Bennett and Grace’s house would be the next to be built, but in the meantime, they weren’t sure if they wanted to take over Ethan and Makayla’s apartment or just stay in Bennett’s. Mitch had a feeling they were leaning towards staying put as it would be one less move. Which meant there was a three bedroom and a two bedroom up for grabs. He had no idea what was going to happen with Gabe and Maya when they got married. Considering Maya’s financial situation, they could afford to buy a house if they didn’t want to build on the family land where Makayla and Bennett and their spouses were building their homes.
Lots of change was coming for the family. Mitch hoped that, eventually, some of it would involve him—and not just a move by himself from one apartment to another.
CHAPTER FIVE
Though Belle wished she could just push aside thoughts of the renovation and pending move, it was an impossibility. They lingered in her mind, mingling with the thoughts of the three weddings she was involved with on the weekend.
There was a simple wedding on Friday night that only required her to make sure everything was there and in place before she could leave. Saturday evening’s wedding had a more formal tone to it. The clients had paid for the full package, so she had to be present at nine in the morning to help the bride and to work with the photographer and then stay through until the reception. Thankfully, she had two assistants working with her. They were her gophers that she could send on errands if need be while she stayed at the main site.
The final wedding was Sunday afternoon. Normally she would have Sunday off to recoup, but during the spring and summer months, having a day completely off during the weekend was never a given. Maybe it was time to try and find an assistant…if she could just bring herself to trust someone to carry out their responsibilities according to the business’s standards.
On Thursday, Belle had finally had it with the thoughts constantly swirling in her head. She knew the only way to get them to settle down was to make a decision. Not a definite one, but at least something that would allow her to settle her mind. That realization drove her to make contact with Mitch sooner than she’d planned.
“Mitch Callaghan.” The distracted tone of Mitch’s voice made Belle wonder if he was having as busy a day as she was.
“Hi, Mitch. It’s Belle. Belle Jacobs.”
“Oh, hey. Hang on one second.” There was a murmur of muffled voices before the line cleared again. “Sorry about that. How are you doing?”
“Busy, as usual. Heading into the busiest time of the week.”
“Ah yes, weekends mean weddings.”
“Yep, they do.” Belle tried not to let herself think about everything she still needed to do, focusing instead on why she had called. “I was wondering if it would be possible for me to meet with you and Cassidy about the building she showed me on Waterfront.”
“Sure. Definitely. Were you thinking tomorrow?”
“No. Unfortunately, I won’t have time until next week.”
“Okay. So like Monday or Tuesday?”
“If Monday afternoon would work for you, that would be best for me.”
“I’ll get in contact with Cassidy and see if she’s available. Also, I think it might be good to have Tristan there as well. That way, any questions you might have with regards to the building, the design or the renovation, we should be able to answer for you.”
“That sounds good. I appreciate your willingness to meet with me yet again about this.”
Mitch gave a low chuckle. “I think you’re imagining that this process doesn’t involve a lot of questions and clarification. Don’t ever think you shouldn’t ask to meet with us or to ask a lot of questions. Ask away. And don’t wait. If a question pops into your head, send a text or even an email. Or call. If I can’t answer your question, I’ll get hold of the person who can.”
Having an appointment arranged definitely helped to calm that particular mess of thoughts, and once again, Mitch’s reassurance that she could ask questions at any time helped to ease her anxiety about the move. She understood precious little about the business of real estate, design, and renovation, so knowing that instead of letting questions swirl around in her head she could ask them right away, was a relief.
“Have a good weekend,” Mitch said. “Hope everything goes smoothly for you.”
“Thank you. So do I.”
And really, for all that she stressed over each wedding, most of them did go smoothly. But it was because she stressed over each detail that things generally turned out so well. Regardless, she couldn’t just waltz her way through the details of a wedding. No two weddings were the same, and it wouldn’t do to get things mixed up between any of them. She needed to stay focussed on each one.
After the call to Mitch, Belle found herself breathing a prayer of thanks for him and his help before turning her attention back to the files on her desk and the tablet next to them. Out of habit, she made all her notes by hand before transferring the information into the program they had developed for the business. It was a way for her to doublecheck the details, even if it increased the amount of work she had to do.
Once she was caught up with that, Belle turned her attention to the weddings that were happening on the weekend. She still needed to have a meeting with each of the employees who were scheduled to assist her. They all worked the bridal side of the business, but they were more than willing to help out with the weddings for some extra hours. That was one of the main reasons she hadn’t aggressively pursued hiring an assistant.
It was well past seven by the time she had finished up with all the meetings and the preparations for the weddings. The store had closed at six, so it was quiet and dark as she left her office. As she walked into the main part of the store, Belle came to a stop. The days had lengthened, so there was still a bit of sunlight spilling through the display windows at the front.
Though it had started out much smaller, the store had been at this location for longer than any other place. Belle tried not to worry about sinking so much money into a new place, but there was always a concern that they would lose customers when they lost the visibility their current location gave them. Being right on Portage Avenue had brought in a lot of customers, but if they ended up at the Waterfront Drive location, they definitely would be out of sight. Would their reputation be enough to sustain such a change?
Knowing the answer wouldn’t come from a darkened store interior, Belle locked up, turning on the alarm before she left. As was her Thursday night ritual before a busy weekend, she stopped for take-out from her favorite Italian restaurant before heading home.
Once in her apartment, she settled in front of her television to eat while she watched some of the shows she’d recorded during the week. For a few blissful hours, her mind latched on to something else and gave her a much-needed break before a busy weekend.
By the time Sunday night rolled around, she was ready for her other weekly ritual. An intense workout to release all the stress of the weekend, before a long soak in her deep jetted tub with candles flickering while she read a book on her Kindle. And for a couple of hours, she was able to let go of everything that had happened on the weekend. Whether things had gone smoothly or not, she was able to let it all go before the new week and its associated stresses started all over again.
When Belle walked into the store on Monday morning, it was with the knowledge that she had six more days—in addition to the seven she’d just worked—before she had a day off. It was just the nature of the beast during these months of accommodating weather. A bride’s rush to have a wedding while she could have pictures or even a ceremony outside. Belle would sleep when the madness eased with the first snowfall.
“Jazz, remember that I’m out this afternoon,” Belle said as she walked past the front desk where her sister stood with the other woman who shared receptionist duties with her. “But I have a consult this morning, so let me know when they’re here.”
“Will do,” her sister called back.
As
she settled behind her desk with her second cup of coffee of the day, Belle focused on the information she had so far on the couple she was going to be meeting shortly. She found that her mind kept going to the pending meeting with the trio who would hopefully be helping her with the next step of relocating the business.
If only she knew why her circling thoughts kept landing on Mitch. It had been a long time—years, in fact—since she’d felt any sort of real interest in a man. Why it was this man, she didn’t know exactly, but for some reason, he grabbed her attention in a way only one other ever had.
Realistically, a man like Mitch Callaghan was probably already taken. He hadn’t been wearing a ring. When did I notice that? Although that wasn’t a definitive sign of being single, it was usually pretty reliable.
Or maybe…
Because he was in the construction business, he might choose not to wear a ring for safety sake. But she hadn’t met him in a business setting that first time so he could have worn his ring without any risk.
Or maybe…
He had a girlfriend, not a wife, which would explain the lack of a ring.
Or maybe…
He had a fiancée since then only she would be wearing a ring.
But would he have shown up at a wedding consultation with his brother’s fiancée if he was married? Or even engaged?
“Belle? Belle?”
“Huh?” She straightened and looked to the doorway where Jasmine stood, a worried look on her face. “What’s up?”
“Is everything okay?” Jasmine came further into the room. “You looked like you were miles away? I’m used to you being distracted by work, but this looked like you were off in la-la-land. What’s going on?”
“Just lots on my mind.” Belle waved her hand to dismiss her sister’s observations, in no way comfortable with sharing the crazy thoughts that had been going through her mind. Most people—including her sisters—wouldn’t understand the way her mind worked a lot of the time.
“If you say so,” Jasmine said, her tone making it obvious she didn’t buy Belle’s explanation one little bit. “Anyway, the couple for your consultation appointment are here.”
“Thank you.” Belle gathered up her notepad and tablet. She didn’t have time to refresh her cup of coffee, so she hoped that the meeting didn’t take too long. After another night of abbreviated sleep, she felt like she needed a coffee IV.
Mitch pulled into the first empty spot in front of the office and threw his truck into park before jumping out and heading for the front door. As so often happened, as soon as he had a definite appointment to attend, things started going all wrong. It seemed to happen…without fail.
“Hi, Mitch,” Shelly said as soon as he walked in. “How are you?”
Only sort of impressed that she hadn’t hesitated before using his name, Mitch gave her a quick smile and greeting before heading down the hallway to the boardroom. Of course, it was entirely possible his attire had given her a leg-up on knowing which one of the twins he was. Maybe he wasn’t so impressed after all.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said as he walked into the room, wishing he’d had a chance to clean up a bit after leaving the job site. Instead, he was there with dusty jeans, and his C&M shirt had a rip in the sleeve. If he’d hoped to make an impression, he was failing miserably.
Belle, on the other hand, looked poised and attractive in a light pink blouse with her hair pulled back from her delicate features. She gave him a smile as he settled into a chair on the opposite side of the table. Normally he would have wanted to sit next to her, but the last thing he wanted was to get any of the dust from his clothes on her.
“We were just talking a bit more about the site on Waterfront,” Cassidy said.
Mitch hoped that they’d be able to put Belle’s mind at ease about that site or that Cassidy had found another one that would work even better. Together the four of them leaned forward to look at the design that Tristan unrolled on the table between them.
He listened as Tristan shared his thoughts on the design he’d done up for the property. It was something his younger brother had always been passionate about. His designing skills had come to the forefront when he’d discovered a computer game that had included the ability to design houses. Whenever Tristan had had free time and permission to get on the computer the kids shared, he had loaded up that program and designed house after house.
When Mitch had spent time playing with Lego, Tristan would always come along and tell him how he could build it better. Between the two of them, they usually ended up with quite the structure. Though he was closest to Gabe, by virtue of being twins, he always enjoyed working with Tristan. He hoped that Belle could also see how inspiring Tristan’s designs were.
“Here is one of my main concerns with the Waterfront location,” Belle began. “I’m a bit worried about moving off the main drag. Being on Portage Avenue, we get a lot of visibility. Waterfront is tucked away, so we’ll lose that.”
Cassidy leaned forward, resting her arms on top of her notepad. “Do you get a lot of walk-in traffic?”
“No.” Belle frowned. “But visibility and name recognition have brought in traffic for us. Women looking for wedding dresses who have seen our store as they drive by go on to phone for an appointment. If they aren’t seeing the store, they might go to the competition.”
“Do you have a website and a marketing budget?”
“Yes. We have both.”
“It may mean that you have to rethink your marketing strategy and focus on different ways to gain visibility. Like using social media ads and maybe even a billboard. With the Waterfront property, you could focus on the benefits like easier parking. I can’t imagine that parking—especially during winter—is an easy thing right on Portage. Waterfront will also be larger, so you’d have more space for dresses and changing areas.”
Belle nodded slowly, her gaze on the plans in front of them. The 3D model Tristan had shown Mitch was on the screen at the far end of the room. “Better parking would definitely be a plus, and more room for dresses and changing is a good thing too.”
Mitch had figured she wouldn’t have as many questions for him as she had for Cassidy and Tristan, and that proved true, but she did have some questions about materials that would be used and the plan Tristan had to tear out the wall facing the river, replacing it with floor to ceiling windows.
After about an hour, Belle sat back in her chair. “I’m feeling more confident about the potential of this location, but I’m pretty sure my mom is going to want to review all of this.”
“Does she have the final say?” Mitch asked, hoping that they hadn’t wasted their time talking to the wrong person. Well, talking with Belle about anything wasn’t a waste of Mitch’s time. He found that each time he was around her, he saw more depth to her.
Of course, he was also seeing her tendency to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. He could literally see the thoughts spinning through Bella’s mind. It made him wish that he could get a clear glimpse of her mind, if for no other reason than to figure out a way to help her. Not with the bridal stuff, of course. He had no clue about that, but if he could get her to trust them with this side of things, perhaps it could take some of that weight off her shoulders.
“Well, I suppose she does, but I think she’ll listen to me if I can give her enough details to satisfy her.” Belle met his gaze, her gray eyes soft as her brows drew together. “Her focus isn’t completely on the business anymore. Since she found her own Prince Charming, she’s rarely been at the shop. She literally just phones it in. But this is a pretty major decision, so she’s been more involved—even all the way from Paris. And Dubai. And Hong Kong…”
“Travels a lot, does she?” Mitch asked.
“She lives in Paris, but yes, she and her husband travel quite a bit.”
“Well, if she has any questions, they’ll probably be for Tristan or Cassidy,” Mitch said with a grin. “I’m sure they’d be happy to answer them.”
> Cassidy rolled her eyes at him but then smiled at Belle. “Of course, we would. We’re not in the business of making people unhappy. So if you or your mom have questions, we’d be happy to answer them. If the two of you decide that the Waterfront property won’t work, we’ll go back to the drawing board.” She turned to Tristan. “And you don’t need to look so excited at that prospect.”
Belle glanced between the two, a perplexed look on her face. “You’d be happy if we didn’t use this design? If you’d have to start over?”
“Well, I always want our customers to be happy, so I’ll gladly redo the design if necessary,” Tristan said. “However, it’s also not a chore for me to do another one. I love my job and have no problem doing multiple designs.”
Mitch watched as Belle stared at Tristan as if not understanding how he felt about the work he did. While Mitch wasn’t quite as passionate as Tristan about his job, he definitely enjoyed it—even when it wasn’t going as smoothly as he’d like. He was beginning to think that Belle didn’t necessarily feel the same way about what she did. That thought made Mitch feel sad. He knew that not everyone could work at a job they loved, but when they worked as hard as Belle appeared to, it was a shame that she didn’t seem to enjoy her work more.
“I’ll talk to my mom…” Belle picked up her phone and stared at it for a moment. “Guess it will be tomorrow since, with the time difference, she’s sleeping now. Are there any offers on the Waterfront property?”
Cassidy shook her head. “No. It’s been on the market for almost a year, and the agent said it has been about two months since it was last viewed, and four months since the last offer which was apparently a low-ball one.”
A Touch of Romance Page 5