I stood and ran a hand down my pencil skirt. “Okay. Well, thank you for your time.”
He hit me with his most charming smile and put out a hand. “My pleasure, Miss West.”
Our eyes met as we shook hands, and a little electric current zipped up my arm and into my chest.
I broke my hand away early and smiled politely.
His gaze lingered for a split-second. “You know what?” He set his notebook on the edge of my desk and pulled out the pencil. He scribbled on a blank page, but I couldn’t see what it said until he got near the end.
His number.
Grant Wilder was leaving me his phone number.
I shot an involuntary glance in the direction of Nick’s desk, then forced it back to Grant.
He tugged at the paper, and it ripped off the metal spirals, the edge chaotic and frayed. He held it out to me. “In case you change your mind. I think it could be a really great piece.”
I didn’t even manage to say goodbye before my office door closed behind him.
SEVEN
Was I selfish?
As I walked past the rows of Matchify employees, that was the question ringing in my ears.
Matchify’s CEO refuses to use her own product—and why you should too
Iterations of that headline shoved themselves to the forefront of my psyche throughout the afternoon.
It wasn’t that I was refusing to use my own product, though; I was refusing to prostitute myself to get Threadline views on their article. I was holding a professional boundary.
Go, me.
When I got back to my office, I grabbed the paper with Grant’s name and phone number on it, scrunched it up, and tossed it in the trash can.
When I got an email in my inbox Friday morning from Vantive asking how things were going with Threadline, I responded right away. I let them know that we had concluded interviews, that I felt it had gone well, and that I hoped they understood why I had turned down the offer Threadline had made.
Surely, they’d appreciate a CEO who didn’t make her own love life media fodder. That was what had gone wrong with their last investment.
Vantive’s reply came after lunch.
Vivian,
Thanks for the update. Glad to know the interviews went well. Threadline is a stellar publication, and we look forward to seeing their take on Matchify.
As far as the idea they floated, we absolutely respect your instincts as CEO. That said, if there’s any room for reconsidering, we’d strongly encourage it. Threadline’s largest audience segment closely aligns with your biggest demographic. The investment of that demographic in Matchify will be key for the next growth phase, and a human-centered narrative could be a powerful way to cultivate that.
The final call is obviously yours, but we’ve seen stories like this shift public perception in meaningful ways.
Let us know what you decide.
Best,
Jeanine
I stared at the email, open-mouthed.
What?!
