All's Fair in Love and Chocolate (Marietta Chocolate Wars #1) - Amy Andrews Page 0,68

guys to fit out the store again but in the meantime, it would stay empty.

Empty but ready.

The whole town pitched in with the cleanup. Dumpsters suddenly appeared at the back door for them to throw stuff into. The firehouse chief sent several of his men to help them move the heavy stuff—something that was very much appreciated by Mackenzie in particular, who was single and grateful for any eye candy to help the medicine go down. The hardware store loaned them high-pressure water cleaners. People stopped by and brought them coffee and lunch and baked goodies for morning and afternoon tea.

Edwin even sent huckleberry pie from the Graff.

The only help she hadn’t accepted had been from Reuben. He’d wanted to take a couple of days off but Viv had been adamant that he didn’t. She knew they were understaffed and she didn’t want him pissing off his boss. They had plenty of help and she was trying really hard not to have to deal with them at the moment. She could only deal with one big thing at a time and salvaging what she could from Delish right now was taking up all her physical and emotional energy.

The same went for when she got back to the cottage. She was just too damn tired at the end of the day to deal with anything. All she had the energy for was scrubbing herself in the shower then flopping into bed and crashing into sleep with barely a kiss good night for Reuben.

Not that she was particularly desirable at the moment.

Coming home with soot on her face and under her nails and her filthy sweats she was the exact opposite of that sophisticated woman in a silky blouse, tight skirt and Louboutins Reuben had picked up in Bozeman. And then there was the stench of smoke that clung to her clothes and her skin and stuck in her nostrils long after she left.

Oh yeah, baby. She was a real femme fatale these days.

Viv was just damn lucky he was so understanding and that they had the kind of relationship where he didn’t need to be with her every single second of the day and was happy to do his own thing. It would have been hell on earth if Reuben had been the type to stomp around bitching about how little attention she was paying to him and she was glad they’d laid down the ground rules from the beginning.

On the thirtieth of December, Harriet Walker, Delish CEO, drove into town to check out the damage. Viv almost cried when she saw the big boss get out of her vehicle. Until now they’d been talking over the phone and Skype but to see her in person and to have her hold her arms out and give Viv a hug was way more emotional than Viv had expected.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I am now,” Viv said with a watery smile.

Viv went to perform the introductions of Robbie and Mackenzie but Harriet already knew who was who and moved forward, shaking hands warmly, asking after them and thanking them for all their hard work. The two women were beaming by the time the introductions were over, which made the sad task of showing Harriet the store a little easier.

She was obviously shocked at what she saw but hastened to assure them all. “Nobody is to blame here,” Harriet said. “It was nobody’s fault. The most important thing was that nobody got hurt and the fire was contained and didn’t spread. All this—” She waved her hand around. “We can fix this. It’s just bricks and mortar. Now…I’ve booked a table at the Graff for us all. Let’s go get us some nice lunch, my treat, and talk about how we’re going to get this shop up and running again.”

*

Several hours later it was just Viv and Harriet remaining at the table, chowing down on huckleberry pie. Viv took the opportunity to pitch her idea for a trial range of Delish huckleberry chocolate as they ate.

Harriet laughed. “You never stop thinking of the company, do you?” She reached across the table. “We’re lucky to have you.”

“But I’m right, right?”

“It’s a good idea. I’ll definitely look at it when I get back to the office.”

Viv grinned and punched the air. “I’ll volunteer to do the taste testing for it.”

They laughed some more before Harriet sobered and said, “So…the executive has been talking about what’s next for you. There’s a few months before Marietta will be