Sweet Love - Mia Kayla Page 0,23
of one of the largest chocolate companies in the nation. I could hear his feet pad toward me, but I didn’t turn around. I stayed, feet planted on the floor, until Connor swung around his desk, sat down, and steepled his fingers by his lips. I fiddled with my hands in front of me, walking slowly to the chair in front of his desk as though I were walking the plank of a ship.
“Have you made a decision, Charlie?”
“This is the thing: what if I can’t do what you want me to do?”
“All I’m asking you to do is try. Brainstorm with me, sketch up some initial plans, just do what you were born to do and give me ideas with that original vision you had in mind.”
I sighed, unsure.
He reached into his desk and pulled out the sketch of my imaginary chocolate that I’d drawn out at the bar. “I’m sorry. I stole this from you. But this is something I can work with. My marketing team can proceed this with vision.” He waved it in the air and smiled so beautifully that it made my heart hurt. “If you help me, we can work together to save my family’s company. We employ thousands of employees nationwide, and I can’t fathom failing them, unable to pull through. We need to give this company a fighting chance to succeed in this market and against our competitors. To do that, we need a whole new look, a whole new vision. Charlie, I’m asking you to help me.”
It was the kind of speech that took place on top of a podium in front of thousands of people, and it hit something deep inside of me—family.
I had to admit, it would be fun. It had been a fun thirty minutes at the bar, thinking with the girls on branding this imaginary chocolate bar—what the name would be, what the packaging would look like, what the logo would be. I hadn’t seen it as work because it was enjoyable.
When I didn’t say a word, he walked to my side, sat at the edge of his desk, and crossed his ankles, facing me directly. “Charlie, seriously, I need you.”
When I still didn’t speak, he stood and dropped a little, getting in my line of sight. With the lightness of his fingertips, he placed one hand on top of mine. My skin was set aflame at his touch, and a jolt of electricity surged through me. I decided if he were the sun, then what I had just experienced was solar energy.
“Charlie, please.” He paused, mulling something over in his head. “I’ll make it worth your time. I know people in the industry. I have connections in New York with influencers who can get your work noticed. Just help me save my family’s company.”
I rolled his words over in my head. Shit, this could be huge. One major blast, and I’d be all over social media. I’d seen it spiral for other creatives. I could possibly be the next big thing, but that wasn’t my next thought.
“Why do you call it your family’s company? You are the son of the CEO. Doesn’t that mean it’s your company too?”
He reeled back, seeming surprised by my question. After a long sigh, he stood, anchoring himself against the desk again. “It’s complicated.”
It’s complicated. Wasn’t that the saying of the century? Life was complicated in general.
Curiosity ate at my insides, and I pressed him further, “I was talking to Alyssa and Casey. You are temporarily working here. So, you’re leaving?”
He sighed and rustled his hair with one hand. “The relationship with my family is complex. Beyond complicated. I knew the company was failing, yet I wasn’t gonna let it fail. The selfish part of me is very bitter toward this company. See, you don’t become this successful”—he paused, looking past me, above me—“without giving something up in return. Without sacrificing something.”
I wanted to press him further, but I knew now wasn’t the time.
The mood turned somber.
He stared blankly above me and slowly shook his head. “I really don’t want to get into it, but pushing all that selfishness aside, because my brother, because of Nana, because of the thousands of people we employ and their families and how they are so dependent on my family’s company to survive, I’m determined to save Colby’s. Not for my legacy, but for them.”
I wanted to cry. It was a heart felt speech with utter and gut-wrenching feeling.
It was then I decided I would