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Dax smiles at my first use of the word.
“Well, then I’ll go grab a drink and wait.” He points to a small distillery and bar across the street. “Come and find me when you’re done.”
My nerves flare, sending a cold panic through my chest. And as if Dax can tell, he reaches out and squeezes my hand. “She’ll be lucky to get you, Gemma. Think of today as your chance to find out if she’s worthy of your time—not the other way around.” He tugs me toward him and envelops me in another hug, holding me firmly to his chest as if he can sense that my knees have suddenly gone a little wobbly, and I need a quick moment when I don’t have to carry the weight of it all.
“Okay,” I say into his chest. “I think I’m good now.”
He places a quick kiss on my forehead and waits on the sidewalk as I climb the steps and push open the doors.
The moment I step inside, my nose fills with the scent of eucalyptus and something else that I’d callSummer RainstormorSun-Dried Linen. It doesn’t matter because I’m hit with a familiar feeling of nostalgia, even though I know I’ve never set foot inside these doors in this life or any other.
It feels like Wilde Beauty. It’s hard to describe. Dérive and Wilde are very different; still, I can sense all the tiny little touches that have gone into the place. The relaxing acoustic guitar pop cover that floats through the sound system. The mellow color palette of taupes and browns. Even the staff’s uniforms, comfortable yoga wear that looks pulled together and stylish. I may have met Priya only briefly, but I already feel like I know her.
I give my name to the receptionist and am escorted into a glass-enclosed office at exactly eleven-thirty.
“Gemma, welcome.” Priya walks from behind her desk and extends her hand.
I’m prepared for her firm shake this time, and I return it with one of my own.
“Sit.” She points to a cream leather chair. “Let’s talk about what the two of us can do together.”
We spend the next two hours talking about Wilde. The products we carry, why we carry them, and the type of experience I want my customers to have. Priya listens to me. Asks me all sorts of questions that set off a flurry of ideas in my head. I feel smart. And excited about the future of Wilde Beauty and everything it could be. It’s the future I dreamed about late at night in bed when I’d close my eyes and allow myself a few moments of what-if. Dreaming without letting my rational brain take over with realities.
“We still have a lot of details to work through before we start to formalize anything, but I want to be up-front about the level of investment from your end. What I’m envisioning is that I’d own or lease the primary space. You’d sublease from me based on the square footage of the store. Inventory would be all you. Staffing is obviously also your responsibility.” Priya’s tone is nonchalant, but her words feel like a tidal wave.
“As you can imagine, the financial commitment is fairly significant. Am I correct in assuming you’d need a loan? I have solid relationships with my financiers. If we get to the point that we want to make a deal, I’d be happy to arrange an introduction. They’re very familiar with my business, and their terms are fair. However, you’d be under no obligation to use them.” She slides a piece of paper across the desk. It’s not like in the movies where there’s a single obscene number written on a paper. There are several, and it takes me a minute and a double take to find the particular one I’d be responsible for.
“I’ll give you a minute to look it over.” Priya leaves me alone in her office. It’s possible she noted my sweaty forehead and shallow breaths and deduced that I was moments away from a heart attack. Or maybe it’s just her business practice. Either way, I’m grateful to be alone so I can vocalize the single thought playing on repeat in my head.
“You have got to be shitting me.”
It’s a lot of money. Money I don’t have. The kind of money I only think about when I go to buy milk at the corner store and see the weekly Lotto 6/49 numbers at the cashier counter.
Why the hell did she ever think I’d be able to come up with this type of cash?
I read the paper again, giving my brain time to process the entire plan. Priya wants to open three new spas over the next seven years. That means three more Wilde Beauties, each with itsown lease. I could probably come up with the money for one if I ate nothing but ramen and learned to make my own coffee. But three! That’s an astronomical amount of money.
Priya returns. She brings me a cool glass of cucumber-and-mint-infused water as she dives back into some proposed next steps. I’m fairly certain I only process half of it.
“Take all the time you need to think this over, Gemma,” she says, handing me a full binder of information. “I’ll be in touch next week to see where you’re at.”
Somehow I move my body up from my seat, out of her office, and back to the front lobby. It feels like I’ve just been in an accident. I’m in shock. It’s as if my head has become detached from my body, and the two are operating separately from each other. It’s a small miracle that I can open the front door and step outside.
Dax sits at the bottom of the steps, eyes closed, face turned up to the sun. I don’t think I make a noise, but his eyes open, and he turns toward where I’m still lingering by the door.
“Hey, how’d it go?” he asks.
I don’t answer. But the warmth in his eyes wills my feet down the steps, where I melt down next to him.
“You look a little out of it there, Gems.” He brushes the hair from my neck, then his fingers make massaging circles into the muscles I only realize now are so tense they feel like boulders.
“Just give me a sec. My entire life is flashing before my eyes. I’m hoping it gets to the part where I see your giant penis for the first time, so at least the whole experience will have a silver lining.”
Dax laughs. “Meeting go that well?”
I draw three long, cleansing breaths before opening my eyes and looking at him. “It started off so great. Priya is so smart. I could see her vision perfectly and how well Wilde Beauty would fit into her space. I get why she’s excited about the idea. But thenwe started talking about the money. And then, all of a sudden, I was envisioning all of these terrible scenarios. One of which was me standing out on the street with Frank in a little glass jar and me wearing nothing but a barrel with these straps on the shoulders, which is stupid, I know, because why would the bank try to repossess my ratty old Abercrombie sweatshirt? They’d for sure let me keep my clothes, right?”
Dax’s arm comes behind my back. He sucks me into that little nook under his armpit that always has this magical ability to make me feel safe. I stay there for what feels like hours as the adrenaline in my bloodstream slowly starts to dissipate.
