Kelsey woke up to an email from Quinn and Charles asking her to clear her morning schedule and meet with them at 8 am.
"Hmmmm….well, that can't be good," she thought to herself as she took her first sips of coffee. Things had been crazy, but everyone was so hopeful that Quinn was going to support them in turning everything around. She doubted, however, that they would need an entire morning to tell her about how well everything was going.
When Kelsey walked into Charles's office, Quinn and Charles were already there with what looked to be an action plan and a Smartsheet Gannt chart on the computer screens between them. Charles looked up and smiled, "Good morning, Kelsey, please close the door and come have a seat."
"What's going on Charles? You guys are stressing me out with this whole mystery meeting thing."
Quinn pulled out her phone to show Kelsey the preview of the article describing Charles's affair with one of his young assistants. "I was all for investing in the company and exploiting Liza's story as a shining example of ageism in the industry, but we can't move forward with that plan in light of this article. I was ready to back out my investment when Charles suggested a different option."
Kelsey was fuming. "Did Cheryl do this? That woman is vicious! What is our plan to stop her?!"
"Kelsey, calm down," Charles said. "The article is coming out today, and there is nothing we can do about it. But, there is still a way we can save the company. Quinn has agreed to continue with her investment plans if I step down as publisher."
"Well, that's just crazy! This is your company! We can't let Cheryl force us to make a decision like this! And, what would we do without a publisher? We can't find someone to take over for you fast enough, especially not someone who understands how things work around here?"
Quinn smiled. "That's where you come in. We'd like to ask you be the new publisher."
"What?"
Charles smiled at Kelsey. "I am so proud of you and what you have accomplished. You are a brilliant editor, and I have no doubt about your commitment to this company. With the shift to having Millennial serve as our flagship brand, it makes sense for you to be running the place. It would take a lot of work for you to get up to speed on all there is to know to be publisher, but we think you can do it. What do you think?"
"Charles, I love being an editor, but there is a big difference between running my own imprint and running a company. I have never even attended most of your business meetings much less contributed to or run any of them. How am I going to take over for you?"
Quinn said, "You're right. You would have a lot to learn, and we'd have a lot to figure out. That's what we'd like to spend the morning working out with you today. We've started mapping out the projected timelines of when you could realistically take over the various responsibilities of publisher. We thought it would be best to break up the various tasks and spread the responsibilities around right now, and then we'd all work together to get you the experience and training you need to take over. For at least the first 6 months, I would stay on to support you through the financial crisis and protect my investment. Then, we can evaluate where we are at and see if I can decrease my presence here as you gain more experience. From what I've seen, I have the ultimate confidence that you will be more than capable of making this work."
"But, the important question is, do you want to?" Charles asked. "You would be the youngest publisher in New York if we do this, and that is a great honor, but it is also a lot of work. And more importantly, as you shift to publisher, you aren't going to be able to spend as much time and energy on reading and editing. It will be a real shift in your focus. Would you be ok with that?"
Kelsey's mind was spinning. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had dreamed about being a publisher someday, but she was still a brand-new editor. And, she had certainly never wanted to Charles to have to step down so early.
"Charles, I appreciate your confidence in me, and I am thrilled that you both thought that this was a good option. But, are you sure you are ok with this? Is this really the only way?"
"We've thought about this very carefully and explored all the options. This is the only way. And, to be honest, I am excited by the prospect of stepping back and maybe eventually trying something new." Charles did look a bit excited.
"Ok." Kelsey couldn't believe she was agreeing to this. "Let's sit down and talk about how we are going to make this work."