43. First Days
43 FIRST DAYS
Daphne
“You’re going to kill it,” Cal said.
He gave me a long, sweet kiss.
“You will, too,” I said. “Let’s celebrate tonight.”
“Always, baby,” Cal said. “I need to head out. Will I see you when I get home?”
“I think so,” I said. “I doubt I will be working around the clock tonight. I don’t even have my office in order yet.”
“Well, enjoy it. You’ve earned it.”
Cal dipped out, leaving me to finish my much-needed coffee in peace. Somehow, everything felt right . Today was the start of forever. I would use my presentation to put everyone at ease and maintain my position. As I walked into the office, Davey found me.
“Daph, good. You’re here.”
“Yes. I was summoned.”
He pulled me into my office and shut the door.
Davey put his hands on my shoulders, “Daphne you have the goods. This presentation will end all debate about whether you’re right for the role. Don’t look at it as a challenge, but an opportunity.”
I choked up, “You sound like Dad.”
“Delphines make lemonade. We don’t settle.”
I smiled, then gave him a big hug.
He wrapped his arms around me, “I just… I want to make it clear I’m with you. So much so that I have an article in Chicago Business Weekly celebrating my sister’s return the family business.”
I pulled away, mouth agape. “Davey, that is… bold.”
“Today, you’ll watch this fucker do his perp walk. Tomorrow, the whole city will understand our future. That is worth celebrating, okay? I believe in you. Let there be no doubt.”
“Thank you, Davey. I really do want to save this place. How candid can I be?”
“Think about what Dad would do and do that,” Davey urged.
So, very candid .
I collected myself, taking in the city and calm, now-warm Lake Michigan in the distance. Today, I regained my power. Tomorrow, we started to fix so many broken things. And I wouldn’t be alone.
Rejuvenated, I entered the conference room and queued my presentation. Chloe shot an encouraging look, but had no idea what I was announcing. I hoped the speech would be just as exciting for her as for me. I ignored the annoyed faces of other c-suite execs and board members. I’d overcome their doubt and stay the course. My sisters filed in, ready to do battle. Once they settled, the meeting began.
Davey commanded the room. “So, as I’ve written in my statements, Daphne remains our President. All of you here have personally expressed doubt in this choice given Daphne’s legal battles?—”
“All but me!” Chloe declared.
“Yes, all but Miss Markham and the other family members. Uh… you see… while there are challenges, the family remains in charge of this business?—”
“I would like to call for a vote of no confidence,” our CFO said.
“And I would second it,” Mr. Menedez said.
It hurt, but I let Davey speak.
“You do not have the votes, but we’ll take a roll call,” Davey said.
I hoped they would have held off and let me speak, but I’d take my lumps. Davey called the vote and settled when it failed.
“No majority. The motion fails.” He straightened his suit. “So, I’ve made an executive decision on the matter of president. Daphne is more than qualified. Her work in acquisitions is unmatched and her plans for the business are exciting. Rather than wallow—and I’d like her to explain this in more detail—she has moved forward with some exciting marketing plans. I will let her get to that.”
I brushed off the criticism and stood.
I lifted the clicker with shaky hands. “Uh, hello. To begin with, let me be abundantly clear, the video is more mortifying for me than anyone. I was coerced into it by my ex-husband. Scotland Yard has investigated the matter and my legal representatives in the UK assure me it will be handled today.”
The room murmured.
The CFO said, “How so?”
“We believe there is a basis to charge him with a crime,” I said. “The UK revenge porn law. I cannot get into specifics, nor will I deny there will be ongoing press coverage, but I will see this through so he cannot hurt anyone else. I would hope that all of you on this board would agree to support that cause. It is what my father would want.”
My siblings all nodded. Davey looked around protectively.
“Now, with that out of the bag, let’s discuss our new retail strategy. I want to bring on new brands. In the past few days, I’ve worked to build out an influencer strategy that should boost a few key demographics.”
I pointed to a graph. “The fastest growing segments in luxury are people under forty and plus sized shoppers. As stated before, I want to expand our concierge experience, but I also plan to use influencers to signal that Delphines is the place for customer service, elite brands, and innovative beauty—a segment growing by leaps and bounds. I plan to bring in a variety of brands—one of which we’ve landed in the past few days.”
I flipped to a slide. “Elise M’s brand deal with Sephora has lapsed. The company, thanks to the help of Chloe Markham, has secured a preliminary brand deal that will hopefully wrap by the year’s end. We will be the exclusive home of this brand outside their online presence.”
Jaws dropped.
Menendez chuckled. “And did the mayor help?”
“No, Chloe did,” I said. “Mayor Markham had no influence here. Elise Markham was generous enough to work through brand channels with me. Her attorneys have sent a brand partnership to David, Jr, not me.”
I didn’t mention that all this was done from our hotel room in Traverse City. Chloe reined in the details to make it happen. I owed her the world. Cal would be overjoyed but probably blindsided.
“It is a game-changer,” Davey added.
“And as younger shoppers are less focused on price point and more on organic experience, we will bring in influencers to move this ball. That is why we will appoint our first Chief Social Media Officer—Chloe Markham.”
Jaws dropped. People stared.
Chloe announced, “Ta-dah! I couldn’t be more excited.”
“It will be controversial,” I said. “But she has done so much. Please trust me. Brand interest was up when Bernie left, and we dropped news of a luxury-first concept.”
“I included a lot of research in your board packets,” I continued. “That will give you an idea of why this new direction is our most viable step forward. And I know many of you will doubt me here. I don’t blame you. However, I’d ask that you give me a chance. Please. Because this brand is in my soul.”
Heads nodded. I didn’t get a standing ovation, but dissent settled.
“My father always had an open-door policy,” I said. “And that will remain with Davey and me. If you have concerns, come to us. We want honest feedback. The brand will only survive if we return to that brutal honesty and scrappy pursuit of new ideas.”
* * *
Cal
“You have a bright future, young man.” the DNC chairman, Colin Wu patted me on the back.
“Young man? You got the wrong guy.” I chuckled.
“Ah, to me, everyone is young. Well done. That speech will go down in history. Just you wait.”
I vibrated with excitement after any good stump speech but tonight felt different.
“Ah, the wife’s after me!” Wu left.
Jo approached, “You did beautifully.”
“And you doubted me.”
She shrugged. “It’s my job to hand-wring, Cal. But I also know you well enough to know when I can trust you. I did. Once you got your shit together, you were fabulous.”
“It’s only up from here, right?”
She smiled. “Yeah. That and with the legal woes sort of figured out, I think there is a way forward. I won’t say it will be easy.”
“It won’t,” I said. “But you’d be bored if it was.”
She pretended to wipe her brow. “Sometimes I’d take easy, Cal.”
My eyes settled on Daphne, who arrived with her mother. Our gaze locked and I couldn’t help but melt. She looked beautiful in a bright blue dress, her hair curled and falling onto her shoulders. I wanted to wrap her in a big kiss and spin her around triumphantly.
“Oh, there she is,” Jo said. “Go on. Get the girl.”
“I don’t mind if I do.”
I crossed the room with determination until standing before Daphne.
She searched my face. “What? Now you’re out of words?”
I kissed her, unable to restrain myself.
She pulled back, confused. “Cal, we shouldn’t?—”
“I have plenty of time to apologize for loving you tomorrow, Daphne,” I said. “But tonight, I want to celebrate everything.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me. “Well, after that speech to the nation, I couldn’t love you more. You know you’re really good at this, right?”
I smiled, brushing her chin with my thumb. “With you by my side, Daphne, I’m even better.”