Can't Let You Go

***LIAM***

"We've had Cheryl Miller- Do you know her?" Carter stops mid sentence to ask me at the meeting Uncle Robert called first thing Monday morning.

"Social media and outreach manager."

"Yes, her. We've had her searching and doing preliminary interviews with interior designers following your suggestion. Dad and I have chosen our top two. Both are fairly new to the field. One only has two million followers, but he's got young celebrities and socialites on his client list. The one we're meeting today, hasn't had any glamorous clients, but she does have ten million followers."

Uncle Robert's intercom buzzes and one of his assistants tells him the guests are here. He tells him to send them in. A woman I don't know opens the door, but I realize immediately that she must be Cheryl Miller, because the two people who follow her are Emily and Ashton.

"Good morning," she says as they file in. "These are the Misters Hazen. Robert, Carter, and William. This is Emily Smith, interior designer and content creator, and her manager Ashton Scott."

We all sit and Uncle Robert and Carter both make opening remarks, probably praising her, but I can't pay attention. I'm trying very hard to not stare in disbelief. Is this why Emily was determined to apologize to me over the weekend? She wanted to be on my good side before this meeting? Carter nudges me and takes me out of my reverie. He hands me a bound document. I flip through the pages of post samples and basic social media stats for the last six months.

I take out my phone and search for Emily's account on Snap'd. Without looking I scroll down the feed as I try to listen to the conversation. I want to get farther back than six months. Ashton isn't saying much, but he keeps glancing at me. I check my phone every now and then to see what the posts are. I finally get to her feed from before she started posting design images.

"Will -- Will --"

I vaguely hear my name and Carter nudges me again.

"Oh, umm, sorry I was just looking at Ms. Smith's feed."

Carter leans over to peer at my screen. If he has a reaction, he keeps it to himself, but I'm surprised he can.

"Will," Uncle Robert says again, "I was asking if you had any comments or questions."

I clear my throat. "Cheryl, I only see six months of basic stats here. Why is that? I asked for five years of analytics."

"Trends change so quickly on-line. Content isn't necessarily relevant when it's older than that."

"I'm sure that's true from a marketing standpoint. That's the department you work in, right?"

"Yes, and my degree is in marketing."

"But from a design standpoint, and more importantly from our client's standpoint, we want style that will stand the test of time. It's far too costly and inefficient to redecorate a hotel every six months, much less a whole resort complex. I think we need to see how Ms. Smith's older design work is received when it's reposted."

"Sure, no problem. I can do that later today," Emily says.

"Cheryl," I continue, "how long does it usually take to build up a subscriber base to ten million?"

"It depends on the content genre and preexisting fame of the person behind the account, but for an average person, it takes many years."

"How old is Ms. Smith's account?"

"I started a little over seven years ago." Emily speaks up again.

"Cheryl, I'd like to see the long term growth of subscribers, by month, over the life of the account. Can you please inform the other designers we're considering that we want lifetime stats of member growth. It's fine to leave post reach and comment numbers at six months."