“Don’t be getting an attitude. We’re going for a walk, so give me five minutes and we’ll be out of here.” By the time she changed, checked her mail, and made a pit stop, it was closer to ten minutes. Dom still sat right at the door. Waiting. He knew her moods. He knew her words. He listened when she griped about work. He was the perfect boyfriend, except for the fact they were of two different species.
She filled the backpack, then leaned down to give him a hug. “I’m so glad I have you in my life.”
An hour later, the walk done and her mood elevated, Angie arrived at the County Seat ready to face her day. Felicia was in her office, feet up on Angie’s desk and a laptop perched on her legs. “Hey, how are you?”
“I’m better now. I was feeling a little stressed with everything that’s going on, but Ian assures me that the fair organizers have upgraded the security around the Restaurant Wars area so no one should die on Friday.” She sat in her chair and booted up her computer. “So, there’s that.”
“Sounds like a move in the right direction. I think it’s ironic that the killer is using junk food as a delivery medium for the poison. What if someone had been on a diet? They wouldn’t have eaten the nachos.” Felicia glanced at the laptop. “Anyway, we’re all set for next Sunday’s class. And it’s full. We could get so many more students if we had that room opened already, but I get that we need to take this slow.”
“I just don’t want to be underwater on the financing for the place.” Angie opened the financial records their accountant had sent for approval earlier that week. “Want to go over the budget with me so we can get this back to Kim?”
“Sure. Going over what we actually brought in last month will help with the proposal, anyway. Are you thinking we’ll take this to a bank for a loan?” Felicia closed her laptop and moved her chair around to sit near Angie so she could see the screen.
“Maybe. Or maybe we’ll do it a piece at a time. Cash-flow the renovations. That way, we don’t have to worry about paying back anything.” The costs for the remodel had been high on her worry list. “Oh, and before he gets to you, Ian wants us to talk the neighbor into an option to purchase the house behind us so we can eventually have an herb garden.”
“Mrs. Beverly lives there. She’s in her sixties. She might not sell for years.” Felicia glanced toward the back of the building. “What is Ian thinking?”
“I guess he’s in the long-range planning mode.” Angie went first to the reports that Kim had made as an overview of the business’s financial net worth. “Me, I’m not sure what I’m doing tomorrow.”
“That’s not true, and you know it. But yeah, he’s thinking long-term for the business—and for you.” Felicia gave her a questioning look. “Are you sure he’s not asking about something else?”
Angie shook her head. “Let’s focus on the report, okay?”
After reviewing the monthly report, they looked at the budget. Angie compared the budget with their plan. “Food costs increased last month, but I was buying a lot of fresh vegetables that don’t keep very well. This month, I’ll be moving to more root vegetables that we can store extra from one week to another, so that should drop the costs back into normal range.”
“We need to add more into payroll now that we’ve hired Bleak.” Felicia was taking notes. “Will the fair event increase our payroll hours?”
“I don’t think so. Except for the temp we hired for Hope’s dishwasher duties.” Angie glanced at the work schedule. “I already told Bleak she could come with us. Should I move her back to the restaurant this weekend to cover Hope?”
Felicia shook her head. “No. You should take her with you. From what I’ve heard, the girl hasn’t had much of a childhood ever. She needs to know that having fun is part of life too. Not just work. Did you know she cooked for her entire