex.”
It wasn’t her, then. Disappointment cut through her like a blade. By now, she would’ve thought the muscle tissue of her heart was callused enough that nothing could hurt her. But she was wrong.
When “Oh” was all she said, he pointed to the last piece of naan. “You going to eat that?”
“Go for it.” She suddenly wasn’t very hungry anymore. “It’s settled, then. I can talk to Jillian about changing the online store?”
“Yep. What else you have?”
She spent the next thirty minutes absently going through the ideas Delaney and Karen had mapped out.
* * *
After dinner, TJ paid the bill, helped Deb on with her jacket, and walked her home. He’d wanted to tell her the truth when she’d asked who he wanted to come home to. A crowded restaurant, where anyone could overhear their conversation, didn’t feel like the right place. And the timing couldn’t be worse.
They were immersed in trying to save a shaky retail venture. He wanted her to succeed so badly that he was taking stupid risks with his family’s money. For instance, throwing cash at a website that was only a week old. But he didn’t think straight when it came to her.
That was why it seemed like a bad time to profess his feelings for her.
Without thinking, he slipped his hand into hers. If it wasn’t so cold, he would’ve liked to have strolled up and down Main Street with her. During the holidays, there were horse and carriage rides. The company was considering extending the service into spring, but so far, that hadn’t happened.
“You want to get dessert at Tart Me Up?” he asked. It was getting late. They should probably just call it a night.
She took his wrist and looked at his watch. “I think they’re closed by now.”
They’d made it as far as the Morning Glory, which, unfortunately, was the end of the line.
Upstairs, she motioned for him to come inside. He promised it was just for a minute, just long enough for her to turn on the lights. He was tempted to see if she wanted to go for a second round of what they’d done earlier, but it didn’t seem right to continue like that. Friends with benefits. It wasn’t enough for him.
Standing in her tiny front room, with the streetlights shining in, she gazed into his eyes, expectantly. Ah hell, go ahead; tell her.
“You,” he said in a soft voice, not quite a whisper. “I want to come home to you.”