Katie's POV:
I wake up at 5:30 am with a pounding headache. Seeing Jangie in my dreams is always terrifying, but this particular dream is even worse. I shift off my bed and head into the bathroom, reminding myself that I'm at Beverly's house. After a quick pee, I head outside to jog off the bad memory from my dream.
When I come back, Beverly is up making tea. She asks if I want one, and I accept. "Hope you had a good night's rest," she says. I reply, "Just the usual nightmare." Checking the time, I tell her that I need to take a bath because my driver will be around soon to pick me up for work.
"When you get to work," she says, "I need you to really search that box well for any information. Be sure to ask Bransley if he knows who dropped it off."
She pauses for a moment and adds, "And remember that I care about you and love you."
That's why I love Beverly—she always makes me feel loved and cherished.
On getting to my office, I learned from Bransley that an old man probably in his sixties had dropped off the package and said, "Give it to Katie." He mentioned some other details, but "94 Jugton St." was the only piece of information that stuck out. Why does that place sound so familiar?
After Rose reminded me about the meeting, I pushed my thoughts about the mysterious address aside and made my way to the conference room. The HODs were already gathered, ready to discuss the key priorities for the company.
As I sat down, I could see the excitement in their eyes—this was going to be a pivotal meeting. We needed to discuss several key strategies for growing the e-commerce business and making our next big leap.
"Let's get started," I said, getting straight to the point. "We're going to continue scaling our business with a focus on dropshipping, but I want us to increase the volume of custom products and private labels we're offering to customers."
The Marketing HOD, Emily, nodded thoughtfully. "Are we looking to create partnerships with specific suppliers for the private label products? Or will we keep it more open-ended?"
I replied, "Both. We'll continue dropshipping as a core part of our business, but we need to leverage the private label opportunity more aggressively. We can offer unique, branded products in key categories like home goods and wellness, where we can control the quality and build a more cohesive brand identity."
Finance HOD, James, chimed in, "Sounds like a great approach. We'll need to review the cost margins and profit potential for each of those private label products. We should also look at our cash flow and inventory projections to ensure we're scaling up without taking on unnecessary risk."
I nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. We'll have to work closely with suppliers to ensure high margins on custom products and optimize our dropshipping model so we're not overstocking or overcommitting."
"And what about the customer experience?" Sarah, the Operations HOD, asked. "Are we investing more in automated systems for order fulfillment? If we're scaling fast, we need to ensure things run smoothly."
"Yes," I said, leaning forward. "Automation is key. Our dropshipping system should be as streamlined as possible, with clear tracking, faster shipping, and automated customer service. We'll also invest in an AI-powered tool to predict trends and help us curate the most profitable product lines, especially in the private label segment."
John, the Tech HOD, spoke up. "The tech side will need some attention too. Our website must be optimized for both dropshipping and custom products. We'll need integrations for real-time tracking and automated marketing campaigns."
I nodded, "Exactly. We'll invest in upgrading our site to ensure it runs seamlessly for customers, no matter the product type. We'll also introduce targeted marketing, focusing on repeat buyers and personalized recommendations to increase lifetime value."
Just as the conversation started flowing, Mark, the Logistics HOD, raised his hand. "Before we continue, there's something else I think we should discuss. I overheard something unusual while reviewing our recent shipment routes. One of our suppliers mentioned the address Jugton St. in passing. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now that we're talking about expanding, it feels oddly connected. It might be worth investigating, especially if it's tied to a potential supplier or warehouse location. What do you think, Katie?"
A chill ran down my spine as I heard the address again. I hadn't connected it with the business at first, but now that Mark mentioned it, I remembered that it was the same street that Jangie had mentioned. I quickly pushed the thought aside, but the connection nagged at me.
"Interesting," I said, trying to keep my composure. "Let's keep that on our radar. If it's related to a new supplier or a business opportunity, we can explore it further. But for now, let's keep the focus on our immediate business growth. We'll circle back to it if it becomes more relevant."
The room went quiet for a moment as everyone absorbed what Mark had said. It was just an address—likely an insignificant coincidence—but it felt unsettling.
"Alright," I continued, clearing my mind. "Let's stay on track. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I'm confident we're heading in the right direction. Let's make this expansion our most successful yet."
The meeting continued with detailed discussions on each department's role in this expansion. As we wrapped up, I felt a mixture of excitement and unease. There was something about that street, something about that mention, that I couldn't shake off.