We Fell In Love In October - Wintumn Flufftober

Coffee Shop/Book Shop

A/N - Something a little different today.

For weeks the staff had spent every break complaining about the state of their rooms. The building itself was perfectly maintained of course, everything was perfectly safe and up to code, but their supplies were anything but. Charlotte told the newer staff that she wasn't sure they had gotten anything new since she started other than what parents would donate. Even then she couldn't point out anything she knew for sure was less than 10 years old. They knew it wasn't their manager's fault that all of their toys and books weren't getting replaced...well...at least not Marjorie's fault; so they debated for days if they were even going to bring anything up.

Eventually Winter offered to go talk to the managers on behalf of the staff. Though he hadn't been working at the Knight Nursery very long, he had been a manager at his previous job. He understood the frustrations of dealing with a board of directors and an owner who hardly ever came into the building making decisions on behalf of everyone based on money alone. He knew the buzzwords that would catch the manager's attention and the exact phrases that would need to be presented to the higher ups. Everyone agreed that he would be the best person to speak for them. They were sure that if anyone would be able to convince the managers to fight for their staff, or at least for the children, it was going to be Winter.

The day of the meeting, Winter came in early to make sure his talking points were organized before he met with Marjorie. He knew his arguments were solid; between ten years experience in nurseries and his extensive training he was able to clearly articulate why they needed these upgraded materials; but he still felt the need to be as prepared as possible. Everyone was counting on him. Not just the staff that had trusted him to speak on their behalf, but also the children that they were responsible for. If he succeeded the staff would be better equipped to do their job so the students would have a better experience and the parents would be happier. If the parents were happier the staff wouldn't have to deal with as many complaints. There was no downside to these improvements apart from cost. So he had to make sure he was as prepared as possible.

At 7:30 AM exactly he knocked on the office door, expecting to be greeted by Marjorie. Instead Autumn opened the door.

"Oh...Autumn?"

"Winter."

The deputy's voice was as steady as always. Winter was very obviously taken aback seeing the deputy manager. It wasn't until the woman sighed, rolling her eyes at his silence, that he realized he had been staring.

"Is...Marjorie in yet?"

"She's called off sick today so you'll be meeting with me. If that's alright of course."

Winter hesitated slightly. He had double checked that Autumn was on the late shift and would not be in the office before scheduling this meeting. It wasn't that he didn't want to meet with Autumn...except that was exactly why. From the second they met the two just could not get along. Winter used to pride himself on the fact that he was able to work with anyone, the only thing he didn't tolerate was bullies; so of course his manager had to be one of the biggest bullies of all.The two butted heads constantly over even the most minor things. Even though in recent weeks she had very obviously been trying to change her ways, he was still wary of her being involved in this conversation. She was the owner's daughter and she was on the board; obviously she was going to be on his side. But he knew this was far too important to reschedule; so he took a deep breath and steeled himself for the undoubtedly agitating conversation he was about to have.

"Of course."

He took the seat next to Autumn's desk and started his presentation. Winter was surprised to find that Autumn was paying very close attention to everything he was saying and taking thorough notes. She was asking smart, well throughout questions; questions that he hadn't even anticipated. The conversation was productive, not once did either one lose their temper or talk in circles trying to get their point across. He knew that Marjorie had been working with Autumn on her skills as a manager and for the first time Winter could see proof of that. This was by far one of the most enjoyable conversations he had ever had with a board member.; by the time he finished his presentation he felt good about their chances of actually getting help. That was, until Autumn opened her mouth.