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“Anyway, eventually I spoke to Megan about it…”

“And then I overanalyzed everything…”

“Which is perfect,” Vanessa said, reaching out and squeezing Megan’s hand, “because this is a big decision and it calls for overanalyzing. And then after all that overanalyzing, we both had an idea, which is where you come in.”

“You want me to run this location?” Chloë guessed, liking the notion, hoping she was right, knowing how valuable the experience would be for her future goals.

Vanessa and Megan shared a look.

“Actually,” Vanessa began, “we were wondering if you’d like to be a partner in this location.”

Chloë blinked.

Partner?

“Wait…like…how?”

“Like part-owner,” Vanessa said.

Chloë’s eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. Were they really offering what it sounded like they were offering?

Megan jumped in.

“A three-way partnership,” she said. “I’m going to invest also to take some of the burden off Vanessa. But I’m going to be more of the silent partner type.”

“Chloë, it just makes perfect sense that you be one of the partners,” Vanessa said eagerly, grasping Chloë’s hands. “To begin with, I trust you. Even now, there isn’t a single person in California I would trust La Vida Mocha with other than you.”

“And that includes me,” Megan added.

“It especially includes her,” Vanessa said. “Also, you love coffee as much as I do! You’re passionate about it! And, finally, this would be a great opportunity for you to know what it is like to own a business! I promise I am not trying to keep you from doing your own thing one day. When that day comes, you will have my blessing, but for now, here is a chance to be a business owner without needing to take all the risk yourself.”

Chloë felt her eyes watering. She tried to speak but she knew nothing was going to come out except blubbering and so she flung herself at Vanessa, embracing her tightly.

“Dude…” she managed to finally say, feeling tears fall from her eyes.

“Oh God, don’t do that!” Megan whined and Chloë looked over to her and saw that she was starting to cry also. It made Chloë laugh and after giving Vanessa one more tight squeeze she extricated herself from the brunette’s grasp and wiped her eyes with her fingers. She then shared another tight embrace with Megan.

“So, I take it you like the idea?” Vanessa asked playfully.

“I love it!” Chloë assured her. Her two friends were offering her a perfect opportunity to fulfill her dream earlier than she had anticipated while also allowing her to continue being mentored by Vanessa, a fact which Chloë was not too proud to appreciate. If it all went well, the lessons she would learn by being part-owner of this new coffeeshop, along with the confidence boost she would get from (hopefully) being good at it would set her up nicely for her solo ventures later.

“Can I ask a question, though?”

“Of course!” Vanessa stated.

“Well…are we married to this place?” Chloë asked. “I mean, is it official that this is going to be the location?”

“Nooo,” Vanessa drawled. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, remember that day I went to San Diego to meet Lexx? We were at a coffeeshop that had an outdoor patio in the back and I just think that’s a good idea to have, especially if Covid numbers rise again and California tells us we can only serve people sitting outside.”

Megan turned to Vanessa.

“That’s actually a good point,” she said.

Chloë went on.

“Even if there’s no more Covid, an outdoor space is great. This is SoCal, people love being able to sit outside.”