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“Katelynn, hi,” Deanna says, out of breath from hurrying around the counter. “As a matter of fact, I did find a random glove. Navy blue with gold stitching around the wrist?”
“Yes!” the young woman exclaims. “That’s it. Thank goodness I lost it there and not somewhere on the street corner.”
“Did you want to stop by and pick it up? I’m sure you’d like to have it with this winter front moving in this weekend.” Deanna was planning to do a couple things upstairs for the remainder of the afternoon, and she didn’t mind walking back down if Katelynn needed her to.
“Actually, my mom said I could borrow hers this weekend, so if you can set it to the side until our training on Monday, I’d really appreciate it.”
“I can do that. If you change your mind, though, just give me a call. I’ll be happy to let you inside.”
Katelynn had provided an excellent interview. She was so well-spoken and professional in her mannerisms, Deanna would’ve considered her for a management position had the young woman been old enough. Katelynn, though, was a senior in high school, with plans to attend UNLV in the fall. While her scholarship covered her tuition and room and board, her parents had insisted that she earn a little money that she could put back. She asked about being able to come back during the summers and holidays and Deanna thought it was an excellent idea. Not only would it give her regular employees some time off, but she’d also be helping Katelynn out as well.
No sooner had she put the phone onto the charging port, than it began to ring again. Figuring Katelynn must’ve changed her mind about coming to get her glove, she hastily picks it up again. “I’ll open the door for you,” she says without properly answering.
“Excuse me? Is thisThe Coffee Loft?” a woman’s voice says on the other end.
“I’m so sorry. I thought this was…oh, never mind. Yes, this isThe Coffee Loft. We’re not open for business yet, but I’d be glad to answer any questions you may have.” Deanna feels her face heat.
“This is Liz calling from the home office.”
“Liz, hi. I’m Deanna. What can I do for you?” Deanna had studied her notes for hours and hours on end about the franchise opportunity, worried to death she was going to slip and do something she wasn’t supposed to. Not that answering the phone the way she had was a big deal—she’d simply assumed it was Katelynn—but her nerves were already frazzled as is. Grand opening was in less than a week and she wanted to make sure everything went off without a hitch. The last thing she wanted was to start off on the wrong foot with the company.
“Are you getting excited?” Liz asks. “We’re thrilled you’re apart ofThe Coffee Loftfamily.”
“Nervous doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Deanna chuckles. “I probably won’t sleep at all this coming week. It doesn’t help we’re expecting a couple inches of snow, which may keep people from getting out. I hope that’s not the case, but it’s something I need to factor in leading up to next Friday.”
“That’s part of the reason why I’m calling. We have you set up for a dairy delivery on Monday. We’ve been keeping an eye on the weather and we are concerned about our driver’s safety.”
The phone goes silent and Deanna’s stomach begins to knot. What exactly is Liz saying? Is she going to have to delay training and her grand opening because of the weather? She can accept that most places aren’t equipped for dealing with heavy snow, but it takes a lot for Tahoe to shut down.
“When will we know for certain? I’ve got my employees coming in to train and if I need to change their schedules—” Her voice trails off as a wave of emotion suddenly washes over her.
“We hope you don’t mind, but we’ve reached out to a local supplier on your behalf. Other than an oat almond blend, they have everything else that you need for training and for opening. We realize this is something that should’ve been discussed with you first, but we wanted to place the initial order before the cut-off time.”
“Oh, thank goodness. You had me almost in tears.”
“I apologize for that, Deanna. Trust me, the last thing we want is for your big day to not go as planned. If it works okay using the local distributor, is this something you would like to consider for your future milk orders? We’re willing to make an exception based on your shop’s location. Some things just make more sense, you know?”
“Of course, I’m okay with it. I guess. Plus, if I run low on something, it’ll be easy to pick up the phone and add to my order. It’s a win for everyone.”
“That’s the way we were looking at it, too,” Liz says. “They weren’t able to give me an exact time for Monday’s delivery, but they did say to expect him before eight o’clock. I’ll forward you the account information we’ve temporarily set up and you can make any changes to it with their accounting department on Monday.”
“This is perfect, since I’m bringing in the baristas at ten. Thank you so much for looking out for me and the shop.” Deanna leans against the counter and sighs.Crisis averted, she says to herself.
“You’re very welcome and congratulations. We wish you the best of luck with your grand opening.”
Chapter Four
“Noooo,” Deanna grumbles and rolls over to shut off her alarm. Although she’d tried to go to bed at a decent time, she’d tossed and turned until well after midnight. It had been this way for over a week now, and it didn’t appear to be getting any better. Mostly likely from worrying about her grand opening—it was only a couple of days away—but she’d give anything to get a full night’s sleep again.
Pulling the blanket and flannel sheet up to her neck, she contemplates closing her eyes for a few more minutes. Her to-do list is a mile long of last minute things she needs to take care of, so she forces herself to go ahead and get up.
Peeking out of her upstairs window, she sees a fresh blanket of snow has covered the ground. Thank goodness she doesn’t have far to go to get to work. Granted, she still has to get out in the cold, but it sure beats having to warm her car then drive into the city, especially with such treacherous road conditions. She truly feels bad for anyone having to be out in it, including the delivery driver for the milk that’s headed her way. Speaking of which, if she didn’t get going, the milk would likely make it there before she did.
Pulling on her coat with the fuzzy hood, she slips her keys into the front pocket and closes the door behind her. Today is one of those days she wishes she didn’t have to get out. Brrr, it’s freezing!
Holding onto the handrail, she carefully takes each step until she reaches the bottom. She hadn’t been too crazy about having stairs when she and Don had bought their dream home back in NYC, but she didn’t mind these so much. In fact, as each day passed, she seemed to fall more in love with the place. Not that she wanted to always live here—at some point she’d like to have a house again—but for now, the apartment was perfect.
She flips the lights on inside the coffee shop, then stops to look around. She’d spent the better part of last week setting everything up precisely the way she wanted it, swapped a couple of things around, then moved them all back again. She was embarrassed to admit how many times she’d clean the tables and counters, yet the shop hadn’t opened yet.
