Lamar nodded. “That’s what I told Jasmine.”
Nydia blinked slowly. “Are we talking about the same Jasmine?”
“Yes. When Cameron introduced her to me as an interior decorator and she said how she wanted to decorate the loggia, I asked her whether she would be willing to come and look at my daughter’s bedroom, which definitely needed to be updated from one for a little girl to a young adult. Everything was done while Kendra spent the summer with her mother and sister in Baton Rouge, and when she came back and saw her new bedroom she screamed, cried, spun around like a whirling dervish, and then screamed some more.”
“She had a right to scream and cry tears of joy because this bedroom is definitely a showpiece.” Nydia had witnessed firsthand Jasmine’s artistic gift for decorating when she first visited her friend’s condo. She knew once the renovations on the converted warehouse were completed and Jasmine decorated the interiors, it would be worthy of a layout in an architectural magazine.
“Evie’s twins and the Kelly girls take turns sleeping over.”
Nydia wanted to tell Lamar his daughter was very lucky to have him as her father. He’d denied himself an open relationship with a woman and had made her emotional well-being a priority. She hoped the young girl appreciated his sacrifice.
The tour of his house ended after she viewed the two guest bedrooms and he drove her back to the hotel. He escorted her to her suite, waited until she opened the door, and then brushed a light kiss over her mouth before turning to walk back to the elevator.
There were no parting words or promise to contact each other. It was unnecessary. Both had agreed to keep an open mind as to where they wanted to take their friendship. Nydia was willing to date Lamar, while she still wasn’t ready to acknowledge that she wanted to sleep with him. Sharing a bed with Lamar would change not only their relationship, but her. And for her it meant a commitment that could possibly lead to something more. And more important, she did not want to get in so deep that she would bond with Kendra, and if she and Lamar broke up then the girl would experience the loss of someone she could possibly view as her stepmother.
Nydia closed the door and stared at the pattern on the carpet. And there was the opposite view; she had to decide whether she was cut out to take on the responsibility of dealing with a pubescent girl who might be opposed to sharing her father with any woman.
Chapter 15
Nydia sat in the McNair sunroom with Hannah, Jasmine, and Tonya and outlined the projected financial schematic for the inn. It had taken three attempts before Tonya was able to commit to attend the meeting. Not only was she working full-time at Chez Toussaints, but she was also assisting her husband and brother-in-law with catering orders.
Nydia opened the laptop and inserted a thumb drive into a port. “Tonya, I’m going to begin with you.”
The bond that had developed between her and Tonya during the six weeks she’d shared Tonya’s apartment was like mother and daughter rather than former coworkers. A failed marriage and a subsequent relationship had made the professional chef wary of men until she met fellow chef Gage Toussaint, who’d experienced a similar past. Both were divorced with twenty-something children.
Tonya smiled, flashing deep dimples in her flawless brown cheeks as recessed light shimmered off her short salt-and-pepper curls. “Thank you.”
Nydia had set up a file with the café Tonya had named Martine’s, and Toussaints for the supper club. “I decided to keep the budgets for the café and supper club separate because revenue and expenditures streams will vary greatly.” She glanced at Hannah sitting on a cushioned love seat. “Initially, until Tonya is able to recoup her investment, you will have to be responsible for the cost of purchasing the food for the inn’s guests, who will be offered a buffet breakfast. You will have to determine how much you are going to charge a guest for a daily rate, and a portion of that will have to go to providing breakfasts.”
Hannah exchanged a glance with Tonya. “I told Tonya I would be willing to cover the cost for the breakfasts.”
Nydia was slightly taken aback with this disclosure. “Is there a time limit?” she asked Hannah.
The blonde shook her head. “No. It’s for perpetuity. I will factor the cost of the breakfast in with the daily rate.”
Nydia nodded. “Okay. Have you thought about how much Tonya will be paid for preparing buffet breakfasts seven days a week?”
Silence descended on the space like a shroud as the four women exchanged glances. “I didn’t think of that,” Hannah said after an uncomfortable pause.
“I don’t mean to sound nasty, but you can’t expect her to cook and not be paid,” Nydia said in a quiet voice.
Pinpoints of color dotted Hannah’s pale cheeks. “You’re right, Nydia. I thought paying her for running the supper club would take care of that.”
Nydia shook her head. “That can’t happen. I’ve broken down every unit it takes to run the inn, and that includes everything it takes to make it operational. Lodging will have a separate budget, which will include housekeeping, repairs, and utilities. Tonya will be totally responsible for the supper club, and, Jasmine, you will oversee all employee benefits, design, recruitment, training, and development. If Tonya is having a problem with one of her kitchen help or waitstaff, then Jasmine will become the go-to person to resolve it so that she and Gage can concentrate on preparing meals for their customers. Hannah and I have agreed to open a business account that will require both our signatures for expenditures. I will closely monitor the revenue coming in from the inn’s guests and the supper club. As the inn’s accountant, I will be responsible for dispensing paychecks and reporting taxes to the appropriate local, state, and federal departments. Each of you will receive a yearly budget along with three-, six-, nine-, and twelve-month projections. I’d like for us to get together at the end of each quarter to review your budgets to ascertain whether you’re experiencing overruns or if I have to adjust a particular budget line. I know I’m sounding a little hard-nosed, but I have the responsibility for keeping the inn solvent so we all can earn back our initial investments and share in potential profits.”
“Don’t apologize, Nydia,” Tonya said. “You have to do what you need to do to make us successful innkeepers.”
“I agree,” Hannah added.
“Amen,” Jasmine intoned.
Hannah leaned forward in her chair. “I forgot to tell y’all that once the inn is up and running, LeAnn and Paige have volunteered to step in for Jasmine when she goes on maternity leave. They’ll alternate checking in and checking out guests and will fill in wherever necessary.”
“Are they tired of globetrotting?” Tonya said teasingly.
Nydia laughed along with the others. Hannah’s first cousins, retired schoolteachers, had spent more than two years traveling to six of the seven continents. Their last trip was an African safari. “They’re probably trying to catch their breath before they take off again.”
Hannah shook her head. “I doubt that. LeAnn got sick in Kenya and was afraid she’d picked up malaria even though she’d been inoculated, so it’s going to be a while before she leaves the country again. I’m just grateful they’ve offered to help out.”
