“It’s eight forty-five.”
I stare at him. He stares at me. Sometimes, I swear I catch glimpses of fatherly care on Derrick’s face when he looks at me. I know he’s got a daughter around my age. She’s twenty-three, maybe?
“Can you email me that presentation?” he asks.
“You bet.”
His hand doesn’t unclench from the door handle. “Can you also give me an overview?”
I recline in my chair, grabbing a highlighter to fiddle with. “Sustainable”—Derrick winces—“sourcing,” I finish.
“I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“It gets worse.”
Derrick’s face pales. “How.”
“I want to get B Corp Certified.”
I may as well have told him I’m interested in flushing money down the toilet. Still, Derrick’s expression is alittledramatic right now.
He points it skyward, releases a weary sigh. “You are bleeding me dry, Davis.”
“That’s simply untrue.”
“Remind me of thepointof a B Corp Certification?” he asks.
“It basically means our company has been verified to have high standards.”
Derrick glowers. “So, you would like to raise this company’s standards?”
I smirk. “I’d like everyone to raise their standards, but yes, I’ll start with Revenant.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “And what standards are we raising?”
“Accountability, transparency, charitable giving, and supply-chain best practices.”
Derrick nods, staring sideways. “High standards are expensive, no doubt.”
I stand up, coming around the corner of my desk to face him. “This is a good thing, Derrick. I promise.”
He points a finger at me. “You’d better make us believe it today, Josie. If the consultant isn’t on board, neither am I.”
I nod and say, “I’m not worried.”
I amsoworried.
I amconstantlyworried.
I work myself into spirals, worrying. I pace my kitchen at four a.m., worrying. Every time Revenant hits a goal, outperforms a plan,trendson social media, I worry, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because it feels inevitable. Nothing this good can last. The tide of public opinion will turn; the customers will revolt.
They will take their final measure of me and determine I’m unworthy.
Still, amidst these fears, Idesperatelywant everything about the little business I started in my dorm room with my grandmother’s old sewing machine to stay absolutely perfect.
Unlike me, I hope Revenant never needs a second wind.
CHAPTER THREE
