Pushing his tablet aside, he opened his laptop, told himself to stop searching for problems. He was as privileged as it could get. He had no right to feel this little tick of disquiet. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be just like his father, never content with what he had. Always needing more and not caring who he had to step on to get it.
He sighed, clicked on the Zoom link for his meeting. Maybe Hailey was right—he needed to do some yoga.
7
People were weird. But Hailey was so grateful to have a steady stream of customers today, she didn’t care. Today she’d had three elderly women argue over who was paying and they nearly left without any of them doing so. There’d been a father-son duo who asked if she had anything on plates. They were followed by a group of teens who ordered individual cups of vegetables: one cup of carrots, one cup of cucumbers, one cup of tomatoes, and one cup of snap peas. They didn’t want lettuce or forks. Who was she to judge? This week had been much better than last and regardless of how strange some requests were, she loved interacting with people.
“Do you use organic lettuce?” the dark-haired, dark-skinned woman asked. She’d been studying the menu for about five minutes. Her workout clothes reminded Hailey that she really did want to look into yoga. She could go alone. Maybe she’d meet new friends. If you had your business cards ready, you could take them. She’d only made one new pal—which still made her laugh because she and Wes were very different—but it felt like she was on a roll.
“I have that option, yes.” Hailey smiled at the woman, who clearly took salads seriously. A trait she both admired and appreciated.
“Okay. I’m ready.” The woman nodded in confirmation, clapping her hands together.
Hailey bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the way she announced the words. This salad better be one of your best or she’ll be disappointed.
“I’ll have seven Chicken Landslides and three Pesto Pastas.”
“Did you want organic lettuce for the Landslides?” Hailey pulled on gloves, grabbed ten cups, the happy dance in her wanting to escape. She had to stop acting like having customers was a miracle. Act like you’ve been there. Ha. She hadn’t though!
“No, thanks. How long have you been open?” The woman scanned the empty store before turning her warm brown eyes back to Hailey.
“I’ll be celebrating a month soon. I’m really loving the area.”
“Welcome to the neighborhood. I work at a gym not too far from here. I have a feeling my co-workers are going to be thrilled there’s something like this close by.”
Hailey had practiced making each salad so many times, it was easy to carry on a conversation while she whipped them up. “I was hoping salads would be a hit. This is California, after all.”
The woman gave a happy laugh, making her ponytail bounce when she nodded. “We do like our veggies and smoothies. I’m Jaycee, by the way. I think you’ll probably see me again. Do you have a loyalty reward card or anything?”
Wes’s slightly know-it-all voice rang in her head. Yeah, yeah, she needed to do that. “I’m Hailey, and not yet but I’m working on it. How about today I just knock off the price of a salad?”
“Awesome.” Jaycee’s phone beeped and drew her attention even as the bell rang over the door.
She recognized Noah and his laughing eyes. He was followed by Chris, who had slightly lighter hair and a more serious smile. Wes was behind him and her heart did a happy little skip. She told herself it was the same one as when she saw Piper. Having friends stop by felt good.
She smiled and waved as he came through the door. “Hey, guys!”
They waved. Wes had a shy, slightly awkward smile that she found appealing. Platonically speaking. Because there was no other category for her right now. Even if there was, she didn’t want a checklist, ideas man. She’d had enough of that with Dorian. You should wear the blue dress, it goes with what I’m wearing. You shouldn’t wear those sunglasses; they’re too big for your face. You should separate my laundry from yours. My clothes are more expensive.
The guys said something to Wes that made his gaze narrow as they made their way to a table.
“I think a couple of them work out at my gym,” Jaycee said.
It was hard to see Wes as a gym rat but she’d proven she didn’t always get the best read on people. If he did go, it probably wasn’t for yoga.
“I’ve become addicted to the cake next door, so maybe I should work out at your gym,” Hailey said, finishing up the Landslides.