appeared. “Hey, slacker, what have you been doing all day?” She smiled.
Annie, always making jokes at Michael’s expense. After they filled each other in on the details of the day, Annie walked Michael through the closing process. Cashing out the registers, checking the slips, noting the returns, listing what would need to be restocked, getting the bank deposits ready, and managing the staff for cleanup. At the end of it all, Annie called Tom to let him know she’d be staying late. Annie had decided that maybe tackling the paperwork together would go faster. They sat down in their father’s office and started getting down to the business at hand.
“What the! How is this even possible, Michael?” she exclaimed after two hours of going through the bills and looking at revenue spreadsheet Michael had been working on. They were losing money every day they were open. Annie looked at Michael in disbelief.
“How, how could he let this happen to the market ... to, to all of us,” Annie stuttered. She looked as if she was near tears.
“Okay, Annie, calm down. I think it’s pretty simple. I think Dad miscalculated and may have gotten a little overconfident. I think he figured with the improvements, profits would just go up. But he didn’t account for all of the renovation costs, permit costs, and lost business due to all of this. He did no marketing and no retention work,” said Michael matter-of-factly.
“Okay, Mikey. Just hang on, none of this mumbo jumbo business school crap. What do we do now?”
Michael tried to think rationally ... basically his family was $374,000 in the hole ... which was a hell of a lot of money for anyone. Taxes would be higher with all the improvements and they needed some serious work done to the place now. Along with marketing costs, new inventory, and maybe even that food stand ... basically they needed at least $500,000 to get them out of this. That was a lot. Michael could swing it, but he knew his dad wouldn’t go for it.
Annie was looking at him, waiting for an answer.
“Well?” she asked. “Now what?”
“We need five hundred thousand.”
“What? Oh, my God, I don’t even know what to say to that. Oh, my God. Do you think, do you think he knows?”
Michael couldn’t see how his father wouldn’t know, but he didn’t want to say so. “I don’t know, Annie, he might not. This place was a mess till the other day and it’s not that obvious. A miscalculation here and there and ...” He stopped himself.
“I don’t know, Annie, but it’s not good. I think we need to tell Mom and then figure out what to do from there. I can cover some of this and get us through, but I think that would really upset Dad.”
Annie nodded, she knew it was true. “You’re right, we need to talk to Mom. But I want to know something, Michael. Do you think that even if we figure out a way to cover the money that the business could succeed? I’m starting to worry. I just, I just have invested so much time here, and with Tom not knowing what’s next with the Navy and the kids ...”
“It’s going to be okay; we’ll figure something out, Annie. I think I can help if Mom and Dad will let me. And I want to help. I really do.”
And Michael meant it. He really did. He didn’t know what was going on here, but he knew he could make a difference. And after the year he’d been having in New York, that was a really great feeling. And being able to make a difference and have it help his family instead making a bunch of rich people richer seemed right. He still didn’t want to work at Malone’s Market, he thought to himself. Well, maybe that wasn’t really true anymore. Maybe he did. The thought shocked him. But he didn’t want to unless he and his father could resolve their issues. Until then, he would just do what he could for the next two and a half weeks. He couldn’t believe it was already Tuesday, yet he also couldn’t believe it was only Tuesday. So much had happened since he
Annie, always making jokes at Michael’s expense. After they filled each other in on the details of the day, Annie walked Michael through the closing process. Cashing out the registers, checking the slips, noting the returns, listing what would need to be restocked, getting the bank deposits ready, and managing the staff for cleanup. At the end of it all, Annie called Tom to let him know she’d be staying late. Annie had decided that maybe tackling the paperwork together would go faster. They sat down in their father’s office and started getting down to the business at hand.
“What the! How is this even possible, Michael?” she exclaimed after two hours of going through the bills and looking at revenue spreadsheet Michael had been working on. They were losing money every day they were open. Annie looked at Michael in disbelief.
“How, how could he let this happen to the market ... to, to all of us,” Annie stuttered. She looked as if she was near tears.
“Okay, Annie, calm down. I think it’s pretty simple. I think Dad miscalculated and may have gotten a little overconfident. I think he figured with the improvements, profits would just go up. But he didn’t account for all of the renovation costs, permit costs, and lost business due to all of this. He did no marketing and no retention work,” said Michael matter-of-factly.
“Okay, Mikey. Just hang on, none of this mumbo jumbo business school crap. What do we do now?”
Michael tried to think rationally ... basically his family was $374,000 in the hole ... which was a hell of a lot of money for anyone. Taxes would be higher with all the improvements and they needed some serious work done to the place now. Along with marketing costs, new inventory, and maybe even that food stand ... basically they needed at least $500,000 to get them out of this. That was a lot. Michael could swing it, but he knew his dad wouldn’t go for it.
Annie was looking at him, waiting for an answer.
“Well?” she asked. “Now what?”
“We need five hundred thousand.”
“What? Oh, my God, I don’t even know what to say to that. Oh, my God. Do you think, do you think he knows?”
Michael couldn’t see how his father wouldn’t know, but he didn’t want to say so. “I don’t know, Annie, he might not. This place was a mess till the other day and it’s not that obvious. A miscalculation here and there and ...” He stopped himself.
“I don’t know, Annie, but it’s not good. I think we need to tell Mom and then figure out what to do from there. I can cover some of this and get us through, but I think that would really upset Dad.”
Annie nodded, she knew it was true. “You’re right, we need to talk to Mom. But I want to know something, Michael. Do you think that even if we figure out a way to cover the money that the business could succeed? I’m starting to worry. I just, I just have invested so much time here, and with Tom not knowing what’s next with the Navy and the kids ...”
“It’s going to be okay; we’ll figure something out, Annie. I think I can help if Mom and Dad will let me. And I want to help. I really do.”
And Michael meant it. He really did. He didn’t know what was going on here, but he knew he could make a difference. And after the year he’d been having in New York, that was a really great feeling. And being able to make a difference and have it help his family instead making a bunch of rich people richer seemed right. He still didn’t want to work at Malone’s Market, he thought to himself. Well, maybe that wasn’t really true anymore. Maybe he did. The thought shocked him. But he didn’t want to unless he and his father could resolve their issues. Until then, he would just do what he could for the next two and a half weeks. He couldn’t believe it was already Tuesday, yet he also couldn’t believe it was only Tuesday. So much had happened since he
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