Tea, My Lady? (Ciel Phantomhive X Reader)

Chapter XXXI

The young Earl escorted you to his mahogany desk and sat across from you. You smoothed your dress out, made sure that your posture looked good, and looked at Ciel. His one visible eye looking amused. You took in a breath and tried to make sure that you exuded confidence. "What brings you here today my Lady?" He questioned looking at you. 

Time for the Phoenix to be reborn. 

"My Lord, allow to me inquire, what makes tea such a popular beverage? Some might say the healing properties it possess or even the variety of options. Truth be told, I think that tea creates memories, much like the products that Funtom offers. We have tea on a daily basis, at social events, and other celebrations. My father believed that tea was at the core of everything in life which is why he created Belmont Teas and Co. Since his death, I am the sole hier of his work. A position of ownership that I plan on pursuing and growing. I am here today to make an offer for investment to one of the largest and popular tea companies known on the market."

You paused, awaiting to see his response. He remained silent. Feeling a bit awkward, you carried on ignoring your pounding headache.

"Belmont Teas currently has very minimal presence today as it once did 5 years ago, down by over 50 locations. My goal is meet or exceed our once blooming presence in the market within 3 years." You paused and pulled out some documents. "Here is a copy of our sales since the beginning of year. Although it shows a downward trend, we have found many areas of opportunity." You took a breath. "On the next page you will see what our competitive advantages are and what I foresee as other items that will help us stand out. One such factor is our quality of ingredients and customer service. We blend all of the teas in house, in front of the customer by trained artisans. Ingredients are sourced locally or imported as needed. We have found numerous cost savings with imported items through close ties with suppliers. By also providing in-house training, it provides a more knowledgeable, tidy, and friendly customer facing staff. After all, word of mouth is a very effective means of business."

You looked up at the young Lord who was still reading over your documents.

"One such area that I think would be an opportunity is providing mail-in services. Customers can send in their requests and currency via catalog or mail-in letters. We will charge them all postage fees. I estimate that this option could potentially grow our market presence by over 20% and increase sales by 15%." You felt yourself getting excited now. "Another idea that I noted before you is to remove our unprofitable sweets and bakery items line that was offered at selected locations. This would allow our staff to focus on meeting and exceeding customer demand."

He looked up at you, "What are you projecting in the first year under your operation?"

You smiled slightly trying to conceal a cough coming on, "It's my hope to begin focusing more on the customer experience at our current locations. Ensuring all staff members are properly assessed and trained before beginning work. And making certain that they can advise customers properly on tea options. I would like to focus on remodeling part or all of the current locations if possible to make it look for attractive both externally and internally. From there, I hope to re-open our previously closed locations and move forward with the opportunities that I had identified earlier. My goal is make sure that sales are at least at half a million pounds by the end of our first year."

"Half a million pounds? According to your documents provided, you haven't even reached one hundred thousands pounds in sales this year and it's the fourth quarter." He questioned.

"Yes my Lord, however, we did not have a suitable corporate structure in place. It also did not include the input and advisory of our investors as many pulled out when my father passed away."