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Authors: Lisa Harrison Jackson

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BOOK: Can't Stop Loving You
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Chapter 3

T
he atmosphere at Café Jireh was like a warm hug, embracing Kaycee the minute she entered. She wasn't sure if her feeling of being right at home derived from the distinct aroma of roasted Colombian coffee brewing or from the upbeat tempo of the contemporary jazz tune flowing from the sound system or from the eclectic gathering of people.

Café Jireh was the talk of the town. Although it had been open for six months, the buzz about the café's concept was still making good reviews in local newspapers and was getting talked about in a variety of places from nightclubs and country clubs to church socials. There was a little bit of everyone reflected in the café's welcoming walls.

The owner had definitely taken his mix of clientele into consideration, evident from the carefully selected decor. The building's inside was just as impressive as the outside, with character beyond expectations. Light poured into the room through the stained-glass windows displaying colorful images of coffee cups, casting a myriad of colors across the maple-wood floors.

The chocolate-brown, black and orange coverings of the sofas and chairs in textures of velvet, suede and wood were classy yet cozy, like sipping hot chocolate while wearing your favorite sweater on a brisk fall day.

Kaycee particularly admired the candid black-and-white photos of men, women and children, done in the style of Gordon Parks, hanging strategically around the room on the exposed brick walls. For her, the selling point was the beautiful stone fireplace that tied everything together in a neat package.

Jireh had something for everyone and was a welcome relief for business professionals, college students and artists who had been searching for a reflection of the African-American culture on their own side of town. Finally, somebody had heard the cries of the people for quality in everything—shopping, dining, housing and education.

Kaycee had a sense of belonging when she entered through the doors that afternoon.

“Welcome to Café Jireh,” A petite woman with a wide friendly smile greeted in a soft Southern accent. “Is this your first time visiting with us?”

“Yes,” Kaycee answered. “I've heard so many good things about it that I just had to check it out for myself.”

The woman waved her closer. “Well, don't stand way back there, come on up and let me take your order!”

Kaycee did as she was told and strolled up to the glass case to check out the breakfast pastries. Her smile slowly faded in disappointment at what she found. The plate of cinnamon buns with thick white frosting, the Danish with fruit in the center and some slices of pound cake wrapped in cellophane were all too common in black-owned establishments. Her expectations were higher for a place like Jireh.

Her eyes raised to meet the woman's. “I don't mean any harm, but is this all the desserts you have to offer?”

The greeter, whose name tag identified her as La Jetta, nodded.

Kaycee paused to search for words that wouldn't sound as if she were putting the café down. “I guess what I'm trying to say is that I expected more in way of desserts than cinnamon rolls and Danish. Do you have an in-house provider or do you buy outside?”

La Jetta glanced over her shoulder before leaning in toward Kaycee. “I've been trying to tell Mr. Rick that he needed to upgrade our dessert menu.”

“Who is Mr. Rick?”

“He's the owner,” La Jetta replied. She reached under the counter, pulled out a business card, and handed it to Kaycee.

“From day one, he had someone doing the desserts, but things got all messy and he's been buying from one of those wholesale clubs.”

Kaycee took the tan card. It was clean and simple with an image of a cup of coffee in the upper left corner and the owner's information engraved in the center. Café Jireh Coffee House and Bistro. K. Thompson, Owner.

She shook her head. “That just won't do.”

“We have this for a reason,” La Jetta said tapping her nail against the suggestion box on the end of the counter. “If a customer makes a comment, believe me, Mr. Rick will listen. He's a good person and goes out of his way to please his customers.”

Kaycee hesitated. Her gut was telling her that this was a move she needed to make. She prayed for the opened door. Could she stand the chance of rejection again? The pain from her last meeting was still fresh. However, she reminded herself about why she was in business. Plenty of business owners experienced rejection, especially the most successful ones. All her working life, things had come easily for her, and now that she was embarking on new territory, she had to trust God and come up with a new game plan.

She extended her hand, “My name is Kaycee Jordan and I have a gourmet-dessert-and-event-planning business. I would really like to meet with—” she paused to look back at the card to recall the owner's name “—Mr. Thompson to talk about how my company can assist him in this area.”

La Jetta shook her head. “I don't know. Like I said, Mr. Rick was burned.”

“What happened?” Kaycee asked.

“I really can't say, except that it really bothered him to the point that I don't know if he wants to go there again.”

Kaycee sighed. “La Jetta, I believe in my product. All I need is a chance to show Mr. Thompson what I can do. I know that once he tries my desserts, he'll be glad he did.”

“Really!” La Jetta exclaimed with excitement. “What do you specialize in?”

“Well, nobody has turned down my red velvet cheesecake,” Kaycee proudly replied, pulling out the big guns. Red velvet was one of those cakes that could make or break your business. Because they took so long to prepare and required the finest ingredients, bakers often shied away from them. But she had a prize-winning recipe that had been handed down from her great-grandmother.

“I never had red velvet cheesecake, but I love red velvet cake,” La Jetta said. “When are you coming back so I can make sure I'm here, too?”

Suddenly the old Kaycee with the Carrington golden tongue disappeared and all of the things that she'd learned in the marketing class offered through the small-business association escaped her. Suddenly, she could not remember how to sell herself, let alone her product. Her frozen state lasted for a brief moment before she remembered the promise that she had made to no longer struggle to be what others thought she should be. That part of her life was in the past. She had come too far not to be herself.

All I need to be is me
, she recited in her mind. Her confidence won out and before she knew it, La Jetta was pulling out a calendar.

“Let's see,” she began as she flipped through the daily pages. “We have a big shipment coming in tomorrow so that's no good. We'll be doing inventory all day. Why don't you drop in next week? Mr. Rick is usually here by ten.”

“It's okay to just drop by?” Kaycee asked. “I don't want to be a bother.”

“Please,” La Jetta answered. “You'll be fine. Besides, a little surprise every now and then won't hurt anybody.”

Kaycee's eyes lit up with excitement! “I will. Tell me, La Jetta, what is Mr. Thompson's favorite dessert? I thought it would be a nice touch to include a sample of his favorite, as well.”

“He would like that,” La Jetta said with a laugh. “His favorite cake is coconut.”

“Oh, I have a coconut cake that will knock him off his feet,” Kaycee said. As she exited the establishment, she thanked God for making the divine connection. La Jetta hadn't needed to tell her as much as she did. A rush of adrenaline waved through Kaycee and her confidence began to build. This time, she was going to take control and get some business.

Chapter 4

T
he weekend could not have come any sooner, Kaycee thought as she reclined in her garden jet tub. She reserved bathing in her tub for the weekends because then she could lie in there as long as she wanted without interruption.

With a drawn-out sigh, she sank back against the bathroom pillow and closed her eyes just as her cell phone shrilled in the next room.

The ringing phone was nothing more than a distant distraction, and she thought about letting it go, but she remembered the business card she'd given to the young lady at Café Jireh. Although she made it a practice to not cut into her “special” time, she decided to answer the phone for the fear of losing another prospect.

She jumped out of the tub and wrapped a thick terry bath sheet around her body before scurrying into the next room. Just as she snatched up the phone, it stopped ringing.

She hoped it hadn't been Mr. Thompson. She began to scroll frantically through the missed calls when the phone rang for a second time. This time she recognized the Savannah telephone number and answered it.

“Hello, Mom,” she sang into the phone. Although she had just talked to her parents the night before, she was excited to hear from them. The Jordans were a close family, and Kaycee was their baby and the only girl. Her parents and four older brothers doted on her.

“Hey, baby, why didn't you answer the phone a few seconds ago?” her mother Katherine asked, her voice echoing through the lines. Kaycee immediately knew that that meant she was on the speakerphone and that her dad was close by. She slipped her earpiece on and headed back to the bathroom.

“I was in the tub,” she announced, dropping the towel and stepping back into the inviting warmth of the tub. This time she turned on the jets before sinking back into her former position.

“Hey, baby girl,” her father called out in the background.

“Hey, Daddy!”

“Hi, sugar, when are you coming down? You know we still have to plan our fishing trip.”

Kaycee sighed. She'd missed their annual father-daughter fishing trip last year because of work, and she didn't want to foul up plans for another one this year. She looked forward to the moments that they spent lounging on the pier, catching and then cleaning fish. Where most women would be squeamish, Kaycee actually found it relaxing. Her relationship with her father was great and she loved spending time with him.

“I'm sorry, Daddy. I've been so busy with the house and the business.”

“How is it coming along?” her mother asked.

“Which one?”

“Both,” her parents replied in unison.

“I'm almost done with the unpacking, but I think I'm going to do some painting.”

“If you need some help, let me know,” another male voice cut in.

Kaycee immediately recognized it as being her brother, Kyle. She and Kyle were the closest in age and were often mistaken for twins. He'd grown up being all things to her: protector, confidant and her mouthpiece when she needed it.

“What's up, Kyle?” she called out, happy to hear his voice.

“Nothing much,” he said, “How are things going with you?”

“Could be better if you came to visit me.”

“I know, I need to get out for real. I just have a lot on my plate right now,” he replied, speaking of his position as a college professor at Savannah State where he was working on obtaining his Ph.D. in math.

“You probably need a break. You know what they say about all work and no play.”

“No, what do they say?” he challenged. “And watch your mouth because Ma is standing here looking right at me.”

Kaycee broke out laughing. “I'm just keeping it real. But seriously, it would be nice having you come out and hang with your sista.”

“I might have to take you up on that. I need to get out of Savannah for a minute.”

“Could it be because of Tara?” Kaycee asked, referring to his longtime girlfriend. The pair had been dating for almost six years and the whole family was practically on the edge of their seats waiting for Kyle to propose. At first, Kyle's actions bothered Kaycee because she was in the same position with her ex-fiancé Paul. Then she'd come to realize that Kyle and Tara had something that she and Paul were lacking and that was love and respect. Tara supported her man like no other woman she had ever seen outside her own mother, and she admired her for that. Kyle, on the other hand, worshipped the ground Tara walked on. He definitely took care of business when it came to her. They both claimed that they didn't need the ring to prove their love.

“Whatever,” he caustically replied. “I don't run from no one.”

“Excuse me,” Kaycee teased.

“Hey, baby girl, do you still have the hookup with the Falcons?” her father asked.

“I may, did you want me to try to see about getting some tickets this year?”

“That would be nice.”

“So how's business coming along?” her mother asked.

“Good,” she replied and began to explain her possible lead with Café Jireh.

“That's great, Kaycee,” Kyle said.

“We are all so proud of you,” Katherine added.

“Thank you,” Kaycee replied. “I couldn't have done it without you, Grandma Ursula and Great-Grandma Madelyn and your recipes.”

“They would be proud to know that you started a business to carry on the family dream.”

“Mom, I'm proud to do it. You know, I was thinking the other day how I come from an amazing family. First Grandma Ursula's skill at baking and Grandpa Art being the first black firefighter to integrate an all-white fire station, and Grandpa James being an inventor, we have such strong history in our family and it makes me so proud.”

“Listen to baby girl, sounding like she's all grown up,” Kyle teased.

Everyone laughed, including Kaycee.

“Kaycee, we'll let you go,” her mother called out. “We were just touching base.”

“Thanks, Mom. I'll talk to you all later. Love ya.”

Kaycee reflected on her wonderful parents upon ending the call. Russell and Katherine Jordan were a couple who loved each other and their children with such intensity that Kaycee could never think of a time when she had wanted to rebel against them. In addition to Kyle, she was sure that she could say the same about her other brothers, Rusty, Mark and Darren.

When she'd informed them of her breakup with Paul and her decision to leave Carrington to start her own business, they'd showed her so much love and support that she thanked God every day for them. There was nothing anyone could say about any of the Jordans or do to them that wouldn't cause Kaycee to rear up and strike back.

Kaycee was grateful for them and was set on making Soulicious successful to honor those she loved the most.

BOOK: Can't Stop Loving You
10.98Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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