Every time someone spoke, she leaned in just a little and I got a peak down her shirt. She really was a succubus, pulling information out of them instead of just receiving it.
And the room responded to that.
They didn’t realize it yet.
But they were and they loved it. She’s about to have her way with them and they’ll beg for more.
I rested my knuckle against my mouth, biting down.
My attention ain’t where it’s supposed to be and I could feel it.
That pull.
That urge to see how far she’d go if I let her.
“Ms. Rodriguez, you mentioned you had something to add?” one of the board members asked.
She looked up, calm painted her expression.
“I do,” she stood, turning her laptop slightly so the screen faced the table. “It’s an idea I wanna run by y’all if you don’t mind.”
The cute little slang made them relax even more. To them, she wasn’t plotting, she was playing dress up in her daddy’s office. Until she walked them through it. By the time they realized she put together a plan that made a lot of missed targets and sales opportunities obvious, effectively showing all their failures in this company, their bellies were too exposed.
They had walked into a lion's den with a rack of ribs.
Then she talked about the tasting events, the flow of the experience and the structure. She explained the benefit, including having the launch event being filmed by influencers to help with marketing and having business partners join in.
By the time she finished, there wasn’t a single gap in what she presented. It was solid. Better than solid. And when she stopped talking, the room went quiet.
She looked around, unimpressed.
“Now I know y’all didn’t make me waste my breath up here talking,” she said. “Speak up. Say what’s on your mind.”
Wyatt spoke first.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he added. “And you should definitely get started.”
I didn’t even realize he was in here. Aurora must’ve invited him and he was a jackass for coming, especially after our talk.
This ‘friendship’ they’ve developed was skating on my last nerve.
She nodded once. “Thank you, Wyatt. I’m glad I got some support. Anyone else?”
A board member cleared his throat before he tried to save his ass. “It’s just too risky right now. Where would we even get the staff for something like this?”
She didn’t miss a beat.
“We already have the staff,” she said. “Y’all been looking at cutting people to maintain the budget but this gives us a way to keep them and generate more revenue. I spoke with them. They want to stay. They believe in this company. If you give them the opportunity, they’ll step up.”
Murmurs filled the room. And then—like I knew they would—they looked at me.
Every last one of them.
Waiting for approval or direction.
Waiting for me to decide if it was worth listening to.
But I didn’t say anything, I just watched her. Because I wanted to see what she’d do when she didn’t get her way.
