* * * * *
After we finish our burgers, Gabe takes out a pen and starts putting check marks next to the items he thinks I can trim. His suggestions line up with the same things I've been thinking. Cleaning, instruments and construction are the main areas where I think I have some wiggle room.
"Most construction estimates are heavy on the labor costs. But if you can find someone willing to help for a lower rate, then you'd have your stage built for a fraction of the cost and you could use the money budgeted for that elsewhere."
When Patsy appears with the check, she lingers for a few minutes making small talk while clearing our dishes. Her gaze is all over Gabe and she's asking him so many questions. Where he's from, what he's doing in New Haven. If he's my boyfriend.
I choke on the last sip of my chocolate shake. "Um, no he's not … we're not."
Gabe rescues me. "We're friends." He winks at her. "And now we're friends too, Patsy."
Patsy gives him a saucy smile. "I could use a few friends like you." Then she sashays off with her tray balanced on her shoulder, an extra swing in her step.
Even though I understand why getting involved with Gabe is a bad idea, it still sucks to watch other women flirt with him. Imagine how much worse it would be if you were dating. Gabe is the kind of guy who attracts women without even trying and a lot of those women wouldn't care if he was taken or not.
What if he hadn't been such a gentleman the night we met? I'm not fooling myself that he'd have fallen instantly in love with me. Chances are pretty good that the same thing would have happened with Gabe that happened with all my other relationships. I would have gotten attached and he would have left.
Same story, different ending. Except I'd be sitting across from him hurt and angry while watching him flirt with another woman right in front of me.
Mentally rolling my eyes, I pull out my wallet to pay for our meals. Before I can even open it, Gabe drops several twenties on the table.
"What are you doing?" I hold up my wallet. "This was a business meeting so I should pay."
He ignores me and pulls on his leather jacket. Whistling, he makes a show of looking around as though he can't hear anything.
Despite my attempts to be annoyed, a laugh finally escapes. "Gabe, I'm serious. You're doing me a favor so I should pay."
He makes a face. "Okay, that's never happening. And the second
most-important rule of business is, if someone is trying to give you money, let them."
Shaking my head, I stand when he does and slip into my coat. He gathers all the papers that we've been looking over and slides them back into the manila folder. He's taking this business mentor thing really seriously. I'm sure he's got plenty of other things he should have been doing today but instead he's here helping me.
It's kind of sweet.
"So, where is this little club going to be?" Gabe walks beside me out to the parking lot.
I pause next to my car, suddenly self-conscious about how rough it looks. Car payments eat up a lot of money and I learned early that if I wanted to survive as a starving artist, nice cars were out of the question. My eye is immediately drawn to Gabe’s sleek, black Audi on the far end of the lot. I don’t know much about cars but I’m sure it’s expensive. My old clunker may not look like much but it's paid for. And that makes it very attractive to me. And whatever Zack did to it has it running like new.
"It's right across the street from here." I point to the buildings directly across. "This part of town has some of the oldest buildings in New Haven. Those used to be row houses and then they were converted to commercial spaces about twenty years ago. The landlord has been struggling to keep it leased since the economy went south. It was even rumored to be haunted at one point. I plan to use that in my promotional materials. Maybe I'll do a Halloween special next year and see if I can get some local theatre groups to perform."
"That's smart. See, now you're thinking like a business owner. I told you it wouldn't take long."
His praise feels good but even better is the way he's looking at me. Like he's proud of the progress I've made so far. I stuff that feeling down deep. I shouldn't have this giggly, euphoric feeling just because Gabe thinks I'm smart. Even though no one else has ever made me feel smart before.
"You're going to show it to me, right?" Gabe starts walking across the parking lot. I have to scramble to keep up. The heels I'm wearing are perfect for a business meeting but not for running.
"Wait, Gabe. What are you doing?"
He nods across the street. "I want to see where your club is going to be. After looking over the budget and listening to you talk about what it means to you, I'm invested in the outcome now. Plus, it's in a haunted old building."
His enthusiasm is catching. After looking both ways, we cross the street together. Gabe takes my hand once we reach the other side. "Where to?"
I point straight ahead and have to resist the urge to yank my hand back. What is it with this guy and the mixed signals? He's the one who said that we can't be more than friends but then he's holding my hand, telling me I'm smart and just making me like him.
I'm so deep in my thoughts that we actually pass the doorway. "Wait, it's right here."
My keys are of course at the bottom of my bag. Gabe is staring at something behind me. I turn and look over my shoulder. There's someone getting out of a car on the other side of the street and a woman holding a dress bag entering the store next door.