PAIGE
Why is it that my meetings with Travis always run until it's only the both of us left in the building?
Here we are again, alone in my office. It's dark outside, and a few lamps light the room, casting their warm tones on Travis, who is sitting in his usual chair.
He sits with his legs crossed, elbow perched on his knee as his chin rests on his fist. His lips are pursed as he listens to me go on and on about my ideas for DeLisle's marketing plan for the coming season.
"Not that I don't love it when you let me get a complete sentence out, but is there a problem?" I ask.
"I'm sorry?" he asks, his brows draw close.
"It's just that you aren't saying anything. It's unsettling."
"Well, I'm sorry to have unsettled you, but I'm a little distracted today. I'm not exactly in the mood to work. Plus, I figured you're not going to listen to me anyway. So why say anything." He smirks.
"You know I don't actually try to be difficult."
"Really? Because you could have fooled me."
"Yes, I know I can be strong headed sometimes, but I amonly that way about things I care about. Even though the company is now yours, it is still my baby. There's a reason DeLisle is as successful as it is today. I think it would be a mistake to change too much too quickly. I don't think I would be doing my job if I just stood back and acquiesced to everything you propose, especially if I think it won't work."
He regards me in silence for a moment, then says, "Why fashion?"
"What?"
"What is it about fashion that pulled you in?"
I stare at him with an apprehensive look on my face and he chuckles. "I'm trying to understand your point of view. Perhaps if I understood where you're coming from it would be easier to find some kind of middle ground. I mean, it has become obvious to me that we experience clothes differently. To me clothes, yeah, the right clothes can make you look good, but at the end of the day, they are pretty inconsequential to me. It's obvious that that's not the case for you. I'm curious to know what you think."
I walk over to my desk, perch myself on its edge and fold my arms. "Well, you're wrong. Clothes are not inconsequential. How you adorn yourself is your first introduction. Whether people want to admit it or not, people judge you first based on how you look. It is your literal first impression. The clothes you choose to wear, the jewelry you put on your body, the shoes you slip your feet into, the accessories you favor, all these things tell a story about the person wearing them. So I think it's important that you write your own story with intention, and not just throw things on for the sake of throwing them on."
He looks at me, blinking.
"Also, fashion can be quite powerful. I don't know if you've ever experienced this or not, but if I wake up in afunky mood, all I have to do is put on a fun and colorful outfit, and it peps me right up. It literally has the power to change a person's outlook for the day."
I keep going. "Also! When done right, fashion is beautiful. Even when it's not literally beautiful, it's still beautiful, depending on how you choose to look at it. Actually, I could go on and on about how great fashion is but I'll stop there and tell you why I chose to go to fashion. I wanted to design clothes because I wanted to do everything I just mentioned for someone else." I pause. "Let me put it this way, every fashion house is a language. I wanted to create my own language that is unique to my customers who have been mute up until I came along."
By the time I'm done speaking Travis is looking at me wide-eyed. Dare I even say, enthralled?
"Wow... I've never thought of it like that."
I laugh. "Neither do a lot of people, my parents included. I basically gave them an iteration of the speech I just gave you when I picked FIT over MIT."
"Really? Did that actually happen?"
I look up to the ceiling, recalling those memories. "Yeah, it did. In high school I was a total science nerd. I applied to all the schools everyone expected, but I also applied to the fashion Institute of technology. I got into MIT to study Solid-State Chemistry, but in the end I chose to study Fashion Design at FIT."
"How did your parents take that?"
I chuckle. "Not well at first, but with time they came around when they saw how passionate I was."
"It's good that you had supportive parents."
"Yeah, I guess it was."
"Speaking of your parents, I've been meaning to ask about your mother. Howis she doing?"
"Honestly, she's not fine, but we hear that is what's to be expected from the chemo."
"I'm so sorry to hear that."
I shrug. "She's soldiering on. She'll be fine."
"Is there anything I can do? I sit on the board of some of the best hospitals in the country. If you ever need a second opinion I could arrange that."
"That's kind of you, but I'm way ahead of you. She's already seen the best oncologists in the country."
"Good, but if there's anything you ever need..."
I nod. "Thank you... Well, I'm feeling kind of bare now. You know a lot about my family and why I chose the career path that I did. However, I know almost nothing about you."
"That's because there isn't very much to know."
"I doubt that very much."
He takes a deep breath. "Well, as I'm sure you probably already know, my family made its money during the oil boom in Texas about three or four generations ago. So yes, I grew up incredibly rich and incredibly spoiled, but my mother came from a family of little to no means. So she's always made sure to keep us humble and grounded. I have two brothers and I inherited the family company,Texa Oil, when my dad died 10 years ago."
"Do you enjoy the oil business?"
"I won't say I enjoy it, but it's the family business. So I basically didn't have a choice but to take it on."
"How do you feel about that?"
He shrugs. "I don't feel much about it, honestly. I'm not exactly happy about it, but I won't complain because it's an amazing opportunity and it affords me a lifestyle that most people only dream of. However, it became obvious quite early that I wasn't going to be able to dedicate my life to thecompany. So I let my brother manage it while I do this." He gestures around him.
"What? Buy up companies?"
"No, help them grow. I am a business person through and through. I found heading our family business to be quite boring. It's been going for generations now. It's literally a well-oiled machine. All it needs is someone to oversee. There isn't a lot of room to innovate and that's what I need."
"So your brother manages the family business while you run the consortium?"
"Yes, it seemed like a good arrangement because, to be honest, he wants it more than I do. He has always kind of resented the fact that I was the firstborn son who would inheritTexa Oil. So it seemed like a win-win to put him in charge while I actually do what I want. I'm the CEO in name only, but he does the actual work, and that seems to be enough for both of us. The consortium is very important to me. Every company I acquire needs to succeed. I guess I still have a chip on my shoulder from when I set it up in my youth. Many people said I would fail. At this point I have nothing left to prove, but I'm still a little intense when it comes to my acquisitions. That's why I need DeLisle to perform."
"I understand you a little more now. Why you're so adamant about making DeLisle a cash cow."
"So now will you do as I say?"
"No."
"Of course not..." We both laugh.
"Listen, I understand why you think the way you do, but I'm going to need you to trust me. Yes, there's a lot of money in fast fashion, but there is also a lot of money in luxury. We can dial things down a little bit, but I guarantee if we have good products that also happen to be accessible,customers will come. If it doesn't work, you won't even have to ask for my resignation. I'll give it to you myself." I look him in the eyes as I finish my speech.
We stare at each other in silence for a moment then he climbs to his feet and offers me his hand. "Deal."
I stand and shake his hand.
I have made a big promise. All I have to do now is make sure I deliver. Now I'm nervous. Not only because I have to back up my words with action and results, but because I don't want to let Travis down. I don't allow myself to dwell too much on that impulse because thinking about it too long will force me to examine why I feel that way. And that won't be good for anybody.