Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(41)

“Fine. I’ll interview her, but I won’t like it.”

Bear sighed. “We’re all so very proud.”

Thirty minutes later she walked into Bear’s office.

“How’d the interview go?” he asked.

“She didn’t impress me.”

“Did you let her try?”

“She wasn’t right. That’s not the point. I need you to find a job for Amber.”

“I thought she was answering the phones.”

“She’s sitting at the desk, but she’s not doing the work.”

Bear raised his eyebrows. “So fire her.”

“I can’t.”

“Then let me.”

“No. I’m not saying I can’t fire someone. I can. I don’t like it, but I can do it. No, it’s that she’s family. My cousin.”

Bear scowled. “Never hire family.”

“Too late now. Anyway, she needs something else. Then I guess I need someone to answer the phones. I am so tired of hiring people.”

“If you had an office manager, they could do it for you. You’re being shortsighted, Sophie.”

She knew he was right but there was so much going on. So much that seemed out of control. “Let me think about it.”

Sophie left his office and walked through the warehouse. Looking at the stock waiting to be shipped out to customers always made her feel better. She rounded a corner and saw Heather carefully photographing a canister set. As she watched, Heather measured the largest canister and made a notation, then took several more pictures.

“What are you doing?” Sophie demanded in a shriek. “What’s going on? Are you stealing? Making knockoffs that you can sell on eBay?”

Heather turned toward her, eyes wide. “Sophie, no. It’s not that.”

“I trusted you and I gave you a good job. How could you do this to me?”

She was aware of people gathering, of Bear coming up to stand beside her.

“What’s going on?” he asked in a low voice.

Tears filled Heather’s eyes. “It’s not what you think. I’m not stealing or anything. Sophie, please. Let me explain. Please.”

  Heather was shaking so hard, she thought she might throw up. Everyone was staring at her like she was a criminal, but the disappointment and hurt in Sophie’s expression were the worst.

“My computer’s in my locker,” Heather managed, tears filling her eyes. “I can show you what I’m doing.”

Sophie looked unconvinced but nodded once. “Let’s go see what you’re up to.”

Heather led the way to the break room and opened her locker. She carried her laptop to the table and booted it, then sat down and opened the CK file.

She wiped away tears, then motioned to the chair next to her. “It would be easier if you sat down so you could see the screen.”

Sophie looked at her for a long moment before pulling up a chair.

“I like to quilt,” Heather said, wishing her hands would stop shaking. “My mom taught me how when I was pretty young. We would do the easy, in-a-day kind. After a while I wanted to work on more complicated quilts. I found a free program that converts a picture into a quilt pattern, breaking the photograph or design into individual squares. It’s pretty crude, but I’ve been playing with it.”

She pulled up the first CK logo quilt pattern. “I was wondering if the logo would make a good quilt. It’s charming and fun. But then I started thinking would anyone want to make a quilt of a company logo, so then I wondered how to personalize the quilt or the logo.”

She clicked on the file with the cat stock photo superimposed on the CK logo. “So I did this. It’s not coming out exactly right. I’ve been playing with it for a while, trying to figure out the proportions. I don’t have professional training, so it’s kind of hit and miss.”

She turned to Sophie. “I was thinking people would like more special items. Maybe canisters with their cat’s picture on them or things like that. I was measuring the ones we have to get the pictures to work on them. I wasn’t stealing.”

Sophie looked slightly less stern. “How would the quilts work?” she asked. “People would buy a quilt with their cat’s picture on it?”

“We could do that, but a handmade quilt would be really expensive. It’s hundreds of hours of labor. But I was thinking we could do a kit. They send in the picture and we send back a pattern with the fabrics. Then they would make the quilt themselves. We could also do the same thing with needlepoint or counted cross-stitch. Plus the canisters.” She swallowed. “I wasn’t stealing, I swear. I was trying to come up with some products I could tell you about. It’s just they’re not finished yet.”

Sophie groaned, then hugged her tight. “I’m sorry,” she said, holding on for a few seconds before releasing her. “I was so horrible and I’m sorry. Look at what you’re doing. It’s amazing. I can’t believe it. These are fantastic. You are busy every second of every day and here you are trying to grow the company.”

Heather felt herself relax. “I probably should have told you what I was doing.”

Sophie brushed that comment aside. “It’s fine. I get that you wanted it to be right before you showed it to me. I completely overreacted. I’m dealing with a lot and sometimes I can’t keep it together. Anyway, these are great. You’re wasted in the warehouse. Tomorrow I want you to start working with Elliot in marketing. He needs people and you’re bright and talented and a hard worker.”