Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(53)

“I’m not sure it’s immature so much as normal,” Heather admitted. “We’re only twenty, Gina. Maybe we’re the ones out of step, not her.”



Chapter Fifteen


Sophie couldn’t remember ever preparing for an interview before. When she’d first started CK, she’d hired people she knew. When new people were needed, she’d put ads online. Eventually, she’d started using employment agencies and online apps. But this time was different.

She’d first heard about Maggie Heredia at an industry conference. One of Sophie’s competitors had been bragging about a double-digit increase in sales. At the time, when CK was growing faster than they could keep up, that hadn’t been an impressive number, but in the past couple of years, as the company had conquered all the easy markets, Sophie had remembered the name and had started keeping track of Maggie online.

She knew Maggie Heredia was married, with two kids. The family currently lived in Denver, and her husband worked from home. Happy news that meant moving to Blackberry Island wasn’t a big deal for him. The kids were a slightly bigger problem, but Sophie had dug up information on the local schools and had been delighted to learn that Blackberry Island Elementary was one of the top five schools in the state. The high school just off the island was equally well regarded.

Sophie had put all that information in a brightly colored folder. She’d also done her best to find out what she thought Maggie was currently making and increased the amount by 20 percent. She put together a relocation package, along with the details on the company’s health plan and 401(k). Then she’d read a dozen articles on hiring at the executive level, spent extra time on her hair and makeup, and had actually worn a suit to the office. Ridiculous, but desperate times and all that.

Now, waiting for Maggie to arrive, Sophie paced the length of the warehouse, her high heels clicking on the concrete floor.

Bear watched her for a couple of minutes before falling into step with her.

“Nervous?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yup.”

“I want to hire this woman. She’s great at sales and she’s worked with a distributor I’ve been trying to court for three years. It’s so frustrating. He gets product in stores. I have products. Why does it have to be so hard?”

“He doesn’t like what you have.”

She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “You don’t know that.”

“Of course I do. Why else wouldn’t he take you on? He obviously thinks he won’t make money with our inventory. What’s his area of expertise?”

“Upscale cat boutiques.”

Bear winced. “I really miss working in fruit.”

“Cats are a multibillion-dollar business.”

“So’s fruit.”

She felt herself relax as she smiled. “You’re a weird old man.”

“That isn’t news for either of us.” He nodded toward the open warehouse door. “A rental car just parked out there. You might want to get up front to greet your recruit.”

Sophie pressed a hand to her stomach. “It’s going to be fine. Tell me it’s going to be fine.”

“You’ll do what you always do, Sophie. You’re a force of nature and that can’t be changed.”

She wasn’t sure that was the reassurance she was looking for, but it was all she had time for. She hurried up front where Tina was greeting Maggie Heredia.

The other woman was about Sophie’s age—maybe a year or two older. She was tall, slim and blonde with an air of friendly confidence. She looked like the sort of person you wanted to sit next to when you didn’t know anyone at an event.

Maggie smiled and held out her hand. “The infamous Sophie Lane. At last we meet.”

“Welcome to Blackberry Island. How was your flight?”

“Easy. Denver isn’t that far. Not like my trips to the East Coast that chew up a whole day.”

They shook hands. Tina motioned to the offices.

“I’ve set up the conference room for you. Please let me know if you need anything else.”

Sophie led the way to what had been an empty office just three days ago. Thanks to Tina, a conference table and matching chairs had been delivered yesterday morning. There were dry-erase boards on two walls and a screen for digital presentations.

As they walked to the table, Sophie saw Tina had left coffee, muffins and a carafe of water. The woman was frighteningly efficient, Sophie thought with a smile. She would have to remember to thank her later.

Sophie sat at the head of the table. Maggie took the chair on her right.

“Thanks for coming up here,” Sophie said. “I know you’re happy where you are, but I’m hoping to entice you enough to consider joining us here at CK Industries.”

Maggie leaned back in her chair. “I’ve done a lot of research on the company. You’ve done well with what you have. You started with nothing but a handful of cute cat videos and created an empire. That’s impressive.”

Sophie appreciated the compliment. “Timing was a factor. When I started posting the CK videos online, YouTube was new and the concept of going viral had yet to become mainstream. Today CK’s antics would just be part of the background noise.”

“True, but you knew enough to capitalize on what you had. A lot of people would have missed the opportunity.” Maggie’s gaze moved around the room. “Having said that, you’re missing plenty of opportunities now. My guess is you’re running out of low-hanging fruit and now you’re scrambling to keep the company growing. In a crowded market, CK is having trouble differentiating itself.”