CHAPTER 1: Everleigh Bradley
Thirty-Two to One
Vegas?
Vegas?
I blow out a breath. “I’ve never had much of an interest in transferring out of this office, sir,” I say to my boss. I fold my arms over my chest.
I have thirty-two clients here in Chicago. Some I speak to weekly, others daily, and a few micromanagers get me on the line multiple times a day.
But in Vegas, I lay claim to exactly zero.
And now my boss is offering me one.One.
“Give it some thought before you bow out, Everleigh,” Mr. Langford tells me. He leans back on the edge of his desk.
“How do I go from thirty-two clients tooneand believe it’s a promotion?” I counter.
“I told you it’s unconventional. This is a complete rebrand, and we’ll need you by this client’s side at all times.”
“Who is it?” I demand.
“It’s confidential.”
“Then it’s a no, Stuart. I’m not moving across the country to work with a client and giving up everything I have here when I don’t even know who it is.”
He sighs. “It’s confidential because it’s high-profile. What’s your end goal?”
We’ve been over this a thousand times. “To open my own branding firm working with my own high-profile clients instead of working for someone else.”
“I know, Everleigh. And this is the step that could open that door for you. Trust me on this.”
“Do you know who it is?” I ask.
He presses his lips together and shakes his head. “All I know is that it’s in Vegas. I could make a guess, but I won’t. Don’t you have a brother there?”
The fact is that yes, I do have family there. But I have family here in Chicago, too. And friends, including my best friend. My entire life is here.
“Don’t try to sell me with family,” I say. I want to hiss it at him, but I’m trying to maintain that professional level of respect you’re supposed to have for your boss—which Idohave. I’ve always had it.
I just don’t know what to do. I love my job, and I worry that changing things could be a huge mistake. I’ll lose all of my clients, but if I open my own firm someday down the road, I can’t take them with me anyway.
“If you agree to this, I’ll remove your non-compete, so after the terms of the agreement are met, you’re free to start your own firm,” he offers as if he just read my mind. “If things go well, you can take this high-profile client with you.”
“Why would you do that?” I narrow my eyes at him as I try to get to the bottom of his motivation.
He shrugs. “They asked for my best strategist, and that’s you. We’ll get the credit for the first year, and from what I’ve heard, this client needs a lot of work. I know you’re going toleave Langford eventually, so I guess I’m just doing my part to set you up for success.”
“That’s really kind of you.”
He holds up a hand. “Before you go getting all mushy on me, let me be the first to admit that they’re offering five hundred grand to take on this client. They’re paying up front, and we plan to take forty percent of that. You’ll get the rest plus moving expenses.”
Money isn’t really an issue for me since I hail from Thomas Bradley, the man who started the very successful Bradley Group development and construction company, but it’s still quite an attractive offer. I’m currently making a third of what he wants to give me, while it feels an awful lot like he’s cutting my workload.
It makes me wonder if there’s more to it, but we’ve worked together for the last decade. I believe him when he says that I’m the best brand strategist he has and that’s why he’s offering this position to me.
“Can I have the night to think about it?” I ask.
