Beginning Again: Book 1 in the Second Chances series (Crimson Romance) by Peggy Bird Page A
Authors: Peggy Bird
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piece, each couple carefully eyeing the other.
Finally, the man and woman chose a cast bronze boat and Jamie selected one of the abstract grass pieces displayed in the windows.
Liz thanked Mason as she wrote up the sale. “You didn’t have to do this. You’ve already done so much to make the business work.”
“I’m doing it partly for you, but mainly because it makes Jamie happy. He loves working here with you. He was never this excited when he was doing IT in my office, I can tell you.”
“I’ve been thinking about offering him a paying job. Would that be okay, I mean, I don’t know how you feel about it … ”
“Actually, I was going to talk to you about that. He asked me last week if I thought you were going to hire staff and I said your business plan didn’t include paid staff for a year at the earliest. He was disappointed. So I was going to ask if you’d reconsidered that decision.” He put up his hand to stop her question. “And, no, I didn’t say anything to him about it.”
“Of course you didn’t. But I have changed my mind. After spending all my time here for the past however many months, I have a new appreciation for small business owners. I think I’d rather dig into my savings in the short run if I have to and hire someone take a couple shifts a week to give me some breathing space.”
“Good move. You don’t want to burn out.”
“So, what would you recommend for compensation? I’m thinking $15 to $18 an hour.”
“That’s a lot for a sales position and an inexperienced salesperson.”
“But he does all the computer work, too.”
“Offer $15 and a review in six months when you see how the business is going. It’s not as if he needs to support himself.”
“Mason, I know how generous you are but believe me, I also know how nice it is to have your own money. He’s worth paying for.”
“I know he is. But I don’t want you to get in over your head.”
“Okay, I’ll make it $15 for now, more as we grow. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.” She handed him the credit card slip to sign. “And can we keep his present in the window until Collins replaces it?”
“Of course you can. After all, Jamie’ll get to see it when he works, won’t he?”
The sale of two of Collins’s pieces seemed to open the floodgates. Soon a third piece sold. Liz’s favorite watercolor of a spring scene in the Chinese Garden left after hanging on the wall a mere two days. Her oil painter got a commission for a family portrait. She lost track of the number of unframed prints the photographer sold. Jamie had to pitch in to help her write up the sales.
Among the people who bought from her were two women Liz had met recently at a luncheon hosted by a local civic organization. Fiona McCarthy was a reporter for the weekly alternative newspaper, Willamette Week . Her buddy, Margo Keyes, was an assistant district attorney. The two women had been out to dinner and stopped by the gallery to give Liz moral support.
Seeing that the crowded gallery was doing just fine, they turned their attention to the art. Fiona found an unframed photograph of the St. John’s Bridge on a misty morning, a view she saw often from her kitchen window. Margo bought the necklace Liz was wearing, but laughed off the idea she’d ever wear the hoop earrings that went with it. Both women complimented Liz on the gallery she’d created with her good taste and promised to come back with their friends.
Busy with sales and her visitors, Liz didn’t get as much chance to observe Collins interacting with the crowd as she would have liked. What she did see was fun to watch. He was friendly and warm, answering the same questions all night long with a freshness to each response that made the questioner feel like the only one who’d ever thought of it.
More than once during the evening, their eyes met across the gallery and she knew he was watching her as closely as she was watching him. He’d smile, his gray eyes zapping her with
Finally, the man and woman chose a cast bronze boat and Jamie selected one of the abstract grass pieces displayed in the windows.
Liz thanked Mason as she wrote up the sale. “You didn’t have to do this. You’ve already done so much to make the business work.”
“I’m doing it partly for you, but mainly because it makes Jamie happy. He loves working here with you. He was never this excited when he was doing IT in my office, I can tell you.”
“I’ve been thinking about offering him a paying job. Would that be okay, I mean, I don’t know how you feel about it … ”
“Actually, I was going to talk to you about that. He asked me last week if I thought you were going to hire staff and I said your business plan didn’t include paid staff for a year at the earliest. He was disappointed. So I was going to ask if you’d reconsidered that decision.” He put up his hand to stop her question. “And, no, I didn’t say anything to him about it.”
“Of course you didn’t. But I have changed my mind. After spending all my time here for the past however many months, I have a new appreciation for small business owners. I think I’d rather dig into my savings in the short run if I have to and hire someone take a couple shifts a week to give me some breathing space.”
“Good move. You don’t want to burn out.”
“So, what would you recommend for compensation? I’m thinking $15 to $18 an hour.”
“That’s a lot for a sales position and an inexperienced salesperson.”
“But he does all the computer work, too.”
“Offer $15 and a review in six months when you see how the business is going. It’s not as if he needs to support himself.”
“Mason, I know how generous you are but believe me, I also know how nice it is to have your own money. He’s worth paying for.”
“I know he is. But I don’t want you to get in over your head.”
“Okay, I’ll make it $15 for now, more as we grow. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.” She handed him the credit card slip to sign. “And can we keep his present in the window until Collins replaces it?”
“Of course you can. After all, Jamie’ll get to see it when he works, won’t he?”
The sale of two of Collins’s pieces seemed to open the floodgates. Soon a third piece sold. Liz’s favorite watercolor of a spring scene in the Chinese Garden left after hanging on the wall a mere two days. Her oil painter got a commission for a family portrait. She lost track of the number of unframed prints the photographer sold. Jamie had to pitch in to help her write up the sales.
Among the people who bought from her were two women Liz had met recently at a luncheon hosted by a local civic organization. Fiona McCarthy was a reporter for the weekly alternative newspaper, Willamette Week . Her buddy, Margo Keyes, was an assistant district attorney. The two women had been out to dinner and stopped by the gallery to give Liz moral support.
Seeing that the crowded gallery was doing just fine, they turned their attention to the art. Fiona found an unframed photograph of the St. John’s Bridge on a misty morning, a view she saw often from her kitchen window. Margo bought the necklace Liz was wearing, but laughed off the idea she’d ever wear the hoop earrings that went with it. Both women complimented Liz on the gallery she’d created with her good taste and promised to come back with their friends.
Busy with sales and her visitors, Liz didn’t get as much chance to observe Collins interacting with the crowd as she would have liked. What she did see was fun to watch. He was friendly and warm, answering the same questions all night long with a freshness to each response that made the questioner feel like the only one who’d ever thought of it.
More than once during the evening, their eyes met across the gallery and she knew he was watching her as closely as she was watching him. He’d smile, his gray eyes zapping her with
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