Brandon nodded. “Yeah, it does.”
“Great.”
I finished eating and went to finish getting ready for work. It was shortly before eleven when I got to the complex and found it busier than I’d ever seen it. The energy was crazy with everyone still riding the high of the win. I didn’t want to go inside the office building and sit behind the desk. The weather was so beautiful and sitting outside for breakfast had spoiled me for being inside for the entire day. Instead, I found a spot in the sunlight and sat down to work from my tablet. I started with making posts about the race the night before, then went back and checked on the other posts I’d been putting up to check for interaction.
It took another hour for me to respond to the various comments, do some retweeting, and schedule more posts for later in the week. The next day I would check in on the numbers of engagement and really see how everything was doing. That would be the real tell. If my plan was working, the numbers would show more hits, more followers, and more click-through. From those numbers I could determine what was working out well and what was falling flat with the audience. This was the part that was really fun for me. I enjoyed taking the pictures and coming up with the posts, but it was seeing the benefits that really excited me.
13
Quentin
Even though I told everybody they didn’t have to be at work until after lunch, by the time I got to the complex around eleven-thirty, it was already busy. That didn’t really surprise me. I was lucky to run a company with a team that really cared about what we were doing and wanted to put all they had into it. There wasn’t a question in my mind about what this day would have been like if there wasn’t such a good showing at the race the night before. Even if we had lost, the complex would still be busy and full of energy. Not the same excited energy—instead of an emotional high that was going to push them to keep going and stay on top, it would be a drive to redeem themselves and do better next time.
Their dedication was nothing short of inspiring, and it made me want to do better in everything I did for the company. Even when I felt like I gave my all and couldn’t possibly push myself any harder, seeing them constantly reaching for that next goal made me look for any way I could improve and show them how much I appreciated their dedication.
That morning I parked in my usual spot, but instead of heading right into the office building, I started across the complex. I wanted to check in on Darren and Greg and see how they were feeling. Now that the initial adrenaline and thrill of the first and third place wins were gone, it was time to get back to business and start thinking strategically about the next race. All the other teams had now seen the modifications and improvements made to the bikes, and the new techniques the guys had come up with for the race itself. They would be better prepared the next time to counteract those efforts to try to secure the win for themselves. That meant we had to stay a step ahead and keep improving.
As I walked across the complex, I caught sight of Merry sitting in the sun with her tablet propped on her lap. She’d attached it to a small keyboard, and her fingers flew across the keys as she worked. The sun glittered on her hair where it was tied up away from her neck, revealing the delicate, graceful slope and her soft, smooth skin. At one point she closed her eyes and tilted her face up to get some of the light and warmth. It was a gesture I’d seen her do before when she was outside, but usually she followed it up with the satisfied, happy smile of someone who truly loved the sun and being outside to enjoy it. Only this time, she didn’t get that smile. Instead, she let out a sigh that made her shoulders drop and looked back at the screen.
The expression on her face was tense. I couldn’t really read the emotion, and that made me curious. I wanted to go up to her and ask her what was up but held myself back. She was obviously engrossed in her work, and I didn’t want to bother her. If it did have something to do with work, I was sure she would make a point to tell me. We’d already discussed having regular meetings to talk about the social media campaign and how it was working out. I might not fully understand it, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to be involved with it. This was my company, my legacy, and I didn’t want anything happening without me being a part of it and having my say.