"Is Chloe on board?"
"They just finished filming, but we're hammering out an agreement."
"I want a copy of it," Mark said in a clipped tone. "The space is unique, and the price is very attractive, but my company won't be a tenant if Chloe's restaurant isn’t in the tower. I need assurances that you have amenities in place. We are growing aggressively, and I can't attract talent if they can't even go somewhere for coffee or a bite to eat. I also need somewhere nice to take clients without having to take a car or the subway somewhere."
"I understand," I said. "I'll have something sent to you before Christmas Eve."
"See that you do."
I ran a hand through my hair. I needed to convince Greg to allow Chloe to run that restaurant. I could not lose the Holbrook deal.
I collected the work I had done on a business plan and went over to the Svensson Investment tower.
"Is Greg in?" I asked the secretary.
"Let me see if he's available. Please wait here."
I ignored her and followed her down the hall to Greg's office. I knew he would probably just tell her to send me away unless I saw him personally.
She knocked on his door and looked at me irritably.
"Mr. Frost is here to see you," she called into the room.
"Tell him I'm not here," I heard Greg say.
"Greg, I need to speak with you," I said, pushing past the secretary.
"What is it?" Greg barked, setting down the papers he was reading.
"I need Chloe to take the restaurant space. I'll lose the Holbrook deal if she doesn't."
"New York Bread Company is very interested in the space," Greg said.
"But Mark specifically asked for a restaurant run by Chloe."
"I heard she didn't even win the contest," Greg said.
"Only because Dana and Gunnar wanted her and Nina to both win," I tried to explain.
"Who is Nina? Oh, wait, I don't care," Greg said. "If Mark Holbrook isn't moving in, then we will proceed with finding a buyer for the tower."
"Why are you being such a dick?" I yelled at him.
"I don't like the Holbrooks," Greg said, a look of disgust on his face. "I'm certainly not bending over backwards for one and taking a chance on this girl."
"She’s not a girl, she's an accomplished pastry chef," I countered.
"Pastry chefs," Greg said, "do not run full-service restaurants."
"She can do it," I insisted.
"Just because you're fucking her doesn't mean that she's qualified to run a restaurant," Greg sneered.
"So I'll find her a manager."
"Oh, so now that you've failed at real estate, you're going to fail at being a restaurateur, is it? Well, not on my dime. You don't even have a business plan."
I threw the plan on his desk, and he scowled at it. "You didn't even bring her in here to pitch. Does she even know you're making promises on her behalf?"
