Reno Gabrini: A Man in Full by Mallory Monroe Read Free Book Online Page B

blue for her comfort.  She needed to keep this strictly business.
    “You said you turned Moniff’s around,” she said.  “It’s a high end clothing store just like mine.”
    “Exactly,” Jody said.
    “So how did you manage that?  I heard they were doing even worse than Champagne’s.  I heard they were in receivership.”
    “They were close to that point, yes,” he said.  “But I came in and didn’t just look at their books, but I looked at their approach as well.  And you know what I found?”
    “What?” Trina asked, completely interested.
    “I found they had a high-end store with very low-end expectations.  They were having sales and store busters and come one, come all just to move merchandise.”
    “That’s what we have too.  You have to have sales.”
    “Why, Tree?” Jody asked.  “Why would a high-end store like Champagne’s and Moniff’s need to put their clothes on sale?”
    “Not just to move merchandise, although that’s critical,” Trina said, “but to drive in some foot traffic.”
    “But what kind of foot traffic, Tree?  Any random person off the street, or the kind of clientele that you know you will need to sustain your business in the long run?  Wealthy people aren’t looking for deals.  They’re looking for uniqueness, for some serious quality.  The fact that they have to pay more is actually a turn-on for them.  I mean, think about it.  When you go shopping, what do you look for?  The latest sale, or something different, something funky, something that makes a statement about you?”
    Trina smiled. “You are so right, Jody.  You are so right!”
    “Sales and bargains may drive in the sales and bargains crowd, but they won’t do a thing for the kind of clientele your store is aimed at.  The sales and bargains crowd, in fact, may run away the very customers you need.  They don’t want to be like everybody else.  They don’t want to walk down a street and see some regular girl in their outfit.  They’ll never shop at Champagne’s again.  So that’s what I do.  I sell attitude.  I change the entire mood of a business.”
    “And it works?” Trina asked.
    “Hell, yeah, it works.  I utilize this brain the good Lord gave to me for optimum effect.”
    Trina nodded.  Yes, you do , she was about to say, but then she saw something very familiar in her periphery.  When she looked toward the entrance, and saw her husband walking toward her booth, a part of her wasn’t surprised at all, and a part of her, the bigger part of her, was shocked. 
    “Reno?” she asked as he approached.
    Jody, watching her, turned to where her eyes had wandered.  And coming toward them was the man he used to work for.  A man who fired him just for, in essence, calling his wife hot.  He didn’t expect to see him tonight.  But there he was, in his rumpled suit and messy hair, looking as if he couldn’t care less about fashion.  Here goes , Jody thought, as he stood to his feet and buttoned his own expensive, but far better preserved, suit.
    “What are you doing here?” Trina was asking her husband as Jody stood.
    “I saw your car outside,” Reno lied.  He looked at Jody. 
    “Hey, Reno,” Jody said with a smile.  “Long time, no see.”
    Reno looked him up and down.  Handsome bastard, he thought.  “How are you?” he asked.
    “I’m good,” Jody said.  “It’s good to see you again, man.  I know we parted on less-than-friendly circumstances.”
    Reno looked at Trina.  She knew it too. 
     “So I suggest,” Jody suggested, “we start over again.”  He extended his hand.  “I’m Jody Parks.  I take it you’re Katrina’s other half?”
    Reno knew Jody’s old tricks.  But before he blew his cool completely he had to make sure he was up to them right now.  “Her better half,” Reno said with a mild smile as he shook Jody’s hand.  Trina and Jody both were surprised.
    “We were just talking about good business sense,” Jody