Chapter Four

Nicholas

“Empires crumble. Mergers fall through. Businesses plans fail.” Nicholas was on the phone in his office, finishing up the days' calls as he twirled every now and then in his leather chair. “But not if we can prevent it. Insight and foresight, that’s all that matters. We are here to set your business up for success. We're here to make sure your business stays around. That’s what makes the Kerstman difference.”

Nicholas bit into his green apple as he nodded along with the response on the other end of the line. He didn’t need to listen too closely because the response was always the same. They always signed up with him.

His clients were local businesses, started by hardworking people who’d at long last gotten the break they’d always deserved. With more opportunity came more risk and more things to worry about. Now that they were beginning to ramp up business, they were terrified of the future, terrified of losing everything they'd worked so hard for.

And it was Nicholas’ job to make sure that would never happen. He helped businesses take the next step in their growth, and he was very good at it.

“Of course, I’d be happy to work with you at my friends and family rate. After all, you were referred to me by Garry’s Mix-Ins, right? I love Garry’s. Used to go there all the time back in college.” Nicholas smiled and spun in his chair. “I can’t wait to get started on your company’s numbers. I know Christmas is coming, but I'll be working. Get me your numbers and I'll have options for you by New Years.”

The phone conversation ended and Nicholas was hurrying out of his office. He had another meeting across town with an ever-growing party store, a place that’d become trendy in the past year and was inundated with curious tourists. He'd been helping them grow their business for months and was surprised they'd called him when things were going so smoothly.

As he stepped into the store, he was given an oversized pair of sunglasses and two neon bright bracelets were slipped onto his wrists for him. Happy, bouncy music played loudly over the speakers. There were more balloons than usual around the store.

“What is this for?” Nicholas asked, looking with polite distaste at his new accessories.

“We're having a party!” Beth, the store's co-owner informed him, offering him an oversized brightly colored hat. Nicholas declined.

“A party?” Nicholas looked around at the balloons. They of course were red and green.

“Nicholas Kerstman, have you ever been to a party in your life?” Beth joked as she finished adjusting the bracelet on his wrist. “My husband says ‘no’, but I bet in some past life, you were the life of the party, weren’t you?”

“Parties aren’t a very effective use of one’s time,” Nicholas informed her.

“And there’s that Kerstman charm,” Beth said, shaking her head. “Paul’s in the back. I think he’d prefer it if he was the one to tell you the good news.”

“Good news?” Nicholas leaned against the register, watching Beth arrange silly string containers on the counter. “You’re having a blockbuster fiscal year, I hope.”

The sound of a heavy box being placed on the counter made him turn.

“Yes! All thanks to you!” Paul grinned. He pushed the heavy-looking brown box more to the center of the counter. “We got the call from Party Supplies, Inc, just last night. That's why we're celebrating.”

“The call? Celebrating what?” Nicholas asked. He took his sunglasses off.

“Party Supplies, Inc. offered us a deal! They bought us out! We’re officially part of the Party Supplies, Inc. family!” Beth announced, unable to contain her excitement for even a moment longer.

“You two sold the store?” Nicholas couldn't remember them saying anything about selling. They loved their store. They'd even turned down several lucrative offers because they loved running a party business.

“Yes and no. We sold the rights to the store, but we’re still the owners and operators. We’ll be keeping the name of the store and everything. We'll be able to start our family since we'll be spending less time on the back-end of the business,” Paul explained. “If we wanted to retire tomorrow, we could and we'd still get to keep our business going.”

“Not that we're even thinking of retirement,” Beth said quickly. “But it is nice to know we can start spending a little less time worrying about the store all the time.”

“Huh...” Nicholas’ reply came out thoughtful as he tapped his fingers along the counter. “So, you two get to keep the store. And even if you left, the store would continue to function, because you’ve been bought out by corporate giants. How interesting...”

“I'm glad you think so,” Beth said as she began to open the box on the counter. “Tt’s going to be so worth it. And it’ll be nice to have someone else to handle accounting and managing suppliers. My eyes were this close to being permanently crossed if I had to go over our spreadsheets for the millionth time.”

“I told her to buy a new lamp, but she never listens...” Paul mumbled under his breath. “And now it’s time to get our store stocked up with Party Supplies, Inc. stuff. Can you believe it? They sent this box overnight, just as soon as we said yes. We just have to hang a few new signs in our windows. Maybe change some of our displays.”

Nicholas now saw the Party Supplies, Inc. logo emblazoned on the side of the box.

“Let me help you,” Nicholas suggested, holding his hands out towards the box. “And I’ve got a few more questions about your deal. Was there any mention of a lease in your contract?”

“If you’re going to talk shop at least put your sunglasses back on,” Beth said. “At least pretend like you know how to have a good time. We're supposed to be celebrating.”

“No problem, Beth.” Nicholas put his shades back on before offering Paul a serious nod. “Alright. Let’s talk about the sale.”

Beth rolled her eyes as she stepped away from the conversation, moving towards the front door to greet an incoming customer.

***

“You want to try and get a franchise deal for a Christmas store in the middle of the Christmas season? That’s your pitch?” Nicholas’ assistant, Luke, asked, shaking his head. “No offense, sir, but wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until after Christmas? Wouldn’t any potential investor want to see your final numbers for the year?”

“Maybe so, if I was trying to sell the rights to a proof of concept,” Nicholas replied. He set his salad down on his desk, as he leaned over towards Luke. “But I’m not selling a proof of concept. I’m selling a twelve-year-old family owned and operated Christmas shop in small town America. The kind of small town that had a months-long protest when Wal-Mart tried to open a grocery store. These people care about who’s in their neighborhood and they like to know who they’re buying from. They like real people. Not big, faceless companies. It’s a nearly impossible market for a chain to break into.”

Luke frowned, taking a bite of his own salad. “I suppose...”

“But I have the in they want. All I have to do is open the door. Invite a chain to come check out the store. Sweeten the deal by offering full control, as long as my family gets to keep the name on the storefront,” Nicholas explained. “Any company looking to infiltrate the small-town market would be a fool not to give that a shot, with or without the store’s final numbers for the year. It's a business opportunity I wouldn't give up if I were them.”

Luke chewed on his salad thoughtfully for a moment.

“You sure you don’t want to move down there and run the store yourself? Managing a Christmas shop seems right up your alley,” Luke said, struggling to get through the sentence with a straight face, his laugh breaking through near the end.

Nicholas soon joined Luke in his laughter before he reached for his salad again. “That’s the real reason I hired you, you know. You’re hilarious. The business degree from Yale was hardly a factor.”

“I know, sir, I know.”

Despite their age difference, Nicholas liked Luke. Luke was fresh from college but full of enthusiasm and good ideas. Hiring him last year had been one of the best decisions Nicholas could have made for his company.

“But it’s a good thing you have that degree...” Nicholas finished up his final bite of salad. “...because you’re about to be the key contact person for Kerstman Enterprises.”

“The key what?” Luke’s eyes went wide, and his voice cracked. “I’m sorry? I think I misheard you, sir?”

“Nope. You heard me right the first time. You're in charge.” Nicholas stood away from his desk, moving towards Luke’s right side. “Don’t freak out about it. Business typically slows down this time of year. We shouldn’t have any new contracts coming across my desk until late January. I’ll just need someone at the office while I head home for a few days.”

“You’re going on vacation?” Luke sounded more incredulous than if Nicholas had announced he thought he could fly.

Nicholas laughed again, folding his arms against his chest. “No, I’m not going on vacation. I’ll need to check on the store before inviting anyone to come and see it. If you’re a real estate agent, you don’t host an Open House until you finish repainting the kitchen. And if you’re trying to sell a business, you don’t invite big name corporations to your shop until you have a clear idea of what it is that you’re even selling.”

“Got it,” Luke said, seemingly still in shock. “Thank you so much for the opportunity, sir. I promise I won’t let you down.”

“You have my full vote of confidence.” Nicholas grinned over at Luke. “And, even if you screw up, I don’t think you’d screw up that much. There’s nothing you could possibly break that I wouldn’t be able to fix.”

“Thank you for the pep talk, sir,” Luke said, rolling his eyes. He smiled up at his boss. “I’ll secure your travel plans by tonight. You should be able to fly out of here in the morning. I'll get you a car at the airport. You're usual?”

“That sounds perfect.”