Ella grinned. “I believe this is part of it. My father is excited over the possibility, but you know as well as I do, he would want to do what is right for the business. He can buy his bourbon anywhere.”
“But there isn’t as much enjoyment as saying your son made it,” he said.
“Very true.” There was a knock at the door. “Kendra, perfect timing. Ivan, I thought you and Kendra would work on this together while I’m out on maternity leave. She’s been doing some research too for me. Broader than anything else.”
“Hi, Ivan,” Kendra said, pushing her glasses up on her nose a bit.
Ella’s assistant had been employed since his cousin returned from her maternity leave with Madison. She was a quiet woman, a little on the plain side. Long brown hair pulled back and held with a clip at the base of her neck, her black rimmed glasses a little big on her face.
Her pants and shoes were black, her shirt was gray.
She was simple and polite and right up Ivan’s alley.
He didn’t like anyone flashy. No one that looked like they were high maintenance.
Not even loud or bold. He got that enough in his family.
“Kendra,” he said. He didn’t see her often but had a handful of times. They didn’t talk much and had never worked together. He might have been trying to figure out in his mind how to get to know Kendra more but had kept it to himself.
“I’ve got the reports you asked for,” Kendra said with the binder in her hand. “They are color coded too.”
“Of course they are,” Ella said, laughing. “It’s the only color you enjoy seeing.”
Kendra laughed and he felt his blood rush through his veins. It was the first time he’d heard it and had no idea he’d react this way.
“Solid neutral colors make life easier,” Kendra said.
“And faster to get dressed in the morning,” Ivan said.
“See,” Kendra said. “Your cousin gets it.”
Ella shook her head. “I’m filling Ivan in on what we are looking for and what you two are going to be working on together. Kendra has printed out potential costs for you. Machinery we might need, manpower, building upgrades. Things like that if we expand. There are costs there to start small, and costs to go big.”
“Perfect,” he said, reaching his hand for the binder. “Can you email me that information too?”
“I already did before I walked in here,” Kendra said. “I know you’ll want to play with those numbers, but if you’re anything like me, it’s easy to flip through and see it in front of you on paper while you are playing with numbers on the computer.”
“Very much so,” he said.
“I’ll let you two talk some more,” Kendra said. “I’ve got a call in a few minutes. Ivan, you’ve got my email and extension here if you need anything. At some point we can figure out a time to meet, but I know you’ve got another job. I can be flexible.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I won’t make you work nights or weekends. I’ll take time off of work like I did today. We’ll figure it out.”
“No worries,” Kendra said and she walked back to the door, his eyes still on her until she left the room.
“This is going to be fun,” he said. “How long has Mason been playing with this?” he asked
Ivan knew his cousin wouldn’t attempt anything unless he’d perfected it.
“We got the distilling license years ago because he’s been playing with it on his own time at home. In the past few years he’s made several batches and has been aging them for different periods of time. He thinks he has it down to what he is looking for. Definitely to use in his brews. The question is if it will sell. Kendra has the costs of the supplies and timelines too. She’s been working on that for the past several months and getting the information from Jessica. I know we would start small. Just selling it in the store at the brewery and go from there. Have it here at the bar too, and Aiden using it for cooking. Again, that information on the savings from purchasing other bourbon and whiskey and sales here needs to be factored in. Kendra should have some of that for you in that binder.”
He was rubbing his hands together. “Right up my alley,” he said. This was totally a hobby to him that paid well. Money he didn’t need that he invested carefully.
He made sure he could live comfortably on his full-time job and the rest was bonus.
“There is my nephew.”
Ivan turned to see his Aunt Jolene standing in the doorway. “Why is it you always know when I’m here even when I’m not often?”
