“I’m good, yeah,” I fought the flush that ran up my face. “I just meant I’m in my family, but am at everyone’s mercy. I cannot make choices for myself.”
Cal shook his head, carefully choosing his words and giving me more space. “I don’t believe that for a second, Daphne. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve been your own person.”
I shrugged. “Maybe?”
Cal sipped. “Your father wanted you to have the business. He doesn’t trust Davey. He would have left it to me in your absence, but I turned him down.”
I gaped.
“I want you to know that, Daphne—as an outsider. You’re not helpless. Your father believed in you. I’d think it’d be a goddamn shame for you to think all this time you don’t deserve a place at that board table. And if I could be any help, let me know..”
“What… how…”
“Davey would be smart to keep you close. The whole thing needs an overhaul. Get under the hood. Look at the financials. Use your head. After handing it over to your brother, your father did his best in his old age to help guide it. Davey isn’t imaginative. He’s not the strategist you are, Daph.”
“You don’t know that?—”
“I’ve seen you both in action. I know you both—as an outsider. If you ever want to talk, just let me know.”
“But you cannot do?—”
“I cannot do much, know. But Icouldbe a sounding board if you needed it..”
“I cannot get ahead of myself, Cal.”
“Are you getting ahead of yourself or just getting in your own way?”
I considered. “I have ideas. I have a concept, even, but have no idea what to do with it.”
“Oh, do tell,” Cal arched his brow.
“Mrs. Walker, I need you for a moment.” The organizer approached. “Just for a moment.”
I gave Cal a said look.
He patted my shoulder. “We’ll continue this conversation later.”
17THE BRASS TAX
Daphne
“Welcome here, Daphne,”Davey said. “Can we all say hello to my dear sister who has decided to stick around on her return from London?”
The faces around the conference table nodded politely. I was a guest—he made that clear.
“So, the first matter on the agenda is our partnership with Levoy Brands,” Bernie Crow, the president said.
I recrossed my legs and peered out the window. If I paid too much attention to his feeble attempts and dilution of our brand, I might explode. What I wanted to do was call him out, assert my ownership stake, and correct this trajectory, but doing so would badly undermine my brother. I moved chess pieces gently and kept the peace.
“We think value drives customers,” Bernie said.
I looked to Davey to call any of this out, knowing we were losing money hand over fist in this segment.
“So, I have plans to expand these capsule collections in quarter three.”
I interrupted. “And that proposal with the influencers Davey thought up? Is there any plan to use them to market the new products?”
Davey looked deer-in-the-headlights. Itwashis proposal, but clearly, he didn’t want to talk about it. He shifted in his chair.