Chapter 66
LONDON
It was time for the presentations. Liam and I took our places at the front of the living room in the lodge. The windows were open, as were the doors leading out to the deck where we’d been taking our meals, and the sound of the stream and nature filtered in from outside.
Our team was gathered, everyone sitting either on the couches or on the floor, their objects and their notes with them.
They stared at us expectantly, but nobody seemed nervous or on edge.
Some were leaning back on their palms braced against the ground while those on the couches had gotten comfortable too.
I liked that. While I needed them sharp and professional at the office, it was important to me that they felt at ease when it was just us. Like now.
Brad was gone. Apparently, the objects were ours to keep as part of the fee we’d paid.
I was already looking forward to finding a place of honor for these somewhere in the office when we got back to the city.
It would be a nice memento of the weekend and I hoped our team would feel inspired whenever they passed them.
Liam held up our plunger and came to stand beside me. “This is what London and I were blessed with today.”
Chuckles rang out through the room and I sighed, winking and trying to fight a smile. “I know. It definitely wasn’t the easiest thing to work with, but we had a blast with it and we’ve decided that we would go first to break the ice.”
Liam took a step forward, holding the plunger on the palms of both his hands. “Now, as you guys know, a lot of our clients come to us looking for something unique. Something creative and out of the box.”
“What he means to say is that they want something that will catch a consumer’s eye.
” I shot him a sly smile. “Now, a toilet plunger doesn’t really do that.
Nobody wants to look at these things. We know we need to have them, but I’m willing to bet that few of us actually put any thought into which one we bought, if we even bought one at all.
Mostly, it’s just not the kind of thing that is advertised.
It’s that gross thing you’ve either got or that you run out for when you need it. ”
“London here wouldn’t even know where to find one,” Liam joked.
“The point, however, is that regular people don’t really think about buying a toilet plunger or about which brand of plunger to buy, which was what we used as a starting point for our pitch.
We asked ourselves the question, what will make people actually think about buying this plunger over all the others? ”
“The answer to that, my friends, is pretty easy,” I said in a voice that ended as sing-song.
“We had to find a way to make a toilet plunger sexy. We had to turn it into a product people would go looking for after seeing the ad and we had to do something to make it an ad people would actually watch.”
“With all of that in mind.” Liam finally wrapped one fist around the handle of the plunger and raised it into the air like it was Zeus’s thunderbolt. “Meet the Love Plunge. Its tagline? Flush the drama.”
All around the room, people’s eyes widened and they started laughing, but Lulu was already nodding. “You know, I can totally see that trending on social media. What the pitch?”
“It’s the plunger for couples who understand that nothing says commitment quite like unclogging all of life’s messes together. Forget the candles and the chocolates. This ergonomically designed plunger is guaranteed to handle even the most crappy situations elegantly, cleanly, and efficiently.”
“When life gets messy,” Liam finished for me. “Flush the drama. Romance doesn’t stop at the bathroom door, and neither does life.”
Hoots of laughter rang out and we joined in, taking a quick bow when our people burst into a spontaneous round of applause. Exhilaration bled through my veins and I couldn’t stop smiling as I finally sank down in the armchair waiting for me.
Liam pushed a hand through his dark hair, winking at me over his shoulder.
Then he swept a hand out toward the others.
“Alright. Who’s next? Just remember that you’re supposed to have fun with this, okay?
Unlike in the real Shark Tank, London and I won’t actually be changing your lives by investing in your products, so you’ve got nothing to lose. ”
“We’ll go.” Lulu unfolded herself from her cross-legged position on the carpet and glanced at Nina. “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Nina replied nervously, getting up before shooting us both a look. “Just remember that I’m an assistant, not a marketer. This will not be anywhere as good as yours.”
Lulu chuckled. “I can find a way to draw attention to things on social media, but coming up with a pitch from scratch was harder than I expected.”
“That’s why we’re all a team,” I said honestly, and I really meant it. “None of us can do it all, but when we work together? That’s when the magic happens.”
The girls made their way to the front and did their pitch about the pineapple, which was a lot better and more creative than anything I might’ve thought of for it. Their pitch was also the start of a trend—the staff who worked in our offices were all super creative, fun, and witty.
As I listened to what they’d come up with, I felt super lucky to have them on our team.
Liam and I gave pointers on all the different elements of the pitches, since this was also supposed to be a learning opportunity, and between getting to present training with him and doing it with these people, this really was as good as it got.
Late in the afternoon, Sammy was expressing his gratitude to me about how much he’d learned when there was a knock at the front door. Liam’s blue-green eyes cut to mine immediately, but I shrugged. “I have no idea, but I’ll go get it.”
I left the team on the patio where we’d been taking a break before our final training session of the day, and strode into the cabin. The caterers were already here, busy in the kitchen preparing dinner, but I assumed this was somebody here to bring them something they might’ve forgotten.
Outside, birds called and sang, and the sun was starting to sink low. Liam and I were back to being so in sync that sometimes, I felt like I could read his mind, and life was good.
Until I pulled open the front door—then it got even better.
My jaw dropped open before I grinned at the sight of my father, tall, dapper, and dressed in a button-down shirt with shorts and sandals.
“Daddy!” I lurched forward and he laughed and caught me in his arms, enveloping me in a bear hug that made me feel like I was five years old again. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to come join you for the last night of the retreat,” he said, holding me tight for another moment before he let go and took a step back.
Towering over me, he glanced into the lodge with eyes twinkling with eager anticipation.
“I thought I could get to know the staff myself and make an appearance to let them know how excited we are to have them join the family business.”
“They’re going to love that,” I assured him, taking his arm and leading him into the foyer. “It’s so good to see you. I can’t believe you came all the way out here, but we appreciate it. It’s exactly what we needed on the last night to make it a truly memorable retreat.”
He chuckled, salt-and-pepper hair falling across his forehead with the movement of his chest and shoulders. I loved that about my dad, how he laughed with his whole body and the sound came from deep inside his soul.
Gosh, I really am lucky to have a dad like him. I let out a happy sigh.
“It’s good to see you too, baby,” he said, pausing for a moment and turning to look at me.
“Before we go join the rest, I also came out here to tell you in person how proud I am of you and of Liam. Every single one of your updates just makes me shake my head in amazement of what you two are already achieving. I wanted to be here to enjoy a night with you to celebrate your success and to help you prepare your staff for what comes next.”
Tears pricked my eyes and I smiled, surging up on my tiptoes to hug him again. “Thank you, Daddy. It’s been quite a ride, but we’re super excited to be part of it.”
As I let him go, I added, “We also managed to hire the right team. Someone up there must’ve been watching out for us, because we haven’t taken in a single dud.”
He laughed. “Well, I look forward to meeting them. Let’s go say hi.”
I took his arm once more and led him through the well-appointed foyer and the dining room to the wide glass doors leading out to the deck.
Liam was seated in the small sitting area under an umbrella in the corner, and he looked up as if he felt me coming.
Then he grinned as wide as I’d ever seen when he spotted the man by my side.
Immediately jumping to his feet, he wound his way around the table we’d been using for our meals and came right up to us. “Nate! This is a surprise. Wow. It’s so good to see you.”
Dad took his extended hand, shaking it before pulling him in for a quick hug. “There’s my boy. How’s it going, son? How’s the retreat?”
“Oh, you know.” Liam chuckled as Dad released him. “The company we paid to help us build our team nearly killed us on day one, but the meals have been awesome and we had a lot of fun putting together pitches for ridiculous items today, so I’d say it’s been good.”
As I watched Dad laugh and chat to Liam, it dawned on me that I really loved the way my dad loved him.
He’d always treated him like his own and it served as a reminder to me now that I wasn’t the only one who loved him.
They all did, my entire family, and I knew they’d support us and guide us in our relationship from the moment they found out.
From previous experience with my sisters, I also knew that this family of mine had a tendency to hit the nail on the head with advice. All we’d need to do was listen.
When they were done with their initial catch-up—there would be much more of that to come later—Liam took dad out onto the patio and introduced him around.
I watched the team’s spines snap straight and their eyes widen when they realized the man himself was in the house, but he quickly set them at ease, taking the time to speak to each one in turn.
We decided to can the final training session we’d had planned. Dad gathered them around the table and gave them the opportunity to get to know him as well. They asked questions about the company and its growth, and Dad answered them all honestly.
Just before dinner would be served, he stood up with his drink and lifted it into the air.
“I’d like to make a toast to you all, the newest members of our family.
See, at Walker and Co, we really are like a family.
We love to spend time with you, to get to know you, and we want you to grow, and learn, and be the best person you can be. Cheers.”
He took a moment to look around the table and make eye contact with every person seated there. “As part of our family, we love you and we want to invest in you. Thank you all for the way you contribute to our company and our family, and thank you agreeing to come on this journey with us.”
By the time he was done, I truly felt grateful for the career and the family I had. As I looked around me, it didn’t seem like I was the only one. In fact, as we all lifted our glasses into the air, everyone seemed overcome by the heartfelt words he’d shared, and to him, they weren’t just words.
He really meant it, and that was what made this the greatest company in the world to work for.