1. Got My Shine Back
GOT MY SHINE BACK
Four Years Later
“Is this everyone who is coming?” Paris Westerly asked when only five people entered the conference room.
She’d been working on this project for just over three months.
Normally strategic planning and overhauling a business could take double that if not a full year, but with their consulting firm new, their client list wasn’t that steep and she’d been able to dedicate a lot more man hours to this.
Which was good since MHT wanted it done in a shorter time or would have taken their business elsewhere.
Westerly Consulting didn’t want to lose it so she had been cramming daylight time, and mostly nighttime hours, to get it done.
And in that time, she’d worked with at least a dozen people closely, yet only five were in the room.
“Yes,” Michael Mahoney said. He was the president and CEO. “Just senior management.”
The CFO, HR Director, CIO, and COO were also here.
The big hitters.
“Then we can begin,” she said as she passed out the binders she’d had in a pile in front of her. “All of this will be sent electronically when I’m back to my office, but I find it easier to go through it like this.”
Maybe it was old school, but she liked her pie charts and not everyone enjoyed flicking through screens on a computer, nor brought laptops with them to meetings.
“How many options are we being given?” Henry asked.
The CFO had more questions than most, and at times was not as forthcoming or as timely with the information, but she understood that.
He was responsible for the money and this company was being bled dry.
Maybe he worried he’d overwhelm her with unneeded information.
“Three,” she said. “And of course, you’re free to not go with any of them.”
“We spent enough money on your services,” Todd, the CIO, said. “Money that could have gone to technology to replace some of the staff like I’ve been saying for years.”
She kept her smile firmly in place. She always did.
Half the time, it was just in her nature. Easier for her clients to relate to her.
She wasn’t here to hurt them, but to help.
It was just too bad that what she did was almost always painful in the end to those who hired her.
Honestly, strategic consultants were normally hired when a company was in trouble, not before.
Very few were proactive, and if they were, it was still painful to more people than less.
“And one of those options includes technology getting more funding and what the cost savings would be in the long run to have services automated.”
Even if the general public detested dealing with quick chatbots or robotic messages on calls.
“Good,” Todd said. “You know that will be my vote.”
And because Michael and Todd were cousins and owned the company with Henry, those three would most likely stick together.
They’d had their bases covered, three of the five controlling technology, money, and complete oversight.
The COO was probably going to have to just go along for the ride, the HR Director being the bad person delivering news to the employees.
She almost felt bad for Debra.
But she wasn’t paid to feel bad for anyone. Or to have sympathy either.
This company had made some terrible choices over the years.
Spent more on personnel than they needed to when they could have consolidated positions long ago. Could have restructured departments, streamlined services, and even added more services for income without adding staff.
That was what she was paid to figure out, she and her twin, London, though this job had been more her work while London was focusing on other projects.
“Let’s go over the options one by one first. I can answer questions after each option or wait until the end.”
“Does the pain level progress with each option?” Debra asked. “In terms of cutting staff?”
Paris didn’t smile, not even a sympathetic one. She saw the worry in Debra’s eyes.
“The third option is the most drastic. The one where you rip the bandage off fast and then see quicker returns. The first, a slower model, slower returns, but could have a greater profit in the end after five years. It will depend on how fast you want to turn things around.”
“Fast,” Henry said. “Because we can’t keep bleeding money. We need to get to five years.” Henry looked around the room. “You all know that. This has to be fast or it’s not even going to make it.”
She picked up the glass of water in front of her.
“Why don’t we start with the first one and then I’ll answer questions?
At the end, there is a summary of each option on top of it.
I know you’ve got a lot of questions and will have to take time to decide, but once I explain, I think you might feel better about where you can take your company. ”
When no one spoke up after that, she got to it.
Two hours later, her throat was dry. There were arguments during each option. The five of them arguing with each other while she tried to bring order to the room.
She was never so happy to be done with a job, shook everyone’s hand and said she’d be available for follow-up questions if they needed her.
Of course Henry wanted to know the cost of that, but she’d let them know they still had five hours’ worth of time on their contract. And she was positive they were going to use it quickly.
“How did it go?” Molly asked when she opened the door to their office.
Paris held the bag of chocolate up that she’d stopped to get when she walked the five blocks back. She needed the air, the exercise, and the indulgence. “I got enough for us all.”
“Hand it over,” Molly said, her palm out. “So it was that bad?”
She loved their assistant. Molly was more organized than any drill sergeant she knew. Had a wonderful personality, was professional with the clients, and kept Paris’s plants looking more lush than she’d ever been able to manage.
“It wasn’t pleasant. I warned them months ago it was going to be painful. There was no good solution. Or no solution where everyone stayed employed, unless they didn’t want to make a drastic change.”
“If companies didn’t run their businesses to the ground, then we wouldn’t have a job,” Molly said cheerfully.
“That’s the spirit.” She put the bag on her assistant’s desk. “Take your pick. There isn’t anything in there I won’t eat. I literally was throwing fistfuls of truffles in the bag.”
“Wow, now I know it’s bad,” Molly said, reaching in and pulling out three, then tossing one back.
“Take more.”
“Oh, I’ll get more, don’t worry. This is good for now. I’m sure London will have half a dozen or more.”
Paris winced. “She still in a bad mood?”
“Spencer talked her off the cliff.”
She loved her twin’s boyfriend and was glad to know that she had some help when it came to London’s little emotional outbursts.
Which only ever happened behind closed doors now, though her sister sure did have a sharp tongue if you pissed her off. That side of London escaped when they were dismissed for their blonde fashion model looks walking into a new client.
Didn’t seem to be happening too much now. Not with their billionaire cousin’s backing.
She picked the bag up. “I’ll go find out what is going on.”
She marched into her office, dropped her shoulder bag down that was much lighter now that it didn’t have the eight reports in it. That was how many they’d asked for, so she’d let them keep the extra three.
“How did it—” London stopped mid-sentence, her eyes dropping to the bag. “That bad, huh?”
“Sounds like you had a bad one too. Pop some calories in your mouth before I find out what your problem is.”
London laughed. “No problem. Why? Who said I had one? Is Molly ratting me out?”
“Sounds that way. Toss me one. I don’t care what.”
Her sister pulled two out and threw one in the air towards her. She snagged it with one hand and sat in the chair across from London’s desk.
“I’m fine,” London said. “I didn’t sleep much last night and was rushing out the door. Not sure why I always fall into a deep sleep an hour before the alarm goes off.”
She grinned around the rich chocolate and sticky caramel in her mouth. “Is Spencer used to your moody mornings yet? Guess I’m glad you spent the night with him. Though if you didn’t sleep well, could be on him anyway.”
“I told him that,” London said. “He didn’t buy it. I had heartburn. It was on me.”
She laughed. “Hot Thai food last night?”
“Yeah. I told you I was craving it. I got my fix now for a long time. I’ll just remember last night, and if I don’t, Spencer will remind me in that patient, annoying tone of his. You know, just like you did now.”
“Hey, be happy you got a guy who knows you so well. So if that is all your problem is or was, then you don’t get as much chocolate as me. Give me another.”
London pulled out two and tossed them both, Paris catching them between her hands, thankful she didn’t squish them as she clapped her palms together.
“Tell me how it went.”
“As bad as I thought it’d be. Nope, it was worse. They were already deciding what they wanted before I even gave options.”
“That always happens,” London said. “Too emotionally invested in their idea being right.”
“Yep. But Henry isn’t wrong. There won’t be a five-year plan if they can’t make it a year. So though they could be more profitable going slower, they still need the funds to get through the first year and that doesn’t seem feasible without a large line of credit.”
“I’m sure they aren’t willing to do it when it’s already a sinking ship. If they could even get the funds.”
“Exactly,” she said. “I’m positive they are going with the third option.”
“How much of the workforce will be cut?”
“A third now, software purchased, people trained and in a year another third will go.”
London cringed. “After they’ve been trained?”
“Yep. If West bought the company, he’d cut half now because he would have brought people in already set up to use the software.”
“Which is why he has the big bucks,” London said. “Does West know about this company? Did I miss something that it’s an option for him to buy it?”
“No. There was a fourth option for them to sell. Not much work involved in that, but I gave them what I thought the company was worth. That was shut down exactly as I thought it’d be. There isn’t a big enough profit in it for West.”
They knew somewhat where West went with his businesses. Hell, some of their jobs were to assess businesses that West wanted to acquire, not to mention those he had a stake in.
The two sisters had years’ worth of work from their cousin alone.
To the point both of them were now putting in a lot more hours than they should be.
Paris leaned over and threw two wrappers in the garbage and opened the third.
“You’re really going to town on them. You don’t take too many jobs to heart. Why this one?”
“I’m not. Or I don’t think so. Maybe I’m just hormonal.”
“More like horny,” London said.
She snorted. “Just because you’re getting a lot of action in the sheets doesn’t mean the rest of us need it.”
London waved her hand. “Who are you kidding? You don’t miss it until you see it’s possible for someone else to get it.”
Her sister wasn’t wrong. “I’m happy for you,” she said primly.
“And jealous. Go on, admit it.”
There was no way to contain the laughter. “Just a little. But I’m still happy for you. And thanks for the laugh. Honestly, I expected this to go bad. It’s just a rough bunch. I think I just feel bad for Debra. They are going to dump it on her. She’s going to be the bad guy.”
“That isn’t your problem now,” London pointed out.
“Nope. Thank God for that. I’m onto the next one. And thankfully it’s not a full-on reorganization. Just got lots of personnel issues and trying to build better morale.”
“That’s you, Ms. Sunshine. You enjoy doing those.”
Paris stood up and grabbed the bag as her sister was reaching for another truffle. “That’s right. I’ve got my shine back now.”
“Where are those going?” London asked, pointing to the bag.
“In a bowl in the kitchen. If they are in my office or up front, I’ll eat too many. This way, they are out of sight, sort of.”
“Good point. And if you’ve got time later, we need to talk.”
She stopped and turned in the doorway. “What’s going on? I’ve got time now.”
“Well, Molly said there were three calls she fielded today interested in services. I think we need to consider expanding our own staff.”
“Oh, thank God you suggested it. I’ve already got resumes.”
“Hey, I’m not that hard. Why do you make me feel bad?”
“Because you are harder to please than me and you jump too fast on top of it. But we are both drowning in work. We should have hired at least one more person last month.”
“I think we need two,” London said. “I don’t want to turn business away, and we’ve got all of West’s work.”
“I’ll send you what I’ve got and we’ll go from there.”
“See, not so hard to deal with,” London said. “Just remember that.”
“Like you’d let me forget,” she said, shaking her head, but at least smiling and feeling much better about her day.
And after another two truffles in the kitchen, she was going to be sick just like her sister, but she needed the hit.
Because maybe London was right. Maybe she was jealous that her sister had a personal life and Paris was spending her time working and eating snacks at night while the Hallmark Channel played in the background.