Sweet Love (NG5)

6 - The best two

"There is an apartment that could come with the job."

She smiled and looked excited. "I'm a hard worker and used to long hours."

After she clicked off, Rick said, "At least she understands the hours required."

"But will she get bored and leave?"

He shrugged. "That's a gamble, but she liked it when you mentioned the apartment. Too bad there's no oven for baking." He purchased the muffins and other sweets frozen in bulk.

They had one more candidate. The man appeared to be about forty and was a manager at Starbucks in Portland. At least he had experience with coffee, but The Landing didn't serve fancy drinks, just the best coffee in the world.

"I drove down to see The Landing. It is so adorable. I loved the bell. So quaint. My head was spinning with ideas. Lattes. A menu refresh. Gouda and Egg sandwiches. You'll be stealing all Starbucks customers in no time."

Rick didn't say anything, so Will asked, "Did you try the coffee?"

He shook his head. "I only drink lattes."

Rick groaned when Mr. Starbuck clicked off. "And those were the ones worth interviewing. Martha would fit in perfectly, but the learning curve would be too long."

"I know you want your first summer off in how many years?"

Rick laughed. "Too many to count. I joined the Coast Guard at eighteen."

"I didn't like the rocker, Gary's experience, and if I wanted The Landing turned into Starbucks, I wouldn't have bought it."

"That leaves the chef or Martha." Rick sighed looking his age.

"I think you need to meet them in person. Who else would be good at evaluating them?"

Rick shrugged. "Any of my star veterans. Nick, Phoebe, Lily, Lana, Megan." He went back through generations of employees.

"Did Jen work for you?"

He smiled. "Way back when she sure did. We can ask her."

"I can sit with my coffee and observe. We should plant John Harris to see if he can get them talking."

Rick laughed. "He could get the life story out of an earthworm, but I don't see him enjoying the conversation with the long-haired guy or the last one."

"He was kind of stuck up for a barista."

Rick shook his head. "What the hell kind of word is that?"

Will laughed. "I'll talk to Jen and see if I can schedule them to come in on two separate mornings."

"You might need to delay your workout." Rick winked.

"You tease but it's all part of the job."

"You have two jobs now. Are you sure you didn't bite off more than you can chew?"

"I guess we'll find out. I can always sell it and admit defeat."

"A good manager will make all the difference."

Will nodded. Katherine might be the best candidate, but his gut didn't trust that she would stay.

Rick had reduced the hours of operation during the winter, but it was mid April and even the clam and ice cream shacks were open on weekends. It was still a few weeks before the colleges let out. Sam was getting ready to start another project. Will should step up his training with three months until camp. His knee felt good and thankfully everyone had asked him about it, so the annoying question had stopped.