“You were speaking for me,” I said.
He opened his mouth, but I raised my hand.
“Amber, would you give us a minute?”
She stood.
At the door, she paused.
“There’s something else you should see.”
“What?”
“The messages he sends us.”
Kyle’s eyes widened.
“Amber, those are internal communications,” he said.
She looked at me.
“I’ll bring my phone.”
After she left, Kyle leaned forward and said, “Frank, you’re making a mistake.”
“Am I?”
“You hired me to turn this place around. I increased average spending per table. I cleaned up the dining room. I started attracting customers who actually spend money.”
“Then why are sales down?”
“Because the transition takes time.”
“Why have my regulars stopped coming?”
“Because they don’t like change.”
I looked at the stack of reports on my desk.
Kyle had been sending me monthly summaries showing modest improvements in average spending.
