Worthy Opponents(18)

“I wanted to come and talk to you,” Paul said, “because we’re really on an even keel now. The store is doing well, our investments are solid. I’d like to see us expand though, to reach out to new clients, and bring in younger customers. We have the merchandise they want. They just don’t know it. I think we should do more advertising. In the press and online. I’d like to see us set up a website people could shop from. Everyone does that now. It’s a major moneymaker.”

“If we do that, they won’t come into the store,” Spencer said, worried.

“Some people can’t anyway. They live too far away, or they’re not well. We’d capture a whole new group of customers with online shopping. Just about every store in the world does that, but we don’t. It’s fine for the store to look ‘vintage’ and a little old-fashioned, but we can’t afford to be old-fashioned in our marketing practices. I’d really like you to give it some thought. We could even expand into an annex if we can find a building nearby and put certain departments there. But if we start buying real estate, we should bring in an investor.” Spencer looked horrified at the suggestion. It had been suggested occasionally over the years that they should consider moving the store uptown, and Spencer was vehemently against it. Her theory was that if she brought in investors, she’d lose control.

“You know how I feel about investors, Paul. I’m not giving up a fraction of a percent of the business. We keep it all.”

“An investor, with enough money, could help us expand without straining our own finances.” She knew that her P&L statement was looking good, their profits and losses.

“I’m not spending a penny we can’t afford ourselves. Bringing in young people is important, and I agree with you. I want to think about online shopping. We’d need more staff to service it. But an annex is an interesting possibility, if we can afford it.”

“I like the concept,” Paul said to her. “What I don’t like is the neighborhood. I’m not sure we can find a decent building here. One day we may need to think about moving uptown if we want to expand.”

“That’s not even a remote possibility. Brooke’s belongs here. It’s part of our cachet, and what makes us different. Besides, we own the building free and clear. Why would we give that up, and have to spend a fortune either buying or renting a store uptown? It doesn’t make good financial sense.”

“Maybe it does. We would carry a lot more merchandise and more lines with a bigger structure to work from. I know these are big issues, Spencer, but they deserve your serious consideration, or we’re going to stay too small, and lose a ton of money we could make if you’d be flexible about some of these issues.”

“I won’t be flexible about moving, or an investor. You can have anything else.” She smiled at him. He’d had the same discussion with her before, and always got the same answer. “My grandfather and father didn’t have investors,” she reminded him, “and the store is much more profitable now than it was in their days.”

“That’s true,” Paul said, “but times have changed, Spencer. We have to expand if we want to keep growing, and we need help to do that. We can’t do it alone.”

“Then we’ll do what we can, without breaking with tradition, or breaking the bank.”

“People very commonly give up a percentage these days, even a small one, to bring in an influx of money. That’s how it’s done.”

“Never!” she said emphatically. Paul knew he’d gotten as far as he would for one day. She was adamant about following the model her grandfather had established. Paul thought she did it out of both loyalty and fear, afraid to try something new. She was young, but she was steeped in the past, after growing up at her grandfather’s knee, and learning everything from him. They had adored each other.

Paul decided to take one last shot at it on his way out. “From everything I know about your grandfather, he was never afraid of change, and always willing to try innovative techniques. You won’t be failing him if you take on an investor. Give it some thought,” Paul urged her.

“I have, and I won’t,” she said, her expression set in stone. He left her office a minute later, hoping that what he had said to her would sink in over time and she’d agree. She was too smart and too good in business not to see things his way eventually. They needed to expand to stay viable in the market, and the only way to do that significantly was with someone else’s money. There was no doubt in Paul’s mind. Nor in Spencer’s.

When Spencer left for the day, she put Paul’s disturbing suggestions out of her mind. She was having dinner with Bill Kelly that night. She didn’t want to be upset when she saw him.

He usually took her to a neighborhood restaurant, and they went back to her place afterwards. The boys were having a sleepover at a friend’s, since it was Friday night, which was one of the rare times she’d let Bill stay late or spend the night. Between her work and her sons, there wasn’t a lot of room for him in her life, and he didn’t clamor for more than he got. She was careful not to involve him with her children, except very superficially. He saw them occasionally but had never made a big effort to get to know them. Neither he nor Spencer saw the relationship as long-term, and it had already lasted longer than they’d expected. They’d been seeing each other for two years. He was a nice guy but not a deep person. He enjoyed being a bachelor, and was gun-shy about marriage, and so was she after Bart. The relationship with Bill was just something that had happened, and never went too far. He knew how important the store was to her, although he assumed that she’d get tired of running it one day, and either sell it or find someone else to run it, which showed how little he knew her. He thought of it as more of a hobby for her, not a lifelong passion.