california christmas dreams Read Online Free PDF Page B

ask them how much they pay for Candace’s services and they’ll tell you. I know how to save money, but right here—” she pounded a finger on the bill “—is not the place to cut costs. These costumes need to be high quality.” She’d taken responsibility for much of the labor herself to save money. “Your father gave me a budget and I’ve saved money in other areas, but I need your approval to shift some money around to cover the designs.”
    He took the paper and studied it critically. “How do I know these figures aren’t going to balloon into more needed funds?”
    She wanted to pull her hair, or maybe she should pull his. He looked so smug and self-satisfied. And gorgeous. Try as she might, Merry couldn’t forget how hot he looked. She didn’t understand why John would turn over the money handling to his son. She didn’t think she could manage weeks of arguing with him. “I don’t know. But I’ve planned and worked up spreadsheets, which I gave to your father as estimates. I’m working hard to stay as close to the budget as I can. Am I going to fight with you over every penny?”
    She wanted to tell John that this wasn’t part of the bargain. Yet at the same time, she was ready to go to war with Jake. She couldn’t believe the man didn’t have faith in his father. John was a shrewd businessman and he knew what he wanted and how to get it. Why couldn’t his son see that?
    “It’s easy to overspend without even realizing it,” Jake said, his eyes narrowing as though assessing her agitation. “This isn’t like your former job where money isn’t always an issue.”
    “Money’s always an issue,” she said with a laugh. Though she had to admit that with billions of dollars available an occasional overrun was hardly noticed. “You’re not just buying Christmas this year, but Christmas for the next twenty years. The better the quality now, the less money spent later. Plus, you need me. Not only can I make what we need for today, but I can repurpose all the props for the next twenty years and still make them relevant. You can’t afford to be penny-wise and pound-foolish. It’s better to spend now and maintain what we have than buy cheap year after year. Trust me, in the end all the props, costumes and decorations will cost more than you know. Plus, if you buy cheap now, people coming to the park will see the cheap decorations and think the rides aren’t being maintained properly because we couldn’t be bothered to get quality in the decorations.”
    His eyebrows went up at that statement.
    She tried not to grin. She’d thought of something he hadn’t. “Why do you think places like Chapman, Knotts Berry Farm, Disney and Six Flags thrive year after year?”
    “Why don’t you tell me?” he asked, sitting back and looking amused.
    “Because they understand what the customer wants and they give it to them. That may be on a much grander scale than we can manage, but the principle is the same.”
    “All right,” he said with a shrug. “I’m going to give you this one. But I want to see a complete cost breakdown of every penny you want to spend.”
    “I don’t cut corners, Jake,” she warned.
    He nodded. “I understand.”
    She stared at him, trying to gauge the sincerity of his response. “I’ll get the cost analysis and email it to you when I get back to my office.”
    * * *
    After Merry left, Jake stood and went to the window to watch her walk along the path back to her office. He loved the way her hips swayed side to side as she walked. Occasionally she would stop and stare at a ride or an orange tree as though calculating what she would need to make the spot look Christmassy.
    She had fire and passion, he’d give her that. And even he could see she knew what she was talking about, but for some reason he couldn’t stop giving her a hard time. He’d wanted to see how she responded to obstacles, and the fact that she’d stood her ground and crafted a logical argument impressed