That made Molly think that Nicholas must be a very, very busy man.
Which meant that even if he did make it out to visit Christmas Wishes, he wouldn’t stay for long, and for the most part, he’d stay out of Molly’s hair.
Good, Molly thought. I certainly don't need a Christmas hater around.
Molly couldn’t imagine herself having the time for Nicholas Kerstman. Between managing Christmas Wishes, running the children’s choir, and helping Hannah with anything she might need for her shop, Molly’s holiday calendar was filled to its maximum capacity.
And so, Molly decided, right then and there, that she wouldn’t have any time for Nicholas Kerstman.
No time at all.
Chapter 4
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 spen
ding a little less time worrying about the store all the time.”