“Where are the machines now?”
“In our production facilities. I have one in Jersey City and one out on the West Coast. None of the flowers are made here anymore. These refrigerators just keep the humidity out and keep premade pieces at optimal temperature. We sell stock pieces from the showrooms and take orders for anything customers want custom made. New deliveries come in from the distribution center every day, and all of the orders that are made online, which is the majority of them, are processed from whichever warehouse is closest.”
“Wow. You really grew this from mom and pop to something big.”
“Yeah, we did. It wasn’t just me. Maggie helped a lot. When I first started, she was working as a marketing manager for a cosmetics company. I didn’t have the money to pay her for a long time, but I gave her twenty-five percent equity in the company as compensation. It could have amounted to nothing, of course. Eventually, when I could afford a salary, she quit her job to work with me full time. But she took a risk, and I’m glad it paid off for her, too.” I looked around and smiled. “We had a lot of good times here, even when things started to take off and we were working eighteen hours a day.” I laughed, remembering the shit we used to do. “One afternoon, we had a customer come in and place two flower orders. I asked him what he wanted to spend on the first order, and he said there was no limit—he just wanted them to be really nice. When I asked what color he wanted, he said whichever I liked best. I told him I favored a mix of bright colors because they’re so vibrant, and they made me smile. He said that’s what he needed, because the woman he was sending them to hadn’t exactly been smiling when he’d left her earlier. I still remember, the woman’s name was Amanda, but he’d told us he’d accidentally called her Chloe at an inopportune time. When we got to the card, he filled it out, and I saw that he’d written, I’m sorry, Amanda. I suggested that if he’d left his girlfriend thinking he had another person on his mind, that maybe his note should let her know that wasn’t the case. I thought something a little more romantic might be in order, but the guy rewrote the card to say something like, I’m sorry for today, Amanda. I can’t stop thinking of you in that red teddy.” I shook my head, still remembering what the guy had looked like.
“Anyway, he gave me Amanda’s address, and when he was done, I’d almost forgotten he’d said he wanted to send two arrangements. Turned out, the second one was for Chloe. He picked out the least-expensive piece we sold and one color. You know what that card said?”
“What?”
“Happy 10th wedding anniversary, Chloe.”
“Shit.” Max chuckled. “I had a feeling that’s where this was going.”
“The guy wasn’t even embarrassed to be sending flowers to his wife and mistress from the same shop. And it really pissed me off that he was so cheap about what he picked out for his wife, yet the sky was the limit for his girlfriend. So I…accidentally delivered the wrong card with the arrangements.”
Max’s brows shot up. “Accidentally?”
I grinned. “Well, as far as he knew it was an accident. He was not happy about it. He came in the next day, demanding a full refund. I was out, but he got Maggie. She told him we’d be happy to refund him, but that we’d mail the check payable to Chloe.”
Max laughed. “You two are some team.”
“We do work well together. She takes my ideas, multiplies them a hundred times, and creates unique marketing plans from them. Like when I opened my first store, I used to keep a few annotated books I loved by the register. If someone struggled with what to write on the card to send with the flowers, I’d show them passages that were relevant for the occasion. F. Scott Fitzgerald was my favorite. I could find a million simple quotes in his books. When Maggie worked with the designer on our website, she surprised me by adding all the annotated quotes from those books to our website, plus hundreds more from different authors. So when customers get to the card, they’re asked if they need assistance, and if they do, a database selects quotes based on their responses. So many people have used the quotes I picked that she added a feature where the customer can buy a special edition of the book the quote is from to be delivered with their flower order. It’s done really well.”
Max smiled. “Your eyes light up when you talk about your business. It’s sexy.”
Gabriel had always had a problem with me working too much. In fact, I’d come to question my own priorities because he made me feel flawed for being as dedicated as I was. I suppose Max understood dedication more, since he’d had to give up so much for his own career.
I smiled back. “Do you ever regret the things you might’ve missed out on for your career?”
He shook his head. “Regret? No. Have I missed out on things because I spend half my life at the rink? Yeah, of course. But it’s easy for me to say I don’t have regret because the things I did, the chances I took, have paid off. Not everyone is so lucky. If I were standing here today having given up so much over the years only to not make the cut, maybe my answer would be different. But I had to try, because while I might have regrets if things hadn’t worked out the way they did, the one thing I know for sure is that I would definitely regret not having taken the chance to go for it.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” I moved closer and wrapped my arms around his neck. “By the way, do you know what I find sexy?”
“What?”
“A sweet man, and that’s what you are.”
“Oh yeah? Why is that?”
“I love your friendship with Otto. When you said you wanted to stop by and check on a friend, I didn’t realize it was an older man who worked there.”
“Not sure you’d think our friendship was sweet if you heard the way we usually talk to each other. He was just on his best behavior this morning because you were with me.”
“How did you two become friends?”
Max shrugged. “He called me out about the chip I had on my shoulder when I first joined the team. I’d never tell him, but he actually reminds me a lot of my dad. He has the ability to see through clutter and simplify things, if that makes any sense. He’s grounded and gives good advice. But if you ever tell him I said that, I’ll deny it.”
I smiled. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
Susanna, the store manager, walked into the back. “Sorry to interrupt. But we’re going to order some lunch. Do you want us to order you guys something?”
“No, I think we’re okay. But thank you.” Though the mention of lunch made me check the time on my phone. “I didn’t realize it was so late.” I looked over at Max. “We should get going.”
He held his hand out for me to walk first. “Lead the way.”
The place I was taking Max was only a block away. When I stopped at the storefront, he looked up at the sign. Lift Aerial Yoga.
“Shit,” he chuckled. “This is gonna be ugly.”
I laughed. “I got us a private class, so you don’t have to worry about pictures of you getting out. Though I might snap some photos and use them to blackmail you into servitude as my sex slave later.”
Max opened the door, but when I went to pass, he hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me flush against him, planting a kiss on my lips. “No blackmail needed. I voluntarily accept the position.”