feathers because you aren’t far away. But the distance you have to our foreign bases has made things tougher, and our finances are falling over there as a result.”
I feel sick. I hadn’t even considered that. I’ve already thought about the fact that I need to visit all the sister companies across the world to introduce myself and see what’s happening over there, but I’d hoped that I would have time to get everything in order before I had to do that.
It looks like I’ve run out of time everywhere.
“I’ll look into scheduling a visit as soon as possible,” I say with a sigh. “Which area has been the most affected?”
“Clothing, at this stage,” Eliza says, looking back down at her booklet. “Several of our stores were forced to close, especially the high-end stores, because they can’t meet the budget at this point. Thankfully, the store closures are spread out enough that it isn’t causing a huge problem right now, but it definitely has the potential to become a lot worse in the coming months.”
In other words, if I’m going to visit, go now.
For the sake of the company, this is the best possible time. For the sake of my relationship with Opal? Not so much.
But I swore, back when I first looked across the room and saw her with the interns, that I would not allow my father’s company to fail, not for anything. Not even for Opal. This company is my father’s legacy, my heritage. I don’t even know if there will be anything between Opal and me after last night. I can’t put this off.
“Can you speak to Jeffery in admin for me?” I ask, coming to a decision. “Let him know that my secretary is still off sick. I’d like him to look up flights for me. I’ll sit and finalize a flight and travel path now so that I can leave within the next few weeks.”
“Yes, I can do that,” Eliza says with a nod.
“Tell him I’d like several possibilities, and I’ll schedule a meeting with him once he has those times and days,” I add. “In the meantime, I’d like the finance department to help me brainstorm ways to pick up sales outside America. I’ll come down for a meeting with all of you in the next few days.”
“Understood,” Eliza says briskly. “Just let us know when you’ll arrive.”
She leaves the office and every part of my body just wants to relax and stop once more. But I can’t. Because I haven’t been able to be as efficient as my father, the company is suffering. I need to solve all this now. There’s no more time left.
I reach for a pad of paper and scrawl several notes on it. The first thing I need to do, right now, is plan a travel path across Europe so I can visit each division of the company over there. The sooner I can get that down to Jeffery, the sooner I can get some possible flights.
I also need to check in with Shaun. I’ve kept a careful eye on his progress with the interns, and I’ve been pleased with the way he’s handled them. What I need is an update on how they’re doing. There are several positions up for grabs, right now, because of how many employees I ended up firing, and I need to know if any of them will be suitable for the jobs available.
For the moment, I need to put all new ventures on hold. I have many plans for the company, but I can’t put those into fruition until I’ve managed to fix the current problems. The company can’t grow in some parts while it’s failing in others. It’s my time, now, to catch up.
I hesitate and then write another note down.
“See if Opal is up to coming to Europe with me.”
I’d love it if Opal could come, but there couldn’t be any romance on the trip, nor any time to try and convince her to try for a relationship. I need her there as my secretary and, if she can’t do it, I’ll need to find someone else who can come with me.
I rub my temples. This has all just gotten far more complicated than I want it to be. I look at the piles of paper. Was there a warning in there to tell me that things weren’t going so well? Things aren’t bad, at this point, but I should definitely have known that there was a problem before I