Page 94 of Pistols and Plush Toys

The street was a good one, busy with foot traffic. It was an area they’d looked at before, but hadn’t moved on because of the hassle of moving a shop. It would be a great location for the new Lucky Clover, with additional space that the old store had badly needed.

“Oh wow,” Elliot said, taking in the large, open area, empty but for a checkout counter. “It’s so big!”

“Old store was clothing boutique,” Nikolai said. “Needed space for many racks of clothes. We’re needing to have many counters built in for our jewelry displays, but bones of the building are good.”

As Elliot nodded, the inspector knocked on the door behind them so Nikolai went to let him in. After the man went to work, Nikolai walked the space with Elliot.

“Gerard already picked this location, so I’m know it’s good,” Nikolai explained. “But is my job to say to contractors where to build what.”

Their steps echoed in the empty building. “Really?” Elliot asked. “I didn’t realize you had a personal hand in the building.”

“Yes,” Nikolai said proudly. “I’m make sure is done right.”

They were near the long wall opposite the cash register. He gestured at the space. “This is where jewelry cases will go, and I’m will say what kind of counters we need. Heavy duty ones. Vitale will not hurt us again, but is good to be extra safe anyway.”

They walked down the long stretch toward the back room. It had been the stockroom when the space had been a clothing store. “This room will be for vaults and place for gemologists to work,” Nikolai said.

“Will you be making jewelry in the store?” Elliot asked. It was kind of nice how interested he seemed. Normally the only people Nikolai had to talk about his business were Meredith and Gerard, and they were both old hands at it already and had been for many years now. It was fun to explain this to someone new.

“No, our artists work in different place, not retail,” Nikolai told him. “But here gemologists will appraise and buy jewelry. Also do re-sizing and cleaning.”

“Oh,” Elliot said, clearly thinking this over. “So you sell both new and used jewelry?”

“New jewelry and estate jewelry, yes,” Nikolai said. “Is good to have both. Gerard and I started with antique things, now we have good mix.” They strolled further toward the back where there was a bathroom and hallway that led to the door on the back of the building where stock would come in. Everything looked good.

When they headed back into the main part of the building, there was a knock at the front door. Nikolai went and let the contractor in.

He’d worked with the man before, and Meredith had already sent him a rough draft of the plans, so it wasn’t a long interaction. This store would have a similar set up to the last store, but with a few more counters because the space was bigger, and a couple additions Lucky Clover’s manager had mentioned might improve customer experience.

Nikolai went through them all, walking around the space, and then left the contractor to do final measurements and markings.

Elliot didn’t seem bored through that all either, which Nikolai was glad for. He stayed close, obviously paying attention as they discussed what went where, following along.

When everything was done, Nikolai signed off on the proposed plan, then thanked both the contractor and the inspector and let them out. Both would be sending all finalized documents to Meredith, and in some meeting later this week all three of them would approve the work and fixes being done.

And hopefully, not too long after that, Lucky Clover would be back in business.

Nikolai locked up behind them as they left, guiding Elliot out to the curb. Alex was there waiting for them, ready to take them to their lunch reservation.

“There’s a lot that goes into a jewelry store,” Elliot said as they got into the car.

“Sorry if was boring,” Nikolai said, scratching his cheek.

“No, no,” Elliot shook his head. “It was really interesting to see behind the scenes. I’ve never thought about what goes into making a store.”

“Many headaches,” Nikolai grumbled.

That got a soft laugh out of Elliot.

“Is okay I tell Meredith and Gerard about the work?” Nikolai asked, holding up his phone.

“Of course,” Elliot said. “Please do.”

Nikolai gave him a smile and then bent his head over his screen.

When he was finished he glanced Elliot’s way and caught sight of Blue Snake’s menu open on his phone. He was smiling softly.

Excited?

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