And as long as we guarantee them more money than they’d make on a corner, I bet I could make that work. If not, we can get someone from Haywood’s to bring food. The rest of the requests seem reasonable.
Trevor said they’d be difficult, but it’s not like they are asking us for Skittles with the green ones removed.
I fill out the acquisition requests for the high-end whiskey, pillows, and blankets and make my way to Trevor’s office to submit them. I’ll run the food options by him, too.
I plop on the seat in front of his desk. “Here are the things I need for the band.” I pass the acquisition forms across the neat-as-a-pin oak desk. “Can we talk about the food? Maybe go out for lunch?” I hate to leave my lunchbox, but wrapping up the menu is important, and if I can get it settled, then it’s one more thing off my plate.
“Sure, what did you have in mind?”
“I thought about chasing down the Kogi truck. Have you ever had their stuff?”
“No, but I’ve heard it’s good. How do we track it down?”
“I’ll look at their Facebook page and see where they are today, or we can look at their tweets. I want you to try the food because it may be a good option for the band. If you like it, we can negotiate with Kogi to cater our event. What do you think?”
“Let me grab my keys. I’ll drive while you navigate.”
The truck sits on the corner of Sunset and Van Ness. The line winds down the street, but it only takes fifteen minutes for us to get to the front.
I order the short rib tacos, and Trevor gets spicy pork tacos and a kimchi quesadilla. There’s no talking while we eat.
Trevor licks the last of the barbecue sauce from his fingers. “Holy shit, that was amazing. Who would have thought of mixing Korean barbecue and Mexican food? This is a great idea. There’s no reason we can’t offer both Kogi and Haywood’s. Variety is the spice of life.”
“Will you come meet the band to see how everything turns out?”
“Yes, but you’re in charge of this part of the project and have to be there to make sure everything is running smoothly, so you’ll meet the band too.”
“You’re kidding, right? Why me? Won’t the team be jealous?”
“The team gets to go to the concert, but they didn’t save the company nearly $100,000 in eight weeks. I borrow most of the team from marketing. So really, you’re my team. You and me—we make the team.”
“I like that.” I raise my hand for a high five. “The dynamic duo.”
“I’m Batman. You can be Robin,” he says.
“I’m okay with that. I look amazing in red.” I gather our garbage and throw it away.
Time to get back to work.
“Did you know we give a super saver award for cost cutting?” Trevor opens the car door while I get in. When he climbs behind the wheel, he turns and smiles. “I put you in for it. Most people would have taken that budget and had a field day shopping, but you spent your time getting donations. The stuff you finagled out of people astounds me. How did you do it?”
“I asked. It’s as simple as that.” I think about my talk with Em. Specifically, when she told me to ask Damon about his past. “I’m told, if you don’t ask, you don’t get.” I’d do well to follow my advice.
“I don’t know. There’s something about you that people like. You make people feel at ease and comfortable. Hell, you have Damon wrapped around your little finger. I need some lessons, girl. You’ve got skills.”
“I have no superpowers.”
“Whatever.” He turns onto the road back to the office. “Speaking of Damon, why didn’t you have lunch with him today?”
I toss a dirty look at Trevor, but I know he’ll never give up unless I let him into my inner circle.
With a huff, I turn to face him. “I’ll cut you some slack because I like you, but I don’t understand your obsession with Damon and me?”
“Inquiring minds want to know.”
“Fine, I’ll tell you what you want to know, but I never want to hear it come back to me.”
Trevor grips the steering wheel in anticipation of a juicy story. Sadly, he’s only getting the G-rated version.
“Damon and I met at a fundraiser. He asked me out, but I said no. We met for a book club and got to know each other