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He straightens up, startled. “Thanks, Emma,” Finn says with a smile that can’t hide the stress on his face. He seems so tense, in fact, that it’s like the stress is radiating off him. “But I’m so tired right now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to appreciate the difference.”
“Okay,” I say, refilling my water bottle. “But if you change your mind, let me know.”
Back at my desk, I stare at my notebook, where I’ve been jotting down all the ideas that I’ve come up with. I cross a few out and circle a couple of others, then turn to my computer and get back to work.
The next morning, I knock on Finn’s door. “Come in,” he calls.
“Hi,” I say, stepping into the large, well-organized room. “Got a minute?”
“For you? Of course,” he says. “You’re in early.”
“You were in first,” I point out.
“I never went home,” Finn admitted. “Slept on that not-very-comfortable couch right over there.”
I glance at the long, leather sofa at the other end of the room. It’s impressive but not particularly welcoming, and I imagine that Finn didn’t really get any actual sleep.
“Maybe you’ll take me up on that coffee offer, then,” I say, turning back to look at Finn who, I now notice, is wearing the same clothes he was in yesterday.
“Maybe,” he nods. “What’s up?”
“Well, I have some ideas,” I begin.
“Ideas for what?”
“For bringing in new clients.”
Finn stiffens at my words. “Why do you think we need new clients?”
“Finn, I heard you and Damien talking the other day. I’m not trying to pry or be nosy, and I haven’t told anyone else what I overheard. But I think that I can help.”
Finn sighs. “I talked to Damien again, after that conversation. He leveled with me about how bad things actually are. I’m sorry, Emma.”
“Why are you apologizing to me?”
“Because you’re getting punished for decisions that we made before we hired you. None of the staff should be hurt because of my brothers and me, but especially not people that weren’t even here before we had the bright idea to stop representing morally compromised clients.”
“I think that the new direction is the right one. I wouldn’t have even applied for a job at the old Devil’s Advocate,” I tell him. “What you, Luc, and Damien are doing is exciting and brave.”
“Also difficult and likely to result in bankruptcy,” Finn says, but there’s a light in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “But thank you for saying that.”
“Like I said, I’ve come up with some ideas,” I continue. “They might be ones that you already tried before, but I think some of them are good ones.”
“May I?” Finn asks, nodding towards the notebook in my hands. I pass it over and he quickly reads through my list. “These all center around different ways of recruiting new clients.”
“The way I see it, that’s the best way to turn things around. You need to make it clear that the firm has cleaned the house, client-wise.”
“I agree, but we’ve been working on recruitment and getting nowhere. No offense, but why do you think you’ll be more successful?”
“Why is it that, whenever anyone says ‘no offense,’ their next words are borderline offensive?” I ask, and he blushes. “I think that I’ll be more successful because I’m not a demon.”
“Hey, I’m hardly some fire-breathing monster,” Finn protests.
“I know, those are ogres. But you and your brothers are intimidating,” I point out. “Between the reputations and the horns, I can see why people aren’t wowed by your recruitment efforts.”
“I’d like to think that smart clients know better than to make judgments based on how we look or what we’ve done in the past.”
“I’d like to think that, too. But you want wealthy people and businesses to bring you on board, and they’re not going to risk their images and livelihoods on an unknown quantity. I think that I could make better inroads at recruitment than you have.”
