Chapter 164 Not so Lucky
“I pet a big white dog!” Mandy announced when they got home.
The dogs spun around the new arrivals in a furry whirlwind, and Emily was relieved to be with her four-legged friends. She was glad she hadn’t brought them to work that day to be despised by Simone.
“That’s good,” Byron said, greeting Mandy and Emily with kisses.
“I was not so lucky,” Emily said.
“Mommy didn’t have time to play with doggie,” Mandy said sadly.
“And on top of that, I lost a really big client…” Emily added. She took off her shoes and collapsed on the living room couch.
“Lady said the ‘f word’,” Mandy recalled.
Byron raised his eyebrows.
“I know I’m not allowed to say it,” Mandy continued, “but she didn’t know that.”
“What the heck happened over there?” Byron asked.
“Ugh! I can’t even go into right now,” Emily lay back on the couch and closed her eyes, trying to shut out the stress of the day. “Simone made me so mad.”
“Lady was silly,” Mandy said.
“Yes, she was very silly,” Emily confirmed.
Byron settled down nearby and massaged her shoulders.
“It’s okay, mommy,” Mandy chirped, “You have other doggies to play with here at home. Three!”
Emily laughed in spite of the foul mood she was in. “You’re absolutely right, sweetheart,” she said, “How can I be upset when I have three of the best dogs in the world? And I have you and daddy.”
She felt like a weight lifted from her shoulders, even though the loss to the company would be fairly hefty. But in the end, she knew she had done the right thing by telling Simone to leave.
No amount of profit was worth sacrificing what her company stood for. It was a place where people could bring their children, not worrying that they would be exposed to bad language or nefarious dealings. Besides, Simone had as good as said she was no longer interested in their products anyway.
“You should have kicked her out sooner,” Byron said after she told him what happened.
They sat at the kitchen table with cups of steaming hot tea.
“You’re right,” Emily said, “I knew she was going to dump us almost as soon as she walked through the door.”
“I could financially crush Charmers if you want,” Byron suggested. “They’re too reliant on the indoor mall space, and their rents are very high, especially in Vancouver.”
“Thanks, but I don’t want another vendetta on our hands,” Emily said. “I’ll just have to find new clients elsewhere to make up for the loss.”
Over the next few weeks, Emily got a string of bad news as a few more retailers dropped her designs. It seemed like Simone Cather had been seriously offended by being subjected to turtles, kids, and dogs during her visit and was using her influence in the business community to undermine Emily’s company.
“Sure you don’t want me to crush them?” Byron asked with a slightly evil grin when she got back from work after yet another store dropped out. “It would be easy…”
“I don’t want you to regress to your bad old days,” Emily said, “There must be a way around it. I’ll think of something…”
“Okay…” Byron said.
She could always tell when Byron was up to something. He had that look on his face like he was plotting.
But she wanted to find her own solutiong. Surely not everyone was under Simone Cather’s influence. There was a multitude of other retailers, though none as big as Charmers.
After meeting with her team, Emily decided that the best way to go was to forget the brick and mortar retailers and focus on internet sales. In the next few weeks, she launched a new online marketing campaign that generated more revenue, almost catching up to what she would have made if Charmers carried their brands.
She was still a bit miffed about the Charmers disaster. Every time she passed the mall, she felt bitter and mad at Simone for ditching her company.
She was even more miffed when Byron made a certain announcement. She knew something was up when he cooked her favorite pasta dish and was acting extra nice. It was definitely suspicious.
“Do you like the food?” he asked as they sat in the candlelit dining room.
“It’s very good,” Emily said.
“I have something to tell you…”
“What did you do?”
