She wrinkled her nose. “If you stay in touch, you’d be talking about today, not yesterday.”
His expression clearly said he didn’t find any more appeal in that than the idea of rehashing his wild teen years. Baffled, Rita shifted her knee up on the bench seat to fully face him.
“You know, if you bothered to keep up, some of those people might help you build your business,” she pointed out.
“How?” he challenged with a doubtful laugh.
“They’d remember your name when they want a bike. They’d recommend you to friends.” She could see that didn’t impress him much, so she pushed harder. “Someone might mention you on a radio show. Or be willing to swap a magazine ad in exchange for a bike tune-up. Remember that gal who was so obsessed with photography back in school?”
“Millie something? Mary? No, Megan, right?”
“Megan Witting,” Rita confirmed with a snap of her fingers. “She stuck with the photography. Now she does shoots for all these big national magazines. If you were still in touch, she might have used your bikes in that GQ layout she did last year, instead of whatever local yahoo she used.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Seriously, it happens. I introduced this graphic artist to my boss a few years back when I was working at a bakery. This was in my wannabe-a-pastry-chef days. Not only did the guy design her logo, he ended up doing some great cake designs for her. Then they got married and have their very own baby bump happening.”
She spent the next thirty miles regaling him with stories of the power of networking.
Finally, he threw up one hand and laughed. “Fine, fine. You’ve convinced me. Social networking isn’t a waste of time and remembering people’s names is a worthy skill.”
Chuckling, Rita gave a decisive nod. “Exactly. And now that you’re convinced, I’ll draw you up your very own plan.” She grabbed a pad of paper and started making notes. “This’ll mean you don’t ever have to drive two days to deliver a bike again. People will come to you, instead. I’ll bet your business picks up at least fifteen percent by summer.”
“What? No peace-on-earth promises, too?”
“Give me a few years,” she vowed, warmed by his teasing tone. But even more by his absolute faith. Nobody had ever believed in her like this.
“None of this put that sad look in your eyes,” Tyler insisted after a few minutes.
Surprised at the return to his original question, Rita answered before she could censor herself. “No, that’s just the familiar weight of failure bumming me out.”
“WHAT?” TYLER COULDN’T keep the shock from his voice. What the hell was she talking about? “How can you think you’re a failure?”
“Well, I’m hardly a success.”
He had to force himself to turn his attention back to the road.
“It’s not like there are only two choices,” he smiled.
“Aren’t there?”
He frowned, needing to think that one through.
“No,” he insisted. “Success is faceted. Failure is black-and-white.”
“I just got fired from my fallback job, the one I always turn to when I fail at yet another career,” she told him. “Which is pretty black in my books.”
Figuring it best not to point out his part in that job failure, Tyler shook his head. “That’s because you keep trying to do the wrong things. But the fact that you keep trying proves you aren’t a failure.”
“Wrong things?” she repeated, ignoring the rest of his words.
“Yeah. You’ve already got all you need for the perfect career. You just haven’t pulled it together yet.”
Looking at him as if he was crazy, Rita shook her head. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Social networking. Building relationships. Promoting businesses and people. All that stuff you’ve been lecturing me on. Just look at your notes. You’ve written three pages of plans for my business already. Do you have any idea how much consultants charge for that kind of thing?”
Tyler laughed at the shock on Rita’s face.
“You’re a natural,” he assured her. “You actually like people and understand how to build friendships, relationships. I’ve gone to a couple of those promotion seminars they hold at the business center. Those guys talk about networking, but it’s just talk. You, on the other hand, really get what the give and take are all about.”
Her silence started to make him nervous.
“What?” he prodded. “You don’t think it’d work?”
“I’ve never considered it until just now,” she mumbled.