“We have forty accountants; it takes anywhere from one to five to oversee each department.”
“You manage that many?The company I work for only has thirty, including three forensic accountants.I know most of our work is for external customers, but yours is all internal.”
“It is.We need that many.R&D takes up four alone.I have five that work on Daily Perks and the cafeteria.Plus, with our international expansion, we’ll be adding even more.”
“That seems like a lot for small departments.”
“They may be considered small, but we have a lot of moving parts that other companies don’t.Operations has five, but I’ve been thinking about adding a few more to them especially if we acquire Rustic.”
“Operations also has the biggest budget.”
I glanced over at her.Valerie had always been intuitive with numbers.
“I noticed when I reviewed the financials, trying to see if there were any patterns between Operations and Rustic that would pop out at me,” she added.
“They do have the bigger budget.But Josh and Dean run a tight ship.It’s their job to fulfil the clients wishes.”
“I’m curious.How does that work?”
“That’s a long explanation.It’s a good thing we have time on the drive.”We spent the next hour talking about what Josh and Dean did and FI overall.
“That’s all fascinating.”Valerie glanced out the window as I drove into our destination.“Leavenworth?”Valerie’s voice held excitement.“I’ve never been here.”
“What?You’ve lived in the area forever, and you’ve never been here.”I was thrilled I picked Leavenworth as the perfect weekend get-away.
“I know.I’ve just never made it over here.”She turned her head left and right, taking in everything she could.
“Well, now, I’m very happy I picked it.”I turned off the highway, then turned left to our hotel and parked.
“Are we staying here?”Valerie asked as I helped her from the SUV.
“Yes.It’s a nice boutique hotel.”It was more than that, but I’d let her discover that for herself.Grabbing our bags, I held them in one hand and guided her into the lobby.
“This is great.”She grinned.“Look at all the Bavarian decorations.”
“Welcome to the Solstice.Checking in?”the young lady behind the desk asked.
“Yes.Lucas Bryer.”I handed her my driver’s license and credit card.
“Yes, Mr.Bryer, I have you in one of our suites on the third floor for one night.”
“Correct.”
“Perfect,” the clerk said as she handed me back my credit card.I glanced around to see Valerie wandering around the room, stopping at times to admire the decorations.“Your room is ready.Here are your keys.We have an elevator and a set of stairs to your left.I see you asked for a late check-out tomorrow.Since there’s no reservation for tomorrow night, we’ve given you a check out time of two.”
“That’s great.Thank you.”I wasn’t sure how late they would give us when I asked for it, but that worked perfectly.
“You’re welcome.If you have any questions or issues, just let me know, and enjoy your stay.”
“Thank you again.”I picked up our keys and walked over to Valerie; she was studying a set of Nutcrackers on the table.“Our room is ready.”
She blinked at me, then smiled.“I can’t wait to see it.”
“Stairs or elevator?”I asked.
“Stairs.I have a feeling I’m going to need the exercise.”
“You’re going to get plenty of exercise,” I whispered as we made our way up the stairs.There was only one door on the third floor, so that had to be us.I unlocked the door and pushed it open, ushering Valerie in first.
