Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(75)

“But you love her and want what’s best for her.”

“Find an apartment and then we’ll talk.”

Amber sprang to her feet. “I’ll start looking this weekend. That house is so small and old. It will be nice to be somewhere newer. Maybe somewhere with a view of the Sound.”

She waved and ducked out of the office. Sophie folded her arms on the desk, then rested her head on top of them. When, exactly, had things gotten so out of control?

Her phone chirped, reminding her she had yet another meeting. She stuffed it in her pocket and headed for the conference room where Elliot and Maggie were waiting.

As Sophie took her seat, Maggie typed on her computer and started the PowerPoint presentation. The screen on the far wall lit up with the CK logo.

Maggie looked at Elliot and nodded.

“We’re here to talk about expanding CK’s retail footprint,” Elliot began. “Our products are already in chain stores and have a presence online. What we’re missing is access to upscale boutiques. We want to find that high-end cat lover and make her fall in love with the brand. To that end, we need a different distribution stream. We’ve targeted three distributors.”

The next slide appeared on the screen. Sophie read the three company names.

“These are in order of preference,” Maggie told her. “The top one is my first choice. They only take very high quality, unique products. My suggestion is we narrow our presentation down to two items.”

“Two?” Sophie wrinkled her nose. “Why not come in with a few ideas so there are choices?”

“Because having too many items implies we’re a high-volume business only interested in the fast sale.”

“Fine. What products did you have in mind?”

Maggie clicked to the next slide.

Sophie saw a picture of a cat tree that actually looked like a tree, with multiple platforms. The burled wood was sanded to a smooth gloss. The sisal rope wrapping the base looked very high-end, and the platforms were padded and covered with a brown Berber carpet. There was a cat at the base of the tree for perspective. She would guess the piece was at least five feet high.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, thinking it would look great in the cat room at her place. Lily and Mrs. Bennet would love it.

“The artists can create the cat tree in various sizes and there are elements that can be customized. The carpet, for example. The wood isn’t varnished, so that color can’t be changed, but the piece is nontoxic and the work is done by indigenous tribe members who live in the Amazon forest.”

Sophie turned to Maggie. “You’re kidding.”

“No. The trees are sustainable, as well. We’re trying to hit all the buttons.”

“What’s the price point?” Sophie asked. “And how long does it take to get one of these things delivered?”

Elliot glanced at his notes. “We’re thinking three to four hundred for the smaller trees and upward of two thousand for the bigger ones. We could keep a handful with standard options in stock for immediate delivery but if the customer wants something custom, we’re looking at maybe three months to deliver.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“No, that’s exclusive.”

“I wouldn’t wait three months for a cat tree,” Sophie grumbled.

“Are you sure?” Maggie asked. “For your beloved cat?”

Sophie thought about how she would have done anything for CK. The sweet cat had been her constant companion for nearly sixteen years—Sophie’s entire adult life.

“Okay, maybe, but I’m the exception.”

“Happily for us,” Elliot told her, “that’s not true. Are we agreed on the cat tree?”

Maggie’s gaze was expectant. Sophie nodded reluctantly, hating to commit herself but knowing she had to.

“What’s the second product?” she asked.

“We’ve narrowed that down to a final few. The first one is the quilt kit.” She moved to the next slide.

Sophie looked at the picture of the cat. The pretty Ragdoll had Siamese coloring and big, blue eyes. The next slide showed the pattern for the quilt, and the final slide was the finished product, which looked surprisingly like the photograph.

“Did someone make a quilt?” she asked.

“Nearly.” Elliot glanced at his notes. “We hired a local quilter to do a quick assembly of a pattern. If you look at it closely, it’s not finished, but we were interested in speed rather than quality. We smoothed out the rough edges in the photograph. If we pick this product, we’ll have the quilter finish the quilt.”

They went on to view customizable outdoor “cat rooms,” cat hammocks and art-deco styled cat stairs that were mounted on the wall.

“They’re all good ideas,” Sophie began.

Maggie sighed. “No. Just no. We pick one of them and that’s all.”

Sophie looked up at the slide showing all four products. “The quilt,” she said with a sigh.

“I agree.” Elliot looked at Maggie.

“The quilt.” Maggie made notes on a pad of paper. “It will take the quilter a couple of weeks to finish the quilt. I’ll call her today and get her going on that. In the meantime, I’ll work my magic and get an appointment with the first distributor on our list.”