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“We suspected that.” He was a well-respected businessman, and even though he didn’t have any prior wedding experience, he’d hired competent staff to guide him. He wasn’t so cocky that he didn’t seek experts when necessary.
“I can’t believe he drew Harrison away from me.”
I frowned. “But he didn’t. Not really. Harrison’s in the business of renting wedding supplies, and he’s the only one in the area who designs and builds arbors.” Ethan assisted him with the more complicated ones, but he wasn’t involved in the wedding business. He owned a hardware store on Main Street and built furniture on the side.
Gia crossed her arms over her chest. “He did it on purpose to piss me off.”
I wasn’t sure I believed that. Harrison was one of the best in the business. He was reliable, and his prices were competitive.
Gia’s lip curled. “I bet Silas offered him an incentive.”
“Harrison is building a business, just like you are. He’s not going to turn down paying customers.” Especially ones with Silas’s reputation in the event-planning community.
Gia sighed. “I’m not mad at Harrison.”
“You came to this wedding to get some insight into Silas. We didn’t find anything, so maybe there isn’t anything to find. He runs a good business, just like you do. You can coexist. You aren’t offering the same things,” I said, trying again to divert her attention from Silas.
“I don’t like that he poached my vendor,” Gia hissed.
“He didn’t, though. He works for both of you.”
“I’ll never forgive him for it.”
I chuckled softly. “You didn’t exactly like him before you learned about Harrison.”
Her lips turned up. “True.”
“Your brothers are friends with him. Maybe he’s not that bad,” I said, trying a different angle.
“Silas has taken some of the biggest clients from me recently. I can’t let it continue. I need to figure out a way to handle this.”
We lost a certain number ofpotentialclients because what Silas could offer was different than what we could. It didn’t help that weddings on the bay were so popular in the area. The town of Annapolis didn’t have a comparable venue. Besides, Gia didn’t own our venues. We rented them.
“I’m trying to get the Christmas Tree Farm on board. It’s something we could offer that’s different.”
“Have they changed their mind about working with us?” I asked.
“They won’t give me a definitive answer.”
“Is it the son—Emmett—who's the issue?” I remembered meeting with the owner—the wife and mother. It had been a good meeting until her overbearing mountain of a son had shown up, nixing the whole thing. Gia hoped they’d come around.
“I think so. I’m going to send Ireland to talk to him. Maybe she can talk some sense into him.”
Ireland was one of the wedding planners. She had a knack for dealing with difficult brides. I think it was the years she’d spent living in the elite circle of Baltimore’s richest. But I wasn’t sure it equated to grumpy men who didn’t want wedding planners on their farms.
Holding weddings on a Christmas tree farm during their busiest season was a lot to ask, especially when it was a family-run business.
“You’re successful because you’re hardworking and the brides know you’d do anything for them.” That was one of Gia’s issues. She was overextended in her business. She worked like someone possessed, like she had something to prove.
When she’d brought me on board to create an organizational system for her, I’d convinced her to let me evaluate everything—the business, the finances, everything. I’d convinced her to hire a couple more wedding planners as the business had grown. But she was right. Lately, we hadn’t gotten as many high-budget weddings as we had previously. We needed a certain number of those to float the business the rest of the year, especially in the off-season. Gia was right to be concerned, but as her friend, I didn’t want her to work harder.
“I have to figure this out.”
Coming to Silas’s den hadn’t helped; it had only fueled her desire to figure out his weaknesses. I wasn’t sure he had any—except maybe her.
I scanned the room and found Silas leaning against the back wall, his gaze on us. “Don’t look now, but he’s watching us.”
Her back stiffened. “I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he gets to me.”
