Page 30

Chapter 30

Wyatt

I came down from Alberta Falls two weeks ago feeling like I might have a break in the clouds over my head. George and Grace enjoyed their video hike up the mountain so much that I thought there must be other people who want to experience all Mother Nature has to offer but can’t due to physical limitations or lack of time. This isn’t the first time I’ve had an idea that I’ve presented to Noah. In fact, I’ve had lots of ideas. Most of them he’s thankfully talked me out of, but there was that one idea after college that he thought was good. Now, I’ve just got to see if he can give one more of my brainstorms a chance.

I fiddle with my tie for the hundredth time and rearrange papers on my desk. My feet tap anxiously under the desk while I wait for Noah. I’ve made a point to be not only on time but early and as professional as possible.

He’s still determined to close the business. I want to make sure there aren’t garage sale stickers on the equipment, but nothing’s been sold yet because he hasn’t found another job. I think there’s a part of him that hasn’t given it his all because deep down he doesn’t want to let this dream go any more than I do. At least, I hope that’s true.

I’ve spent weeks putting together numbers and—with Hannah’s help—making a kickass presentation. It all comes down to today, which explains the suit and tie. This is my last-ditch effort, my last chance to salvage what we’ve built together.

The door swings open and Noah walks in, his steps heavy and his shoulders slumped. I feel you, buddy. It’s not easy coming to work at a place you love when you know you’re about to lose it.

I clear my throat. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Noah says without looking up.

“How you doing?” I ask.

“Alright, I guess. You?” Our conversation is stilted and formal. If we have to close, it’ll be tragic, but losing Noah as a friend would crush me. We’ve been trying hard to maintain civility and keep things normal, but they aren’t. How could they be? There’s a discomfort that will take time to mend, but I have to believe we’ll get there.

“I’m good.”

He finally glances at me and his eyebrows furrow. “What’s with the suit? Do you have an interview?”

Admittedly, the suit may have been overkill, but if I want him to take me seriously, it felt right to dress seriously, too.

“No, no interview, but I’ve been working on something that I want to show you. Do you have a few minutes?” I ask tentatively. We used to be the perfect team, but I know I dropped the ball, and it’s shifted the balance of power. I’m at Noah’s mercy.

He gives me a pitying look and shakes his head. “You know we’ve got to close, man. I didn’t make that decision lightly.”

I take a deep breath and try to steady my shaking hand as I fumble to bring my laptop over to him. “I know. But I’ve worked really hard on this, and all I’m asking is for you to take a look with an open mind. If after this you still think that’s the right decision, I won’t fight it anymore. I’ll start filling out applications today. But I'm asking, as your friend, for you to let me get this out. Please.”

He holds my gaze for a long, tense beat. “Alright, but don’t get your hopes up.”

I nod, because this whole month has been like trying to keep a flame lit in the pouring rain. There’s been so little hope, but I refuse to give in until I know I’ve done everything possible to make it work.

I start by expressing what we need. I cover our current financials and where we need them to be. This isn’t news to Noah. He knows it far better than me. I was worried he might cut me off, but I decided to lead with it anyway because I need him to know that I understand it now.

He rubs at his neck impatiently, but my friend can see I’m trying so he quietly waits me out.

“The first thing I wanted to do was find a way to cut our expenses significantly. This will bring us more stability so that even if we have another rough patch, we have the cash to comfortably get through it. That’s where Penny comes in.”

“Penny? As in our neighbor, the baker Penny?” he asks.

“I haven’t pitched this to her. I didn’t want to make a move until I’d run it by you. She’s outgrown her current spot and is considering relocating, but she doesn’t want to lose the foot traffic she currently gets. Our warehouse is larger than we’ve ever needed. We can condense things, and I have more than enough space to store some things in my garage at home to free up enough space to sublet the back half to her.”

The tolerant, even expression he had been wearing shifts to something more thoughtful. “That’s... not a bad idea,” he admits.

“Thanks,” I say, “but there’s more.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Carry on.”

I tell him all about the hike and my encounter with the elderly couple that still enjoyed their virtual trip to the summit. I share how they were able to talk to me as we explored and how I could move the camera to show them exactly what they wanted to see. It was something they couldn’t get from seeing the spaces in a documentary or photos.

“It got me thinking, since we sometimes have a hard time filling open spaces, maybe we could be creative. What if we could tap into another market and fill those spaces virtually? I did a few proof-of-concept tours with my parents and some of their friends already. Take a look.”

I press play on the laptop to start a video with excerpts from another hike, a climb, and a whitewater rafting tour. My parents and their friends were laughing and sipping margaritas as I paddled over the rapids while my buddy Mike filmed. Not one of my dad’s friends’ backs would have been able to handle those rapids, but they got the live feel of tipping on ledges, bouncing off rocks, and splashing each other for dramatic effect—all from the comfort of their new jacuzzi.

I included a video testimonial from Hannah’s mom about how she wanted to plan a trip with a friend of hers from Connecticut. Things are still a little shaky between the parents, but her willingness to help me went a long way with my parents. Hannah and I have kept at it, and they’re beginning to come around.

“It allows an opportunity for people whose mobility concerns might otherwise prohibit them from experiencing these types of things. We can be accessible, and that would open us up to a new customer base. Not only that, but people can join us from anywhere in the world. I think we’d still want to limit the number of people we have join so they can ask questions and create an enjoyable a live experience, but our total addressable market is practically limitless.”

Noah’s eyes widen. “Look at you, throwing out TAM.”

I’m scared to hope, scared to fan that little flame I’ve been desperately nurturing for the past month. But Noah hasn’t shot me down yet. He’s leaning forward, his body language telling me he’s at least interested in what I’m saying.

“And it’s scalable. I didn’t want to introduce too many costs at first, but if it proves to be successful, down the line we could look at virtual reality options, though I see that being more distant future possibility.”

“The ideas sound great, but I’d need to look at the numbers,” he says.

“I’ve got that!” I spring out of my chair and hand him a binder. Hannah was so excited about this project she gave me one of her favorites, a royal blue cover with green folder tabs.

He flips through, and I sit on top of my desk drumming my fingers on my leg. Please let this work. Please. The binder has a detailed budget, including potential rental money from Penny. There’s a bit of a startup cost for my digital tours idea. It requires equipment, but I’ve allocated for that in estimates for selling some of our other equipment from some of our less popular tours. This has the bonus of ensuring we’re no longer operating those unpopular tours at a loss. I did my due diligence. I crossed every “t” and dotted every “I”. I’m all in. He has to see that.

“I don’t know what to say,” he says, and my heart sinks. After all the research and organizing I've done over the last month, it still wasn’t enough.

“I’m really impressed.”

My head shoots up. “You are?”

He laughs. “I am. This is great work. I don’t want to close, but I couldn’t keep doing this with a partner who wasn’t invested. This? This is you all-in.”

My eyes start to water, and I breathe in deep to hold the tears from falling. I actually did it.

“I want to run it by Mindy, and we have to get Penny on board to rent the space, but if you can do that, I’m in.”

The flood of immense relief that washes over me at those words does me in, and I let the tears fall.

“Aw, buddy, come here.” Noah pulls me into a hug, and I know we’re going to be okay. We’ve got a long road with a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I’ve got my best friend by my side again.

“About Penny,” I say, once I've regained my composure.

“Yeah?”

“I was really hoping this would work, and I invited her over this afternoon. Is that alright?”

“Well, shit. No time like the present, I guess. And Mindy will probably feel better if I can tell her we’ve got this in place. Let’s get ready.”

* * *

Penny, Noah, and I sit at Noah’s desk, the sweet smell of cinnamon filling the air as she sets out a tray with three mouthwatering rolls on it.

“I’m not sure if I should be nervous. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Wyatt look this professional and serious,” Penny says.

“Oh man, these rolls are so damn good,” Noah says around his gooey mouthful.

“They’re my top seller.” She grins proudly and takes a bite of one.

“I think you rigged the ventilation system to pump cinnamon-scented air into the street,” Noah says.

“What did you guys want to meet about?” Penny asks.

Noah sits up at his desk and switches over to professional businessman. While we were prepping earlier, Noah encouraged me to lead the pitch, but this is still his wheelhouse. There’s too much riding on this for me to prove a point by running the pitch.

“We were talking about our needs here at the office and your needs for your bakery. Wyatt says you’re having difficulty with your space?”

“I need to expand to meet demand. There’s only so much room in the current kitchen, and our storage area is already overflowing. I’m worried that we might have to move to a bigger store. I love this location, but I’m not sure what to do about it.”

“We don’t want you to go either. Let’s be honest, Wyatt is hooked on your treats, and I can’t lose him to a muffin detox program.”

I nod in agreement. It’s more than that. Her foot traffic is good for us, and we value her friendship, too.

“We can’t have that, can we?” Penny grins.

“Wyatt has been inventorying our equipment, and we have more space than we need. We thought we could rent out part of our storage area to you. What do you think?”

“Are you serious? You guys could do that?” Penny sets down her fork and sits up in her chair.

“We were thinking it’s a good solution for all of us. Come on, let’s take a look back there and see about how much space you think you need,” he suggests.

Penny’s eyes light up as she surveys the area. She wanders around mumbling about shelving and boxes and finally proposes how much she thinks she could use.

We review the numbers that I put together. The math will never come easily to me, but thanks to some help from Hannah, I've gotten to a place where I’m comfortable enough to get by.

“Let me think about it while you finalize the numbers, but this is brilliant. You don’t know what a relief this would be. I don’t want to move.” We formally shake hands and return to the front office to see her out.

“That reminds me.” Penny drapes her arm around our mannequin Zelda’s shoulders. “I want to be clear that there will be no pranks with your sawdust-filled assistant here. I start work early in the morning and if I get the snot scared out of me, you’ll both be banned from brownies for the foreseeable future.”

We’ve still got old footage from the security camera from the time we left Zelda by the baker’s back door. Penny screamed, punched the mannequin, and sprinted across the lot.

Noah holds up his hands. “No problem. I promise we’ll cut the pranks and Zelda will be limited to strictly promotional activities at Shred and Tread.” He turns to me, his face stern. “Right, Wyatt ?”

I raise my right hand. “I promise that I’ll announce my arrival in the back of the store and that I’ll keep all Zelda pranks directed at Noah.”

“How about we stop the pranks?” Noah suggests.

I look from Penny to Noah. “Do you think we need to go that far?”

“Yes,” they say in unison.

I shrug. “Fine. I need brownies in my life.” Shred and Tread, too.

Penny retreats to her bakery. When the door shuts behind her and she’s no longer in ear shot, Noah and I throw our hands up for a high five.