Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Layla sighed. “Thatcher, I don’t need to be convinced. I…” She closed her laptop and spread her hands on top. “Look, the truth is, I’ve been working behind the scenes to put together my own social media campaigns around the Elustre launch. I didn’t want to share with you until things were perfect, and in our business, perfection requires coordination with our marketing partners… rather than going off willy-nilly and posting all sorts of random things for the world to see.” She darted Reagan a look. “We won’t have a clean slate to launch from now since some eager beavers were determined to have their way. But when it’s finished, Thatcher, I think you’ll be quite impressed at what a professional social media campaign looks like and the impact it will have.”
I stared at her—at the tidy auburn hair and bright smile of a woman I’d known and worked with for decades—and impressed was not at all what I felt.
“Let me be sure I understand,” I said slowly. “When you were specifically asked about social media in your meeting with Reagan weeks ago and in the leadership meeting last week and in our subsequent conversations about this, you said it was irrelevant in the textile industry. A waste of time. Now you’re saying that you’ve secretly been working on it all along and keeping us in the dark?”
“Not in the dark.” Layla blinked, genuinely confused by my outrage. “This is the way we’ve always worked. You let me handle PennCo my way—coordinate with my people, make my own timeline based on the needs of the organization—and I come to you with a finished product for your approval. Right? I admit I haven’t been entirely forthcoming, but I felt… well, cornered. Pushed to discuss the topic before I was ready to make an announcement.” Another look at Reagan. “But I assure you, that’s only because I have the company’s best interests in mind, and I wanted to make sure all my ducks were in a row before I brought my ideas to you.” She reached across the table and clasped my hand earnestly. “PennCo is my first and last priority,” she vowed. “Just like Pennington is for you. Nothing has changed.”
But things had changed for me, though I didn’t know how to quantify the change just yet.
I couldn’t blame Layla for sticking to the status quo and caring about PennCo, exactly as I’d encouraged and expected her to do all these years. And still, thinking of the effort Reagan had put into the campaigns he’d drafted, the pride and passion he’d displayed while doing work that Layla now seemed to imply was wasted effort—was enraging.
And this is why conflicted priorities don’t work, I reminded myself. Because what was good for PennCo and what was good for Reagan in this instance might not be the same thing.
“You created a campaign all on your own?” Reagan asked softly. His face was inscrutable.
Layla tilted her chin up. “Yes. I have been working with some of the graphic artists in Marketing to flesh things out, but I came to them with the concepts, as I’m sure they’ll verify.”
“No one doubts that, Layla,” I assured her.
“Of course not,” Reagan agreed. “But I’d love to see what you have so far. What a professional campaign looks like.”
The edge in his tone was clear to me but apparently not to Layla. She smiled slightly. “I told you, it’s not ready yet.”
Reagan held up his hands, the picture of innocence. “Of course, of course. I know it’s a rough draft. I wouldn’t expect perfection.”
Layla darted a glance at me, as if hoping I’d intervene and put Reagan in his place, but I had to admit my own curiosity was piqued. She pursed her lips. “Well… alright, then.”
She clicked a few keys on her laptop and brought up some images that even to my untrained eye were good. Actually, better than good. Like the content Reagan had been creating, these images hinted at a larger story. They made me feel and shifted my perception of the brand.
“The pictures are stock images of people hiking and kayaking, as you can see,” she explained. “I’ll need to arrange a photo shoot once Apex and Sierra Outfitters finalize their product lines, but I already have a short list of models and locations. I’d hoped maybe we could get some celebrity endorsements—” She winced. “But after what happened last week, I’ve changed my mind.”
Reagan’s eyes didn’t move from the laptop as she scrolled, but I could sense his stunned disbelief. “You definitely need the right photos, but the branding here is… it’s cohesive,” he murmured. “Totally on-target for Elustre, completely in line with the PennCo brand.” He flicked a glance at me, looking faintly troubled. “This is professional quality.”
Layla smiled tightly and reclaimed her laptop again. “Of course it is.”