Then I pull intoLe Jardin, the kind of place with cloth napkins folded like origami and a waiter who corrects your French pronunciation. Not my scene. I’ve always taken more after my grandparents than my parents. I love my folks, but they’re more wine pairings and country club. I’m socket wrenches and corn-hole league. Becca always got that about me.
Holly, though—she’s always loved the finer things. And Mandy? She drinks it like oxygen.
“Sammy!” Holly practically squeals, throwing her arms around my neck. “I’m so glad you’re here. I can’t wait to start!”
“Of course. Just a heads-up, most of these planningmeetings won’t come with a wine list.” I grin. “We’ll be knee-deep in spreadsheets, not steak frites.”
Holly giggles, but Mandy's already stepping in.
“Hey you,” she says, voice lowering in pitch. She leans in for a hug, her breasts pressing firmly into my chest.
I step back instantly. “You good? Sound like you’re losing your voice.”
She laughs and gives me a theatrical little slap. “Oh, you’re cute. Come, sit between yourfavorite girls.”
I cringe. Why the hell did I say that?
I don’t respond. Just clear my throat as Rick rolls up behind her.
“Sammy-boy!” He gives me the classic one-armed bro-hug. “No Mrs. Hughes today?”
“Nah, she’s working.” Not technically a lie.
Rick winks. “Smart. Gotta keep ’em grinding or they start nesting. No one needs that.”
Mandy and Holly laugh too loud. I fake a smile but feel something sour twist in my gut. I drop my messenger bag onto the table, unzipping it. Inside is Becca’s startup book; highlighted, sticky-noted, dog-eared. Her writing’s all over the margins, circling numbers, underlining key points. It looks like a business professor went to war with a pack of Post-Its.
“All right.” I flip it open. “Let’s get to work. Mandy, since you said you’re handling the business side, what are your first-year revenue projections?”
Mandy blinks. “Projections? You mean like … how much we’ll make?”
“Exactly.”
“Oh. Well …” She sits up straighter, tilting her chin like she’s reciting a book report. “At Annabella’s last month, we had over $45,000 in bookings.”
They both nod proudly, like that answered everything.
“Okay,” I say slowly, “but Annabella’s is an established brand. They have loyal clients, online reviews, and paid marketing. What’s your client acquisition plan?”
“Client … what?”
"How are you going to obtain new customers?"
Mandy looks at me like a deer in headlights. "Well, people will see that we are open, and once they know Holly and I have left, they will follow, right?"
“Let's … move on,” I mutter, not choosing to dignify that with a response. I flip to a section in the book Becca flagged—Startup Phase ROI.
I try again. “Do you know what Annabella’s overhead is? Product costs, rent?”
“We got paid per appointment,” Holly chimes in. “And Mandy was hourly.”
“That’s wages. I’m talking about supplies, product sourcing, utilities, software, marketing tools …”
“I reached out to a few organic vendors.” Holly quickly flips open her own binder. “I got low, mid, and high-tier pricing options. Want to see?”
I take the papers from her, surprised. “This is actually really solid, Holls.”
She beams. “Thanks! I don’t have everything yet, but I wanted to get started.”
