“I don’t have a business developer,” she said weakly.
“That’s the second name on the list. It’s a recruiting firm. Talk to a woman named Joanne and explain to her your needs for a business manager, several data entry personnel and a systems administrator who can work part time to get you set up on a more robust ordering and tracking system. Explain that you need five candidates to interview by Monday morning between the hours of noon and five o’clock.”
Zoe’s mouth fell open. “Can she get that many people lined up for interviews that quickly?”
“Not only will she do it, she’ll have backup candidates for you to interview on Tuesday in case any of her first line attempts don’t work out. She’ll bend over backwards to fill that many positions.”
“How much will all of that cost?”
“Probably about two hundred thousand, taking all of her commissions into consideration. That’s not including any relocation fees that you might need to pay out, but with the time schedule you have, I don’t think that will come into play at this point.”
Zoe gasped at the amount of money he was discussing. “I don’t have that kind of cash!”
“You do now. I’m backing you, remember?”
His zipped through a yellow light, his powerful car zooming onto the highway, narrowly missing a cab driver that was trying to cut him off.
“And how am I going to pay you back?” she asked, terrified of moving this quickly. But Marco really didn’t hold back once he was working on a project she’d realized over the past few weeks.
“You can pay me back by doubling your revenue over the next year,” he said simply.
“Doubling it?” she gasped, her eyes bulging at the idea. “Are you serious?”
“That’s a conservative estimate. I predict that, with a bit more advertising and filling out your staffing needs, you’ll possibly even triple your current revenue trend in eighteen months.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Are you challenging me?” he asked, giving her a sly smile as he switched lanes, the buildings quickly growing farther apart as his Maserati ate up the miles, taking them rapidly out of the city.
She shook her head and glanced down at the names. There were about ten in all and she couldn’t figure out what some of the companies might represent.
“What are these other names?”
“Get through the top two first, then we’ll discuss the others.”
Zoe looked back down at the names and sighed. Marco was right. She did need a computer system and more staff. She and Debbie had just been discussing that yesterday afternoon. But she wasn’t comfortable moving this quickly. Just two weeks ago she’d been in jeopardy of losing her whole company. Now Marco was telling her she had the potential for tripling her revenue in eighteen months? Was he insane?
Taking out her cell phone, she made the first call. The real estate agent she spoke with was incredibly competent if the questions she asked Zoe were any indication. Zoe listed her needs, relaxing as she explained the type of space that she would need, the kind of lease that she was willing to enter into, the areas in which she wanted to look within the city. The woman, named Dina Christoph, was polite and professional, taking down all the information and promising to get back with Zoe next week with several possibilities. She assured Zoe that she’d e-mail her some ideas this weekend and Zoe couldn’t believe it was that simple. It had taken her months to find her current warehouse and loft, could she really have a new site available for work in the next week or two?
Joanne was next and Zoe was equally impressed with the recruiter’s questions. Within fifteen minutes, Zoe was off the phone and on to the next name on the paper with the promise from Joanne to have a list of the interviews e-mailed to her Sunday evening.
Marco drove and explained the people he wanted her to contact and why. As they made their way through Pennsylvania, Zoe called a computer firm and ordered new hardware for all the new staff she was anticipating. She then called an advertising company to make an appointment for an updated, revitalized marketing campaign. Marco had her talk with a software company who she set up a meeting with to discuss an ordering system and tracking software, plus maintenance agreements. There were so many people she was now going to talk to that by the time they reached Virginia, her head was spinning with all the details.
“Okay, what now?” she asked, resting her head against the leather upholstery of the seat, closing her eyes so she could breathe a bit easier.
“Now, you relax and enjoy the weekend with me and my sister. Her husband won’t be back until tomorrow so you can meet Darcy tonight since I didn’t have a chance to introduce you that first night at the fundraiser dinner.”
That had her sitting up in her seat. “You want me to meet your sister? But we’ve already met!”
Marco chuckled. “Meeting Darcy DiAngelo at a public event is not really meeting my sister.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you telling me that the woman at that fundraiser is not your sister?”
“In a sense, that’s exactly what I’m saying. But there’s no way I can explain until we get to her house. But be prepared. You’re in for a shock,” he explained.
They were now on a country road where the late afternoon sunshine was dappling through the colorful autumn leaves and dancing through the branches. She looked around and noticed horses, cows and several dogs chasing each other through a large, open field fenced in beside the road. All the dogs were wagging their tails while the smaller ones chased the bigger ones, then reversing course and attacking the other animals. Zoe smiled at such a carefree existence and wondered what it would be like to live like this, without the stress of work or complications of relationships.
Before she was ready, Marco pulled into the driveway that led down a gravel road lined by boxwood hedges on both sides. The house at the end of the drive was extraordinarily lovely, with turrets and large windows.
As the car pulled up and parked behind a muddy Range Rover, a strikingly lovely woman opened the front door to the house. She wore a large Irish wool sweater, jeans that were too loose for her thin frame and Wellingtons that were more muddy than the Range Rover. Her brown hair was streaked with blond and pulled back into a loose pony tail high on her head. She didn’t wear any makeup, but she didn’t need to. The woman was breathtakingly lovely with her soft green eyes that looked like the early spring green of moss on a hillside.