Nate is the clueless owner that thinks all his employees are great! He wants to motivate and develop his employees every chance he gets, which isn't a whole lot since he's never in the store. Nate used to work for a corporate wholesale store, but when his father (also named Nate) died, Nate took over the bookstore as part of his father's legacy. He reads motivational business and organizational books, though the jury is still out if they help him or not.
Betty-
Betty is the store manager, the boss when Nate isn't around. She's an older woman who's worked in books for many years. She's cheerful, perky, happy, bubbly and the peacemaker. She may not always know what's going on, but she'll make you a plate of chocolate cookies and try to cheer you up. She loves her grandkids, and always talks about them. She loves to read romance and children's books, and has regular customers that come in just to get her recommendations.
Shane-
Shane likes to think he owns the place, but he's only the assistant manager and likes to see how far his authority will stretch much to the annoyance of the staff. His former job was a shoe salesman at Macy's, but he was laid off during some company financial trouble. He doesn't know a lot about books, but he does know a lot about snake oil selling. He sings the ABC's while he's shelving to assure the best accuracy. He likes to read business books, when he decides to read. He likes the Seahawks and football.
Supervisors
Tracy-
Tracy isn't quite sure of her position at Nate's Books. She's got a key and does manager responsibilities, but she's not a manager. She's worked with books for a long time, and at Nate's Books for at least two years, and in those two years Nate promised a promotion that still hasn't happened, for reasons she doesn't understand. She wants to stop caring and give up, but she still has some hope and optimism that keeps her showing up everyday. She's the one person the staff trusts and likes the most, and she believes she's the only one that makes sense. She reads fiction and mystery. This character is based on Cari.
Nicole-
Nicole isn't really a supervisor, but she's got more authortiy than the employees. She's the reciever and inventory person in the store. She only works part time in the mornings. She gets in and out as soon as she can. She's known Nate for a long time, and that's the only reason she came out of retirement--to help him. She's friendly, but she can come off as harsh. She's opinionated, and she has her favorites. Nicole reads anything and everything.