26
“Well?” I say, spinning around in a circle. “What do you think?”
I’ve got my iced caramel macchiato in one hand while the other gestures to the empty office space. Sure, the carpet has some stains that we’ll have to strategically cover with furniture. And the walls need a bit of a repaint, but the view looks out on downtown Jacksonville.
Ilmari and Caleb stand in the doorway, glancing around with confused looks on their faces.
“What am I looking at?” Mars mutters.
“If I had to guess, I’d say this is a modern art installation titled ‘Dreams Unchased,’” Caleb replies, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Okay, A, fuck you,” I say at Caleb. “You weren’t even invited. You’re officially crashing a business meeting right now.”
“Mars invited me,” he replies with a smirk.
“You invited yourself because you wanted to get out of taking Jake to the dentist,” Mars replies.
“Can you blame me?” says Caleb. “You think he’s a prima donna about his sheet thread counts? Go with him once when he has to get a cavity filled and see how quickly you wanna file for divorce.”
I just roll my eyes. Ilmari was strict with me that we only had until 10:00 a.m. to get this done because they leave for an away game this afternoon. “Guys,” I call, snapping my fingers their direction. “Focus here. Look at the space, Mars. Yes or no?”
“You haven’t explained why we’re here.”
I glance between him and Caleb. “I can never tell when you’re serious.”
“He’s always serious,” Caleb teases.
“Mars, why the hell else would I be dragging you downtown at 9:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning?” I cry, gesturing around again. “We’re picking an office space for Out of the Net.”
“That name is fucking adorable, by the way,” says Caleb, taking another sip of his coffee as he does a half-spin. “Do I know why you guys need a physical office space?”
“Uhh, maybe to conduct business out of,” I say, not even bothering to keep the incredulity from my tone. “You need a space to meet with clients, train volunteers. Not to mention that if we want to be taken seriously by local government officials or the conservation orgs, we have to have an identifiable presence. Plus, it’s just kind of nice to have a place to send the mail.”
“And you think this place is the right fit?” asks Caleb, glancing around.
“I think it’s the right price,” I correct. “And anything can be the right fit with a little polish.”
While Ryan and I were up late watching TV last night, I was feverishly looking up ideas for simple office makeovers. I’ve already got a few things ordered, and as soon as Mars gets back from this trip out to Vegas, I’ll drag him over to IKEA to help me pick out some furniture pieces.
“Trust me,” I say. “You give me a week, and you won’t even recognize this place.”
“I’d hope not,” Caleb replies.
I glare at him. “You wanna take the stairs back down to the car, or you want me to push you out this window? ‘Cause I’m not picky.”
Still wearing his smirk, he slips behind Mars, using him as a shield.
I turn my attention to our patron. “Mars, what do you think? I have all the specs right here,” I say, whipping out my phone. “I can walk down the leasing terms with you if you want. I’ve already asked the landlord for a couple adjustments. He was charging a huge fee for phone lines, and who needs that when we can just use a cellphone? Want me to email you the rental contract or—” I huff when I glance up and see he’s walked right past me and is now looking out the window. “Or I guess I can keep looking for locations,” I call over to him. “But Mars, we really need to get this ball rolling so—”
“I hired you to make these decisions, did I not?” he says at last, his tone icy.
I go still, eyeing him warily. “Yeah, but I just thought you might want to—”
He turns sharply around. “Don’t bother me with this kind of thing again, Tess. If you think it needs to be done, do it. I put you in charge for a reason.”
Even Caleb looks surprised as he stomps past us, heading for the door.
“So, you just don’t care, then?” I call after him, flapping my arm in exasperation. “You’re gonna front all this cash, and then just wash your hands of all of it?”
He stops at the door, shoulders tense, not turning around.