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Ally sat down, resting her crutches against the window, and reached behind to grab their coffees. She passed the cappuccino to Nate and took a sip of the soy latte.
“How did he do?” Nate asked. The barista glanced at them suspiciously. He was lingering around even though their table was completely clean.
“Good. There was a crema in the espresso glass. Three layers like you taught me. And the latte tastes pretty good for a soy one.”
Nate took the lid off his cappuccino and glanced at the foam. “A little too much,” he murmured, lifting the cup to his lips. He closed his eyes for a moment, his mouth shut tight. When he opened them, he shrugged. “It’s passable.”
The barista looked up from where he was wiping the table next to theirs. “Is there something wrong with the coffee?”
“No. Out of everything that’s wrong with this place, the coffee’s at the bottom of the list.” Nate put his cup down and reached his hand out to the man. “My name’s Nathan Crawford. I own the Déjà Brew coffee chain.”
The man’s mouth dropped open. “Oh.” He gave a little shudder, then quickly took Nate’s hand. “It’s good to meet you, sir. Is this one of those TV programs they make?” he asked, looking around the shop. “Where are the cameras? Are they hidden on you?”
Nate raised an eyebrow at Ally. She grinned back and mouthed, “Undercover Boss.”
Nate rolled his eyes at her before turning to face the barista. “This isn’t a TV show. I’m just doing a check, and if I’m honest, I’m not liking what I’m seeing. He glanced at the barista’s nametag. “Alex, where’s your manager?”
“Mandy? She’s, ah, out in the back. Having a smoke.”
“How big is her cigarette?” Nate asked. “We’ve been here for ten minutes and she hasn’t been back.” He shook his head. “You know what? Just take me out so I can talk with her.” He glanced at Ally. “You gonna be okay here for a while?”
“I got my soy latte,” she said, tapping the cup. “And if I get bored I’ll pick up some of the trash on the other tables.”
“No you won’t,” Nathan warned. “That’s your job, is
n’t it, Alex?”
“Yes, sir.” Alex nodded. “I’ll get right on that as soon as I’ve taken you to Mandy.”
“Wish me luck,” Nate said quietly.
“Good luck,” she whispered as he followed Alex behind the counter, and out through the door that led to the kitchens at the rear.
Not that he needed it. She had a feeling that Nate Crawford ate Déjà Brew managers for breakfast, followed with a nice cup of espresso.
15
It was late afternoon by the time they made it to their second stop. San Martino Bay was a hundred miles north of Angel Sands, but had that same small town feel, complete with a boardwalk that ran along the sand and some retail outlets behind it. The building Nate was interested in was empty right now – but before it had shut down it was a seafood restaurant. The walls still held a stench of shellfish as they looked around.
“What do you think?” Nate asked her as he walked around the empty room. “Would you open up an outlet here?”
“It’s pretty,” Ally said, looking around at the golden sand and the pastel shops that lined the beach. “So yeah, I probably would. But then I never was the best business person. That’s why my dad ended up selling to you.” She smiled, as though it still smarted a bit.
“Even the best business person can’t keep a company going on air. With the cash flow like it was, you were always fighting a losing battle. I’m amazed you kept it going as long as you did.”
Her face lit up when he complimented her, making her eyes glow and her lips curl. Man, was she beautiful. No wonder she’d started to haunt his dreams.
“Well for what it’s worth, I think this place has good bones.” She made her way over to the window, and looked outside. “The beach is quiet right now, but that’s not a surprise on a weekday. I’d want to come back on the weekend and during the tourist season to make sure the footfall was good.” She glanced back at him over her shoulder. “How many tourists visit each year?”
“Around two million according to the local business bureau.”
“A bit less than Angel Sands. But still sustainable. And the location is great.” She turned on her good foot. “Are you thinking of branching out into beach locations, or will this and Angel Sands be your only ones?”
“I wasn’t thinking of expanding at all,” he answered honestly. “We’ve had a massive period of growth in the past few years. I wanted to bed everything in before we go through another one. But then this place came up and it’s too good an offer to miss. Plus Angel Sands is doing much better than we’d projected, so I’m thinking that we may look at acquiring a few more up and down the Pacific coast.”
“That makes sense.” Ally nodded. Her brow dipped, as though she was thinking something through. “But you know, these beach cafés have a much different feel to your urban ones. Maybe you should think about branding them a little differently.” She bit her lip and stared out at the bay, her brows dipping together in concentration. “I don’t know, maybe something like ‘Coastal Coffee by Déjà Brew.’ You could make them less about grabbing a coffee to go and more about the experience. Make them somewhere people want to visit whenever they’re on vacation at the beach.”
Nate stared at her, feeling his heart pound against his chest. “Say that again,” he asked, his voice graveled.
