Weekend Goal

Chapter 21: Mint Green

"I'm proud of you, Lachlan, and I love you."

Lachlan cups my face and brings me closer for a kiss. When we separate, I conclude it feels right. I never stopped loving him, but I like this new Lachlan a lot more.

My phone buzzes on the table and I read the message I just received. "Shit, I offered help to paint the club and I'm still here."

"Need extra hands?" Lachlan asks, and I nod.

We head to the club and find all the furniture outside. It's a hot day, perfect for painting. When we walk inside, I find Cooper leaning back on the bar and sporting a frown.

"Is everything okay?" I ask him.

"Mint green. They want to paint the fucking club in mint green and add plants and all kinds of shit. It's a sports club, not a restaurant."

"Would you rather keep these poop brown walls and the stains, the cigarette marks and the sweat stench?"

Cooper doesn't answer and only shrugs. As he walks towards his office, I hear him mumble something about the kitchen. We get organized and in no time, the club has gotten fresh mint green walls. As they dry, Lachlan helps to polish the floor with the machine one of the ladies rented.

"Holy shit! Look at this place!" Rose says as she walks in. She places the two large shopping bags in her hands on the floor and takes the place in. "It's clean and beautiful."

"Say that to Cooper," I chuckle.

"Leave Cooper to me," she gives me a knowing smile. "Let me get started in that horrible kitchen. I won't let him leave this place until I can see my face reflected on those appliances."

If Cooper wasn't in the best of moods before, he'll be pissed now.

"As long as we don't touch the walls, I guess we can bring the furniture inside," Lachlan says.

We all get to work to bring the wooden furniture, which looks lighter thanks to the recent cleaning they got. Sage arrives carrying a cardboard box with small plants. "Wow! It's a dreamy place now. I bet tons of people will want to come here for a bite now after the games. I can use some help as I got more plants in my car, new brass lamps and the framed photos. Sanne, here's the plan for the open house."

Sage hands me a thin binder with her plan that looks great. Basically, it will be a relaunch of the club for women as the place to be around the clock. She even thought of hiring a lounge music DJ to match the mood. I look around, trying to visualize the event from the moment that people walk inside to the placement of the DJ booth and get an idea.

"How many of you know other members of the club? It can be anyone. Like the morning gym users, fans who come to cheer at the games, anyone else who is not in the team that comes here."

All the ladies lift their hands and Sage comes forward. "I've been playing here since I was in my teens and know most people. Maybe not all by name, but I know who comes around. What do you have in mind?"

"Many of the membership documents I got from Cooper are unreadable. If most of the people you know come to the open house and invite other people who might join, I can complete the admin and the database. Plus, getting new membership money coming in wouldn't hurt us."

"Especially if we make the use of this area member-exclusive," Sage says. "I've heard some people say they are not coming anymore in here because this has become an internet café for strangers and the food sucks."

"Then that's about to change," I say. "Like you said, Sage, this should only be available for members. Let me speak to Rose for a moment."

When I walk into the kitchen, I find Rose and Cooper having an intimate conversation. He looks surprised at whatever she's told him. She spots me and takes a step aside, grabbing a trash bag and seemingly continuing what she was doing.

"Rose, you use customer cards in your café, right?"

"I do. My system tracks their purchases and gives them discounts or free coffee."

"Is that something we can arrange for the club members as proof of membership?"

"Sure, it isn't a big investment to have cards printed with serialized numbers. The database connected to my till is a different story. I'm willing to foot the bill for printing the cards with my supplier."

"Thank you! Do you think it can be arranged before the open house?"

"You are giving me three days to arrange that?" She lifts an eyebrow, but I won't accept no for an answer, so I lift my chin in defiance. "Okay, I assume we can use the artwork from our kits for that. It won't be fancy, but will do the trick."

"I intend to get the people coming for the open house to confirm their membership and possibly get new members. I can hand out the cards straight away."

"I'll work on it as soon as we are done here."

Cooper hasn't said a word and cleans the cooking plate in front of him, almost in a trance. I head back to the group, who has placed all the furniture where it looks best. Plants now decorate the tables and other surfaces and Lachlan is on a ladder mounting a lamp. Only the photos need to be hung on the wall again, but we need to make sure the paint is completely dry.

Not a moment later, Cooper comes out of the kitchen, grabs his keys and leaves. Rose comes out of the kitchen and watches him from the entrance door, then shakes her head and returns inside.