(Thisis also information thatIhaven’t toldHammydirectly.Howit all gets around so quickly is beyond me.)
“Areyou sure?”Becauseas much asItrustHammy,Idon’t know about this plan.
Henods. “Don’tlet him know you’re coming, though.Justshow up and surprise him.Co-workers talk.Theyknow about each other’s significant others— their spouses or girlfriends or boyfriends.Soif you are his ‘side chick,’ as you say, you’ll know because he won’t want you there meeting those coworkers.He’llbe afraid they’ll say something to blow his cover.He’lltry to shoo you on out, or he’ll seem happy to see you but then act around his coworkers as if you haven’t been dating.”
Inod, getting more and more on board with this plan as he talks.
“Andif heishappy to see you and is touched that you showed up and doesn’t try to hide anything, then you’ll know you’re the only one.”
“Hammy, you are brilliant!”
“Isn’tthat whatI’vebeen telling you all along?”
Mymind races through everything.Ialways come in at six-thirty a.m. onThursdayssoIcan help patients who need to come in before their work day starts, so today is the one day of the weekIget off early.It’sperfect.Jacegave me food from his favorite restaurant on our picnic— maybeIcould get him a treat from my favorite restaurant as an excuse to show up.
“Okay,”Isay asIfinish up with his stretching, “I’mgoing to do that afterIget off today.”
“Excellent.And, hey, if things go well, you should invite him to ourOutsidetheBubblemeeting tomorrow atBeaton theStreet.I’man excellent judge of character, so ifIcan meet him,I’llhave more opinions for you.”
“Iwould love to hear those opinions.I’vealready invited him, so he’ll be there unless things go poorly this afternoon.”
Henods. “Whenyou go to his work today, good luck, have fun, and don’t die.”
Ilaugh. “I’lldo my best.”
* * *
Fora while,Ithink my phone'sGPSis leading me to the middle of nowhere becauseI’vebeen driving past farmlands and fields full of overgrown trees and weeds for a while.ButIfinally see theLancasterBusinessSolutionssign. “Thankyou,”Isay to my phone.Notthat she is listening, but gratitude matters, andI’mgratefulI’mnot literally lost in the weeds.
Thisbuilding wasn’t easy to find, and neither was the address for it.IrememberedJacesaying the name of his family business, and their website wasn’t too difficult to find.Butas professional and beautiful as their site is, it was extremely difficult to find anything useful in the menus.
Ieventually gave up trying to find their address on their site and calledJanae, a woman who comes to myOutsidetheBubbleclub activities.Sheworks with property records in the county and got the address from her.Ishould tellJacethat if their business isn’t getting as much business as they’d like, their website is to blame.
WhenIturn off the asphalt and gravel road,I’mfacing a gorgeous building at the end of a very long tree and flower-lined cobblestone drive.Thebuilding itself is a mansion.Iam marveling at it so much thatIpull right up to the gate blocking the drive before it hits me that it’s strange that there’s a gate.
Toa business?Really?Arethey trying to make things as difficult for customers as possible?
Aguard in a uniform steps up to my car andIunroll my window.Helooks imposing.Likehe could take out a room full of bad guys using only well-thrown punches and some nice leg sweeps and not even break a sweat.Andhe’s guarding a family business of tech geeks.
“Hello, miss.Doyou have an appointment?”
“Oh, no.I, um, hopedIwouldn’t need one.”Igesture to the box of cream-filled, chocolate-frosted éclairs in the passenger’s seat. “Iam just visiting someone who works here.JaceLancaster?”Hisname comes out as a question, andIthink the questionI’mreally asking is “Doyou know him?I’mhoping that’s all you need to let me through becauseI’vegot nothing else.I’mnot even good at flirting my way into things.”
“CanIsee your driver’s license, please?”
“Ofcourse.”Ifumble with my purse and hand him myI.D. “Iswear that’s me.Theair conditioner in my car had just gone out, soIdrove to theDMVthat day with my windows down, so my hair was a little crazy.Andthen the woman taking the picture said something at the same time andIdidn’t hear, soIsaid, ‘What?’That’swhy my face is making that weird expression.”
BeforeI’meven done rambling but not before my face starts burning from the embarrassment of my inability to stop rambling, he has my license scanned with the device in his hand and he’s handing it back. “Justdrive ahead and park in one of the spots right in front of the building,MissMacNeil.You’llsee the front door from there.”
Inod and raise my window as the gate opens.
Okay, these grounds are gorgeous.IfIwas an employee,Iwould talk them into letting me take a laptop out onto the grass to work.Butwho amIkidding?Withmy knowledge of computers and security and running businesses,I’msureI’dbe much more of a business problem than a business solution.
Thereare five parking spots in front of the business and all of them are empty.Ipull into the one closest to the door, grab my box of éclairs, and get out of the car.Ihead up the stairs and raise a hand to knock on the front door, then pull my hand back and remind myself that this isn’t a mansion— it’s a business.Pushingthe door open still feels wrong, though.
Thelobby is just as fancy as everything else.It’sbig, with marble and mahogany everywhere.Asopen as the space feels, it’s very much closed off from the rest of the business.Abusiness that isn’t so much giving off “business solutions” vibes as it is “secret lair” vibes.
Butwhat doIknow about “business solutions” companies?Ididn’t even know it was a thing beforeJacesaid he works at one.Actually,I’mstill not sureIknow what they do.Itall feels kind of vague.Maybethis type of lobby is normal.
