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“Evening boss,” he says in a cheery voice.
“I should fire you.”
“What happened now?” I hear the laugh in his voice.
“Why did you tell me to buyDeLisle?”
“Because it is a young company with a lot of potential, and if managed well will become very profitable for us.”
“Why did you suggest I keep Paige DeLisle on the payroll?”
“Because she is the brain behind the entire operation. The company is her creative baby. There are so many advantages to having her on board. First of all, from a branding perspective, it looks good that the woman who started the company, the woman whose name is above the door still works there. Also, she is good at what she does and will ensure that the company stays on track creatively. It’s a win-win.”
“I don’t think so. Not judging by the meeting I had with her this morning.”
“Uh-oh, what happened?”
“She is some sort of fashion fanatic. She looked at me like I was a complete and utter idiot when I told her my plans for the company. She wants to keep things as they are. She looked like she wanted to murder me when I ordered her to execute my plans.”
“Travis, you ordered her to follow your instructions?”
“Clark, don’t start.”
“I have to, because you have refused to listen every other time I have told you this. You can’t just bark orders at your founders. The ones who are afraid of you will comply, but they will never truly respect you, and those who aren’t will refuse just to spite you. You lose either way.”
I wave my hand in the air. “I don’t care about any of that. As long as my directives are followed.”
“That’s not going to work, especially not with Ms. DeLisle, considering my experience with her during the acquisition process.”
“Which is what exactly?”
“Nothing, just that she is…strong willed.”
“Well, if that’s the case perhaps I should fire her.”
“Whoa! That’s a very very bad idea.”
“Why?”
“We literally just hired her a week ago, we can’t just fire her now. Optically, it doesn’t look good. It will invite so much drama and we don’t need that right now.”
“So how do you suggest we handle this problem?”
“Maybe don’t look at it as a problem. You should try to work with her. You know, see her as a partner, and not like a subordinate like you do with the rest of us.”
“Ha ha, perhaps I should fire you,” I say.
He laughs. “You will never fire me.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Actually, that is a bet I would take. I am your oldest friend. We’ve known each other since we were babies. Your mother would drive up here all the way from Texas to smack you upside the head if she even knew you were even joking about firing me. So be careful, otherwise I just might tell her.”
“You know, every day I curse the 22-year-old version of myself who thought it would be a good idea to ask you to come and work with me.”
“Whatever. Too little too late. You’re stuck with me now.”
I smile. “Good night, Clark. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
