“Oh, I’m doing quite well, thank you.” She’s always been so polite.
“Should we get started?” I ask.
“I see you’re quite eager, so I think we should,” she says with a little laugh.
We start to go over my accounts. I have to admit, it doesn’t look great.
“Do you think I’ll be able to pay off these debts in a month?” I ask.
She pauses. “Well, you could, but I don’t think you’ll want to.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you fired your staff, these debts could be easily paid off.”
I don’t even have to think about my answer.
“Absolutely not,” I tell her.
She gives me a little smile. “I thought you might say that. Unfortunately, your nobleness has no bearing on your debts.”
It’s really not a noble instinct. I know that Abbie and Cody don’t do much for what I pay them. I just know that they rely on this work.
It would be a betrayal to get rid of them. It just wouldn’t feel right.
I know I have a responsibility to keep the shop open, but I also feel like I have a responsibility to them. I was really hoping the BDSM nights would help us with money.
I’ll keep my employees on until the end. I can’t let them go.
“What if we paid them off over six months?” I ask. “Could we keep everyone on them?”
Edna ponders this thoughtfully. “I suppose that would make it easier. It would be tight, but I think you could do it. But darling, do you have six months?”
I sigh. “I don’t think so. But maybe I could pitch it. They aren’t hurting for the money right now. Maybe they’ll be sympathetic.”
As soon as I say it, I know they won’t be. Wake Developments isn’t exactly known for their sympathy.
The head of Wake Developments is a woman named Tiffany Wake. Her reputation is well known.
She doesn’t have a soft bo
ne in her body. She’s tough and cut-throat. I suppose that makes sense. Her business is really successful.
Still, I couldn’t do that. My business may suffer for it, but I care too much about people.
I think bitterly about what would happen to the bookstore if Tiffany Wake was in charge of it. She’d fire everyone and sell it to a big box store. She’d be laughing all the way to the bank.
I don’t want that fate. I’d rather have the trust and respect of my employees. I’d rather be proud of how I conduct my business than have a big bank account.
But maybe I do need a dose of that. A small voice in my head reminds me that I’ve let my bank account get a little too anemic lately. Something needs to change.
Edna and I draw up a plan for how to approach this. I’m hoping that being straightforward will help. If Tiffany is as tough as people say she is, she may appreciate someone coming at her on that level.
I plan to be honest. I can’t pay it now, but I do have a plan to pay that will work. I hope that’s enough to work. I hope she sees that I’m prepared and ready to combat this.
Edna and I finish drafting my plan for Wake Development. She gives me a hug and wishes me luck before she heads back home.
I feel a knot in the pit of my stomach as Edna leaves. Her leaving means it’s time to go down and beg Wake Development to take my offer.