“I obviously don’t know the inside information, but the news reports are saying they uncovered several ‘sweat shops’ producing your clothing in South America. The poor and deprived communities are so desperate for the work, they lied to federal officials during an investigation for payoffs. It has been reported some of your profits went to illegal activities within the area and a portion went to building used as a whorehouse for local officials.”
“All of those are allegations,” Brian snaps.
I almost laugh out loud when her eyes dart to him in anger. When I heard how Brian was conducting the presentations with other RFP’s this week, I decided to get involved. I’m sick and fucking tired of sitting back and letting my family legacy go downhill.
“Stella, there’s still an investigation, so we can only say that Hurst & McCoy is looking at every allegation seriously and that is why we have decided to hire a public relations firm to help. We have a very talented Marketing and PR department, but the Board of Directors agreed we need an impartial company to handle this,” I tell her and cut my eyes to see if Brian is going to argue.
“Can you tell us about your ideas?”
She points to our binders and we spend the next twenty minutes outlining her stance on repairing the damage we have done to our reputation. My head snaps to her when she tells us the major selling point to her presentation.
“JOS Athlete Apparel may not have really broke any international laws with the wages and ages of workers, but the local perception will kill you. I’m no expert, but—”
“I am,” I say. “I’m an international lawyer and can look into anything that needs legal approval.”
She grins. “Well, that may make it easier then. Your factory pulls workers from three communities with significant poverty issues. My stance would be to build a non-profit that would push some of the profits back. Provide clean drinking water, medical assistance where needed, school supplies—the options are endless. It would also be advisable to raise wages. JOS stands for ‘Just One Shot,’ correct? In my opinion, that’s a fitting name because you have one shot to get this right.”
“Miss Sullivan, Stella, can you tell me other examples of your damage control? Image re-building? As you can imagine, this project will bleed into our other companies. Your lack of experience with a project this size worries me. Talking to your other clients may help me with my decision,” Brian replies.
She sits up straighter and looks between us before speaking. A new sense of determination takes over and her voice changes slightly. “Mr. Claxton, there are strong confidentiality agreements in place with all my clients. Your hesitation to hire me because ‘of my lack of experience with a project this size,’ is understandable. However, you should know I’ve worked with some of the largest organizations in Atlanta. You may not have the confidence that Sullivan PR is right for this project, but I hope you have made that assumption based on my project plan and not the size of my company. I assure you, if you choose to move forward, references will be provided.”
Brian audibly hisses and I make my decision without regard to his opinion. Watching her put Brian in his place is an added bonus.
“Stella, how soon could you slate a meeting with my executive team? I want to outline this with them and make everyone understand the importance of getting JOS back on track. Brian hasn’t seen the most recent profitability reports, but I have. And we need to act fast.”
“I could clear sometime next week to give you an extensive outline and proposal. The RFP only scratches the surface of my ideas. It should only take a few weeks once we look at the specifics in and around the factory.”
“Perfect. My assistant will be in touch.” I stand and hint to Brian to do the same. This meeting is over. She’s hired.
Stella packs her bag and shakes both our hands. I insist on walking her to reception and watch her get into the elevator. When she turns and smiles, I do the same. It may be the first time I’ve cracked a real smile in years.
I’ve been waiting for the explosion since this morning, so it’s no surprise when my door swings open and Brian storms in. Pouring a glass of scotch, I raise an eyebrow at him. His face is red and chest heaving. For shit’s sake, he’s had six hours to calm down.
“You had no right to hire that woman!”
I stare at him and wait for the rest of his rant.
“I’m the lead on this project! The whole company is on the line and it’s my responsibility to get us out of this mess! She’s not even qualified to handle our new release information, much less a multi-million dollar clean-up project! I will not put my name and reputation behind her!”
“Alright, I accept your decision.”
“Good, I’ll have my assistant call and let her know we are going with another firm.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“You’ll have Dana do it?”
“No.”
He looks at me with confusion.
“Your exact words were ‘I will not put my name and reputation behind her.’ I accept your resignation from this project. I’ll be handling the whole thing from this moment on.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I can and I did. If you keep yelling at me, I’ll accept another type of resignation as well.”
“This is bullshit, Max! Just because she has a great pair of tits doesn’t classify her as qualified.”