Page 5 of I Blame the Club

“Thank you for your insight, Steven. As you pointed out, there are many risks associated with an international expansion, especially one where we do not know the consumers well.” I pause, sweeping my gaze around the room, making eye contact with every team member present.

“However, I took it upon myself to connect with American companies who align with our consumers and products. From there, I reached out to numerous market specialists who walked me through the best strategies in approaching new markets.”

I switch my slide with a click of a button, pulling up the data I spent the last two months accumulating.

“Here are the estimates of the net profit these companies are currently making as well as the percentage of consumers that relay back to our own criteria. The state of California alone has a larger population than Canada does as a nation, meaning even if we sold half of what we do here, it would be substantial to anything we could make in Canada.”

In my peripheral, I see my father studying the numbers closely.

“But Steven is right, a complete market analysis is a costly investment.” I turn and nod at Steven, who smirks back at me. I maintain eye contact, not wanting to miss his reaction.

“So, I ran a rough cost analysis, using our lowest sales month as a predictor for how the market analysis would affect our bottom line.” I flick the screen again, not bothering to look at the numbers I memorized last night.

Murmurs go around the room as the numbers pop up on the screen.

“Less than ten percent. On the assumption that we get minimal sales for the first month of our expansion and that our Canadian sector plummets, our bottom line would drop less than ten percent.”

Steven’s face starts to turn an ugly shade of beetroot as I continue to explain the metrics of offsetting the costs and finish my presentation with a sales forecast on what MacNeil Incorporated could achieve with the expansion.

The room falls silent as I walk back to my seat, everyone’s eyes glued to the number of zeros projected on the screen. There’s a glint in my father’s eye as he stands up, quickly capturing everyone’s attention.

“That settles it. Maria, start recruiting candidates for the market analysis, I want some on both sides of the border. Maurice, forward these numbers to Stuart so he can run more tests and lock down realistic predictions. Any questions about the expansion can be sent to Maurice. Meeting adjourned.”

Everyone stands up and starts to file out, my co-workers giving me warm smiles as they walk by. Steven sneers as he passes me, his flushed skin tone a perfect match for his hideous tie. I can barely hold back my smirk as he leaves the room.

“You know he does it on purpose.”

My father pushes back from his chair and stands up, his strong build showing no signs of weight gain over the years.

“I know. He can’t stand the fact I work for my father.” I pull my shoulders back as Jonathan approaches, his height a couple inches shorter than mine but not any less intimidating.

“That’s why I made sure you earned every position you worked in.” Cold blue eyes sweep down my body, looking for an imperfection to critique.

A nod of approval tells me he found none.

“It’s good for you to have challenging co-workers. Helps keep you sharp.”

“I swear you only keep Steven around to antagonize me.”

“I do enjoy your little showdowns, I’ll admit.” There’s a hint of a smile, but it does nothing to soften the coldness in his eyes, “Though it really is for your own benefit. If you don’t push yourself-

“You don’t change yourself. I know, Jonathan.” I cut him off, the motivational pep talks long since ingrained in me.

“Good. Don’t forget to send Stuart those numbers.” My father turns and heads for the door.

“Oh, and Maurice? Make your intro more concise next time. It felt sloppy.”

I grit my teeth as the door swings shut behind him.

“Do you have to leave? Who else is going to carry the team?” Corey, the co-worker I tolerate the most, follows me into the elevator.

“It’s only for two weeks. Then I’ll be virtual for the next six months. Back in the office by February.”

“But who is going to destroy Steven while you’re away?”

I chuckle, “You’ll have to carry on the tradition for me.”

He groans, “Not the same. No one puts that man in his place like you do.”

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