The Boss Who Stole Christmas - Jana Aston Page 0,3

town’s main claim to fame: Otto's Christmas Mart, the largest Christmas retail store in the nation, bringing in visitors year round from near and far. And we have not one but two hotels with water parks catering to the summer crowd. Like I said, we're a pretty happening place for a town that crowns an annual Candy Cane Princess.

I don't want to brag but I was Miss Candy Cane Princess seven years ago. I know it might be a little vain, but I still have the tiara. I use it as my tree topper because being Miss Candy Cane Princess was my childhood dream. That and working for the Flying Reindeer Toy Company when I grew up.

I tap on my laptop to move the notes I've prepared to the display screen on the conference room wall so everyone can see the updates. I've got photos of the construction process and images of the tea room furniture already on order. I've got a custom line of china under development which we'll use in the tea room and sell as a new product line.

I might be gushing a little bit but this café is my passion project and besides, how could anyone not be excited about this?

"Has the advertising been adjusted to accommodate the early opening?" Nick asks, his gaze on mine, slowly rolling a pen between his fingers while he silently judges me.

"No. The official opening will remain the first of June. The soft opening is currently projected for the tenth of May. We'll push the soft opening to locals and use the time to fine-tune operations before the summer season. The payroll budget has been adjusted to accommodate an early opening," I hastily add when Nick continues to stare at me.

I clear my throat and click to the next slide, the financials. "We're already twenty percent booked for next summer based on our pre-launch advertising and reservations made via an online reservation system. I expect that will increase drastically once we release interior photos and really begin the adverting push. On the modest end of my forecast, I've estimated profits based on a seventy-percent booking during the summer and winter seasons and a thirty-percent booking during the off-season." A graphic with the projected revenues based on these numbers appears on the screen. "But these are very modest. I expect we'll be a hundred percent booked by midsummer once people get a look at the finished space. And I think our off-season numbers will be much higher than thirty percent once we become a birthday party destination for local children, but I wanted to be conservative on my—"

"What about the disappointed children?" Nick interrupts.

I freeze. Is he mocking me? What disappointed children? Does he want me to have a game plan for kids who hate fun? God, he probably does. Why didn't I think of this? Of course he'd want that, he's probably hated fun since he learned how to talk and decided everyone was a disappointment.

"If we're booked to capacity during the busy season and they can't get a table?" Nick presses when I remain temporarily mute. "The location in Nuremberg that we're modeling this after has a takeaway counter. Did you ask them if they were willing to share the ratio of dine-in versus takeaway business?"

Oh.

I fidget in my chair. I sort of love-hate the way he calls takeout takeaway. I'm sure it's a leftover from his time spent living in Europe. But also, I hate him so I refuse to admit it's charming.

"I wasn't aware they had a takeout counter. There weren't any pictures of that on their website."

"On their website," Nick repeats slowly as his brows rise. "You've never been to the café in Germany?"

"No," I answer, but I say it with confidence because I will not show him an iota of weakness. I've done my research on this, I know my business plan is solid. "We don't have room within the available square footage for a takeout counter and besides, the numbers work without it."

Nick taps the pen in his fingers against his lower lip while he thinks. The room is silent as we wait on him to ruin my day in one way or another.

"The Jack Frost Candle Company is closing in January," Nick announces. "They currently occupy the space adjacent to our new Teddy Bear Café. Let's grab it and add a takeaway business. We'll create a passthrough in the back rooms of both units so they can share kitchen and refrigeration space. We