"I have a video conference call with my virtual staff at ten. I have several campaigns I need to review, and then later today, I have a meeting with a local client." I didn’t mention it was my brother.
"What time does your day end?"
I looked up from the pancakes I'd smothered in butter and syrup, wondering why he was so interested in my schedule. Deep down, I hoped that he wanted to see me again.
"Officially, I end around five, but I often work later. My office is in my home, which makes it easy to continue to get things done."
"Or work too much."
I stuffed pancakes into my mouth so I didn't answer.
"When Sam and I started our business, we worked out of our residences as well. Of course, we don't have a virtual staff, so getting office space was necessary when we started to grow."
"That's one of the benefits of having a digital agency. I can hire the best from anywhere in the world. And work with anyone in the world."
He nodded. "But again, you risk working too much. You know what they say about all work and no play."
It was an odd conversation, but I stayed with it. "I wasn't a dull girl last night, was I?"
His grin was wide and wild around a piece of bacon. "Not at all." He picked up his glass of orange juice, taking a sip. "Which brings me to wondering if perhaps you would want to repeat it tonight. I have some business things to take care of during the day, but my night is free."
Inside, all my girly parts were screamingyes. But a part of me cautioned me against having another night with Max. I liked him and could see that if I spent more time with him, I might not want to stop. That was problematic for two reasons. The first was that while my agency was successful, I still needed to dedicate all my time and resources to keeping it that way, especially if I wanted to grow. The second reason was that being who Max was, and the family that he was from, my father would probably concoct a cockamamie idea to try and get an investment or something out of Max. Along with building my business, my other goal in life was to keep out of the reach of my father's tentacles. He was ruthless and had no scruples about hurting anyone who got in his way.
Max tilted his head to the side. "Unless you didn't have as good a time as I did yesterday."
"I'm pretty certain I had a better time."
"What do you say to one more night? I'll be leaving before noon tomorrow."
I wasn't sure if he was saying that to make sure that I understood that we were just talking about another fun day and a hookup. Whatever his reason, it alleviated my concern, because that's exactly what I wanted.
I nodded. "I can meet you here, or anywhere, at six."
"Perfect."
When I left Max's, I headed home and prepared for the meeting with my virtual staff. I wasn't one of those bosses who micromanaged the people who worked for me, but I learned early on that not everybody had a good work ethic. So once a week, I had a group call where we would all connect together, and then during the week, I had a standing time with each of my staff simply to check in. At first, a few of them resented it, feeling like I was looking over their shoulder. Eventually, they weeded themselves out, and now everyone who worked for me worked as a team. Because they were so good, there were times that our one-on-one calls were mostly talking about things other than the job like their lives, their children, and in the case of my staff who were digital nomads, learning about whatever spot they were in at that time.
After the call, I reviewed the campaigns that were waiting to start and then went through existing campaigns to make sure that they were getting results for our clients. Next, I started brainstorming ideas for the celebrity-owned restaurant in Los Angeles and then continued to work on my presentation for the vineyard I hoped to obtain as a client in Northern California.
At two thirty, I left my home office and headed to the Dunsmore Investment offices to meet with my brother. When I started my business, my brother was my first client. Or rather, I should say my father's company was my first client because my brother, who someday would be taking over the company, hired me.
I arrived, and as usual, I took the long way to my brother's office to avoid seeing my father. He was unscrupulous and manipulative, so I did everything I could to stay out of his way. I think my brother felt the same way, which was why his office was in a totally different part of the building.
When I arrived, his secretary announced me, and I went in. My brother looked up from the desk he'd been hunched over.
He grinned when he saw me. "Hey, how did the trip to Los Angeles go?"
I grinned. “Signed, sealed, and delivered."
He stood up and gave me a hug. "You're a rockstar."
I was on the verge of doing well enough that I could dump my father's company as a client, but because my brother had been so supportive, I wasn't sure I would do that. Plus, these bimonthly meetings gave me a chance to spend time with my brother. There were times when we would see each other a couple of times a week and other times we wouldn’t see each other at all for months if it weren’t for these meetings.
He motioned for me to sit on the couch, and he went over to his coffee machine, putting in a pod for my favorite—mocha. When it finished brewing, he put in a pod for himself and then brought them over and sat next to me on the couch.
I opened up my laptop to show my brother how the business campaigns were going. My family's business was a real estate investment firm. If it weren't for my brother, I wouldn’t have taken the company on as a client. I knew that sounded bad, but I wouldn't put it past my father to run a Ponzi scheme. My brother's involvement ensured that wouldn’t happen.
I showed my brother what was working and told him areas I thought we should change to improve results. He nodded, and I appreciated that he deferred to my expertise.