A Brit on the Side (Castle Calder Book 1) by Brenda St John Brown
Authors: Brenda St John Brown
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shakes her head. “My parents are great, but my mum’s running the hotel and dad’s half here, half off doing his legal shit still. They’re not exactly hip on what’s happening in the business world.”
“But they built the hotel up from nothing. And legally your dad might have some insight.” Hannah seems to have a good read on people and a legal perspective can’t hurt.
“What would you do? If it were you?” Scarlett asks. “Would you give some guy your time and effort for free in hopes it would lead to more work? Or would you say fuck you and make him pay?”
“Oh, God, Scarlett. I’m a math teacher. I mean, we play it safe by nature. You know, formulas, equations, actual answers.”
“Stereotypically, yes. But not you. I mean, look at you.” Scarlett waves her water bottle around her head. “You broke off your engagement to your safe guy and you’re here for the summer with my dodgy family. If that’s not risky I don’t know what is.”
I laugh. “Oh, I see. You’re looking for questionable advice. Why didn’t you say so?”
Scarlett leans towards me, stopping with her face inches away. “Don’t sell yourself short. There’s no one I trust more than you and you know it.”
If Jasper and I were flirting or even speaking, this would make me feel guilty. But because we’re not, I’m flattered. “Well, me too. For you, I mean.”
“Well, right. Obviously.” Scarlett laughs, but turns serious in the next breath. “So? What would you do?”
I close my eyes and let my mind race. When I open them, I have an answer. Maybe it’s not the right answer, but it’s exactly what I would do. “I’d make a list of pros and cons, even before I did any research on this guy, of the merits of working with him regardless of pay. I mean if you wouldn’t want to work with him anyway, then there’s your answer. If you would, I’d dig further into Mr. Waring-Smith and tell him I’m doing it. Ask him for references. Ask him what kind of exposure he can provide and when. Tell him you’re willing to entertain his proposal, but you need to understand the return on investment for you. I’d also talk to Laura about getting additional space in her gallery to display your paintings, maybe even setting up a limited show, because for every Mr. Waring-Smith out there, there’s another person who will fall in love with your art who’s willing to pay. You have art and design going for you, so if this isn’t the right opportunity, there will be another one. I’m sure of it.”
I take a breath and Scarlett throws her arms around me. “Oh my God, this is why you’re my favorite. That’s the most solid advice I’ve ever heard.”
I laugh and then disentangle myself from Scarlett to get her hair out of my mouth. “When you look at it like a math problem, it’s easy. Your work is the X we’re solving for, take into account the variables and you have a plan.”
“When you say it that way, it becomes a lot less agonizing,” Scarlett says.
“When you treat it like a business proposition, it becomes a lot less agonizing. The problem is, it’s personal, which is totally understandable, but it makes it hard to see it clearly.”
“If I’m ever rich and famous, you need to promise me you’ll quit your math teaching job and come on as my full-time advisor,” says Scarlett. “And, of course, I won’t take no for an answer because I’ll be rich and famous and I’ll woo you.”
“I’d like to be wooed in general, so you might have a shot.”
“You should be wooed. We need to find you a cute English boy.” Scarlett looks around the empty tennis court. “Only problem is we’re a bit short of cute English boys, aren’t we? There’s Will, but Claire would never forgive you.”
“And I can’t understand half of what he says,” I add.
“That could be an advantage.” Scarlett grins. “There’s Jaz, but he can be ghastly, let’s face it.”
“He’s ghastly because you’re related to
“But they built the hotel up from nothing. And legally your dad might have some insight.” Hannah seems to have a good read on people and a legal perspective can’t hurt.
“What would you do? If it were you?” Scarlett asks. “Would you give some guy your time and effort for free in hopes it would lead to more work? Or would you say fuck you and make him pay?”
“Oh, God, Scarlett. I’m a math teacher. I mean, we play it safe by nature. You know, formulas, equations, actual answers.”
“Stereotypically, yes. But not you. I mean, look at you.” Scarlett waves her water bottle around her head. “You broke off your engagement to your safe guy and you’re here for the summer with my dodgy family. If that’s not risky I don’t know what is.”
I laugh. “Oh, I see. You’re looking for questionable advice. Why didn’t you say so?”
Scarlett leans towards me, stopping with her face inches away. “Don’t sell yourself short. There’s no one I trust more than you and you know it.”
If Jasper and I were flirting or even speaking, this would make me feel guilty. But because we’re not, I’m flattered. “Well, me too. For you, I mean.”
“Well, right. Obviously.” Scarlett laughs, but turns serious in the next breath. “So? What would you do?”
I close my eyes and let my mind race. When I open them, I have an answer. Maybe it’s not the right answer, but it’s exactly what I would do. “I’d make a list of pros and cons, even before I did any research on this guy, of the merits of working with him regardless of pay. I mean if you wouldn’t want to work with him anyway, then there’s your answer. If you would, I’d dig further into Mr. Waring-Smith and tell him I’m doing it. Ask him for references. Ask him what kind of exposure he can provide and when. Tell him you’re willing to entertain his proposal, but you need to understand the return on investment for you. I’d also talk to Laura about getting additional space in her gallery to display your paintings, maybe even setting up a limited show, because for every Mr. Waring-Smith out there, there’s another person who will fall in love with your art who’s willing to pay. You have art and design going for you, so if this isn’t the right opportunity, there will be another one. I’m sure of it.”
I take a breath and Scarlett throws her arms around me. “Oh my God, this is why you’re my favorite. That’s the most solid advice I’ve ever heard.”
I laugh and then disentangle myself from Scarlett to get her hair out of my mouth. “When you look at it like a math problem, it’s easy. Your work is the X we’re solving for, take into account the variables and you have a plan.”
“When you say it that way, it becomes a lot less agonizing,” Scarlett says.
“When you treat it like a business proposition, it becomes a lot less agonizing. The problem is, it’s personal, which is totally understandable, but it makes it hard to see it clearly.”
“If I’m ever rich and famous, you need to promise me you’ll quit your math teaching job and come on as my full-time advisor,” says Scarlett. “And, of course, I won’t take no for an answer because I’ll be rich and famous and I’ll woo you.”
“I’d like to be wooed in general, so you might have a shot.”
“You should be wooed. We need to find you a cute English boy.” Scarlett looks around the empty tennis court. “Only problem is we’re a bit short of cute English boys, aren’t we? There’s Will, but Claire would never forgive you.”
“And I can’t understand half of what he says,” I add.
“That could be an advantage.” Scarlett grins. “There’s Jaz, but he can be ghastly, let’s face it.”
“He’s ghastly because you’re related to
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