AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I look over to Jay, who is smiling at Amala. Elliot is furiously taking notes.
Amala pulls a chair over to where we are and sits. She is the picture of earnestness as she folds her hands on the table. “That’s why we want Ever Heart to be a part of our family.”
The thrill of victory thrums through my veins. “Thank you, Amala. We are so excited to work with Pür. We will have a team dedicated to you and your needs. Rest assured, your branding is in good hands with us.” I open my tote bag. “Should we discuss the contract so we can agree on a proposal that works for you?”
“I have something different in mind,” Amala explains, the tone of her voice hinting that it may be something … atypical. “We want Ever Heart.”
“Of course. We’re here for whatever you need.”
“I think you’re misunderstanding me.” Amala holds out her hand, and the guy next to her hands her another stack of papers. “We have our own proposal.” Sliding our financial records aside, she sets the package in front of me.
Jay shifts so they can look over my shoulder.
My brows touch. I don’t understand. I’ve never heard of a company creating their own branding proposal. That’s something we provide. It’s how we show them what we can do for their company.
“We want to buy Ever Heart, Miranda. We want you as a division of Pür Innovations. We want your most valued talent to work solely for us.’
All of my blood drains to my stilettos, and my mouth turns to cotton.
“What?” Jay’s the one who asks.
I’m the one hoping I heard her wrong.
“Evan, pull up the numbers on how we will logistically absorb Ever Heart.” She turns toward the front.
Even though I see Evan’s mouth moving, his arms gesturing, and sounds uttering, I’m not listening.
No thoughts enter my brain.
Not a single nerve ending fires.
This is a nightmare. A grotesquely disturbing nightmare.
Polite words are exchanged between Elliot, Evan, Jay, and Amara. But I don’t utter a single syllable.
“I’ll give you some time to think about it, but our board of directors would like an answer by the end of the month.”
End of the month? That’s less than thirty days. How can something that took years of blood, sweat, and tears to create dissolve into something else in such an insignificant amount of time?
“...of course, everyone would keep their jobs and Jay will still be head graphic designer. Miranda, we hope that you will take on the role of Chief Marketing Officer.”
“Chief Marketing Officer?” I repeat, more to myself than anyone else.
Amala drones on, not reading or acknowledging the pallor of shock on my skin. “There are only a few minor changes we would require.”
“Which would be?” Elliot is holding his own while I’m floundering. I’d be proud if I wasn’t so stunned at the swift pivot of this morning’s events.
“Since we will be your primary financial backing, you’d have to cut ties with other investors.”
Okay, maybe that’s not so bad. No more pandering to chauvinistic assholes like Pingman. My ears open up to the possibility a bit.
“While we want Ever Heart’s core employees on Pür’s marketing, you’ll need to hire more talent for the clients you currently work with.” Not a terrible request. Creating new jobs is a good thing. And we get to keep our dedicated employees. The heavy weight I’ve been wearing around my neck lightens. “We want you to have a floor in our building.” Not having to pay rent on our own would be a blessing. “And we want to change the name ‘Ever Heart’ to ‘Elite Digital Design and Marketing’, a division of Pür.”
Somewhere outside, car-brakes shriek to a halt—like my reasoning. The request wraps around my throat and squeezes. I can’t breathe.
She wants to take everything we’ve worked for and label it as their own. They will erase Jay and me from the company we started and reduce us to mere employees of Pür. We’d be selling out. Big time.
It’s unthinkable.
