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She zips her lips and throws the invisible key away.
Rowan steps away from the podium as he holds on to the clicker. He gets through some of the basic openings, including expressing his gratitude for our time and whatnot. His eyes always find mine at the end of his sentence, like he actually wants my approval.
He clicks to the first slide, showing a black and white picture of his grandfather in front of a half-complete castle. “My grandfather asked me to determine Dreamland’s weaknesses and create something worthy of his legacy. Upon first inspection of the park, I had wondered what I could possibly do that hasn’t been thought of before. Dreamland in many ways is perfect.”
I turn my attention from Rowan toward his father. It’s obvious where Rowan learned his flat affect from because I don’t think I see any reaction from Seth Kane beside his eyes blinking.
At least he’s not frowning yet.
“I spent the past six months working with the park developers to come up with a renovation plan that would stand out above the rest. Creators spent countless hours developing new ride ideas, land concepts, float additions, and more. I had every intention of showing those designs today—in fact, I created a whole presentation centered around expanding Dreamland.”
Mr. Kane’s finger taps once against the table before stilling.Is that his tell? If so, what does it mean?
“Over the last month, I spent time breaking down my grandfather’s words. I came to the realization that finding weaknesses means more than increasing revenue or allocating funds better.”
He moves onto the next slide, a picture of Brady with the entire Dreamland staff in front of the castle. If I squint, I can find myself still rocking braces since my parents snuck me in the photo when I was only a teen.
“During my grandfather’s time in a coma, the weaknesses slowly became overlooked because of our strengths. The more Dreamland grew, the easier it was to ignore the smaller issues because more money meant more success. My grandfather wrote how there was a special person who helped him realize his mistakes, and I was fortunate enough to have met the same individual.” He offers me the smallest Rowan smile to ever exist.
Is he talking about me? Brady Kane referenced me in his letter?My entire chest warms and my heart threatens to burst.
“This person showed me how money becomes meaningless when we ignore the very people who help us make a profit. They were vocal about the issues with Dreamland, and I was intrigued by these so-called weaknesses. I began interviewing employees at random from all departments, and what I found was shocking.”
The next slide is an image ofRalph. “This is Ralph. He’s been a dedicated ride mechanic at Dreamland for the past fifty years, making him our oldest employee besides my grandfather. When I asked him how he felt about all the Dreamland wage changes and insurance benefit cuts, he told me it didn’t matter. Of course, I thought that was a bizarre statement. Out of the two hundred employees I interviewed, Ralph was the only person who saidit didn’t matter. So, naturally, I asked him why that was. And he told me that he recently found out he has stage four pancreatic cancer and his health insurance couldn’t cover the kind of treatment he needs.”
Ralph has cancer?My eyes become misty from tears I try to hold back. I fail and end up sniffling loudly. The way Rowan looks at me has me wondering if he’s silently offering his apology.
The next slide is a picture of Brady smiling with an arm wrapped around Ralph’s shoulder. It looks like Ralph is fixing a cart from Dreamland’s first ride. “Ralph is one of our oldest employees at The Kane Company, and our—my—selfish business practices are limiting him from receiving proper cancer treatment.” He clicks and the next slide appears, this time with hundreds of photos. “There are hundreds of similar stories, from people struggling to work two jobs to employees being unable to afford appropriate health care procedures because of limited finances. No person should have to choose between supporting their family or putting their medical needs first.”
He lets out a deep breath. “As the Director of Dreamland, I want to protect people like Ralph. Because in the end, our employees are our biggest strength. Without them, there would be no Dreamland worthy of the success we have accrued. Therefore, I am suggesting the minimum wage is raised to meet standards consistent with what we expect from our employees.”
“And what hourly wage do you suggest?” Seth Kane speaks up.
Is this part of the procedure? Can we all yell out random questions whenever we feel like it?
“A fifty percent raise at the very least.”
“That is an extreme increase, given the fact that you voted against the previous wage change.”
The two board members I don’t know both look at each other. My hands start to tremble, wondering what the heck is going to happen next.
Martha pats my knee and gives me a reassuring smile.
Wait.Does she know about Rowan’s presentation?Because if Rowan didn’t know Martha was part of the board, maybe he did a mock presentation in front of her.
Rowan doesn’t seem the least bit flustered by his father’s questions. He changes to the next slide. “Based on research conducted, higher wages are associated with increased profitability. Top corporations have already made this pledge based on data-driven facts. If we increase wages, we boost efficiency, thus enhancing the overall Dreamland experience for our guests.”
His father leans forward. “Why would we need to work on employee satisfaction if we are performing beyond expected each quarter?”
Rowan’s next slide includes a breakdown of some kind of exit survey from guests. “When I surveyed over one million guests during my time here, over seventy-two percent of them said Dreamland employees played a key role in their overall experience. On a different question where they were asked what differentiated the Dreamland experience from competing theme parks, sixty-eight percent of guests chose the cast member experience. That means regardless of what rides we have, the employees are the ones who make the difference.” The slide changes to an employee satisfaction survey.
I remember filling it out myself but I didn’t realize it was for Rowan’s presentation. I’m paralyzed in my chair as I stare at the bar graphs and numbers, trying to make sense of everything I’m seeing.
“On the flip side, over fifty percent of our employees said they would seek a job elsewhere in the next five years if Dreamland wages remained the same. Employee’s reasons for quitting included an interest in saving up for retirement, a need for affording childcare, a desire to save for their children’s college funds, and an interest in receiving better benefits, including healthcare.”
Rowan’s father tap tap taps again. Either he’s a pro at morse code or he’s silently showing his approval. I mean, how can he not? I’m trying my best not to stare at Rowan because I didn’t even know he was working on all this. It proves that helistenedto me, both as Scott and Rowan. That he took everything I had to say about the employees and applied it to his presentation.
My entire body vibrates from excitement.
