by Parker, Ali
“I understand you’re all a little worried. We launched the new foundation, which is already showing some great numbers. Our customers are loyal to us, which has shown in our solid sales numbers,” I reminded them.
“They’re flat. The idea is to grow, not continue to do the same. You need more customers buying your makeup line to keep this company floating. We invest to not lose money, but also to gain money. We need to see a return on our investment,” Marge, a silver-haired woman who had been my first investor, chimed in.
“I understand. However, I feel raising our prices would alienate some of our clientele,” I argued.
“You aren’t going to have a company to worry about alienating clientele,” Marge snapped back.
I raised my perfectly sculpted eyebrows (thanks to my product line) in shock. “Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, Hannah, I really am. Your natural makeup line is exactly what’s needed in this world and it has the potential to be successful, but you’re not pricing it high enough to justify the costs. You either need to cut costs or raise prices,” Marge replied.
I turned to look at Amber for help. She glanced down at her tablet, refusing to meet my eyes. I was in real trouble.
“I’m going to make it my mission this next week to find some cost-cutting measures. I will reach out to some other suppliers and see if I can get ingredients at a lower cost.”
Marge shook her head. “I think that ship has sailed, honey. It’s time to think about selling your company to a bigger one that can absorb the loss. A larger corporation will have a better chance of finding suppliers who will negotiate costs. Increasing production is also an option and will help drive profits.”
“You want me to sell my company?” I gasped. I was shocked she would even suggest such a thing.
She shrugged a shoulder before looking around the table. “I don’t think you have any other options. We have to pull our funding. It’s nothing personal, but we’re in this for the money. I understand you’re passionate about your business, but it’s your passion, not ours.”
“I can’t believe you think I should sell.”
“It’s the only way for you to hold onto the company. You can be bought out and fall under the umbrella of a larger corporation. Maybe you’ll get to stay on as CEO,” Marge said with a smile.
I glared back at her. “Thank you. I’ll take that under advisement. Is there anything else?” I snapped.
No one had anything else to say. I sat silently as they all filed out of my conference room. I would not let them see me sweat. I couldn’t let them see how terrified I was. I pretended to be busy reviewing the piece of paper in front of me. The numbers and letters blurred together as my mind reeled, processing the information.
When I finally looked up, only Amber remained. I let out the breath I had been holding and shook my head in disbelief.
“Can you believe it?” I said in a whisper.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea they were going to blindside you like that. I should have prepared you. I’m so, so, sorry,” she said, reaching out to put a perfectly manicured hand on my arm.
“It’s okay,” I muttered. “I should have paid more attention to the last report. I was so caught up in that new marketing campaign, I didn’t come up for air all week.” I leaned back in my chair. “I guess I’ve had my head in the sand thinking we could rebound. I kept hoping our sales would take off and everything would be okay. I can’t lose my company.”
“They do have a point, you know,” she said softly.
I looked at her, hating that I knew she was right. “You think I should sell?”
“I don’t know that you have a choice. I think we have a solid product. I think we’re missing out on marketing opportunities. We could grow bigger with an influx of financing,” she said, her brown eyes looking into mine.
I groaned. “I can’t believe this is happening. We were doing so well the first year.”
“Hannah, if you don’t sell, you could be facing bankruptcy. Your personal finances are likely to suffer. There is no easy way out of this.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe I let this happen. Why? How? I mean, what the hell?” I said, my words as jumbled as my thoughts.
“Inflation, hon. You were trying to do right by your customers. I understand, and I applaud you for trying, but I like my job, and I know you do. I’ll put out some feelers and see if there is anyone out there we could potentially merge with.”
I buried my face in my hands. “What if someone buys it and closes down the line or does some rebranding or changes the formulas?”
“We’ll be careful who we court,” she assured me.
“What if they buy it and I have to step down or get fired altogether? I mean, what kind of CEO lets her company go belly-up because she doesn’t want to raise prices,” I mumbled.
“I don’t think it’s like that. If anything, it will show your passion for doing right by your customers.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this. I should have raised the stupid prices. I mean, am I selling the makeup short by pricing it so competitively? Maybe I can jack up the prices this quarter and rebound within six months!” I said excitedly.
She gave me a look that said that wasn’t really an option. “Hannah, I love this company. I love working here with you, but I think the writing is on the wall.”
I bowed my head and sighed. I knew she was right. I knew the investors were right. We had been swimming upstream for too long. I had exhausted my options and resources. I knew I had a solid product, but my decision to keep prices as they were bit me in the ass. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. I gambled and lost.
“Do you think our staff will get to stay on?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t think we’ll have a say. I mean, maybe we can work something into the buyout agreement, but you know how these things go. Things will change. They have to. No one manages the same way. It’s inevitable there is going to be some fallout. I think we do the best we can for our people, while preparing them for the worst-case scenario.”
I sighed again. “What a way to end the week. I think we deserve a drink.”
She laughed. “I think we deserve ten drinks.”
“Even better,” I said with a smile.
“I’ll head back to my office and put out some feelers. I think for now we need to keep a tight lid on this. We don’t need our competitors smelling blood in the water. That will only create trouble. We need to look good to a potential buyer. Right now, we’re not in completely horrible shape. Yes, we’re hanging on by our fingers, but we’re still afloat. We’re still selling makeup and we have new products being developed,” she assured me.
“Okay, let me know what you find. For now, we’ll keep this between us. I don’t need people jumping ship,” I mumbled, standing and straightening my fitted blazer.
We headed down the hall together toward our offices. I looked at the pictures hanging on the walls of models wearing the products I had poured my life’s energy into. I loved my makeup. I had sat in a room developing the product with a bunch of scientists, demanding nothing toxic be used. I wanted it to be as close to natural and absolutely not tested on animals. I loved being able to put that on the packaging. Unfortunately, being ethical didn’t always pay.
“It’s going to be fine,” Amber said, looking at me one last time before she continued down the hall to her own office.
I walked into my office, closing the door behind me. I needed a minute to think about everything that had been said. I was sure I could find a way to hold my position. I only needed to find the right company who would leave the running of the company to me. I knew my most recent numbers didn’t do a lot to impress anyone, but I had started from scratch. That had to prove I knew what I was doing.
I was not used to failure. Success was something I demanded of myself. I had been lucky so far, never truly failing at anything. Except love. In that department, I had failed miser
ably. Unlucky in love should be tattooed on my forehead. I had been in a lot of brief relationships and they had all ended one way or another. Sometimes, we just never called each other again. Other times, I’d find out the guy had been cheating. Then there were those relationships where I woke up one morning and realized I couldn’t stand whoever it was I was supposed to be in a relationship with.
Being single wasn’t so bad. Losing my company and all the years of hard work was definitely bad. I would fight, tooth and nail, to hold on.
Chapter 3
Grayson
It was Monday, unlike most people, I actually liked Mondays. Mondays were a fresh beginning. It was like New Year’s, fifty-four days of the year. I fired up the laptop and began to scroll through my emails. Business didn’t stop just because it was a weekend. Decisions were made after a bottle of scotch on a Saturday night and nobody waited until Monday to set things in motion.
I smiled as I read an email from the owners of the coffee shop chain I had purchased more than ten years ago. It had been my first acquisition. I loved the coffee. I contributed my success to the coffee shop I visited all the time when I was at Columbia. The owner had mentioned in passing they were selling the place. That was when I convinced my dad to give me the go-ahead to buy them, but to allow them to keep operating. It was a win-win. Since our company bought them, they opened three more locations in New York City and were considered one of the best around. We were investors and now the company was setting up to open up five more stores in several states. I didn’t have actual children, but the businesses I fostered and helped grow were like my children.
That first buy had ignited my passion. I had been mostly successful. I had a few misses but managed to recoup the loss by selling off the companies I had purchased. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked.
An email came in from one of my contacts who had an ear to the ground and knew everything about everyone.
I clicked the link he sent. It was a makeup company, one of those organic, natural ones that catered to a select clientele. It was a growing customer base. Men and women all around the world were jumping on the natural bandwagon. It was a good business to be in. I clicked the link for the CEO’s profile.
“Damn,” I muttered, looking at the picture of the very attractive woman posed with her face slightly turned, her makeup perfect on her smooth, pale, unblemished skin. Her blue eyes were stunning. I felt as if she were looking directly at me. They were a dark blue. My eyes drifted to her dark blond hair with streaks of light throughout. It was only a headshot, but I could tell by looking that she was thin. The white blouse she was wearing had a few buttons undone, showing off a perfect neck with elegant collarbones.
“Hannah Adams, who are you?” I said aloud, reading her bio, impressed by how much she had accomplished in a relatively short amount of time. I knew what it took for me to get where I was, and I had the help of my father.
I quickly did the math in my head and deduced she had to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven based on when she graduated college. She was the CEO of the company she founded. She was ambitious. That was a good sign. If I bought her company, I could keep her on. I had a feeling she would work hard to prove she was worthy of staying on as the CEO.
I tapped my finger on the edge of the laptop. I wanted to find out more about her. I copied her email address into my email and typed out a brief message introducing myself and who I was and what my company did. I had a feeling a woman like her would be less than pleased to admit defeat. I was going to have to handle her with kid gloves.
I did a little Googling, checking reviews for her company and the ads she had running. I grimaced when I did a little more digging into the availability and current marketing campaigns. There was no wonder she was in dire straits. A good overhaul would give that company a huge boost.
“Hey!” Jack said walking into my office without knocking.
“What do you want, Jack?” I grumbled, exiting off the search engine.
“You’re grumpy.”
“I am not. You barged in without even knocking.”
He sat down on my couch, crossed his legs, and stretched his arm over the back of the couch. I stared at my younger brother who looked so much like me. For the most part. I had black hair, so did he. I wore mine short, weekly haircuts, never letting a hair get out of place. Jack tended to keep his hair a little longer. I had hazel eyes, so did he. I felt I had a more distinguished look about me, but I could admit that might be personal bias. I was a little taller, by at least an inch.
“It’s not even business hours. Does that even count?” he said with a smile.
“Yes, it counts. If my door is shut, you knock. Everyone knows that,” I snapped.
He chuckled. “I feel like we’re ten and you’re bitching at me for barging into your room.”
“You should feel like that because you did it then too.”
He shrugged. “But I never got in trouble for it then and no one is here to yell at me now.”
“I am.”
He only smiled and looked around my office like he hadn’t seen it a hundred times before. He looked at the lighted shelves behind my desk, staring at the picture of our family. It was one of the last times all of us—all six of us and my father—were together in Hawaii.
“Do you miss him?” he asked in a solemn tone.
“Of course.”
“I think he’d be proud of the way the company is running,” Jack said, his voice full of emotion.
“I hope so. It’s kicking ass,” I said, not the type to get wishy-washy with a bunch of feelings.
“What’d you do this weekend?” Jack asked, changing the subject.
I shrugged a shoulder. “Nothing really.”
Jack nodded. “I caught a Broadway show. Exciting stuff.”
I stared at him, wondering why he was in my office. We weren’t close. We didn’t hang out on the weekends, and we certainly didn’t have Monday-morning chats.
“Jack, what’s up? You’re here for a reason and it isn’t to talk about my weekend,” I said looking directly at him.
He uncrossed his legs, propped his elbows on his knees, and stared back at me. “I feel the tension. I know you’re pissed at me for one reason or another. I’m sure it has something to do with the clause in the will. Right?”
“Jack, I have worked my ass off to make this company what it is. I’m not going to lie—I feel I have earned the right to take it over.”
He shrugged. “Then do it. It’s yours to take. I don’t want it.”
“Bullshit. I know you do. How could you not?”
He shook his head. “I’m not interested in being the CEO. I never have been. I like my job as it is.”
“That is stupid. Why don’t you want more?”
“I never have. I don’t want to be the CEO. I’m not your competition. You don’t have to treat me like I’m the enemy. I’m not.”
I wanted to believe him, but he’d pulled this crap on me before. Granted it was twenty-five years ago, but I had never forgotten. Like any little brother, he liked to bug me and poke at me every chance he got. But he crossed the line when he managed to get the go-kart I had been vying for. He had told me he didn’t want it. A week later, it was in the backyard and his. I had asked my dad for the thing several times, but Jack had somehow managed to get dad to buy it for him, even after he told me he didn’t want it. I had believed him then, I didn’t believe him now.
“Jack, I think you’re lying. I think you want me to relax my guard and let you run out and get a woman pregnant. You’re probably working on it right now.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I assure you, that is not what I’m doing.”
“I don’t believe that you don’t want to be head of the Bancroft Estate. It’s a successful company. I think you’re full of it. You’re trying to tell me none of you want to run the show?”
“I sure don’t, and I don’t think any of our brothers are going to be showing up for work tomorrow in an attempt t
o usurp you from the throne. Relax. Nobody is trying to steal it from you.”
I wanted to believe him. It would certainly take a load off my mind. I stared at him a few more seconds, looking for any tells that would reveal his deception. I wasn’t seeing anything, but he could have just gotten better at lying. I couldn’t take the chance and risk losing my seat at the head of the table.
“Whatever. I’ve got work to do. Shouldn’t you be doing something?”
He looked at his watch. “I do have a meeting to get to. Grayson, we’re all we have left in this world. Don’t make us, me especially, your enemy. We’re not trying to take this from you. Believe it or not, none of us wants it.”
“That’s what you say now,” I mumbled.
He stood up, smiling and shaking his head as he walked out of my office. He shut the door behind him, leaving me alone with his declarations. I found it very hard to believe he nor my brothers wanted the chance to be at the top. The company was poised to grow bigger and be even more profitable. Money gave me power. It was something I had always craved. My brain refused to believe my brothers didn’t share that same desire.
Jack was an excellent businessman. He was technically my right hand in the company, but I never truly depended on him. In my mind, that made me appear weak. I had to do it for myself. Then there was Mason. God knew his ass would never put on a suit and show up to work. The guy had gone off the rails a long time ago. He was definitely not a threat. Colt, there was potential for him to want to get his hands on my side of the family business. For now, he ran the family charity foundation and seemed to be happy where he was at, but one never knew.
Channing was the most like me, except for the part about wanting to show up and put in an honest day’s work. He preferred to spend money rather than make money. As long as I was in the driver’s seat keeping his account full, he’d stay out of my way. Hell, I never knew what continent he was on most of the time. Then James, my baby brother. He was already wealthy in his own right, but one never knew when he’d want to come out from Mommy’s skirts and start playing with the big boys. He seemed content for now, living with Mom and staying out of the family business.