CHAPTER THIRTEEN – ANNALISE

 

So far, so good. The general manager of Sunrise Breakfast Foods hadn’t balked when she’d told him the price tag for Sappy Pappy’s would be two-million dollars. Of course she’d padded the numbers a little, leaving some room for negotiation and concession.

 

“What about the current employees?” she asked. “My grandfather has a great staff and we’d like for them to keep their jobs.”

 

“Sure, sure,” the man said. “We’d be glad to keep them on.”

 

“Wonderful!”

 

“Of course they’d have to relocate to St. Paul, but we’d pay their moving expenses.”

 

“St. Paul? What do you mean?”

 

“We’ve got a large facility here. It wouldn’t be cost-effective for us to operate a second location, especially a smaller one that’s so remote.”

 

Her heart sagged. “You’d close the facility in Thief River Falls?”

 

“Eventually,” he said. “We’d keep it open for a month or two until the equipment could be transported to our current facility but, yes, it would be closed.”

 

She was quiet a long moment, thinking. It was bad enough that the company would be run by outsiders, but for the factory here to be closed seemed an outrage, as if Pappy’s legacy was being erased.

 

The man seemed to sense her reluctance. “I understand Pappy was your grandfather, but you’ve got to separate your personal feelings. We’re willing to pay top dollar and you’d be a fool to turn our offer down. This is business, and this is how business is done.”

 

Was it? If so, maybe she’d rather be a fool.

 

She closed her eyes and put her free hand to her forehead. “Some other companies have expressed interest, too. As you said, this is business and we’ll need to fully explore our other options before making a decision.”

 

“You won’t get two million from anyone else,” the man said, an edge to his voice now. “I guaran-damn-tee you that.” He switched tactics, playing hardball now. “You’ve got until the end of the workday Monday to make a decision. Come five o’clock my offer is off the table.”

 

Rage erupted in Annalise. Who does this jerk think he is? And who does he think he’s dealing with? If he were standing in front of her right now she’d pour a bottle of Pappy’s Syrup over his head. Annalise might not know exactly what to do, but she did know one thing for certain. Pappy would’ve never treated anyone, even a competitor, this way. He had manners and integrity.

 

“No need to wait until Monday,” she said, glad to hear that her voice sounded steady and calm, in total contradiction to how she felt. “I can give you my answer right now. It’s ‘no, thank you.’” With that, she gently set the receiver in the cradle to disconnect the call. Then she picked it up and slammed it down. “Bastard!”

Hot with anger, she stepped over to the window and slid it open a couple of inches to cool herself off. Big mistake. A gust of wind blew through the narrow opening, scattering the papers on her desk and bombarding her with ice crystals. At least it cooled her down.

 

She returned to the desk and picked up the phone again, this time dialing the second competitor who’d left a message earlier in the week.

 

“Glad to hear from you,” the man said. “We’d love to keep Sappy Pappy’s up and running. Your grandfather built quite a company. He must’ve been doing something right.”

 

Pappy had done a lot of things right, and this guy was, too. So far he was telling her exactly what she wanted to hear. “So you’d agree to keep the factory in Thief River Falls in operation and retain all of the employees in their current jobs?” The last thing she’d want is for some conglomerate to replace Jeremy and demote him to the rank and file.

 

“We sure will,” the man said.

 

This sounded too good to be true! Which meant it probably was. Where’s the catch? “You wouldn’t change the name or the logo or anything like that?”

 

“We’d be crazy to,” the man said. “People trust Sappy Pappy’s. They know that if his picture is on the label the syrup is going to taste great.”

It was true. Pappy’s syrup had won the blue ribbon at every county fair from Kansas City to Saskatoon, and the Minnesota Maple Syrup Producers’ Association had honored him with their “Super Sap” award three times.

 

“So nothing will change?” Annalise asked. “Nothing at all?”

 

“That’s right. Nothing of consequence will change.”

 

A-ha. There it is. “What exactly do you mean by ‘nothing of consequence?’”

 

“We’ve run some formulas by our taste testers. We’ve found that we can replace up to a third of the maple syrup with a molasses and corn syrup combination without affecting the flavor.”

 

“But Sappy Pappy’s is pure maple syrup,” Annalise said. Not some concoction whipped up in an industrial lab.

 

“And that’s why it can’t be produced economically. Our plan is to make a minor modification to the recipe so we can lower the price and make Sappy Pappy’s affordable for everyone. We want to see your grandfather’s face on more breakfast tables. Don’t you?”

 

“Not if it means sacrificing quality.”

 

“Well, you think about it, hon, and let me know.”

 

Hon? Seriously? “No need for me to think about it,” she said. “Pappy would never have agreed to this. And neither will I.”

 

“All right. If you change your mind you know where to reach me.” Click.

 

He was lucky she couldn’t reach him right then or she’d have throttled him. Molasses? Corn syrup? No way! He might as well have suggested they add arsenic to the recipe. Not happening. Ever. No matter what it takes.