Commercial landscaping company, 45 days post-close

You closed on a commercial landscaping company 45 days ago. The former owner's operations manager, who has run day-to-day crew scheduling for 12 years and personally holds the relationships with three of your top five customers, tells you she's been offered a job at a competitor and will stay only for a 20% raise and a title change. Payroll is already your largest cost line and margins are thin. Two crew leads have privately told you they would follow her if she left.