Meeting Grace Bleam

She walked out of the car in the large courtyard of a hotel. People were arriving all dressed up. Emilia felt a sudden anxiety. Many women wore outfits which were much closer to what Patrick has send her. She was unquestionably an outsider. She took out the invitation from the envelope and followed the crowd. Her free hand was clutching her bag to hide the nervous shaking.

"Good evening, ma'am." The lady smiled at her at the desk as it was Emilia's turn. "May I ask for the name on the invite?"

"I'm here on behalf of Mr Christopher Hayden." Emilia answered shyly as she passed her invite. She tried to speak as quiet as she could as to not draw attention. The woman seemed doubtful until she saw the invitation.

"Oh." The woman uttered as her eyes opened widely. "You didn't have to wait, ma'am. I'm sorry!"

"It's not a worry." Emilia smiled.

"Let me show you to your table, ma'am."

"Thank you."

Emilia followed the woman in a suit through the busy room. She felt the burning gazes of the people around, but she tried her hardest to shift the focus to the decor of the huge hall with many round tables and hundreds of guests.

"There you go, ma'am. May I do anything else for you?" The woman asked as she pointed at the empty chair.

"No, thank you."

Emilia looked warily around the table. There was still an empty spot beside her, and another one was occupied by a young woman who seemed close in her age.

The empty chair made her a little more anxious.

She suspected Mr Hayden to sit somewhere else at the VIP table, possibly with his new wife, and not even once did it cross her mind that the empty spot was intended for him.

"Good evening." Emilia said as she approached the table and sat down in the chair intended for her.

"Oh, good evening." The young woman turned around instantly and welcomed Emilia with a friendly tone in her voice. "I don't think we met yet."

"No, we haven't. I'm Emilia Vincent."

"Nice to meet you, Emilia. I'm Grace Bleam." The woman shook her hand. "And this is my brother, Jacob Bleam." She pointed at a young man on her other side. Jacob stood up and shook Emilia's hand as well.

"Nice to meet you."

"So, Emilia, tell me about yourself." Grace was paying Emilia her full attention.

"Hmm…" Emilia considered the question carefully. "I have very recently started a new work and hence I'm here but I've spend years working in research. I enjoy a lot of mundane things, from reading to crafts. I went straight from being a uni student to picking up granny hobbies."

"New job? How exciting!"

"What about you?"

"I'm working on my own business at the moment. Kind of a start up. I've worked for years for my father so I thought I might as well try the business venture myself. I work along with Jacob on it. He is definitely more of the business person and I'm more of a designer and conceptualisation person."

"What kind of business?"

"We created a brand for sustainable fashion. This includes cosmetics and accessories as well."

"That sounds fantastic! What's the name?"

"It's Earthly."

"I've read about you in the Business Magazine! That's incredible."

"Thank you."

"I saw the children's clothing you advertise. Marketing wise it's spot on."

"Again, thank you. We're looking to launch some new lines for the women in the coming weeks. Do you want to see?"

"Of course."

Grace took out her phone and started showing the pictures to Emilia.

"What do you think?"

"I love the wrap dress so much. I think you can advertise it to touch on the new market that isn't as catered to. These look easy to put on so they might be very good for people with physical disabilities and mobility issue. You might also get some back up within healthcare as many carers might love them for their patients. Not only that, the shape seems almost customisable because of level of adjustability. You can cater to wider size range. And last, but not least, it might be great as maternity wear and for new mum's. It seems accessible for breastfeeding."

"Those are some amazing ideas!"

"I was reading a very good book recently on disruptive innovation theory. Many start ups can be truly successful by tapping into the new user markets."

Emilia was in her own element as she spoke of the book. Grace and Jacob were both listening attentively and they had an amazing conversation.

"It's a pleasure to sit next to someone so easy to talk to!" Grace said not much later.

"If I am to be honest, it is the first time I'm attending an event of this type and I was so nervous that I was going to sit next to someone very different. I must admit, I was happy to see you in the seat next to me."

"Truth be told, I was warned that Christopher Hayden will sit at our table and I was panicking that he will sit next to me. I can only imagine how awkward it would be." Grace admitted. Emilia looked at the place next to her, realising that Mr Hayden might sit next to her after all. Her heart started pounding but she soon forgot all about it when Jacob asked the question.

"Look, I think that you're charging the wrong user for your services." Emilia took a paper napkin and a pen out of her clutch, quickly scribbling something on it while explaining the potential business model she had in mind.

"That is very interesting." Jacob said and it sounded sincere.

"You can reduce end-user cost by working with brands who already have sustainable ranges but are not known for it. You can charge them by taking a percentage off the sale if they advertise through your site. It will expand your range much quicker while you build your brand." Emilia was quickly describing her idea in a very passionate and animated way as the seats by the table started to fill up.