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Zorro. Laundrette, period clothing hire shop and hair salon.
Law. Sheriff’s office.
Twitch. Bowling alley, theatre,
Grim. Maintaining the grounds
Nanci. Dance Studio.
Daisy-Duke. Post office.
Amy. School House.
Chill. Toy store and the chocolate shop.
Carole. Restaurant.
Bow. Coaching inn and fire equipment maintenance.
Isabelle. Silver Dollar Hotel, Grand Hotel, and the Plaza Hotel.
Abyss. Shop rentals.
Moon. Liquor store and saloon and cigar shop.
“I’ve a couple of questions,” Vortex said. “Club-stocked shops? They’re the ones where we sell UBMC merchandise, and we’re running ourselves? Unlike, say, the candle shop where we rented it out.”
“Yeah,” Inglorious nodded.
“The house rentals, those we let to staff or everyone?” Vortex asked.
“Everybody. The holiday lets, and employee rentals,” Inglorious answered.
“The shop rentals—does that cover all the business properties, too?”
“No. Everyone has their own businesses next to their name—they’re responsible for them. They manage the rentals and are the renter’s liaison. You ensure they pay their dues. Like you have the dentist, Vortex, you make sure he pays us the rent and then deal with any issues he has.”
“That’s fair enough. Thanks, Prez.” Vortex settled back.
“As you can see. Some of the old ladies are running businesses. Isabelle has a background in hospitality, so she demanded the hotels. We are actively searching for an event planner who will take that crap over from me.” Inglorious looked grumpy. He hated that shit but coped with it.
“Did you ever consider how big Merritt would grow?” Abyss asked, peering at the list. “There’s a lot of businesses listed.”
“Nope. But they’re pulling in money hand over fist. Someone called the hotel the other day asking if we had a campsite,” Inglorious said.
Groans met him. “No. They stay at the hotels,” Vortex stated. “No more businesses; we need to get a grip on the ones we have first.”
“I agree. There’s a lot happening, and even if we have managers in place, it’s still a lot for everyone to oversee,” Tracker replied.
Inglorious held his hands up. “Fair enough. We’ve got the Easter Egg event happening soon for children. Three schools have signed up, and we’ll need to be present. Nanci has ordered enough for two per kid. She’ll be opening the restaurant on those days so they can eat and sit somewhere warm, once they’ve found their eggs.
“On top of that, we’ve a local historian coming in to talk about Merritt and the local history. She’s also planned some activities. I want guards in the more sensitive businesses. We can’t have kids running around the liquor store, for example.”
“Yeah, can’t see that going down well with the teachers,” Sabre said.
“Nanci’s also putting together some goodie bags for free advertising for the town. Each will contain a pen, a pencil, and a fidget pop. For the younger ones, there’ll be pencils and a colouring book. Older kids will get a notebook and a magnet. Nanci is shoving in a booklet of vouchers. Ten per cent off admission price to the theatre, same discount on the restaurant, and some other money-saving offers,” Inglorious continued.
“Not a bad idea,” Vortex nodded.
