(Start of Week 20. Theo's Balance: $18,655.00)
Week 20 - Monday
The raw, physical exhaustion from the weekend's sell-out mayhem had seeped deep into Theo's bones, yet Monday morning arrived not with dread, but with a sharp, almost ruthless clarity. The numbers didn't lie. The chicken shop, powered by his enhanced tools, was a potential goldmine, but he was the bottleneck. Standing amidst the lingering scent of charcoal and fryer oil before opening for the week, the path forward was unavoidable, however much his ingrained paranoia recoiled from it.
He needed help.
His first act, before even starting the day's prep, was to print a simple, bold sign on his laptop's printer: HELP WANTED - Counter Staff / Kitchen Hand Needed. Apply Within. He taped it prominently inside the front window, next to the slightly faded 'Maria's Charcoal Chicken' name he hadn't yet decided whether to keep or replace. It felt like crossing a threshold, willingly inviting unknowns into his carefully controlled operation. As much as he craved absolute control, the memory of Sunday's frantic, overwhelming rush, turning away disappointed customers simply because he couldn't physically prep and serve fast enough, was a potent motivator. Growth required delegation. Scaling required manpower. There was no way around it.
He mentally sketched out the requirements as he began the day's prep, hoisting heavy bags of potatoes, portioning chickens with his +1 enhanced Santoku knife that sliced through bone almost effortlessly. He needed someone reliable, hardworking, preferably with some food service experience but not essential, the enhanced equipment simplified the cooking process considerably. Young, energetic enough to handle the physical demands of standing for hours, dealing with hot fryers and the demanding rotisserie. And crucially, someone who wouldn't ask too many awkward questions about why the ten-year-old fryer never seemed to have temperature fluctuations or why the ancient rotisserie cooked every single chicken to identical, perfect juiciness. He needed diligence, not deep curiosity.
Monday settled into a busy but manageable rhythm. News of the weekend's quality seemed to have spread further. The flow of customers was steadier than last week's opening days. He managed eighty sales before closing, working with practiced efficiency now, the movements becoming familiar, almost automatic. The profit margin felt solid, even accounting for the higher ingredient costs due to volume.
Week 20 - Tuesday
Tuesday brought another uptick, ninety sales. He sold out of his prepped chickens half an hour before closing time. The demand was consistently exceeding his solo capacity. As he was cleaning down the stainless steel prep table (+1 enhanced surface resisting scratches and wiping clean with surprising ease), his phone buzzed. Sarah.
He answered, balancing the phone between his shoulder and ear while scrubbing. "Hey Sarah, what's up?"
"Hey Theo! Just checking in!" Her voice sounded bright, energetic, a stark contrast to her previous work anxieties. "Saw some more amazing reviews pop up for Maria's over the weekend! How did the rest of the week go after my social media blitz?"
"Busy," Theo understated, glancing around the shop that still bore the marks of a frantic day. "Really busy, actually. Your… uh… digital PR seemed to work wonders. Seriously, thanks again for that."
"Awesome! Told you the food just needed the right spotlight!" she chirped. "Keeping up with the posting though, right? Consistency is key with those algorithms. You need to keep feeding them content, customer photos, specials, behind-the-scenes…"
Theo sighed internally. "Honestly? Haven't had a spare second," he admitted. "It's been non-stop since Friday. Barely keeping up with orders, let alone thinking about Instagram stories."
"Theo!" Sarah's tone shifted to mock-serious marketing guru mode. "No, no, no! You can't let the momentum die! People have short attention spans online. They see one good post, great. But if they don't see reminders, engagement… they move on to the next shiny thing. You need to stay visible!"
He could picture her gesturing emphatically on the other end. "Yeah, I get it," he said, slightly defensively. "Just… haven't had the bandwidth."
"Okay, okay," Sarah relented slightly. "Tell you what, I checked the reviews again just now, looks like another couple of five-stars came in yesterday praising the food. That'll keep things simmering for a bit. But listen, things are still crazy at work with this restructure fallout, but maybe sometime next week I could swing by again? Take a proper look at your online presence, maybe help you set up a simple content schedule? My treat again, consider it pro-bono consulting for amazing chicken."
Theo felt a familiar mix of gratitude and calculation. Her help was undeniably valuable. Her expertise was free, for now. And keeping her engaged… kept options open. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, that would actually be great, Sarah. Let's touch base early next week?" He thought again about partnership, about her potential role if he could find the right angle. The Tool Enhancement strategy made collaboration seem slightly less impossible, offering a plausible explanation for consistent quality. Maybe…
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Author: Apologies for the delay everyone. No idea what happened with the other novel, and I still haven't heard back from support. Figured it was just easier to delete it and reupload again, which I'll do so shortly.
Anyway, will start uploading Power of +1 again now.
I'm hoping the novel gets a bit more traction this week, please vote some power stones! I'll try and increase the release speed if the novel gets a bigger audience!
Help leave a review, or comments on how you think the story is going. In particular how the +1 could be used by Theo in smarter ways to achieve what he wants. Would love to see all the great ideas people can think of! It would be great to incorporate people's idea into the novel.
Finally, a lot of advanced chapters are already available on patreon. If you want to read ahead, please join my patreon, it would really mean a lot to authors like me. Thanks everyone.
www.patreon.com/coffeetimewriting