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And inthosemoments… man.
I scared my damn self.
So I tried to avoid moments like that.
Moments likethis, where protestors were choosing the worst possible fucking time to interrupt the building process at one of the newWholesome Foodslocations.
Theworstlocation to pull this shit.
Why?
Because it was actually an important one.
I didn’t make certain moves without a research team’s approval and this was one of them. That location was strategically planned to accommodate a close-enough metro area and simultaneously solve a food desert situation. Black residents of the city had organized a whole letter-writing campaign, asking for our attention to their area, and we’d listened.
In a way that made financial sense for the business as well, absolutely.
We were in it for profit.
But, if wecouldhelp some people out at the same time, it would be a win-win situation for all involved.
As long as nothing got in the way of it.
“What if we just sent a team out there for the duration of construction,” I suggested, frustrated that I had to deal with this at all. “We knew we’d need a certain level of security for the location anyway, so let’s just pay the money and get them out there early. Aggressively.”
Stanford Reese sat forward in his chair with a chuckle, scrubbing a hand over his gray beard. “Violence is not always the answer.”
“And sometimes, it absolutelyis,” I countered.
Lightly.
Stanford Reese was the manager for that whole region. The new store would fall under his purview once it was done. He was the one who’d brought the community proposal to the executive level for approval, and because I trusted the man implicitly, it was a no-brainer to say yes to a couple of the new stores going to him.
He’d served my father well as both a friend and trusted executive, and so far, my experience with him had been the same.
“Yes.” He chuckled. “There are occasions that warrant a little tactful aggression, butothers…you can end up making the situation much worse than it ever needed to be. There’s no harm in putting ego to the back-burner and taking a moment to think before acting. Especially if we're already on edge about unrelated things.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you don't believe I'm thinking rationally right now?”
“I know you're not thinking rationally right now,” he scoffed. “Not with Calli being ill and you fresh off your clipped honeymoon. Which is why I'm trying to assure you. As bad as the news stories might look, we've already got this covered. You know better than to lean into the propaganda,” he scolded, and I pushed out a deep sigh.
He was right.
I didn’t even say anything before he continued.
“These people—agitators—doing this supposed protesting aren't even a part of the community who petitioned us for help. All we have to do is remind the general public of that. Theyasked usfor that store.”
I sat forward, hands clasped under my chin. “I thought the agreed-upon approach wasnotputting forth anything that presented us as some kind of saviors of the neighborhood?” I asked. “Youwere the one who made a big point of that.”
“And I stand by that methodology,” Stanford assured. “Untilsomething gives me a reason not to. Which is exactly what these ‘protests’ do. We remind these people of all the positive things we’re bringing along with us. Remind them that when the store is built, it comes with a supply of healthy foods—fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, grains that have been inaccessible to them. Our prices will be competitive to the closest metro instead of hiking them up to take advantage of the food desert situation. We're coming in with community programs, working with local food banks and next-step programs, gardening and cooking classes. And we're bringing infull-time jobs, with competitive, livable wages — none of the part-time to avoid benefits bullshit,” he added.
“You don’t have to convinceme.”
“I know, just lining it all out. And once the people who will be helped by these things understand what's at stake, understand that people whose only goal is trouble are getting in the way of them having better options for a better life… they'll take care of it. Sure, we can hire security to make sure our people are okay up front, but when the community there sees that we aren't coming in to bully and subjugate, they'renotgoing to stand for anybody causing them to lose out on that.”
I blew out a sigh.
I knew Stanford was correct, but I wasstillirritated.
