Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(35)

Mark hadn’t understood her ambition and she hadn’t been willing to change to make him happy.

“It’s just, work is safe, you know? I love it and I’m good at it and I never have to worry it’s going to let me down. I can lose myself there and be happy. Dealing with people is more complicated and I’m not good at it.”

Lily watched her unblinking. Sophie was about to approach her when a car drove by outside. Lily dove back into her carrier. Sophie leaned over and hooked the carrier door so it would stay open rather than trapping Lily inside, then stood.

“I’m going to get to work. I’ll be back later to check on you. I hope you can relax and feel safe here. I might not know anything about cat childbirth, but I’m a pretty good cat mom and I promise I’ll take care of you.” She paused for a second. “I know what it’s like to be all alone, Lily. And you’re not anymore. I’ll be here for you.”



Chapter Ten


At the office Sophie quickly got caught up on what she’d missed while she’d been at the shelter and getting Lily settled. Bear introduced her to a couple more people he’d hired for the warehouse and reminded her things would go more smoothly if she got on hiring some office staff.

“I’m interviewing someone for the head of marketing today.”

“Great. What about an office manager?” He looked around and lowered his voice. “And I’m not sure Amber is going to work out on the phones. She doesn’t seem to want to answer them.”

Sophie groaned. “I was afraid she would be difficult.” No, she thought to herself. Not afraid—certain. But she’d been the one to give Amber a job, so the fault was actually hers.

“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Along with the other forty-seven jobs you’re already doing?”

Before she could decide how to answer that, a tall, distinguished-looking man walked into the warehouse. He had dark skin and eyes and a bit of gray at his temples. His suit looked hand tailored and his shoes were way nicer than hers.

“I believe my two thirty has arrived,” she said.

“Try not to scare this one off.”

“I don’t do that.”

“Sure you do.”

Sophie ignored that and walked toward the suit guy. “Elliot Young? I’m Sophie Lane.”

He held out his hand and shook hers. “Nice to meet you, Sophie Lane.” He looked around. “So this is where the show happens.”

There was something about his tone that made her wonder if he was being sincere or sarcastic.

“You’ve gotten a lot done in a short period of time,” he added.

“Everything back in California was destroyed in a fire. I didn’t have much choice. Shall we head to my office?”

Once he was seated by her desk, she closed the door and settled in her chair. She opened the file she’d prepared the previous evening. She’d printed out his résumé, along with a couple of interviews she’d found online, but before she could start with her questions, he was already talking.

“Basically your business model is like the house brand of a grocery store,” he said. “You buy from large manufacturers and repackage the product to sell as your own.”

“It’s not exactly like that.” She did her best not to sound defensive, even though she felt plenty defensive. “We sell to a more upscale market.”

His gaze was steady. “You want to sell to an upscale market, but you don’t actually get there, do you? Your online presence is decent, but there are some holes in your marketing. My guess is that you’re currently outsourcing your digital advertising.”

Elliot put on a pair of reading glasses and pulled a pad of paper out of his briefcase. “I took the liberty of doing some research on your company. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.”

He read for a second before saying, “I can see what you’re trying to do, but you’re missing the mark. You’re selling well in the larger retailers, but you’re missing a very sizable boutique distribution stream. You aren’t cheap enough to compete with the house brands and not distinctive enough to be worthy of higher prices and therefore higher margins. You are neither fish nor fowl.”

He flipped a page. “The website works. That’s something. But it’s lacking a point of view. You haven’t decided on your perfect customer so you’re not selling to her.” He glanced at her over his glasses. “You should have a marketing firm on retainer so you’re getting constant feedback from focus groups. What a cat mom wants for a cat bed today is not what she’s going to want in six months. What about color branding?”

Sophie blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Home decor is always hot but it’s especially hot right now. Colors change. Why aren’t you selling upscale, cat-based, home decor items in the current colors? If what you sell is keeping up with current trends, then when the trends change, a significant percentage of your customers will want something new.”

He took off his glasses. “Who do you have working in sales?”

She was still caught up in the idea of cat beds as home decor. “I, ah, don’t have anyone right now. I’m interviewing a couple of people and a dream candidate. Maggie Heredia. I’m working on setting up an interview with her.”