“You okay?” I whispered to him.
“Yes,” he whispered back. “I’m going to draw pirates!”
The room had quieted, and everyone was watching me try to get Noah settled. I opened my mouth and started talking before I could stop myself.
“You know what would be amazing? If you guys had on-site daycare.”
The quiet in the room got quieter.
“Interesting,” Bev said. “Say more.”
Wait, what did I just do?
Sweat formed at the base of my neck as every eye in the room shifted to me.
“Oh, never mind.” I flapped my hand in front of me. Hopefully, the print on my dress hid any sweat stains. “Ignore me. Let’s get to the agenda.”
“No, Ilovethe idea,” a voice piped up.
“Same,” someone else added. “What a value-add for potential new hires.”
“And it dovetails beautifully with our new family-friendly line. Logan, what’s your take?” Bev asked him. “What sort of on-site daycare would be perfect for Noah, if you could build your dream space?”
“Art supplies!” Noah piped up from the back of the room, and everyone laughed.
“Agreed,” Logan chuckled. “But I’m not sure I’m the right person to bring the concept to life. Nina? How wouldyoudesign the space?”
My eyes went wide, and I took a step backward. “Me?”
And here I thought I’d just be a passive, smiley listener during the meeting. How had I ended up in the spotlight?
“Of course, you,” Logan replied firmly. He turned to address the room. “Nina has an extensive background in early childhood development. There’s no better person to brainstorm the specifics of a potential daycare center.”
The compliment left me speechless for a few seconds. Not just because he’d given me one in front of his colleagues, but because it felt sogenuine. It was a foreign sensation, being appreciated like this.
My bright red cheeks probably broadcast my surprise to the room. I felt like I was about to defend a dissertation.
“That sounds pricey,” a deep voice echoed out. “Not sure we have the budget for something like that.”
Thanks to my background, I was ready with some stats for the buzzkill in the back.
“Um, there are upfront costs, sure, but it’s so worth it in the long run. It’s estimated that daycare costs eat up at least twenty percent of a parent’s income, and with many daycares closing due to challenges with federal funding, just finding a good one is getting more and more difficult,” I began, my voice a little shaky. “Providing on-site childcare not only makes employees’ lives lessstressful, but it also creates a strong employee-employer bond, which makes it easier to retain talent.”
I glanced around the room and saw that every single person was locked on to me. Instead of making me more nervous, I suddenly felt empowered. I knew my idea was a win-win, and from the way everyone was nodding, it was clear they were all on board.
“Agreed,” Bev said. “I’m more interested in hearing what you think would make an Ashford childcare center a peerless facility. I’m talking moon-shot, big-dream stuff.”
My heartbeat triple-timed; building a facility from the ground-up would allow me to bridge everything I’d learned, both in school and on the job, to create something truly wonderful.
I was used to making do when it came to creating childcare programs out in the real world. I knew how to stretch a tub of paint with water, use both sides of the paper, stretch every dollar to the limit—so the idea of creating a program from scratch with a blank check felt like Christmas morning.
And helping so many families? Total dreamworld stuff.
“Overqualified staff,” I began, like I could see it unfolding in front of me as I spoke. “We want to build a back end with benefits so strong that people are begging to come work for us. Attracting the best talent, that’s step one.”
Bev hummed, considering. “What else?”
I thought for a moment. “Then, the facility itself. I know firsthand that Ashford works with the best of the best when it comes to architects and designers, because every single part of the Kids’ Club onboard is amazing. We’d need to take that samecreativity and level it up into something intended for long-term, daily use.”
