“You know I was born ready for this.” I chuckle at him, leaning back in my chair.
“How’s things on the home front, you pop the question yet?” I hear ruffling in the background and something like a door closing.
“No. Not yet. I don’t know…maybe it is too soon? I don’t want to freak her out. She’s had a lot going on. She’s come so far, you know? I know that she’s it, I don’t doubt that she loves me too. I just don’t want to rush her into anything. Hell, it took her long enough to even go on a real date with me.” I remember, Addy really had Noah working for it.
“That woman is crazy about you. You guys will work it out.” I don’t really know how else to contribute, I was just being a good friend in asking.
“All right, Smith, I can take a hint.” He laughs under his breath. “Focus on that meeting and get us a win.”
“Winning is what I do best, Karvelas.” We end the call and I pull up the pitch and memorize every detail, pulling up my own personal research on the history of both Andersen Schulz and Meyers when they were separate companies, doing my best to understand the men behind the decision-making and their past dealings. I leave no stone unturned and ensure there are no surprises. I have current ideas ready to launch, as well as the bigger picture for reach and growth. A few elements that may or may not hit, but I’m not afraid of closing. That’s my best talent. I amthecloser, and I am confident I will be walking away from this with a sale under my belt.
“Mr. Andersen! You excited for this?” I greet the big man with a firm handshake and my winning smile. Pump their tires to lower their walls is always my first step in getting my foot in the door. Chris meets me at reception and walks me through the office and past all the cubicles.
“Excited to see what you have cooked up for us, Mr. Smith.”
“Did you have a chance to look over the prospectus?” I query, not letting my charm drop an inch and flicking a smile at a few gawking ladies on the way to Chris’s office.
“I did, and I’m keen to hear what you have to say about it,” I confirm, and just before I speak again, we pass my favorite corner in the bullpen.
“Rosebud.” I wink at her but don’t stop to chat. I have work to do, the flirting is going to have to wait. But I don’t miss the eye roll from her and the snickers from her friends.
We head into Chris’s office and he shuts the door behind me.
“Take a seat and let’s get started.” He has the buzz of a man ready to hear what I have to say, which is surprising. I had expected him to be the classic old man who is stuck in his ways and not ready to hear about the “out-of-the-box” ideas I had ready for him to consider.
“Well, as you know, we have a number of different plans and ideas to explore. Of course, the main part is the consideration for the full rebrand, new logo, and marketing materials, but with the same idea. We need to stop referring to the old companies and begin with addressing the company for what it is: one. So, we create a whole new brand with a fresh start. Updated colors, fonts, logos—the works. But the exciting part is what this new look can achieve.” Chris bobs his head at my enthusiasm and I note the eagerness, the way he leans forward, eating up every word. I lean back casually, calming down my excitement.
“I notice you have a few imprints, could you give me a rundown of them and your plan for the overstaffing?”
Chris tips his head and breaks it all down. There are only four imprints; they have the biography publishing imprint that came with Meyers, which is a nonfiction-focused imprint. As it was originally smaller prior to the merger, Meyers only brought in a small general fiction, business and finance, and history subgenres, which they had already started integrating under the Andersen Schulz imprints. They also had their fantasy, romance, and general imprints that came with Andersen Schulz.
“Have you thought about merging your two general fiction imprints and maybe splitting romance from your general?” I ask gently. Chris frowns and leans back, tilting his head like the thought is atrocious.
“Hear me out. The romance genre is rapidly growing and has proven in the market to be the most consistent?—”
“With all your knowledge of publishing?”There it is.The old man bias, because how could a young man in sales know anything about this serious industry. This is the shit that pumps energy through me. Proving people wrong and showing them just how badly they’ve underestimated me.
“I can assure you, Mr. Andersen, my market research is precise.” I reach over to the prospectus he has sitting in front of him, spinning it around and flipping to the relevant pages. Big man definitely didn’t read a single word of this. I flip it back to him and run a finger over the line as I recite the statistics for him. A touch of condensation on the words I use, but I want to make it clear he won’t big-dick his way on top of this.
“I’m not going to tell you how to run your business, Mr. Andersen. You’re obviously doing an excellent job, with the recent merger and all.” I let that point settle before I deliver the next.
I watch him shift in his seat, trying not to seem rattled.
“We believe that changing up your imprints now is a good way to announce the rebrand. A fresh picture, new genre intake, new business to bring in. A lot of romance authors will come here if they see your dedication to focusing on them through a separate imprint rather than only housing a couple of titles from the same old authors. That means romance dedicated editors and publicists. With the rapidly growing numbers of those indie published authors, you’ll have more scope to grab them before other traditional publishers, thus growing your list and increasing your sales.” I sit back, flattening a hand downthe front of my tie. Chris leans his chin on his hand, his eyes assessing the brochure of information he should have already read, before delivering me a stern look.
“That sounds like another round of hiring, we don’t have the ability to go through that at this time,” he says like the idiot I knew he was.
“Nonsense. You have two companies’ worth of staff, I know you’ve already done a round of layoffs, with a few more planned next week, right?” I don’t wait for his confirmation—I know I’m right. “Use them instead of firing them, move them around. Good staff will be flexible and adapt to a new role. This”—I flip to another page, which he alsoclearlydid not read—“is what I talked about here.” I point to the page, and he leans over, adjusting his glasses. “Showing the public that you have utilized your staff and done your best to keep them instead of laying them off will help build your public image. It will bring you across as ‘the people’s company’ rather than another publishing house only worried about their bottom line. Because managing the people and connecting with the community is what this is all about, right, Mr. Andersen?” I smile at him, tilting my head and landing that final gut punch. Sure, sales is a lot about buttering up the client and making them feel good, but sometimes you need to read the room as well. Hitting a man’s ego discreetly and pointing out their lack of knowledge and common sense can make a guy feel like an idiot. And people make quick and rash decisions when they are under the pressure of scrambling to protect their image.
Chris is just the type to do that, and in an effort to remain in control of this conversation, he does exactly what I thought he’d do.
“I must say, Mr. Smith?—”
“Please, call me Caleb.” I let a little smug smile show.
“Caleb. I’m quite impressed.”
“Nonsense.” I wave a hand in the air to deflect the compliment. “From one man to another, we just want what’s best for the company.”
