From One Night to Forever by Synithia Williams Page B

hard to believe. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to think my following you on a whim led to all this.” Reggie encompassed the room with a broad sweep of his large hand. “I hate to admit it, but seeing your setup was what convinced me to make my trucking business more official. Not just randomly hiring extra guys to haul for me.”
    Aaron popped up from the seat and separated a section of blinds on the window to look out over the spacious loading bay. “But you’ve got more room to grow. My space in Columbia is limited. Honestly, if you hadn’t mentioned a merger, I wouldn’t have even considered going larger than I am now.”
    “Maybe not right off hand, but eventually. You always had big ideas, they just come spur of the moment and then you dive in. I have to plan things out.”
    “You’re right about that.” Aaron turned back to Reggie. “Before we get down into details, why don’t you show me around the place?”
    “Not much else to see, but come on.”
    Reggie’s “not much else” was an understatement. Not only did the warehouse have room to expand for loading and unloading, but there was also a decent amount of storage space that would allow Reggie to provide temporary storage between hauls. The drivers who came in and out wore blue golf shirts with
R.H. Transportation
on the right breast pocket and khaki shorts or pants—the same outfit Reggie wore. Aaron felt underdressed in his jeans and casual blue button-up shirt. Even the company logo and mission statement were emblazoned in the unloading bay.
    The attention to detail and coordination impressed Aaron. He would be the first to admit that he wasn’t the guy to come to with long-range, big-picture ideas. He lived in the moment and went with his gut instincts. Buying his first truck, and later hiring drivers to handle hauls for him, were all spur-of-the-moment ideas that came with necessity, not from an overall master plan to grow his business. But now he was thirty, and the time for spur-of-the-moment decisions was over. Hell, his brothers were all settled down, and even his baby sister had turned her part-time job into a thriving business. It was time for Aaron to make some type of long-term plans.
    “This is nice, Reggie,” Aaron said as they made their way back into Reggie’s office. “You’ve gotten things laid out perfectly.”
    “Maybe too perfectly. You know me, I spend so much time planning it makes me hesitant to take a step. I need a guy like you to push me when I’m toeing the line too much.”
    “You need me to be your wingman.”
    “More or less. I can plan it out, but you’re the action guy. That’s the way things always worked with us. If I put the plan in place, I know you’ll make it happen. If we merge our companies together, we’ll go far.”
    “I can’t argue with you on that, but I haven’t changed much. I’m still not the guy who sits around waiting for things to happen. I’ll drag you along kicking and screaming. Are you sure you’re ready for me to be your partner?”
    Reggie laughed, but some of the old concern he’d once shown whenever Aaron dragged him into things in college shadowed the sound. “I’m not saying I’m going into this partnership lightly either. I’d like for us to work together for a few weeks. See if we can do it without killing each other. Running a business is a lot different than partying and sharing classwork.”
    Aaron nodded. “A hell of a lot different.”
    “How long can you stay in town?” Reggie asked.
    “I let the drivers know I wouldn’t be in Columbia for at least two weeks. I can handle arranging things from here. Go home and check in, then come back while we work things out. So if you need me to stay longer, I can.”
    Reggie’s broad grin returned. “Good deal. Hey, where are you staying?”
    “At the Hampton Inn.”
    Reggie shook his head. “No way am I going to let you stay at a hotel. I’ve got a rental house. My sister’s living there, but the