Page 10 of Enemy Crush
“Well…what else have you done?”
“I’ve started doing sales on anything that’s been in the store too long or stuff I have overstock of. There’s a new shelf right up front.”
“I’ve noticed. What else?”
I try thinking. “I’ve put a sign out on the sidewalk. I’ve started shipping books out and doing online sales and auctions. I’ve even scheduled an open mic night for local writers.”
“About that,” she says, interrupting. “For this open mic night, have you seen a boost in your sales?”
“No,” I state flatly, shaking my head.
“So you’re staying open late and nobody’s buying anything? Essentially they’re using your store as say a coffee shop?”
“Essentially, yes,” I agree.
“Get rid of open mic night. If it’s costing you money unnecessarily, it needs to go.”
“Okay, done,” I agree, more than happy to get all those people out of my store. “What else?”
“Well, this meeting was so I can go over your earning reports and expenses. This isn’t my official proposal. I’ll have that ready for you in about…a week?”
“Oh, okay,” I agree, surprised. I thought this would just be a quick dinner where she gives me some suggestions and we’re done, leaving everything in my hands.
The waitress places the appetizers between us with two plates. Stella digs in and waves me on, telling me to take what I want.
I reach out and grab a mini burger, a hot wing, and a jalapeño popper. “So, how’s all this work? You give me your official proposal and then what? I just take the info and put it to use?”
She shakes her head. “No, I’ll review everything and see what else I can come up with.”
“This sounds expensive,” I mutter.
“While it’s true that sometimes, you spend money to make money, but I think we can do better than that. So, I’ll figure some stuff out, and we’ll meet on it. We’ll discuss everything and ultimately, you’ll have final say on what we do and don’t do. Once we’re in agreement, I’ll help see things through. I won’t just give you a list and be like ‘here, you’re on your own.’ Does that make sense?”
I nod as I take a bite of my mini burger. “So, we’ll be doing this again then?”
She smiles. “Isn’t it fun? We’ll be all kinds of acquainted by the end of this ordeal, but hopefully your store will be back to turning a profit.”
“Is there any project you took on and couldn’t turn around?” I ask, out of curiosity.
She nods. “Remember Willy’s bar? It was only in town for about a year.”
I think back. “Oh yeah, I remember that place. It was fun there. Now it’s closed down and the building’s an outlet mall.”
She nods with a lift of her brow. “Jack had drinking issues and was drinking up his supply. Not to mention that all of his friends got to drink for free. He learned pretty quickly that if you’re a business, you have to charge in order to stay open. He had a good year of straight partying though.”
I laugh. “I went there a few times. Did you ever go?”
She nods. “Lola and I would go there all the time.”
I pop a brow.
She shrugs. “I don’t like seeing local businesses fail.”
The mood goes somber for a brief second and she speaks up. “So, how much, without looking in the books or anything, does the store need to make in order to stay open and keep you comfortable?”
“In a month?” I ask, lifting my brow.
She takes a bite of her potato skin and nods.
