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“We might need to change the name.”
He’d thought of that already. “I thought it was special to you because your granddad named it.”
“It was, but you said it would be hard to market. I wasn’t sure if you had any suggestions for an alternative?” she asked.
“I’d prefer it if you picked something. Close your eyes and tell me the first thing that comes to your mind,” he said, then took another sip of his cold coffee.
“Just Blown,” she said.
Kenneth coughed several times, the coffee catching in his windpipe. “You…got…to be…kidding,” he choked out.
Shanda rubbed his back and said, “Of course I am. Sorry, I didn’t mean to kill you.”
He turned to her and said, “Kill, no. But I wasn’t expecting that.”
“I know. It was a ridiculous name, but you asked,” she said. “I still think you’d do much better than me.”
The wheels of his mind were spinning and he couldn’t stop thinking of Just Blown. “I like it.”
“Oh Kenneth, I already know you like it. But you’re supposed to be thinking about work right now. I can’t believe I’m the one nagging you,” she chuckled. “Your mother would be impressed.”
“For the record, I am thinking about work,” Kenneth said. “And I like the name.”
“Just Blown? You don’t think that is worse than Home Blown?” she asked, her arms crossed, glaring up at him.
“Right now you have the shop that sells your product. Home Blown. And you hate the sales piece, correct?” he asked.
“Yes. Changing the name won’t eliminate that issue,” she stated.
“I’m not thinking of changing the name as much as opening another business. Just Blown.”
“Kenneth, if I don’t want to run one, what on earth makes you think I want to expand into two?”
“Because Home Blown will sell what Just Blown creates. And Just Blown can offer classes to teach others your trade,” he said.
She stared at him and then said, “This isn’t like summer camp or anything. Who would want to come to Hope Valley and learn how to blow glass?”
“If you market it properly, you’d be surprised how many. We would need to work with local restaurants and local inns who would want to link together for a package deal. Maybe I’ll have you talk to the locals, so I don’t scare them off,” he said.
Shanda said, “You do know what you’re talking about is a huge commitment. It’s not going to happen in a week or a month.”
“Nope. It will be a process but together I believe we can make this work. And Just Blown will feed business to Home Blown. Both will prosper if we plan it correctly.”
“Kenneth, I’m not sure about this,” she said.
“Don’t like the idea?” he asked.
“You keep saying we. You have your own business to run, as you often remind me. You can’t take on something like this. And what if we start this and then you…change your mind and…don’t want to come to Hope Valley any longer? What happens then? I can’t do this on my own and you know that.”
He pulled her into his arms and said, “Shanda, I meant it. I’m not going anywhere. I knew damn well what I was saying when I said we. It’s not a ring like DeeDee wanted, but a partnership might not be a bad place for us to start. What do you think? Want to hire me as your manager?”
“There is no way you’re going to work direct sales in that shop,” she stated firmly.
“You’re right. A manager doesn’t have to. I just need to hire the people who will. That frees you up for Just Blown and me to run my own investments.”
“And what do you get out of all this?” she asked.
“I have everything I want right here,” he said, lifting a hand and stroking her cheek. I’m just investing in our future.
