It’s not. It’s actually quite simple. She has an idea and the rest of her family shoots it down. Or, more precisely, her big brother does. Cole doesn’t need to know all that. Besides, it’s not my story to tell, even if I’ve basically been part of the family since I was thirteen.
“Well.” He claps me on the back. “I’m glad I’m not you. Double the work for the same pay.”
“We do what we have to in order to make the client happy.”
Little does he know that if the rest of the Summers family is on board, Starlit Fields has the possibility of being a major client.
“I guess it helps when it’s someone you know on a personal level.”
“Yep.”
Cole takes the hint and turns away from my desk. “I’ll catch you later.”
I wave dismissively behind me. He’s not a bad guy, just driven. It doesn’t help that he’s the boss’s nephew. I’ve even gotten drinks with him after work, but he doesn’t know when it’s time to drop a conversation. Or personal boundaries, for that matter. I haven’t even introduced him to Piper. Outside of her, I don’t have a ton of friends I go out with on the regular. She’s been my rock for as long as I can remember, and I’ve never really needed anyone else.
I glance at the time on my phone. She should be done with her presentation by now. The fact she hasn’t sent me a text is worrisome. I don’t want to assume things didn’t go well, but I have a gut feeling. There’s only one way to find out.
Beau
How did the presentation go? Did you knock their socks off?
I keep my phone in my hand expecting a quick response, but it doesn’t come, and I set it down. I guess I was wrong. Maybe they loved it, and Piper is going over all the details.
My focus shifts to the marketing plan on the right side of my screen. It has bullet points of everything she’s mentioned in passing. Piper has some great ideas. Some of them I’ve seen social media influencers do, and I think they’d translate well to the winery. As long as she can make most of the content personal, she’ll be golden.
I continue listing out a few other things we can do regarding social media, but also some ads I’d love to propose we run. I know they don’t have a big budget, so I have to keep it at a small scale in the beginning. The social media campaign would help increase the amount of play money we have exponentially.
Excitement flows through me. Her family is finally listening to her. After all these years they see her as more than the baby sister. She’s always been more than that. They’ve never really given her a chance to make a difference in the business side of the winery, but it’s about time they are.
The screen on my phone lights up, and I finish adding another bullet point before I glance down at it.
Piper
Can you come over tonight?
Beau
Sure. Is everything okay?
Piper
Ugh
That one word is all the answer I need. They didn’t like her presentation. Hell, Pierce may not have given her time to show anything. I don’t want to hash all that out over text messages. Mostly because I’m at work. While they don’t have a strict policy on cell phones; they aren’t fans of long personal calls. I have a feeling if I called her right now, we would be on the phone for an hour, minimum.
Beau
I’ll head straight to your house when I get off work.
I don’t expect her to respond, and I set the phone back down. After saving all the work I just did for the Piper plan, I switch over to the Summers’ plan. While there are some advertising costs involved, it’s pretty bare bones, and I hope they like the idea.
Maybe I’ll talk to them, since they won’t take Piper seriously. Not that I’d have better luck, but it might be worth a shot.
There’s only one thing guaranteed to cheer up Piper, and it’s food. Hopefully, I can make it before the restaurant gets busy. The only thing I hate about the commute to Dallas is the traffic. It’s like people forget how to drive once the clock hits five. We all want to go home. Driving like an asshole isn’t going to make things any better.
A horn blasts beside me as the person speeds up to get in front of me. I don’t give them the satisfaction of a return honk.There’s no point in road rage. Just a little further down the highway and you’ll be home. It’s the mantra I repeat to myself daily. Even if I am going to Piper’s today, it’s still home to me. I spend as much time there as I do at my house.
I watch the person who got in front of me, and I swear they’ll end up causing a wreck. The car weaves in and out of lanes without regard to how close they’re getting to others. It’s not that serious.
