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And just like always, Juliette found his immaculate designer suit made him look particularly dashing. Like today, he was wrapped in a midnight blue suit jacket with a light blue shirt underneath. His pinstriped tie was featured on the Brook Brothers’ catalogue last week, tied in a half Windsor knot and secured in a gold tie clip. The filtered sun rays from the glass window bounced against the Rolex watch on his wrist. If someone robbed Wilhelm of everything he wore today, the mugger could buy a new car with the loot. Although that scenario was most unlikely to happen. Beneath his cool and composed persona, Wilhelm was one big, scary weretiger. Besides, he was an alpha. One growl and it’d scare the shit out of his would-be offender.
He tapped his fingers on the table as he waited for his order. His gigawatt smile shone brighter than the sun. Though it wouldn’t do much for Juliette even though Wilhelm was a prime male specimen. He was luscious, with dark hair and eyes, a chiseled jaw, and a two-day growth of stubble that made an ordinary woman want to purr and feel it against her neck. Too bad Juliette had sworn off men. Indefinitely. Her heart wasn’t open for business. Ever.
If Juliette had any interest in taking a man to bed, she realized it would be him. He’d always flirted with her, ever since she rented this space in his strip mall almost a year ago. He made no secret of how much he wanted to date her, and had asked her out numerous times. Unlike some men, he didn’t come off as demanding or harassing, just persistent. Usually Noelle manned the counter, and he asked for Juliette anyway. Today it would have looked silly for her to rush to the back to avoid him.
His persistence probably should have bothered her, but Juliette thought that if she could face him almost every morning and not get involved, then she’d be able to protect her heart from anything that came her way.
Noelle brought his order to the table. Tea—English Breakfast—and a cream cheese pastry. He always had the same thing every morning.
“Merci. And if it is not too much trouble, may I have a word with your boss, please?” he asked.
“Sure.” Noelle returned to the kitchen and informed Juliette.
Juliette’s brows rose. “Twice in a week?” Wilhelm always found an excuse to talk to her.
Noelle shrugged.
Sighing, Juliette wiped her hands. She went to see what he wanted. “Morning, Wilhelm,” she said. “What can I do for you?”
“Don’t be so formal, Juliette. Would you accompany me for tea?” His smile was so bright it was blinding. “Have you taken any break at all since morning? I know you’re an early riser.”
“I guess I can take a five-minute break.” Juliette waved at Noelle and asked her to bring her a cup of tea and scone.
“Thank you for indulging me.” Wilhelm bit into his pastry and let out a little moan as if it had been the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth. “Still the best pastries I’ve ever eaten,” he said.
“Andy made them.”
“Compliments to the chef. You know, Juliette, plenty of people would love your sweets if you open another store. I feel this location doesn’t give your shop its full potential. For one, this part of the mall doesn’t have a lot of foot traffic.” Wilhelm dusted remnants of powdered sugar from his fingers.
Bonbon was sandwiched between an insurance agency and a Realtor and it wasn’t clearly visible from the street due to the shape of the buildings. Her customers mostly found her from word of mouth.
“I’ve told you before that I’ve acquired the Ludwig Center on Broadway, right?”
“Yeah. I believe so.”
“We’re in the final stage of renovation. If everything goes according to plan, we set to have a grand opening next spring. Currently, we’ve booked ninety-nine percent of occupancy and half a dozen more have been put on the waiting list. But I have reserved a special spot for you, Juliette, should you be interested in expanding your business. Think about a boutique chain. Small, elegant, and classy. People can get their sweet tooth fix anywhere, but they will come to you because you offer them something special. We want to sell exclusivity. Think about Dominique Ansel. “Remember that craze a while back? People lined up for hours to buy the cronuts. Some even paid strangers to wait in line for them. If you adopt that business model, you don’t need to up the production just to fill the demands. Therefore, you can control the quality of your products. By limiting the size of the order to each customer—again, exclusivity—you’ll drive the value of the market up. People’ll go crazy for products that aren’t easily obtained. It’s in the human nature. They want something that others can’t or don’t have. Of course, it would help that you have superior products to begin with.” Wilhelm plucked his phone from his suit pocket. He swiped the screen and presented Juliette with a blueprint of his new building. “The space is located at the ground floor, two thousand square feet of prime spot with endless money-making possibility. It would be the first store that people would see as soon as they enter the lobby. This unit is already fitted with a state-of-the-art refrigeration system and rotating convection ovens. It is in move-in-ready condition should you decided to take me up on my offer.”
Juliette examined the blueprint b
y scrolling it back and forth. Whoa. Tempting. Very tempting. She really liked the dynamic layout of the working space that flowed into the retail area. It looked like her dream kitchen. Whoever designed this had put a lot of thought and knowledge of the industry into it.
“Your offer is very interesting, but as I said before, I like my shop just the way it is.”
He didn’t give up. He never did. “If it’s capital you’re worried about, I’d be happy to offer an exclusive partnership. I feel deeply that this business venture will benefit both of us. With your talents and my business savvy, I think we’ll make a very profitable partnership. Ludwig Center had been my pet project for years. When people walk into my building, I want them to be greeted by the delicious aroma of your pastries and sweets. Personally, I find the experience is incredibly soothing. Just the kind of pick-me-up I need in the morning.” More of his dazzling smile. His eyes twinkled with it.
“Really?” Juliette commented randomly to distract herself from him.
“Can I let you in on a little secret?” Wilhelm leaned forward. “I have two prospective leasees who represent national brands competing in a bidding war over this particular unit. I hold this one with you in mind, Juliette.”
“I’m flattered, Wilhelm, but—”
He held up his palms. “Would you at least sleep on it a little? You only gave it two seconds of consideration before you said no.”
“Because I only needed two seconds.”
He drank the rest of his tea. “As a favor to me, think about it.” He extracted a thick envelope from inside his suit jacket. “My business proposal. Please examine it at your leisure. Once you read it, you’ll see how great of an opportunity it is for both of us.”
“Fine.” The least she could do was to read it even though she was sure her answer wouldn’t change.
