Chocolate for Two (29 page)

I got the usual brush-off by many people rushing by, but this time several stopped when they heard me. Their eyes lit up as they smiled and eagerly answered.

Some examples:

“I’m an accountant, but I’ve always wanted to open a little corner bookstore like Meg Ryan had in
You’ve Got Mail.
I’d probably eventually go out of business too, but I still think it would be fun.”

“My dream job? I’d love to have a bakery, one that makes only wedding cakes. Don’t ask me why, because I’m twice divorced and will probably be in therapy for the rest of my life, but for some reason that’s my own little fantasy. I think each day would be a treat.”

“A friend of mine from college runs a bungee jumping business out in Whistler. How killer is that? Damn, I’m jealous of that dude. He even has a little pug dog named Bungee. I’m an attorney, which means I’m at the office too much to own a freaking fish.”

“Navy SEAL captain. How badass would
that
be?”

After a dozen or so interviews, I still needed a bit more footage of women, so I approached a blonde fortysomething in jeans and a crisp black blazer carrying a black leather backpack.

“Excuse me, ma’am, could I ask you a quick question? I’m Waverly Bryson from
Love, Wendy
.”

She gave me a confused look, but she seemed friendly. “Who? And from what?”

I smiled. “
Love, Wendy
. It’s a popular daytime show on NBC.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t watch daytime TV.”

I laughed and glanced at the camera. “It’s okay, I didn’t expect that many people I’d meet at Grand Central at nine thirty in the morning would. Anyhow, I work for the show, and I was wondering if I could ask you the following question: If you could have your dream job, what would it be?”

She shifted her backpack from one shoulder to the other. “My dream job?”

I nodded.

She smiled and looked like she was about to reply, but then she hesitated. “I’m so sorry, what did you say your name was again?”

“Waverly. Waverly Bryson.”

“Well, Waverly, I’ve got to tell you, I already have it.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You do?”

She nodded. “About ten years ago I quit my finance job and started my own business.”

“You did? What kind of company?”

“We make dark chocolate. Have you ever heard of Lauren’s Chocolate?”

My eyes got big. “You run
Lauren’s Chocolate
?”

She nodded. “I founded it. I’m Lauren Flaig.”

“I eat those chocolate bars all the time!” I blurted, then immediately covered my mouth with my hand.
Oops.

I glanced sheepishly at the camera. “I’m, um, I’m a big fan of chocolate, especially dark chocolate. They sell Lauren’s Chocolate at a little shop I go to in Dumbo.”
Oh, sugar, shut up already, Waverly!

Lauren laughed. “I’m glad to hear it. Dark chocolate is good for you, you know.”

“And thank God for that. It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Lauren.” I turned to the camera. “And for those of you watching at home, I can’t say enough about how delicious those chocolate bars are. If you haven’t tried them yet, you simply must. Wendy, back to you.” For God knows what reason I saluted to the camera, then dropped the microphone to my side when Will gave me the signal that he’d stopped filming.

“You think we got enough footage to make a good segment?” I asked him.

He nodded and set the camera down. “Definitely. Where did that salute come from?”

“I have no idea.” I laughed and turned to Lauren. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you, and not just because I love your chocolate bars. You’re the first person I’ve interviewed who isn’t fantasizing about what they’d
like
to be doing with their lives. Sounds like you’re actually
doing
it.”

She smiled. “I guess I am.”

“It’s very inspiring. I know our viewers will love it. Who doesn’t love a good American dream story?”

She glanced at her watch. “Well, I’m far from filthy rich, but it’s fun, and I’m happy, which is more important to me. And unfortunately, I’m also late to a meeting. Please let me know when this airs, will you? I’d love to see it.” She reached into her back pocket and handed me her business card. Then she opened her backpack and pulled out a chocolate bar. “Would you like one?”

I snatched it out of her hand. “Now, that’s a rhetorical question if I ever heard one.”

She laughed. “I’m glad you’re a fan. Bye, um…”

I laughed. “Waverly.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just terrible with names. If I hadn’t named my own company after myself, I’d probably forget that too.”

I smiled. “No worries. I’m terrible with a
lot
of things.”

As I watched her disappear into the swarming crowd, it struck me that nearly every person I’d interviewed had responded with a variation on the same answer.

Everyone’s dream job is something other than what they are currently doing.

Did everyone hate their jobs? I certainly didn’t. I had a ball working at
Love, Wendy
.

I stood there thinking about what Lauren had said. Did everyone want to own their own business? Was that the key to happiness? Or was it a matter of simply being able to do something you think is…fun?

“Waverly, you okay?”

I blinked. “What?”

Will gave me a funny look. “You’re just staring into space, like a zombie.”

“I’m sorry, I spaced for a moment. You ready to go?”

I nodded.

“Let’s hit it,” he said.

As we left the station, I looked at the chocolate bar in my hand and wondered how many times I’d bought one just like it at the little shop across the street from Waverly’s Honey Shop.

My other job.

The company that
I
started, but which was controlling me right now more than I was controlling it.

The grass
is
always greener.

“So, what’s the big news? The last time you called me like this, you announced that you’d eloped to Vegas.” I slipped into a booth across from Davey and was about to reach for the menu when he blocked me with his arm.

“I took the liberty of ordering you a turkey sandwich with fries and a Diet Coke. You still love turkey sandwiches with fries and a Diet Coke?”

I nodded. “Your memory is impressive.”

He looked at his watch. “Actually, I need to get back to the office for a meeting at one, so in the interest of time, I rolled the dice.”

I laughed. “You always were a master of efficiency. So what’s going on? Why didn’t you want me to hire anyone? Have you changed your mind about working with me?” I gave him a hopeful grin.

“Bryson, if you knew the borderline obscene amount of money I’m being paid, you probably wouldn’t ask me that.”

I shrugged. “Good point. So, what, then? Did you think of the perfect person to take the job? And by the way, after that comment about your salary, you’re paying for this lunch.”

He spread his hands on the table. “Something happened this morning.”

“Uh-oh.”

Just as he was about to speak, the waiter appeared with our meals and set them down on the table.

I picked up a fry and tossed it into my mouth. “Do I want to hear this?”

Davey took a big sip of his iced tea, then looked at me. “Your
JUST SMILE
Honey Tote arrived.”

“Oh no, did Lindsay see it or something? Did I send it to the wrong address?”

He shook his head. “No, it arrived at the office, just liked I asked. Thanks, by the way. Anyhow, I went straight from the mailroom to a meeting with the entire marketing team.”

“Okay…”

He poured ketchup over his fries. “The purpose of the meeting was to come up with promotion ideas for our various product lines, and we were discussing gift bags.”

“Sounds fascinating.” I pretended to yawn.

He pointed a fry at me. “Save it. Did you know that Blush has a small line of products that are honey-based? Face creams, cleansing masks, body scrubs and lotion, that sort of thing. It’s called Honey Blush.”

I nodded. “I think I’ve seen them. I can’t
afford
them, but I’ve seen them.”

“Well, as we were discussing promotion ideas for that line, I opened your package. Everyone else in the room was female, so they of course asked what it was.”

I took a bite of my sandwich and nodded.

“So I showed them the Honey Tote.”

My mouth was full, so I said
And?
with my eyes.

“And they loved it, Waverly.
Loved
it.”

I washed down the food with a gulp of soda. “Really?”

He nodded. “Totally. They all wanted to know where I got it, so I explained how I knew you from my days at JAG, and how you’re a big star on
Love, Wendy
now, and how you also have a whole line of products called Waverly’s Honey Shop. I even showed them your website on my iPad. They thought it was adorable.”

I narrowed my eyes. “So let me guess. You asked me here because you want to give away your Honey Blush promotional items inside a Honey Tote.”

“No. Well, yes, but no.”

I narrowed my eyes even more. “Do you want to include a
different
Honey product with the promotion? Like a Honey Tee or something?”

He shook his head.

I leaned back against the booth. “Then,
honey
, I’m afraid you’ve lost me.”

He hesitated and looked around the crowded diner, then leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Waverly, just by chance, the chief of global product development happens to be in town, and she was at the meeting.”

“The who? Of what?”

“Francine DeVaroux, the chief of global product development. In other words, the woman who makes the ultimate decisions on what products Blush is going to make and sell.”

“She saw my products?”

He nodded. “She loved them, Waverly. I’m talking head over heels.”

I swallowed. He had me on the edge of the seat, but I still couldn’t begin to guess where this was going.

“And?”

“And…”

“And
what
, Davey? What are you trying to tell me?”

He keep his voice low. “This is just me speculating out loud here, but I think if you were to plant a seed, Blush and Company might be up for buying Waverly’s Honey Shop to fold into the Honey Blush line.”

My jaw dropped.

“What?”

He leaned back against the booth. “You heard me.”

“Blush would
buy
Waverly’s Honey Shop?”

He nodded and took a sip of his iced tea. “I think you could probably make it happen. If you wanted to, that is. Would you even want to sell?”

I sat there for a moment, not sure how to reply. Despite the anxiety Paige’s departure was causing me,
selling
Waverly’s Honey Shop had never even crossed my mind.

“I…I…I guess I never really thought about it,” I finally said.

“Well, it’s time to start thinking about it. You could probably make a lot of money, Waverly.”

I sat there too stunned to speak.

Davey was nearly done with his hamburger before I finally found my voice again.

“I…don’t know what to say,” I finally said.

“The thing is, Francine is at our office only until the end of day tomorrow. If you want me to plant that seed for you, I will. If not, we can pretend this conversation never happened. It’s totally up to you.”

“End of day tomorrow?” I whispered.

He nodded. “Tomorrow morning she’s off to San Francisco for a couple days, and then back to our headquarters in France and then God knows where else. So if you want to act, now is
the time. Otherwise, she’s so crazy-busy with other things that I think the window will be shut.”

“Okay,” I said, still dazed.

“So you’ll let me know what you want me to do?”

I nodded slowly. “I guess so.”

“No pressure or anything. Just looking out for you, Bryson.” He finished off his fries.

I kept nodding. “I know. Thanks, Davey.”

He covered his plate with a napkin and signaled for the check. “Oh, and later this week I’m going to need to order five hundred Honey Totes for the gift bags. Who should I call about that?”

I looked at him and sighed. “Honestly? I’m not sure.”

I didn’t call Eunice that afternoon.

Or Davey.

Or anyone.

Instead, after lunch I went to Dumbo, alone, to mull things over. I opened the office door, turned on the lights, and took a seat at the conference table. Tasha and Beth weren’t due to arrive until later in the afternoon, so I had some time to myself.

To think.

And think.

I felt like Dorothy in
The Wizard of Oz
, trapped in the Wicked Witch’s castle watching the grains of sand slide through the hourglass. Only I knew there was no Toto—much less anyone who could
talk
—to rush in and tell me what to do before time ran out. The decision was mine and mine alone.

Should I hire Eunice to keep Waverly’s Honey Shop running?

Or should I try to sell it to Blush?

If I sold it, would I regret giving it up?

I closed my eyes and thought of the woman from Lauren’s Chocolate. Despite my skepticism regarding fate, it seemed like more than a mere coincidence that I’d met her today.