Hot Pickle - J.J. Knight Page 0,15
you for stopping by. I think you probably saved my fledgling career.”
She unfolds a napkin. “I’m glad we were able to fix your tan. Turns out you were absolutely worth the extra trouble.”
“That feels like high praise.”
She pulls a bit of bread from the sandwich. “It is.” She pops the bite in her mouth. “Oh, this is good.”
“My brother Anthony comes up with all the bread recipes. He’s great.”
Camryn looks around. “I’ve been here before. But I’ve forgotten how bright and happy a place it is.”
“Thank you.”
She takes a bite of the sandwich and sighs. “So good.”
“I have a great team.”
She wipes her mouth. I could watch this all day.
“So,” she says. “It seemed like you had the suits all fired up last night after your win.”
I clasp my hands together on the table. “You mean the sponsorships? Yeah, I have a company lawyer looking over the contracts for two of them. Seems they want to be in my corner as I head to the next competition.”
She plucks another bite of the bread. “You know, this doesn’t happen to just anybody. And it doesn’t even always happen to the overall winner. You’ve got real star power. They see it.”
Franklin said the same thing last night. “I’m a little overwhelmed,” I say. “I didn’t expect it to happen this way.”
“Well, it has. So, what’s your next move?”
“Decide whether or not to take the sponsorships. And I guess I compete in two weeks.”
“You’re going to do it?” Her eyes light up.
“Of course I am. It would be insulting not to after everyone was so gracious.”
“Who’s going to do your tanning?”
Now I get it. She’s here on a professional basis. I ignore the curdle of disappointment in my belly.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t booked any more Pro Tans for three weeks, because I didn’t think I was going to compete again until San Bernardino.”
She nods. “They might have an opening or two for this situation. People often unexpectedly level up and need a last-minute spot.”
“Are you suggesting I go back to Pro Tan?”
“I would certainly rather you go there than Ride ‘em Shiny.”
“I won’t use them again.”
“And you know to keep your pants on for the last day?” Her face is pure mischief.
God, she’s beautiful. And cute. And funny. I feel bold. “Do you have a proposition for me?”
She shrugs. “I’m mainly here as your advisor. I thought you did well, and I want to make sure you don’t screw up again. But as long as you go through Pro Tan, you’ll be fine.”
“So you’re not here to drum up business with me?” A guy can dream.
“If you want to sign onto my roster, I’m not going to turn you down.” Her eyes drop back to the sandwich, and I wave at it to encourage her to keep eating.
“Your brother says you’re the best in the business. That you usually have a waitlist.”
She nods as she swallows. “I do. But nobody is going to call me out on bumping you in. Because they want to stay on my waitlist.”
I sit back in my chair. Even if Camryn is here on business, having her do my tans means I get her hands on me again.
But then, of course, there is the small matter of my big boner.
“I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again,” I say.
Her eyebrows draw together in confusion. “Winning? I mean that’s the hope, right?”
“No. I mean the incident. The one that happened before.” I drop my eyes to my crotch and then back up to her gaze.
She sits up very straight in her chair. “Oh. You mean that. Oh. Well. It was fine. I mean, you didn’t try to flash me or anything. You weren’t being a pervert.”
At the word pervert, several customers glance over at us. She claps her hand over her mouth. “I should shut up, right?”
I grin from ear-to-ear. So, Camryn can lose her composure after all.
“I would love for you to do my tans. You tell me when, and I’ll be there.”
Her shoulders relax. “Okay good. I assume you have to work around your schedule here.” She gestures to the deli.
“More or less. But I can maneuver as long as I have some advance warning. When would I need to do the next tan?”
Camryn reaches into her shoulder bag and pulls out a notebook. The pages are covered in scribbles.
“You keep your schedule by hand?”
She shrugs. “I have some scheduling software thingy Franklin set up for me, but I find this to be easier. I take a