"I am right behind you," I called after them.
"Did you see him?" Olivia whispered.
Di let out a hum of agreement, "The Hunk Fairy really outdid herself with that one." They stared at my empty door frame for a couple more seconds before returning to me. "Who was that?"
I panicked for a second. I knew as soon I say the name Di would get that evil smile on her face and I'd never hear the end of it. But I am screwed no matter what because as soon as she realizes that Mark literally gave her the answer, I would still be mercilessly teased anyway. I moved ahead of her brain and gathered my things for the meeting.
"OH THAT—" I closed my door on her revelation.
I weaved my way through the halls of our busy office. The sky-blue walls were a great contrast to the noir theme of my office. On them was every cover mock-up of our fairly new magazine, framed and freshly dusted. I approached the Conference room and heard a deep chuckle that I instantly pegged. Mark rarely laughs in the office, as he tries to keep the Gruff Old Man persona. A persona that is really only in his head, but we prefer not to shatter the illusion.
"Mark," I heard Henry ask, "How are you able to function with such a small crew? I was talking with your Human Resources Head and she was saying that you only have twenty-five people on the payroll."
Pride welled up in Mark Emerson as he addressed the underlying question. "It is amazing that we can function with our small crew, and turn out a magazine with a monthly worldwide circulation." #humblebrag "We have a deal with a company that prints for us but everything else is completely in-house."
"What made you get into the magazine business?"
"Well Henry, you are going to have to ask Gracie that question," Mark deflected. Interesting… he normally loved taking credit for this project.
"Did I hear my name?" I entered the room. The cliché made me cringe a little but the cue was so obvious I had to take it.
"Perfect timing," Mark smirked, "Henry, is looking for a Classic history lesson."
"Oh?"
"Just curious how you guys got started," He shrugged.
"Well, it is not that long of a story… if you have a minute," I challenged. He set down his briefcase and mockingly gave me his attention.
I began, "This paper is a joint project of my father, Mark, and me."
I was taking a college course on journalism and the professor kept preaching the amazing use of Spin. "Spin" is just sugar-coated lying and that did not sit well with me. I came home complaining and Mark was coming off his job as editor of the Chicago Times complaining about the same thing. My father made the comment that if we didn't like what was going on then we should change it. I went back to school the next week trying to decide how I would change the messages being heard. I was in the dentist's office for a checkup when a headline popped out at me, "Looking to lose that hateful weight?" I watched a preteen, not unhealthy, look at the words, sigh heavily, and touch her waist. My heart broke and I knew that was what I needed to change, the negativity of creation.
I worked on details for about a month. I prayed every night for God to show me something that would shut me down if I wasn't on the right path. The more I prayed the more doors God opened. Olivia had recently done a couple of modeling gigs while studying for her Studio Arts Degree but had been thinking about continuing the career if she could get in with people she trusted and could control the image she was sending. Di had always dreamed of creating her own label, she would design clothes and use Olivia as a mannequin all the time, so this was right up her alley. I knew that this was going to be a ridiculous venture and one that would probably fail in a heartbeat, but I knew God was asking me to try.
Over family dinner one night I pitched the idea to my father and Uncle Mark… and well the rest is what you see. Mark loved the idea of running his own magazine, Dad relished the idea of investing in his family, and I was looking forward to trying to change the world one teenager at a time. As soon as my father was able to approve the funds and other investors we got to work, and Livi and Di were quick to jump on board. Jack Healey was the first official hire with Link coming in next. Since then we have gained a few more hands but have simply wanted to stay a tight-knit family.
God has really protected and nourished our company as Mark and I try to make sure that everything we do glorifies his kingdom. We do not publish anything harsh or negative, we make sure that every article is laced with the challenge to love yourself no matter what your shape. Olivia is a supermodel and for good reason, but we have never touched up her pictures or altered anything to produce a false image.
"Wow," He whispered.
"We get it," I finished, "we aren't Cosmo, but we truly believe that our message will resonate with our audience better and longer than Cosmo will. My question is how did we get on Woodworth Gaming's radar?"
"Leslie Woodworth is the one that first brought you to our attention," He quickly answered, "She heard Cole wanted to experiment with some cosplay options, and Leslie has been praising your designer for a while now. So she convinced her son to think about it."
"What cinched the deal?"
"Probably the same as you," He suggested. "Our team works to promote the good of the world. If we were going to do something like this at all we would want to do it with a team that looks to promote positivity and fun. Plus, Classic Fashion is the first magazine I haven't thrown in the garbage in a long time."
"Good to hear," I smirked. "Well now that you've had the history lesson, shall we get these papers signed to make this partnership official?" I inwardly cringed at the phrasing. The phrase itself was perfectly fine, even appropriate but my heart skipped at the possible unprofessional implications. I met Henry's cheeky grin and just pushed past the embarrassment.
"What are we looking at," Mark thankfully interrupted.
"So we were able to secure permission to use some other more well-known video game likenesses from Mario Bros, Sonic, Halo, and Final Fantasy. Woodworth Gaming has a plethora of other characters that are perfect for cosplay, so we would like to stay front and center of the issue."
"Then why the classic throwback characters?"
He looked at me with feigned horror, "Isn't this 'Classic' Fashion? We have to have some classics sprinkled into the mix." He winked and returned to the explanation of the documents. After a few more questions and some stern standing on the creative process for both sides, we were in agreement and the papers were signed. For the next month, Woodworth Gaming and Classic Fashion were partners.