Heir Of The Heart

Chapter 6: Julian

I was quite disoriented that morning when I arrived at the office. I was already late again and I knew my father was going to be pissed off at me… again. I proceeded to the boardroom and walked into an ongoing meeting.

Everybody in the room was staring at me. They clearly couldn't hide the irritation on their faces except for Naomi who just stared and smiled at me like she just saw a celebrity, I was always annoyed at how hard she tried to get close to me but it was nice to know that at least one person in the room doesn't feel like throwing off the 40th floor window.

“Uh, good morning.” I greeted casually, waving a hand and smiling slightly.

There was an empty seat close to my father who sat at the head of the table. He pointed at it, gesturing at me to sit there. I went on to sit in the chair and cleared my throat. They all watched my every move, up until I sat down.

My father stared at me for a long moment then continued with the meeting.

He cleared his throat. “So, um… where were we?” He asked.

“Our sales are dropping.” The Chief Marketing Officer started. “It's not too obvious to look like a problem yet, but if we don't take action as soon as possible.” He said.

“What do you suggest we do to come out of this?” My father asked.

“Well we…”

I cut him off before he could finish what he was about to say.

“Can I say something, Mr. Willis?” I interrupted, turning to look at my father.

He frowned at me for a moment.

“That was quite rude. This better be worth our time.” He said.

“Thank you.” I said, clearing my throat. The CMO gave me an irritated look just like everyone else in the room has done ever since I stepped into the meeting.

“It's no surprise that our sales are dropping.” I stood up slowly and adjusted my suit. “Think about it. There are lots of competitions out there today and they're doing well enough to rival us.”

I slowly walked around the room in a show of confidence. “Look at Virelli House in New York.”

“Why should we care about a brand that's just starting out? They're not even close enough to rival us and what do they have to do with our sales?” The CMO interrupted in a condescending tone.

“If you would let me finish, Mr. Maxwell.” I replied with a half smile and continued. “If any of you would ever bother to check your phones and keep up with trends, you would see that Virelli House is the talk of the town now.”

I walked back to my seat. “Their style is new and unconventional, which makes it trendy among young people.” I pulled out the chair to sit down. “Ours is outdated. We're still working with the same styles that we've been using for years. People are bound to eventually get tired.”

“What is your point?” My father asked.

“We need something new, something different, something out of the ordinary. We need to target the young people. That's how we bring our sales back up and stop Virelli House from taking our spot as number 1.” I said.

“So, how exactly do you suggest we go about this?” My father asked.

“Let me work with the creative director and recruit promising designers.” I looked across the table to face Naomi. She smiled at the suggestion, she seemed excited. “I must say, I haven't been impressed with the recruitment process. I see a lot of promising designers running out of the interview, crying and we always end up recruiting the mediocre ones.” I added.

Naomi's smile immediately turned into a frown. “Are you saying that I'm not doing my job properly?” She said. “How do you know that the ones running out are promising?” She asked.

I paused for a moment. I didn't want to mention that I met one of them recently because now I had no means of finding her again and that made me think of my mother's necklace again.

“Because the ones getting recruited are all basic. It makes me wonder what you're doing as the creative director.” I responded, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe you should come and take over as the creative director then.” She replied angrily, clenching her teeth.

“That's exactly what I plan to do.” I turned to my father. “Sir, let me work with the creative department for six months and I promise that there'll be improvements in our sales.”

“You don't even come to meetings and now you're an expert on how people are meant to do their jobs?” One of the directors interjected.

“This is the first time you're attending a board meeting, Mr. Willis. The only reason you're getting a free pass is because you're the son of the founder.” Mr. Maxwell added.

“That's enough!” My father intervened.

I stayed quiet, I knew all the accusations weren't far from the truth.

“You believe you can raise our sales in six months?” My father gave me a stern look and clasped his palms together.

“Yes I can.” I responded.

“And all you need to do is work with the creative director?”

“Yes. I have a keen eye for these things.” I replied eagerly.

“Okay then. You will work with the creative director for six months.” He said.

Every single person in the room had a look of dissatisfaction on their faces, including Naomi this time.

My father continued, “but… if there are no positive improvements after the next six months, you will be kicked off the board and instantly demoted.” He added. “This meeting is adjourned.” He got up immediately and left the office without waiting for a response from anybody.

The expression on the faces of the directors instantly changed to glee. They seemed ecstatic at the thought of having me kicked off the board.

“Let's see how much you can accomplish, Mr. Creative director.” Naomi said to me as she walked up to me, smiled and walked out the office.

I guess I needed the push. I knew now that I had something to lose and I had to put in every bit of effort into making this work out and that highly depended on the kind of relationship I was about to have with Naomi and with everyth

ing that just happened in the meeting, it definitely was going to be really tough.