2. Rick #2
To her credit, her jaw didn’t drop, but she looked like she was actively calculating the trajectory of her own career crashing into a brick wall at ninety miles an hour.
I offered her a tiny, devastatingly polite smile. Her grip on the folder tightened so hard her knuckles turned white.
My father cleared his throat, commanding the room’s absolute attention.
“Good morning, everyone,” he began, his voice steady despite the fatigue etched into his face.
“Thank you for gathering so quickly. As many of you have heard, I’ve been facing some health challenges recently.
On Friday, my doctor gave me a strict ultimatum regarding my stress levels.
So, effective immediately, I am going to be stepping aside temporarily to take a mandatory medical sabbatical. ”
A collective, quiet gasp rippled through the room.
“But the ship still needs a captain,” my father continued, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“Which is why I’ve called in my oldest son to take over the family business.
Everyone, this is Rick. He’ll be acting as your temporary CEO, and he has my and the board’s full authorization to run the place in my absence. ”
Every eye in the room turned to me. I stepped forward, projecting the effortless corporate confidence I’d been raised to command.
“It’s a pleasure to be here,” I said smoothly, my voice echoing in the quiet room.
“I know transitions can be tough, but my goal is to keep things running seamlessly. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you and working closely with our project leads.
I know a handful of you from back in my time working here, before heading out West, where I’ve been running my own much-smaller marketing firm in San Diego.
” I nodded toward Elizabeth, my father’s secretary, who had been with him since the beginning.
There were a handful of other faces I knew, even if I couldn’t remember their names.
“I look forward to working with everyone.”
I let my gaze drift deliberately to the back of the room, locking eyes with the thoroughly mortified elevator woman.
My father took over again and then wrapped up his speech with a few words of reassurance, promising he’d be back before anyone even had time to miss him, though the tired slump of his shoulders told a different story.
“Before I hand the floor completely over to my son,” he added, glancing around the mahogany table, “I want to emphasize that our immediate priority is landing the Clear Creek Brewery account. Rick will be working directly with the team to seal that deal. Take it away, son.”
He stepped back, taking a seat along the wall. I moved into the head position, resting my hands flat on the cool wood of the table.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said, looking out at the sea of expectant faces.
My gaze swept over the crowd, intentionally lingering on the back row.
She was still trying to blend into the drywall, holding that manila folder like body armor.
She hadn’t told me her name before the elevator violently corrected its course, and I was dying to know it.
“Since I’m the new guy on the block, let’s start by going around the room.
Introduce yourselves, tell me your role here, and what accounts you’re currently managing. Let’s start on the left.”
The introductions began. Account managers, graphic designers, copywriters—the standard makeup of a mid-sized agency. I nodded along, listening intently and mapping out the hierarchy of the office, but my internal countdown was ticking toward the back row.
Finally, the rotation reached the corner. The guy next to her finished speaking, and all eyes turned to my elevator assailant.
She swallowed hard, straightening her shoulders in a sudden flash of that familiar, fierce defiance I’d witnessed between floors three and four.
“I’m Sofia Ferreira,” she said, her voice remarkably steady despite the bright flush still warming her cheeks. “I’m a junior marketing associate. I handle digital strategy for several of our smaller local retail clients.”
Sofia. It suited her.
“It’s a pleasure, Sofia,” I said, keeping my tone perfectly professional, though I couldn’t resist a slight tilt of my head. “I look forward to seeing your work.”
She gave a stiff, polite nod and immediately looked down at her folder, though I didn’t miss the way her fingers twitched slightly.
Once the introductions were finished, I kept the rest of the meeting brief and actionable, outlining my expectations for the transition period before dismissing the staff to get back to their mornings.
The room cleared out quickly, a low hum of anxious chatter following the employees into the hallway and what I and my father had always called the bullpen, the large room filled with short cubicles that housed the majority of the lower level associates.
I walked my father out to the lobby, waiting with him until the notorious elevator arrived.
“You’ve got a good grip on them already,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder as the doors groaned open. “Just land that brewery account, Rick. It could very well be the future of this agency,” he added, looking very tired.
“Go rest, Dad. Don’t think about this place for a second,” I told him, stepping back as he entered the car. “I’ve got it covered.”
I watched the doors slide shut, praying for his sake the internal relay didn’t short out on his way down, before turning back toward the executive suite.
I needed to get a handle on our current portfolio immediately. Walking past the receptionist’s desk, I caught Elizabeth’s eye.
“Yes, Mr. Mylonas?”
I groaned. “Rick, just Rick,” I told her. She smiled and shook her head.
“Nope, you stopped being Rick the moment he went through those doors.” She motioned where my father had just left.
“All right.” I nodded. “Could you send out a calendar invite to the marketing executives in charge of each current client account. I want individual, fifteen-minute briefings in my office starting in half an hour.” I paused, a slow smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth.
“And make sure Sofia Ferreira has my last meeting for the day.”
I’d seen what the woman could do in all the scattered images on the elevator floor.
Most were hand-drawn and more impressive than what I typically saw from my own team at my business in San Diego.
There was a lot of talent there, and I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to utilize it while I was here.
Besides, I wanted another chance to talk to her before the day was over.