“Thanks for the dinner offer,” she said, not wanting to dwell on the previous sentiment. Staci had her company, after all. And she found that extremely fulfilling.
“It’s always a standing one,” Maxi told her with a smile.
“I appreciate that. But I’ve got a lot to do here at the office this evening. Plus, I haven’t yet made my plans for Valentine’s Day—and it’s only two weeks away. Yikes! I need to get on it in order to make travel arrangements.”
“What are your options this year?”
“I’m torn. Visit my perfect sister who had a perfect mental breakdown when her perfect husband came out of the closet last Valentine’s—I’m still reeling from that drama, by the way—or join my parents on the Caribbean cruise they’ve already booked for themselves, and invited Jen and I along. Or just curl up in front of a fire and marathon-stream everything that’s currently hot on Netflix.”
Maxi shot her a wry look. “The latter is so not you. Come on, Stace. You’re not content unless you’re shaking things up. I say take the cruise. Teach those dance instructors on the Promenade Deck how to burn up the floorboards with a sassy salsa or a tantalizing tango.”
“Hmm, yes, that does sound tempting.”
“It’d be good for you. You love dancing, your parents are a riot, and let’s face it, you could use some fresh air, Miss Workaholic. Drag your sister on board with you. Jen could use a wild week at sea as well.”
Staci couldn’t disagree with any of that, but said, “We’ll have to see where we are, crisis-wise, next week before I make up my mind.” She was fearful of any walls crumbling that had just been rebuilt.
“Everything’s fine here, Stace. Go have some fun.”
She certainly needed some time off to relax and decompress. But Staci surmised the reason she couldn’t make any decisions in her personal life was that she was still caught up in all the hoopla around the office. This was her lifeblood, after all. She couldn’t take any risks with severing said lifeblood because she was off doing the mambo on the Love Boat.
Yet, she promised her friend, “I’ll put some thought into the cruise. Enjoy dinner and the weekend.”
Maxi hedged. “Don’t work too hard, okay? At the very least, call one of your boy-toys to come over for Sunday brunch—in bed.”
Staci laughed. “I’ll consider it.”
They parted ways near the elevator, Maxi taking the car down to her floor and Staci flashing her access card over the electronic reader and stepping through the tall glass doors of the executive wing.
Her spacious corner office boasted dark hardwood floors, retro chandeliers set on dimmers, and plush furniture in various artistic designs with sensuous curves. Her sofas were scarlet, the accent chairs a dark mustard, the toss pillows a collection of famous faces stamped on them in vibrant colors.
Bold artwork adorned the
walls, and several gorgeous floral arrangements sat on end tables, the coffee table, and the two credenzas—fresh bouquets she’d received from friends who congratulated her on the company’s incredible ad campaign, destined to launch Staci Kay Shoes into the stratosphere.
She crossed to her glass-topped desk with sleek, arching, brushed stainless-steel legs that crisscrossed on the sides, and sank into her large, red velvety chair. Floor-to-ceiling windows ran the length of two abutting walls and featured the Baltimore skyline. It still being winter, the city lights already glowed as sunset faded into twilight and captured the gentle fall of fat snowflakes.
Staci removed her stilettos and dug her toes into the warm, thick, white-shag rug at her feet. She couldn’t help but fixate on Maxi’s comment about the side effects of spending all day in six-inch heels. Staci considered that she ought to take her own advice and wear flats at least half of the day while she was at the office.
But damn, she loved her high heels. Staci was five-six without them on, and that extra surge of height always made her feel a bit more commanding, and put her eye-to-eye with the men who worked for her and those she dealt with outside of the company.
In all honesty, though, she wasn’t above admitting that Staci Kay Shoes could be more comfortable. Possibly designed with some sort of improved, high-tech insole that massaged the foot all day or cushioned it in a pillow of gel or some other material.
Hmm…An interesting thought to ponder.
The inserts she’d tried in the past had never worked the way they were purported to, and more often than not, she found herself accidentally stepping out of her shoes because of them, particularly when she picked up her pace. A definite walking hazard.
Finding this new conundrum important enough to put further thought into it, Staci turned on her computer and accessed the network drive shared by Sales, PR, and Marketing. All three divisions were located in Scottsdale. A spur-of-the-moment decision she’d made when starting up the company.
Two football player friends from college, unfortunately not destined for pro ball, had opened a PR firm in Scottsdale and they’d offered Staci six months of free work because they needed more projects and clients for their portfolio.
The success of that quick venture had led Staci to hire the firm. From there, they’d merged businesses, and the guys had built the Sales and Marketing teams while Staci focused primarily on the Baltimore Operations hub. Manny and Dave technically worked for her, since Staci had absorbed their firm when she’d offered them more money than they were projected to make on their own in the first five years of operation. But she really relied on them to run the Scottsdale conglomerate.
She recalled Manny discussing recent focus groups he’d set up with Staci Kay consumers and other beta testers who’d never tried the brand before. Staci was suddenly curious about the results, not having the time of late to concentrate on that end of the business while struggling with the production issues.
Clicking her way through folders, she found what she was looking for—the most recent focus group statistics and findings. She scanned the reports and immediately deduced that Maxi really had hit upon a serious problem facing the stiletto-wearers of the world.
While Staci Kay Shoes rated off the charts for style and variety, they scored notably low in the comfort zone.