Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Elaine smoothed down the front of the burgundy suit she was wearing.
It was a long time since she’d worn it, but Audrey and Michelle had assured her that the timeless cut and the dark, earthy tones of the fabric made the suit currently fashionable.
She felt elegant and professional in it, a feeling that she liked.
It had been a long time since she’d put on business attire, and it made her feel as though she was ready to conquer the world.
She stepped through the front doors of The Birchwood House and hurried toward the sidewalk, her clean and gleaming short heels clicking against the wooden steps of the porch.
She was on her way to Townsend’s Bakery, but this time she wasn’t going in search of pastries.
She wanted to talk to Shep about a business partnership between The Birchwood House and Townsend’s Bakery.
She made her way along the sidewalk with confidence in her stride. She smiled with excitement as she considered all of the possibilities that lay before herself and her daughter and granddaughter.
Audrey had come back from her date with Evan and told Elaine about a contest that the county held called the Up-and-Coming Business Sponsorship Contest. She had agreed with Audrey and Michelle that the three of them should enter The Birchwood House into the contest, and she’d decided that it was time for her to reach out to Shep about a business partnership between the hotel and the bakery.
She figured that a business partnership would be a great way to boost their chances in the contest by catching the judges’ attention.
It was a short walk between The Birchwood House and Townsend’s Bakery, and she arrived after walking for only a few minutes.
She stepped into the pleasantly air-conditioned bakery and smiled when she was greeted by the scent of sweet treats and the sound of numerous customers chatting and exclaiming over how delicious the baked goods looked.
Iris was standing behind the counter, tucking a variety of cookies into a white paper box at lightning speed while chatting amiably with the three customers who were standing in front of the display case, peering inside it.
She’s the perfect worker for Shep, Elaine thought with a chuckle. She makes up for how little he talks, and with bells on.
She grinned as she observed the way Iris seemed to be some kind of wind-up fairy, whizzing about the shop with cheerful ease, never missing a beat and appearing perfectly unfrazzled.
Elaine felt genuinely impressed by the way the other woman was handling the rush without batting an eyelash or appearing flustered in any way.
Iris kept up a steady stream of conversation with the guests as she worked, talking as casually as if she were chatting at the beach or the hair salon instead of whizzing about wrapping up baked goods and taking payments at lightning speed.
Elaine looked around the front room for Shep, wondering if he might be out there helping Iris, since it was so busy. There was no sign of him, however, and she chuckled, guessing that he had remained sequestered in the back of the shop as usual.
Elaine waited quietly in the corner until the rush had died down and she was the last customer left in the bakery—for a few moments, at least. She stepped up to the counter with a smile and was greeted warmly by Iris.
“Hey, Elaine!” Iris said, stepping forward as if she would have hugged Elaine if there hadn’t been a counter between them. “Great to see you. It’s been a minute.”
“I know.” Elaine smiled. “Audrey usually comes and gets the baked goods for us now, and the last time I was here myself I ended up seeing Shep instead of you.”
“Wow, you glimpsed the unicorn himself, huh?” Iris chuckled. “You’re lucky. That’s a rare sighting. Honestly, we should give out prizes.”
Elaine shook her head, laughing. She wanted to urge Iris to shush, since it was more than possible that Shep could hear her from the kitchen, but she figured that Iris knew what she was doing when it came to Shep.
Besides, despite his gruff exterior, Shep wasn’t a cold-hearted man.
Elaine guessed that he wouldn’t mind being called a unicorn by his imaginative employee.
“What can I get for you?” Iris continued. She seemed to be suspended in motion, like a spinning top whirring in one place while it waited to keep traveling across the room.
“I’ll take a drip coffee and an apple butter scone, please,” Elaine said. “And I’d like to speak with Shep, if he’s back there. It’s about something important.”
Iris froze, blinking. “Um, well, Shep doesn’t usually take time for personal meetings.” She brightened. “Whatever it is, I’m sure I can answer your question. What can I do to help you?”
“I appreciate your offer, but I do actually need to speak with Shep directly. I’m sure he won’t mind too much.”
Iris glanced over her shoulder, biting her lip and looking hesitant. For a second, she seemed to be considering what Elaine was asking for, and then she shook her head. “I don’t think so, I’m sorry Elaine. I really don’t think Shep would be open to an unscheduled visit.”
She’s a great employee for that man, that’s for sure, Elaine thought with a chuckle.
She’s guarding him like a mother bear, making sure he doesn’t have to come out of his anti-social cave.
I don’t think he minds me too much though.
I’m not going to take no for an answer, not after I walked all the way down here.
“I’m afraid he’s just going to have to be okay with it,” Elaine said, giving Iris a mischievous look. She stepped over to the door that led from behind the counter into the kitchen, and, feeling incredibly audacious, stepped through it.
“Shep,” she said cheerfully, marching into the kitchen. “I need to speak to you straight away about a business proposition that has the potential to exponentially increase the income of your bakery.”
Shep, who was standing at his counter wearing a flour-covered yellow apron, gaped at her. He looked as shocked as if she’d been a ghost, rising from the floorboards. She felt a twinge of amusement as she reflected that she was probably the first customer to ever barge her way into Shep’s kitchen.
“What on—” Shep shook his head. He dropped the bread dough he’d been kneading and it landed on the counter with a splat. “Elaine. I am very busy.”
“I know you’re not used to being interrupted like this, Shep—”
“I most certainly am not.” He appeared incredulous. “Who do you think you are, coming in here like this without warning?”
“I’m sorry I startled you,” Elaine said kindly, unphased by the way his demeanor was starting to resemble that of a bear that had been rudely woken from hibernation.
She stood her ground, determined not to leave the kitchen even though Iris was shuffling from foot to foot in the doorway behind her, clearly hoping to usher her out at any moment.
“You’re going to want to listen to what I have to say, Shep. I’ve got a good offer for you, truly.”
Shep grunted. Iris stopped shuffling her feet and looked intrigued.
“Shep, Elaine does seem to have something very important to say right now—sounds like she’s got something to offer you. You should listen to her. You’re all caught up on baking, aren’t you? I think she came at a perfect time for you two to be able to chat.”
Almost petulantly, Shep gestured to the bread dough that was lying on the counter in front of him.
“Yeah, and guess what you’re going to do with that in about two seconds?” Iris pointed out in a teasing tone. “Put it in the proving drawer to rise. So you won’t have anything to do for a while. Besides, right now our shop is empty of customers.”
Shep grunted again, but Elaine noticed that his grunt sounded less grumpy this time. She smiled at him.
“Come on, you want to meet with me. I promise you’ll be interested in what I have to say.”
Shep mumbled something that sounded like, “Only for you, Elaine,” and Elaine found herself holding back a huge smile.
“Sounds like you’d better agree to this meeting,” Iris said with a cheerful shrug. “I’ll wipe down one of the tables out front for the two of you to sit at.”
Shep’s expression reminded Elaine of a toddler who was being told that he had to go to sleep when he’d thought he had hours of playtime left. She held back a laugh, finding the way he reacted to being completely overruled by a couple of women both funny and endearing.
Iris bustled out to the front of the shop and busily wiped off one of the little tables that lined the front picture window. Elaine followed her, sitting down primly on one of the white-painted chairs.
“Thank you, Iris,” she said politely.
Iris draped the rag over her shoulder. “You got it.”
Shep came slowly into the front of the bakery, letting the kitchen door swing closed behind him. Grudgingly, he sat down at the table across from Elaine, glancing warily out the window at the sidewalk as if he wanted to make sure that the shop wasn’t about to be overrun with customers.
“Thanks for meeting with me, Shep,” Elaine said breezily, as if their conversation was something that had been formally planned weeks ago.
Shep shot her a look that held the ghost of a smile. “Don’t mention it,” he said, and although his voice was gruff, his eyes were bright.
“Here’s my proposition,” Elaine said, determined to get right to the point.
She might have had the audacity to pull Shep out of his kitchen to have an impromptu conversation, but she was kind enough to know he would want that conversation to be short.
“I would like for The Birchwood House and Townsend’s Bakery to enter into a kind of business partnership together.
Townsend’s can supply The Birchwood House with fresh pastries everyday once our hotel is open, and in return we’ll advertise your shop and make sure all of our guests know where the pastries came from. ”
Shep blinked, looking intrigued. Elaine had told herself that he was sure to love the idea, but she hadn’t realized how nervous she’d been that he would say no. Now that he was looking genuinely interested, she felt a wave of relief sweep over her.
“We could arrange something like that,” he said slowly. “But you would need to buy the pastries from us, of course. At full price.”
Elaine shook her head immediately. “Certainly not, Shep,” she said, her tone gracious but firm.
“We should be getting a fifty percent discount, at least. I know enough about baking to know that the cost of baking things like croissants and doughnuts would allow you to give us that much of a discount without you losing money. The exposure that this will bring to your business will be worth its weight in gold. As of right now, tourists only come to your shop here and there if they stumble across it. If they discover it through staying at The Birchwood House, they’ll be coming here in droves. ”
Shep leaned back in his chair, chewing on his lip as he considered the proposition. Elaine decided to sweeten the bargain while he was still open-minded.
“And in addition to that, I’ll come pick up the pastries every day myself. That will alleviate any inconvenience on your part. All you have to do is bake the goods for us and give us a discounted price on them, and we’ll do the rest.”
Shep crossed his arms, frowning, and for a moment Elaine held her breath, wondering if he was going to say no. Then he grunted and offered her a small smile.
“Okay. It does sound like a good deal. I’m willing to give it a try.”
“Really?” Elaine brightened, feeling thrilled.
“Really. But there are still details that need to be established. I’m willing to give you a forty percent discount on the baked goods at first, and then if I truly see an increase in my customers, I’m willing to bump it up to a fifty percent discount.”
“That sounds reasonable.” Elaine was trying not to look too gleeful. So far, it was all working out even better than she’d hoped.
“And we’ll need to establish a menu based on how many people are staying in your inn and if they have dietary restrictions.
I’m happy to make gluten free, nut free, and dairy free goods for you, but that’ll cost extra because it involves a higher cost to make and it’s a lot of hassle to keep an area clear of any potential allergens. ”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Elaine said. “We can ask all our guests about that and make sure to give you advance notice.”
“At least twenty-four hours’ notice,” Shep said. “In case I need to go out and buy more ingredients.”
“How about twelve hours’ notice, and if you need any more ingredients, I’ll buy them for you?”
A look of surprise crossed Shep’s face, as if the concept of teamwork had never occurred to him when it came to his baking. He grunted. “I suppose that would be all right.”
“Wonderful,” Elaine said brightly, standing up. “I’ll be back soon to talk over more of the details with you. We can write up an official business agreement and everything.”
“I would appreciate it if next time you made an appointment,” Shep said dryly.
“Oh, come on now, Shep,” Elaine said cheerily. “I know you do your baking very early in the morning. You’re perfectly free to step away for a few minutes any time after seven a.m.”
Shep stared at her, looking dumbfounded that she would dare to suggest such a thing. Trying not to laugh, Elaine waved at him and Iris and slipped out the front door of the bakery.