No Time

"Well... the meeting is being held at Gary's. That's a twenty minute drive from here. I was just gonna drop in for a few over here, before heading into the meeting over there. We'd have to leave in the next few minutes, or risk showing up late." Grace explained, motioning towards the front door.

Marie seemed puzzled for a moment, before shaking her head. "Well, that's not great. But better late than never, right?"

Gwen furiously shook her head. "Not really. Gary and his wife are EXTREMELY on point about punctuality. I showed up late to a meeting one time, and they were furious over it. To them, all situations that aren't life threatening are second to showing up on time. The girl down the street that owns the antique shop showed up in just a towel to another one, and was allowed to leave early once she explained that the water at her house had cut off mid-shower. Not to mention they own the most businesses in the city, so making a good impression is of utmost importance."

Marie gulped as she realized she would be **** to choose between going to the meeting dressed as is, or taking a trip home before showing up. The thought of showing up to a business meeting completely naked seemed outrageous, and Marie quickly decided she'd rather show up late than wearing nothing at all.

Grace could tell Marie was preparing herself to reject going as soon as possible, and quickly decided to reassure her. "Look. I think you'd make a fine investor, and potential owner, but that decision isn't up to me. Gary is looking to retire completely, and wants to move away to Florida. He's searching for trustworthy people he can sell businesses to, so that he doesn't have to worry about the town once he's gone. If you're worried about offending him or his wife because of the way you're dressed, I... I wouldn't worry about it." Gwen noticed Grace's hesitation at the end of her reassurance, and grinned ear to ear as she recalled a memory.

"She knows most of all. At the July 4th pool party at their house, Grace's husband pranked her with a dissolving bikini. Gary and his wife were both brought in on the prank, and made sure that all the pool towels, pillows, and floats around the pool were scooped up and locked inside the house as soon as she was in the pool." Gwen explained, already collapsing into a fit of laughter. "She came out of the water a few minutes later, and her suit started coming apart at all the seams! In just a few minutes, the whole thing was completely gone! Once the suit was completely off, Joe started taking pictures of her, so she chased him around the pool! Everything was bouncing all over the place! And they didn't even unlock the house doors until an hour later!"

Grace cleared her throat, as her face slightly reddened. "Yes, Gary and his family are all... a little bit of some jokesters. Everyone has their own story, even Gwen. But that one mostly fell flat, given her confidence." Gwen shrugged indifferently, as if the ordeal hadn't meant very much to her.

"Well, anyways. If we head there now, we should get there early and have enough time for you to borrow an outfit." Grace comforted, as she pulled her car keys out of her pocket.