Remember that in a linear function of the form 

, the slope, 

, is the coefficient of the independent variable 

.
In our cost function 

, 

 and 

, so we can infer that the independent variable is 

. Since the coefficient of 

 is 9.90, the slope of the cost function is 9.90.
We can conclude that the slope of Kara's new store cost function is $9.90