Chapter 23 Elijah
ELIJAH
That date with Calliope and the subsequent kiss felt like an adrenaline rush. I’ve been riding the high all damn day, and as I lounge in bed ready for sleep to take me, I still feel uplifted.
This is a good start.
At least, I hope it is.
Calliope was all smiles when she got into the cab and drove away, and when she texted me to let me know she got home safe, she included a smiley-faced emoji. As sleep currently evades me, I dig out my phone and scroll back to our messages as the urge to text her rises.
It’s late. She won’t reply and I shouldn’t push too hard.
But I want to.
I want to talk to her all the time. Find out all the details of her life, everything that makes her tick, all her likes and dislikes, her interests and more.
I have to make up for these lost years by showing her that I’m not just chasing an old crush that ignited when I saw her again. I’m really interested in her.
Tapping away from my messages, I open up the browser but after two minutes of searching on a tiny screen, I abandon my phone, turn on the bedside light, and locate my laptop.
With little knowledge of the area, finding a good place for a second date relies completely on my Google search.
Dinner was soft and romantic so maybe our second date could be more active.
There’s an indoor golf place nearby, but a quick scroll through the pictures discourages me immediately.
Dancing? I have terrible rhythm. In fact, I’m not even sure I could move to a beat if my life were on the line, but it could still be fun.
There’s everything from dance clubs to teachable sessions within a stone’s throw.
Or ice skating. The nearby rink is still open for business with an emphasis on a romantic skate with your partner on Valentine’s Day.
From the pictures, it looks rather fun, so I note that down as another option to suggest. There’s a fine line between finding what she likes and overwhelming her with choice.
As I’m studying the offers, one of the rotating ads catches my eye on the side of the screen.
Angelic Jewels.
I haven’t had much time to look into the marketing for the company, other than how highly praised their stock is at shows and how successful the online side of things seems to be.
Part of that shine has diminished now that I’ve seen some of the inner workings of the company, but my goal remains the same.
Clicking on the ad takes me to the homepage lovingly crafted by Calliope.
I’d expected a separate team to be in charge of the website, but it seems to be one of the many things she has a talent for and stays on top of with minimal complaints.
A revolving banner at the top issues an apology for delay in shipments due to the flood, with reassurances that delays past a certain date will result in credit.
Smart.
People are more forgiving with delays if they think they’ll get something out of it.
Just beneath are several of the beautiful Valentine’s Day pieces on pre-order, from necklaces and pendants to engagement rings, Galentine bracelets and more.
Hold on…
The necklaces, engagement rings, and three separate rings are marked as out of stock.
That can’t be right.
Valentine’s orders are marked as rolling orders, so stock will continue to come through, filling all pre-orders right up until the day after Valentine’s. Out of Stock can’t happen.
Refreshing the page doesn’t clear the label, so I click on my emails and double-check the last conversation I had with Jimmy about the stock, confirming that these are supposed to be on a rolling order.
Something’s not right.
The next morning, after an uneasy sleep, I head into the office after checking the website and seeing that nearly all the Valentine’s items have been taken off the website.
I swing by Calliope’s office but she’s not in yet.
One of her staff members informs me that she’ll be in later, then explains that they were ordered to remove the stock because all Valentine’s items are now going to the stores.
This is making less and less sense.
Thanking Jane for her help, I take the elevator straight up to Jimmy’s floor. When I arrive, his office is empty.
“Am I too early?” I ask his strained assistant, who sits at her desk outside his office.
She glances up at me and shakes her head. “No, he went to the bathroom. Shouldn’t be too long.”
“Thanks.” With a wave, I pass her and enter his office, then take the seat across from his desk and wait.
Outside the large windows, the sky grows warmer and warmer as the sun rises, and if I squint, I can almost pretend it’s a warm summer’s day.
Jimmy arrives twenty minutes later with a toothpick hanging out of his mouth and his phone in his hand. “Elijah? We don’t have anything scheduled today, do we?” he asks while striding around his desk and sniffling deeply.
“No. But I saw something last night that concerned me.”
“You should call the cops then, not me.” He chuckles raspily as he sits.
I don’t return the humor. “It’s about the website.”
“That blasted thing,” he mutters. “Look, you should speak to Cal because I don’t deal with any of that.”
“I would, but I checked the assigned hours and Cal is on a half day today. She’s not in until eleven.”
Jimmy frowned. “Who approved that?”
Is he serious? “You did. I saw your signature.”
“Oh.” Jimmy pauses and then shrugs. “Whatever. I don’t know anything about the website.”
“Yes, you do. You instructed them to take the Valentine’s stuff off the website and send all the current stock to the stores?”
Jimmy’s hands pause on his keyboard where he was typing at nothing, and he looks out. Our eyes meet and he sighs.
“Yes. I did.”
“Why?”
“I know you don’t fully understand how things work around here, but you need to understand one thing. I know what I’m doing.”
“Why?” I repeat. “Why would you take those items, items we’re locked into a contract to accept rolling orders on, why would you take them off the one platform where we can make the most use of that kind of order?”
Jimmy’s lips twist into a smarmy smile, and he looks at me like I’m a child who’s just sprinted into his office with a stupid question.
“Because I know how this business works. We always make more money and guarantee more sales by having stock in the stores ready to go. It’s a waste to put stuff like that on the website because it won’t sell. ”
“It will.”
“No, it won’t. I won’t have any asshole stealing from the stores just because they can order in bulk through that damned website.
Do you have any idea how bad we look when people come into the stores looking for something we can’t sell them because the stock is here waiting to be shipped off to some random in Timbuktu? ”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Let me make sure I’m understanding this correctly.”
“Sure.”
“You think someone ordering from the website is stealing from you?”
“They are!”
“But you’re the same… the same company. Anything the website makes goes right into your pocket. You’re not… you’re not separate. It’s the same. Profit comes to you regardless.”
“Nah, it’s not like that,” he scoffs. “Sure, the silly subscription service gives us a constant stream of income, but that income needs to go back into the stores. They are our pride and joy. We want real, deserving clients to wear our stuff.”
“Bullshit.”
Jimmy’s brows fly up to his hairline. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve seen your numbers. The stores and the site.
Your subscription system reaches far more clients than the stores ever could.
Even customers with store credit use the website regularly because it’s convenient.
That’s how the world works now because everyone and everything is online.
And if you want to sit there and tell me it’s about profit, then you’re still making more through the website because customers have to pay for shipping.
You’re actively sabotaging yourself by focusing on only one aspect of this business! ”
“That changes nothing. I need to know our jewelry is going on to the right kind of people. Our suppliers rely on that.”
“I’m one of your suppliers and the whole reason I’m here is because of that subscription service!
You have a perfect tool primed to reach millions of people and instead you’re sinking it because you think it’s stealing from you?
” Saying it out loud only highlights how utterly absurd his line of thinking is, but instead of agreeing with me, Jimmy doubles down.
“Everything I hear from you just tells me you don’t understand,” he snaps. “How you’ve made it this far in business, I’ll never know.”
My frustration drives me right out of my seat. “Bring it back. Bring that stock back and put it live on the website.”
“No! You have no control here! You come in with all these… these prying eyes and these commands and orders like you own the place, but you know what?” He points at me and grunts, his jaw ticking to the side as anger fills his eyes.
“You’re nothing! You have no power here!
You haven’t signed anything, you’ve just been a tourist, and I’m sick of it.
I don’t need some nobody telling me how to run my business! ”
“You know what?” I reach into my pocket and immediately scroll to Buster’s number. “You’re right. “
Buster answers immediately. “Yo! Listen, have you ever tried quail on—”
“Buster.” I lock eyes with Jimmy. “Sign the papers. It’s about time this place had some real leadership.”