“Hi,” Sabrina said and stood aside. “Come in. Come in.”
Adley looked around quickly, then returned her gaze to Sabrina’s face.
“Is it hard for you to be here?” she asked before she could stop herself.
“It’s weird,” Adley said, glancing down at her feet.
“I guess that would make sense.” There was a beat while they just stood quietly, but before Sabrina could find the right thing to say, Adley spoke instead.
“Okay.” She seemed to bolster herself. “Show me around.”
“Yeah. Okay. Um…here’s the kitchen.” She did a little arm flourish like Vanna White.
“That’s new.” Adley pointed toward Sabrina’s office, then walked that way.
“My office. I like to be in the midst of things. I’m having a camera installed later this week, so I can see out front while in here. In case there are any problems with customers or whatever.”
Adley nodded as her eyes moved over the desk, the window, the chair. “It’s nice.”
“Thanks.” They turned back to the kitchen. “I didn’t make a whole lot of changes here. Just updated the countertop. I wanted to get your input on some new equipment, so we’ll look at that in a bit.” That seemed to brighten up Adley’s expression a bit.
“My input?”
“You’re the ice cream maker. I want to have equipment that works for you.”
“But you’re the boss.”
Sabrina tipped her head and studied Adley. Her face wasn’t quite readable, and she knew that Adley was likely shuttering her expression for Sabrina’s benefit.You don’t get Open Me anymore.It made her sad, but she pressed on. “I would really like this to be a partnership.” Wincing internally at the choice of words, she waited for Adley to balk, but she didn’t. She just gave a small nod and moved toward the front.
Bobby and Jay were up on ladders still, but like earlier, Bobby saw them and came down. “Hi there,” he said, holding out a hand to Adley. “Bobby Unger. Nice to meet you.”
“Bobby, this is Adley Purcell, my business partner. If you have questions and I’m not here, she can answer them.” She felt Adley’s surprised expression more than saw it as she and Bobby shook. “He’s bringing in his painter to go over colors this week, and I’d love it if you could be here, give your opinion.”
Still clearly surprised, Adley nodded. “Sure.”
They talked with Bobby about the electric—Adley commented about how great it was that it was all rewired—and the display cases in the front, which were also new.
“I’ll have those hooked up and good to go before the end of the month,” Bobby said. “That’s when the light fixtures should be here.”
“Once that stuff’s all done, we’ll be ready to paint,” Sabrina informed Adley. “New tables and chairs, indoor and outdoor, will be here the first week in June. I could use your help on art and decor. I loved the stuff you had hanging on the walls.”
“I still have some of it,” Adley said, and Sabrina could tell she was starting to get excited, even if she was trying to hide it. “I can bring it by.”
“That’d be great.” Back in the kitchen, they talked about utensils and dishes. “I’m hoping you’ll still make waffle cones. I’d like to advertise those more. They’re a big deal.”
“You think?” Adley asked, running her hand across the door to the new walk-in freezer.
“Are you kidding? Best I’ve ever had. And I’ve hada lotof waffle cones in my line of work.” Adley’s smile made her keep going. “I don’t know what your secret is, but they’re amazing.”
“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
Oh, playful Adley had arrived! Sabrina tried not to jump up and down with glee. Instead, she held her hands up, palms forward, and said, “I don’t need to know. Just keep making them.”
“I can do that.”
“Okay. Come into my office and let’s talk numbers.”
* * *
