Logan’s right.
I CAN make it to the top.
I just need to learn from the presentation and keep growing…
As she parked her bicycle in the bike shed, Stella noticed that all the senior management parking spots were fully loaded with the top of the range, latest model Teslas.
All the bosses must have been in super-early for one reason or another.
This made Stella’s heart skip a beat.
But rather than worry, Stella decided that she was going to seize upon this moment. She may have been a careful planner, but now maybe it was time to take a leaf out of Logan’s impulsive book of tricks.
Stella had an idea. It may have been crazy, but Stella was going to go straight to the top floor and formally request a do-over of the presentation.
Without waiting a single second longer, Stella entered the EcoPlay building and made her way to the top floor. Nothing was going to stop her. Even as her heart thumped in her chest, Stella was determined to follow through on her gut instinct.
Be brave.
Be bold.
You can change their minds about you…
After fighting past their initially skeptical and surprised response, Stella was able to deliver pretty much a pitch-perfect presentation that received a standing round of applause from the senior members of the board.
To say that Stella’s presentation went over well would be an understatement. Even the notoriously prickly CEO Mr. Michael Mapother was impressed.
‘Stella,’ Michael said. ‘I really wasn’t sure what to expect after yesterday. But you’ve just shown me the future of this whole organization. And I know now that you absolutelymustbe front and center of that future too. Anyone care to disagree?’
Michael’s fellow board members dare not disagree with her. It was undeniable, Stella had smashed the presentation so far out of the park it was practically entering the next state.
Michael Mapother offered Stella the role of VP For Stuffies, Toys, & Games on the spot, and Stella received it with as much enthusiasm as you might expect. This was huge news, and Stella wanted to share it with the man who made it possible.
The only question was, had Stella’s Daddy made it to EcoPlay yet?
Chapter 18
The jog over from Stella’s apartment to the EcoPlay office was great fun. Logan had allowed his cardio to drop off in recent times, but it felt surprisingly great to hit the streets again and see what his body could do.
Oh, and the fact that Logan had stopped off for a super-quick espresso with Leo and Eddie had probably improved the experience too.
Both Leo and Eddie were delighted to hear that Logan and Stella had made everything right between them after the drag race.
And Eddie was keen to report that a friend of his in the Blue Rock Police Department told him that they were very close to locating Cole and then putting him behind bars for quite some time.
This was comforting to hear – Logan knew that Stella would benefit from knowing that Cole was going to serve some serious jail time.
That said, Logan had been so impressed with how Stella had gone into work with a fresh optimism that he was beginning to see that Stella was a lot tougher than he once thought.
Just before finishing off his second espresso, Leo and Eddie had asked Logan whether he would consider investing some of his sizeable race winnings in an investment that they had been working on.
Leo and Eddie’s proposition was interesting, and Logan was certainly going to give it some thought. After all, if he was going to be putting down some real roots in Blue Rock it made sense to have business interests to keep him occupied and tied to the community.
However, Logan also had earmarked some of the money for something very special that he knew Stella would be super-keen on too. It was still a surprise, so Logan decided to tell Eddie and Leo only on the condition that they kept it quiet for now at least.
‘You’rebarkingmad!’ Leo had said in response to Logan revealing his idea.
‘Don’t listen to him,’ Eddie replied. ‘I think it’s adoggonegreat idea!’
