Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(80)

Amber’s eyebrows rose. “You haven’t asked me why I want one.”

“I don’t care why you want one. You’re a terrible employee. You’re lazy, you’re inefficient and until recently, you were stealing from me.”

Her cousin glared at her. “I stopped doing that, just like you asked. You should be nicer to me.”

“Because you’re not stealing now?”

“Because I went looking at apartments and I found the one I like but I can’t afford it.” She sighed heavily. “Even with Heather’s paycheck. So I need a big raise.”

Amber had always been the professional victim in the family, but this was impressive, even for her.

“You know that’s not how jobs work, right? You don’t get a raise based on need. They’re based on performance.”

“I thought you wanted Heather to have a chance to get away. I thought you cared about her. If I can’t afford an apartment on my own, how is that ever going to happen?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe by taking responsibility for once in your life.”

“You’re family. You have to take care of me.”

“Technically, I don’t.”

Amber’s good mood faded. “I want that apartment. Either you help me or I’ll make Heather rent it in her name.”

Sophie swore. “You’d do that to your own kid to get back at me?”

“Oh, please. I’d do it because then I get the apartment. Not everything is about you. So if you don’t help, then it’s on you. Heather’s name is going to be on the lease and we all know I’m not very responsible about paying for things.”

What had been a game now became more real. “You’d do that to your own daughter?”

“It’s not my fault you won’t pay a living wage. Besides, I like having Heather around. She takes good care of me. You’re the one who wants her to get away. If it were up to me, she would stay here on the island. I had to. If I hadn’t gotten pregnant, who knows where I would have been. But I was stuck and now she’s stuck, too. It’s only fair.”

Sophie didn’t know what was real and what was part of Amber playing her. But she knew for sure giving in to blackmail was a bad idea.

“Good luck with that,” she said. “There won’t be a raise.”

Amber stared at her before walking toward the door. “Okay. I’ll be sure Heather knows that. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Dugan has a new girlfriend. She’s moved in with him. You might want to check that out.”

  Heather listened raptly while Elliot explained his marketing philosophy. Every now and then, usually late in the day, he would start talking about the business and different campaigns he’d been a part of. He would explain the various options and why he’d chosen what he had and how successful it had been or how spectacularly it had failed.

Last week he’d talked for an hour about the failure of “New Coke” all the way back in 1985. Listening to him was like taking a master class in marketing and sales.

“Why CK and not another outlet?” he asked her. “Why not PetSmart or Etsy? They have similar products for about the same price.”

“Everything at CK is better,” she said automatically, tucking her feet under her.

She was in the oversize chair opposite his desk. It was after six and the building was quiet.

His expression turned pitying. “How you love the party line. What is better? Define better.”

“It’s, um, CK branded and...” She realized she didn’t have an answer.

“My point exactly. Market differentiation is a real thing, Heather. Why this pen and not the pen next to it? Why Dunkin’ and not Krispy Kreme? There has to be a reason. It can be perceived rather than real but it has to exist. It starts with us knowing everything we can about our existing customer and our potential customers. Who are the Henrys?”

She had no idea what he was talking about. She frantically tried to remember if there was a well-known marketing firm with that name, or a wealthy family or a company. She knew he didn’t mean the Shakespeare Henrys.

“High-earning, not rich yet,” he told her. “Millennials with money. In our world, we want Henrys with cats.”

“Because they have the income and they’re still forming their lifestyle. If we can convince them that CK is the best brand for their cats, they’ll buy all kinds of things.”

“Exactly. We’ll provide them quality, service and cachet. In the right circumstances, price isn’t all that important.”

“You know everything.”

He smiled. “I wish that were true, but it’s not. I have a good education and years of work experience.” His expression sharpened. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

The question surprised her. “No,” she said automatically, then wondered why he asked. It couldn’t be for himself. She loved working with him. Elliot was smart and knowledgeable and while he was very handsome, he had to be in his fifties and she just wasn’t interested in him in—

“Oh, dear God. I’m not asking you out.” He rubbed his temples. “Children are always a problem.”

“I’m not a child.”

“Figuratively, Heather. Not literally. I was just asking because a boyfriend would tie you to the island.”