Page 27 of Cupcake of the Month
A low buzzing echoed in Jordan’s ears. Her lawyer had said as much. “Yes, ma’am, but it’s not much of a consolation. Word of mouth and satisfied clients are necessary for me to do what I do. And my name has been in the news. A lot.”
“Oh, Lord, if I had to worry every time my name was in the news in an unflattering light...” She waved a hand in dismissal. “You wouldn’t be so interesting to the media if your parents weren’t so prominent in society and if your twin brothers hadn’t made a killing in the tech market. The famous Shoenover family.”
“Of the West Hartford Shoenovers.” Jordan allowed herself a small smile. Her drive and determination had come from the lessons of love, hard work, and giving a hand up her family had taught her.
“I see the questions in your eyes that you’re too polite to voice.” Mrs. McGraw leaned back in her chair. “Jordan, I want to hire you. I was curious about you after the fundraiser, so I went on your web page, read the testimonials. And the more Isaw about your work, the more I think you can help me.” She put down her pencil. “All the companies that hired you loved what you did after you worked your strategic magic. Employee retention and morale are at an all-time high. Plus they’re getting a higher quality of applicants for job openings.”
A spark of the happiness Jordan had always carried about her job flickered in her body, but she tamped it down. “Mrs. McGraw, I’m a little confused. Do you need help filling staff positions?”
“Not for my staff, Jordan. My constituents.”
“Pardon me?” She should have said yes to that drink – a stiff drink.
“They’re my people. I want to make sure I’m serving them well.” Mrs. McGraw leaned forward, her hands folded together. “I could hire an expert polling company to see how they feel, or send out a survey in a mass mailing, but they’re too removed. I need a face to put with the boots on the ground. That’s you.” Mrs. McGraw stood up.
“Ma’am, I get hired for strategic planning and talent management.” Jordan stood with her. “To see how a company can go from point A to point B with the people they have or to fill in missing skills. I’m not a politician.”
“So much the better. I’ll be honest, some of it has to do with your name. Anyone who followed Georgia athletics will know who you are, even though you graduated a while ago. You were in the news almost every day during the softball season. That makes you immediately recognizable. All the upper management I talked to said you uncovered issues in their companies they had no idea existed. Employees said they trusted you were on their side.” Mrs. McGraw gave her a smile.
“I’m not planning on staying in Georgia once the lawsuit is resolved.”
“That’s okay. You can get us started. Take what you alreadyknow and adapting it to fit a wide range of people instead of ones who share a common goal for a company. I know you can do this, Jordan.”
Unlike the social director position at the Inn, this job was a good use of her abilities, but it was too much in the public eye. There was no way. She was being sued. Jordan started to shake her head, but Mrs. McGraw raised her hand.
“Don’t answer now. Think about it.”
Oy, fine. Jordan could turn her down just as easily tomorrow as she could today. She held out her hand. “I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you.” Mrs. McGraw took it and gave Jordan a grin. “Have you thought about it?”
Jordan opened her mouth and the congresswoman waved her hand. “I know. Too pushy. But I do hope to hear from you soon.”
“Yes, ma’am. So even though I plan on returning to Connecticut once the lawsuit is over, you still want me to work for you?”
“You can get the ball rolling. I’m not sure how this will work anyway, so we can both experiment with it.” Mrs. McGraw opened the door to her office and escorted Jordan down the hallway to the reception area. She picked her business card off the desk and handed it to Jordan. “Call me any time.”
Jordan left the office feeling like she’d been knocked to the ground by a baserunner, her mind taking its sweet time to comprehend what had happened. She slid into the Fountenoy Hall van and let out a slow breath. Admittedly, transitioning from strategic planning to what the congresswoman envisioned could be done. A buzz of excitement filtered through her, but it was quickly tamped by doubt.
It was ridiculous. She had years of brilliant work behind her, testimonials by CEOs and business owners on how she improvedtheir companies. Why was she going to let a misguided group of people keep her from her living?
Guilt. Uncertainty. She’d striven to be the best at that she did, and the lawsuit had shaken her confidence. Maybe this would help her get it back.
***
“So, tell me again why you didn’t let us play softball?” Jordan asked Wendy from the back of Rob’s car later that evening. Wendy sat in the front next to him. “I was happily anticipating making you guys run. Can’t do that in a skirt and heels.”
“And why we couldn’t eat dinner,” Rob said.
Brandi opened her compact and pulled wisps of hair away from her face. “Because you need room in your tummy to sample the food at Plates of Macon, and I didn’t want to get all sweaty and dirty from beating you to first base. You never know who you’re going to meet at these types of things.” She batted her lashes over her multicolored eyes.
“Plus this is a good way to taste food from different vendors. Which means we have to eat. I know, it’s a tough life. And it’s never a bad idea to set up business relations. Some of them will hopefully be closer than an hour away to the Hall.” Wendy shifted in the front seat and narrowed her eyes at Jordan. “It’s your fault, you know.”
“Mine? Why?” Jordan asked. At least this was something to take her mind off Mrs. McGraw’s job offer.
“You worked your strategic talent management planning voodoo on us,” Brandi said. “Wendy and I agreed on a plan for making the Hall a place people would want to have a party. With Aunt Eulalee leaving, we realized that allowing outside caterers for weddings and stuff would be better than her trying to do it all on her own or continuously finding temporary help.”
Wendy tapped her finger against her tablet. “I wouldn’t besurprised if she wanted to retire. She had her own life until she came to help Grandma after Grandpa died. Her trip to Paris is her way of testing out the waters, I think.”
