Charming.
Sooner grinned proudly and she coaxed Mark forward. “We met at the carnival. He came into my tent and asked me to read his fortune. He said I did a great job and asked if I wanted a more permanent gig.”
“Is that so?”
Davis glanced at Charlotte’s icy stare, and then let it drop to the rings on his fingers. “She can really pull in the crowds.”
“I’ve no doubt,” Charlotte said. “So are you renting space to Sooner or hiring her?”
“He wanted to hire me,” Sooner said. “But I’ve had enough of working for people. I want my own business.”
“Working for him would certainly simplify things for you, Sooner. No social security taxes or business taxes.”
“That stuff can’t be that hard,” Sooner said. “I mean, don’t you go down to the courthouse and just file papers or something? I sure tagged along with Grady enough times when he had to file papers for the carnival.”
“It’s a little more than that. Can I see the space?”
Sooner’s eyes danced with excitement, and for the first time the girl’s youth really shone through. “It’s upstairs. Mark, you want to lead the way?”
“Sure.”
Charlotte could see that Sooner had cast some kind of spell over the guy. And that spell didn’t have anything to do with magic. It was about his hormones clashing with the sight of young full breasts, a sleek figure, and a lovely face.
Following Sooner and Mark, she climbed the narrow staircase to the second level. The space was not subdivided but open. There was one closet and two windows that overlooked a back alley that connected to another set of retail shops. The walls were a pale white and the floors hardwood. It looked more like a storage room than retail space.
“I know it needs work,” Sooner said. “But I think if I paint the walls a pale purple and put down rugs, find the right table and chairs, then I will be in business. Mark said he’d have a sign made for me and put it out front.”
Charlotte had to admire the girl’s ambition, which mirrored her own at that age. “It could be lovely.”
“And I’m thinking once the business takes off and starts to turn a profit, I can start selling a little merchandise. I’ve already talked to Mark, and he said I could if we shared the profits.”
“How generous.” Charlotte walked to the window and stared at the abandoned alley below and the green Dumpster. “So how much is the rent?”
“Fifteen hundred a month.”
“Is there a bathroom up here?”
“Down on the first floor,” Mark said.
“Running water?”
“First floor.”
“And the rent is fifteen hundred a month.” She didn’t hide her disdain. “That’s a lot of debt for you to take on right now, Sooner.”
“It’s what a lot of the other shops in the area are asking,” Mark said.
“He’s right. I’ve checked around, and I know I might be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a while, but it will be worth it if I can get some steady clients.”
Sooner stared at Charlotte, her eyes wide with excitement while Mark stared only at Sooner. Not surprising. “Mark, do you mind if I speak to Sooner alone?”
He frowned. “What do you want to talk to her about?”
Charlotte’s smile was cool. “I’m her attorney and it’s my job to give her advice about this contract.”
“It’s all legal.”
“I didn’t say that it wasn’t. I just want to talk to Sooner about it in private.” Charlotte had devolved an icy stare over the years that left little room for discussion.
Mark, as she expected, dropped his gaze and took a step back. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
“Thanks.”
Sooner grinned at Mark. “You’re the best, baby.”
He cast her a glance reminiscent of a naughty boy and disappeared down the stairs. Charlotte waited until she heard the steady thud of his high-top shoes move to the front of the door.
“So do you love this place or not?” Sooner said.
“Not.”
Sooner cocked her head. “You don’t like it?”
“It’s expensive. It doesn’t come with a bathroom or running water, and I’ll bet Mark wants you to pay for painting.”
Sooner pouted. “A gallon of paint is not that much money.”
Charlotte shook her head as she scanned the space a second time. “You can do better.”
“Don’t count on it. I don’t have any kind of credit history and I’m just eighteen. No one in this area is willing to take a chance on me. No one. But Mark. He says I’m worth the risk.”
“He wants to get in your pants, Sooner.”
“You think I don’t know that? I do.” She dropped her voice a notch. “And he can do all the wanting he wants, but he ain’t getting nothing.”
“You’re going to be spending a lot of time in this shop alone with him. You don’t know him.”
“I can take care of myself. If Grady taught me anything, it was how to deal with a customer who gets a little out of hand. And believe me, I’ve handled my share at the carnival.”
Charlotte had handled her share as a teenager. Boys, and men for that matter, from town trolling for whatever woman they could find. She’d watched her mother flirt and fence with many and then it had been her and Mariah’s turn. Her mother had managed. She’d managed. Mariah had trouble saying no.
“I want to talk you out of this,” Charlotte said.
“You won’t. I’m leaving the carnival, which means I have to find work.”
“I can help you find a job.”
“I don’t want an office gig with nine-to-five hours. Schedules kill me. I need to do my own thing, and I am signing that lease one way or another. What I need from you is to make sure old Mark isn’t screwing me in some way.”
“So we’re agreed he’s got a bad vibe.”
She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Oh, totally. I can’t stand him. But he will do for now.”
“How long will you be here?”
“A year. I know I can build a good book of business in that time and find my own place.”
“And then you open your version of Ageless.”
“Something better and classier. But yeah. And then from there I’ll just have to see.”
She stared at the firm set of the girl’s jaw and understood that there’d be no changing the girl’s mind today. The best she could do was look out for the kid. And who was she to say what Sooner could or couldn’t do?
“Do you have the contract?”
Sooner pulled a rumpled piece of paper from her fringed purse. “It’s all yours.”
Charlotte folded the contract, sharply creasing the edge with her fingertips. “I’ll read it tonight and call you in the morning.”
Silver bracelets jangled as Sooner pushed her fingers through her hair. “I was hoping because it was so short you could read it here and I could sign it.”