Chapter Thirty-One
“Thanks for meeting me today.” Nash shook hands with Everett Vereb. The yellow overhead lights in the eatery bounced off his shiny bald head. There were bald men in prison, and there were men who shaved their heads. The baldies had shine while the men who shaved had a dullness to their scalp. Everett’s natural beauty aside, he was a no-nonsense man with a sharp mind and a military communication style.
“My pleasure.” They placed their orders with a wisp of a woman wearing all black and carrying a notepad. The end of her pen had been chewed into a misshapen disaster.
“Kensington wanted to be here, but there was a sexual harassment complaint she needed to address.”
The woman reporting the harassment had come to Kenzi specifically because she felt more comfortable talking about the issue with another woman. Kenzi was pinned down, needing to take care of the issue immediately, and had to skip lunch. “You can sway him to our side of the table.” She’d kissed Nash on the cheek and then the earlobe. “I have complete faith in your abilities.”
He’d taken several minutes to share his abilities with her before leaving to meet with Everett. When they parted, he left a piece of his heart with her for safekeeping. The longer he was married to Kenzi, the less he wanted to leave. And the less he wanted to leave, the harder he needed to work to achieve the outcome they wanted.
Everett didn’t waste any time. “Let’s get down to it before the food comes. I don’t like to fill my stomach while talking about unpleasant things.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Nash. He sipped from the red plastic up and cringed as the soda burned down his throat.
“Then you’re not going to like what else I have to say.” Everett wiped a drop of sweat off his forehead with his thumb. “I’ve seen the numbers and I know the trends. We’re on top now, but we can’t sustain this level of demand without strong leadership.”
“Kensington is strong leadership. She’s dedicated to the company’s tradition of excellence.”
“That may not be enough.”
“Then we grow into other markets. For some of our suppliers, we take 100% of their product. However, there are several that we are only one of their customers. This gives us the opportunity to expand into other dairy products.” He hadn’t said this out loud to anyone yet, and revealing his thoughts now was a huge leap.
“What are you thinking?”
“Specialty milks. Chocolate milk is a big seller. In our retail stores alone, we sell over 2 million dollars’ worth. Even with the cost of machinery, we’d turn a profit in the first year, and that’s only selling in our retail space. We can easily expand our shelf space in larger markets.”
Everett stroked his chin. “Interesting.”
“Hazel’s has been focused on frozen treats and ice cream for too long. It’s time to take the brand name that’s synonymous with high quality to the next level, and Kensington is the CEO for the job.”
Their food arrived and Everett’s lip curled up like a bad Elvis impersonation. “I like your thinking, but I can’t commit to voting for Kensington. I agree, she has her whole heart in this company, but that doesn’t mean she’s suited to run it. Her experience is limited. I would have liked to see her work a few more years under her father’s tutelage before she was handed the reins.”
“That would have been nice for her too.” As long as Everett wasn’t eating, Nash wouldn’t touch his food—no matter how much he salivated over the slow-roasted balsamic pork in front of him. Besides, he was too keyed up by this conversation. He loved the thrill of politicking in business, the wooing of clients, the spinning of ideas. And he liked who he was lately—liked being part of the corporate world that wasn’t shady. The ideas he had for Hazel’s … well, they had the potential to change the entire dairy market in the western US. If only he got the chance to make it happen. “Would you rather see the company sold to Dairy Fairy or Perfectly Chill?” He shuddered for maximum effect.
“Son, sometimes there are no good answers.” Everett picked up his pulled beef sandwich. “I’d hope that Kenzi can do what you say she can, but I’m not certain I’m willing to stake my vote on that. Not yet.”
BBQ sauce dripped on Nash’s hand. “So what’s your play?”
“I’m going to wait and see.” Everett took a bite of his sandwich.
Nash followed his example, and they passed the rest of the meal talking about the baseball game on the big screen over the bar. Nash’s mind kept circling through the votes, and no matter how many times he went around, he couldn’t get them to add up in Kenzi’s favor.
