How to Rebuild (Hearts & Horsepower #4)

by A. K. Evans

  The reception area had a sleek and modern look. Employees and guests walked in to be greeted immediately by Juliette. Off to the left of her desk was a sitting area where visitors could wait. Clean, crisp white couches with lime green and electric blue throw pillows, glass coffee tables, and modern white vases filled with flowers adorned the space. It always made me happy to walk in and see that. It was something I’d always envisioned I’d have when I was busy working to build my empire.

  An empire that was now on the verge of collapse. And now the sight of that space made my stomach roil.

  Shaking the horrible thought from my mind, I stupidly made eye contact with Juliette, and the sight of despair on her face was horrifying. I had a feeling everyone was going to be feeling similarly.

  It was my hope I’d be able to walk down the hall toward my office and avoid running into anyone until I allowed the expected but disturbing vibe to settle in me.

  Doing my best to remain unaffected by what I felt the second I opened the door and came face-to-face with Juliette, I mustered up a friendly smile and said, “Hello, Juliette.”

  She seemed stunned by my greeting and stammered, “Oh, um, good afternoon, Elise. Your flight was okay?”

  My flight.

  That was the last thing I needed to think about right now.

  I dipped my chin. “Yes, it was great. Thank you. Any messages?”

  She shook her head and explained, “There were several phone calls that I passed through to either Porter or Kat. I believe they’ve handled them, but nobody has updated me, so I can’t say for sure.”

  Nodding, I said, “Thank you.”

  Moving to the right of her desk, I walked past the waiting area and down the hall toward my office.

  It was then I regretted my desire to have a place that felt bright, open, and airy. Because every single office I passed had floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors. There was privacy when it came to sound, but no privacy from sight. I could walk by each office and see what was happening inside if I wanted.

  That had never been my reason for doing it. I wanted to be able to see my employees as I walked past. I wanted them to feel encouraged at the sight of me working every day right alongside them.

  And, of course, there was also the aesthetic reason behind it. This office space reminded me of what a big-city sky-rise corporate office building for a global brand would feel like. And I wanted that. I wanted proof of my hard work visible.

  Now, though? Now, I was feeling a bit of regret. Because when I didn’t want to be seen, when my company was on the brink of disaster and facing harsh public backlash, I wanted to enter the building and get to my office without being seen.

  That didn’t happen.

  I’d managed not to make eye contact with anyone after I left Juliette out front. Even still, I felt the intensity of their stares on me as I walked toward the safety of my private office. When I turned the corner at the end of the corridor, I felt a wave of relief when I glanced across the hall from my office.

  Kat wasn’t there. She was either off somewhere doing damage control, research, or in the restroom. I didn’t care where she was. I needed a minute.

  And now I was taking it. I was sitting here trying to breathe and find my confidence because there was no doubt I would need it. Not for myself but for my employees.

  There was no way this company had any hope of surviving and remaining positive if I didn’t show them that they had nothing to worry about. The problem was that I didn’t necessarily believe it myself.

  I barely had two minutes to myself when there was a knock at the door. I looked up and saw Porter standing there. My shoulders sagged with relief, and the minute we made eye contact, he walked into the office.

  “It feels like I walked into a funeral,” I declared the moment the door closed behind him.

  “Let’s hope that’s not what this turns into,” he started. “It’s been like that all day.”

  “Everybody is silently panicking,” I guessed.

  He nodded. “There were a bunch of hushed conversations throughout the day, but that’s about it. Nobody has openly freaked out yet. That said, company morale is definitely at a low today.”

  Shit.

  Before I had the chance to respond, something caught my eye outside my office. Kat had returned and noticed I was back. She stood there motionless for a minute before I waved her in.

  “Elise,” she greeted. “Are you okay?”

  This was why Kat was my assistant. She always made me her priority. Yes, Flynn Beauty employed her, but her sole focus was on my well-being. That didn’t mean she didn’t handle her other job responsibilities. She did, and she did them well. It’s just that, if I was dealing with a problem, it became her problem. And she held it on her shoulders, doing anything she could for me until it was settled.

  “I’m here,” I admitted. “We need to have a meeting immediately. Skye is here, right?”

  “Yes,” she returned. “Do you want to meet in the conference room?”

  I nodded.

  “Anybody else I should call?” she pressed.

  I looked to Porter, hoping he’d done some digging and had an idea of just how bad this was. “Porter?” I called.

  He shook his head. “No. We worked all morning and afternoon, trying to get a grasp of the situation. We spoke to the necessary department heads, so I think it should just be the four of us now. We can call in others later if it’s needed.”

  “Perfect.”

  I returned my gaze to Kat.

  “I’ll get on it.”

  At that, Kat turned and walked out. When the door closed behind her, I looked back at my brother and begged, “Please tell me this isn’t as bad as it seems.”

  He offered a sympathetic look. “It’s not,” he assured me. Just as I started to perk up, hoping they’d found something I wasn’t aware of yet, he added, “I think it’s worse.”

  My head fell forward onto the desk. I closed my eyes and took more deep breaths. And only for a brief moment did the face of a handsome stranger flash in front of my eyes. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to be up thousands of feet in the air, sitting next to him, and pretending this problem didn’t exist.

  I sighed.

  The reprieve was good while it lasted.

  Five minutes later, I walked into the conference room behind Porter and found Skye and Kat were already there. Before I even made it to my seat, I asked, “Okay, what do we know?”

  “There’s nothing new on the vlogs and social media other than what I sent you this morning,” Skye answered. “More people are sharing, and there are thousands of comments, but there isn’t any new news.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay. Well, I guess that’s good. What about here?”

  “People are scared,” Kat declared.

  “What?” I asked.

  “The employees,” she clarified. “It’s horrible.”

  When I’d asked about what was happening here, I had been referring specifically to what we knew about the actual problem and not my employees’ fears. But I guessed it was important I knew it all.

  “What do you mean?” Porter asked Kat. “I mean, I’ve seen the hushed conversations and have definitely felt the tension, but nobody has come right out and said anything specific.”

  “Yes, they have,” she argued.

  Porter shot her a questioning look. “What did I miss?” he questioned her.

  “A trip to the ladies’ room,” she noted. “I’d gone in there earlier today. I was in the end stall, and I don’t think they noticed me. Kelly and Meredith came in and were talking.”

  “What did they say?” I pressed, sitting up a little straighter.

  “They were gossiping, mostly,” Kat shared. “Sharing conversations that they’d each had with other employees, and the consensus is that everybody here is worried that Flynn Beauty is going to become the next Mal and Dew.”

  This couldn’t be for real. Mal and Dew was a brand that went out of busin
ess after a scandal had rocked their company. Hundreds of people lost their jobs. I hated to think that my staff, the people I depended on, who relied on me to secure their employment and income to support their families, were worried about the company’s fate and believed the outlook was dismal. We weren’t even a full twenty-four hours into this.

  “Shit,” Porter hissed.

  My eyes went to his. “It can’t be that bad, can it?” I asked, though it came out more like a plea.

  “Well, I went through and made some calls,” he began. There was a moment of hesitation before he continued, “Customer service has never seen a volume of calls like they’re seeing now. Wait times are lengthy. And online customers have initiated a substantial number of returns. We’re looking at easily tens of thousands in returned items. I’m convinced that number is going to go higher over the next few days.”

  I closed my eyes again and sighed.

  You need to know how to rebuild their trust.

  Deck’s words filtered into my brain, and I knew what we needed to do.

  “Okay, this is what we’re going to do,” I stated. “We’re going to recall all the winter eyeshadow palettes.”

  Kat’s eyes widened, Skye gasped, and Porter spoke. “Do you think that maybe that’s a bit of an overreaction?” he asked. “We still aren’t sure what’s happening. There’s no proof that it’s your cosmetics that caused skin irritation. And even though they were few in numbers in comparison, some people commented on social media claiming they had used the new palettes and loved them.”

  “I don’t care, Porter,” I ground out through gritted teeth. “We’re talking about people’s eyes. Maybe there’s no proof yet that Flynn Beauty products are the cause, but I’m not willing to take chances. This is my company, and I need the public to know that I’m not going to stand by and do nothing while there’s the potential for harmful effects.”

  Porter backed down. “Okay,” he acquiesced. “Whatever you want to do, Elise. I just thought that you might want to take a few days to consider what to do.”

  I shook my head. I couldn’t mess around. I couldn’t play games.

  “No. We’re acting, and we’re acting now,” I ordered. “So, we’re going to recall. Also, we’ll be hiring an independent lab to test the products. I want to know if anything has changed in that formula that would cause this problem. Skye, please get me several of those palettes here so I can personally have them shipped off and tested. I’m going to put out a statement. I’ll be drafting that up as soon as I go back into my office. After I have it reviewed by the company’s attorney, I’m going to need you to get it pushed out on every social media platform we have, Porter. In fact, while I’m working on that statement, please reach out to the attorney and have him on standby. We don’t have time to waste. And Kat, I’ll need you to get that statement pushed out to every single member of this company. We will not let this company crumble.”

  There was a long stretch of silence.

  When nobody spoke, I asked, “Are there any questions or concerns?”

  Kat and Porter shook their heads. Skye asked, “Do you think we should reach out to the vloggers?”

  My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out what the motive for that was. “For what?” I wondered.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, if we know we’re going to recall, maybe it makes sense to contact those who shed light on this who have these massive followings. As Porter said, some customers didn’t have any issues. What if the problem is limited to only a handful of palettes. Maybe we can get those back and have them tested too.”

  That was a good idea.

  I nodded. “Great idea, Skye,” I said. “I’ll get something written up now and have Kat reach out to those vloggers. Anything else?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “Okay,” I declared. “Let’s get to work.”

  At that, we all left the conference room and went to our separate offices. Just over two and a half hours later, I had drafted a statement, had it reviewed and approved by the attorney, and released it.

  All that was left to do was to wait and see what happened.

  I was the last one to leave the office, and it was no surprise I was exhausted. I’d gotten up at an early hour on the east coast. It was early here in Wyoming but after ten o’clock in New York. I needed to get home, get showered, and sleep.

  I quickly accomplished the first two of those tasks, but it wasn’t until I was about to crawl into bed that I realized I hadn’t had anything to eat since the granola bar I’d gotten from Deck. Just the mere thought of him sent my mind whirling. How could I have had a conversation with a man for only a few hours and feel such a profound effect on my body at the mere thought of him?

  As I moved to the kitchen, I thought about him even more. Mostly, I wondered if I’d crossed his mind again since we said goodbye.

  After fixing myself a sandwich and eating it, I threw the plate in the dishwasher, grabbed a glass of water, and climbed the stairs. I brushed my teeth, climbed into bed, and expected I’d fall right asleep.

  Unfortunately, as confident as I tried to be when I went into the office for my employees’ sake, I wasn’t sure if I had a reason to be.

  Apologize and accept the fact that I’m human.

  I apologized. My statement expressed just how sorry I was for ever allowing my customers to question the quality of my company’s products. I promised to do better, I swore to get to the bottom of it, and I vowed to communicate with them about it.

  I was human. Deck was right. Everybody made mistakes, but deep down, I had to keep in mind that I never intentionally set out to harm anyone. As much as I wanted to believe that it was a coincidence that people who were using my palettes had experienced the same skin reactions, I had to be honest with myself. There were too many for it to be a coincidence. I had to own up to the mistake, take responsibility, and accept whatever came my way from it.

  I just hoped that I wouldn’t lose my company in the process.

  I didn’t want to become the next Mal and Dew.

  Flynn Beauty meant everything to me. I’d worked my butt off to get it to where it was. I couldn’t allow it to collapse.

  I wouldn’t disappoint my loyal customers.

  I wouldn’t disappoint my employees.

  I wouldn’t disappoint myself.

  But I was scared. And in the dark confines of my bedroom, I couldn’t stop my emotions from consuming me. Tears leaked from my eyes, and I cried myself to sleep as I questioned why this was happening to me.

  And the last thought I had before I closed my eyes and finally drifted off to sleep was that I wished I could have met Deck under different circumstances so that when something like this happened, I would have had someone there to battle those demons messing with my head in the dark.

  Defeated. Depressed. Betrayed.

  That’s how I felt.

  It was Thursday morning, nearly three weeks since my life had imploded. Actually, that wasn’t correct. I thought my life had imploded then.

  Nope.

  That was just the beginning.

  Things had gone from bad to worse. I didn’t know how it was possible to go from trending on Twitter because your company had sent out products that were causing massive skin irritations and thinking that was the worst of it to actually experiencing worse and finding that you still had to show up.

  For the last two and a half weeks, I dreaded getting up and going to work. I loved my work. I loved what I did. I used to be excited about it.

  And now… now, I felt like I had been beaten down and broken.

  My company was crumbling—one day at a time.

  The public outrage had not died down in the days that passed, despite what I thought was a rapid response to the accusations. There wasn’t a horrible name customers had refrained from calling me. My employees were on edge. And though none of them said anything to my face about their worries, I could take one look at them and see how concerned they were. />
  To top it off, I was losing thousands of dollars every single day.

  Oddly enough, I wasn’t concerned about the money in that sense. While it bothered me that I had to recall the product at all and any financial loss was always challenging, the reason I was upset had little to do with the lost dollars. It was about my image, my brand’s image, and the trickle-down effect of all the negative publicity on my staff.

  And now it was all coming to a head.

  Earlier this morning, I received the results from the testing the independent lab had done.

  Parabens.

  Parabens were in the eyeshadow palettes. This was a significant problem for two reasons. I built Flynn Beauty’s foundation on the promise of clean beauty for the consumer and the planet. We prided ourselves on our high standards of testing all ingredients that went into our products, and there was a list of ingredients we promised never to include. Parabens were one of them.

  And even though we had a disclaimer on our website and all packaging that this was our promise, it noted that trace amounts of harmful ingredients could make it into the products during the manufacturing process.

  The problem was that the disclaimer mentioned trace amounts. What was found in the eyeshadow palettes was not akin to trace amounts. In fact, it wasn’t even a standard amount based on what other companies that didn’t go to the same lengths as Flynn Beauty to keep them out had in their products. There were toxic levels of parabens found.

  Toxic.

  Parabens were already considered toxic, in my opinion. To have high levels of them in my products was simply unacceptable.

  Upon receiving the independent lab notification, I immediately reached out to the lab that had produced the eyeshadow palettes. My plan, which I was fully prepared to execute, was to hold them accountable for not delivering according to our specific formula. What I hadn’t expected was for them to come back to me denying that it was their fault. When I pressed them on this, noting that we’d never used parabens in any of our products, they forwarded the formula they’d received from us.

  Seeing it, I felt sick all over again. I was shocked, hurt, and confused.