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“The store isperfectthe way it is,” she insisted. “Why are you so hellbent on turning the whole store upside down? Is it just for money?”

I sat back, my arms on the armrests, and took a deep breath. “First and foremost,” I began coolly, “you need to remember that the store is a business. A business survives on money alone. Any other factor or aspect only serves the end goal, which, unfortunately, is money. If you have an issue with me ensuring the store makes more money, then we’re at an impasse. The store needs changes, and as the majority shareholder, Frankie, it’s my job to ensure my assets benefit me.”

“I didn’t come here for a business lesson,” she spat, spinning on her heel and pacing again. “I came here to explain why you should leave the store as is.”

“Oh?”

That was a surprise.

“Yes,” she hissed. “But you dove into your lecture without thinking thatmaybeI already know a bit about business after being raised by entrepreneurs.”

As much as I wanted to fight back and scold her for snapping like that, I couldn’t. I was thoroughly enthralled by this fiery tornado ready to tear into me to protect her parents’ dream.

“I apologize,” I said, and I meant it. It jarred her a little, but she quickly recovered. “Go ahead and say what it is you want to say.”

She dragged in a lungful, hurling a “Don’t order me around” before turning on her heel again. I held my hands up in mock surrender, a grin already forming on my face.

“That store has been my family’s safe haven,” she stated, looking at me and quickly away. “Mysafe haven for as long as I can remember. I found out I had a severe allergy to dairy and pretty much any kind of nut when I was still a kid, so eating without dying was a challenge. My parents decided to open the store to help people like me, to give us a space where we could feel safe and know that the food we buy is free of allergens.”

I nodded as she spoke. She’d never told me about her allergies outright— and why would she— but I’d guessed as much. Looking into her parents’ history yielded nothing to explain their decision to target an incredibly niche market over two decades ago.

“You can’t just swoop in and- andchangethat,” she said. “I get that you’re super rich and used to getting your way with your flashy charm or whatever, but this storemeanssomething. It means something to me, to our community.”

I waited for her to continue, her words hitting me like waves hitting rocks.

“And I’m the manager,” she declared, holding her head high and glaring me down. “You have to run these things by me.”

It was quiet for a beat before I spoke, getting to my feet and rounding my desk. I stood in front of her again, and she didn’t back down.

“You’re the manager?” I asked.

She nodded defiantly.

I nodded once and leaned forward, her eyes wide and locked on mine. “Thenactlike it.”

Chapter nine

Not Quite Eye to Eye

Frankie

“Don’tyouthinkyou’retaking this just a little too far?

I threw a glare over my shoulder at Joe, who idly thumbed through a vegan catalog. He’d been courting the idea of becoming vegan himself, but apparently the ‘call of bacon’ was too strong.

He was met with the same reaction every time.

Now, however, he alternated between the catalog and me.

I hauled myself onto the counter, grabbed the box of chalk and fished a brand new piece out. “Too far?” I asked, writing out the new daily specials painstakingly on the chalkboard.

“With all this?” he said, gesturing vaguely in my direction. “The management position.”

“I’m doing my job,” I told him, scrolling through my phone to check I had the right specials. “And I’m doing what Hayden told me to do.”

“You’ve always acted like the store manager,” Joe pointed out, and I stifled a sigh. “You’ve always done right by us, the customers, and the store. I don’t see why you need to go this far.”

‘This far’ referred to my, in Vanessa’s words, obsessive tendency to make everything in the store perfect as it was. Because it was already perfect in my eyes.