"Emi," I said with more pity than I meant to.
"Really, Lex, what am I doing wrong?" She raised her hands up to the heavens as if the ceiling tiles knew the answer, before swinging them down with a mournful sigh.
"Emi, you've done nothing wrong. Maybe it was just because I was the first one to walk through the door this morning so Mr. Radcliffe chose me."
"Your attempt to make me feel better is pathetic, but appreciated." She turned to face me and gave me a small smile. However, the smile was brief and an exasperated sigh sent her plummeting into her chair.
"Think of it this way. This is the perfect chance to prove that Mr. Radcliffe was a fool for not choosing you." I rolled my chair over to hers and placed my arm around her shoulders. "Look, we both know Colin is pretty incompetent." She didn't answer with words, but instead a grunt of approval and a slight roll of her eyes. "I mean, he does a decent job keeping everyone on the ball and making sure projects get done, but he doesn't have a creative bone in his body. We both know he's going to unload the majority of the responsibility onto his team and that's where you can step up and be the real leader. Then, when you put on the most fabulous ball this city has ever seen, Mr. Radcliffe will surely take notice and give you the credit you deserve."
"Or I'll take on more than necessary and be held responsible when the gala holds a striking resemblance to a dumpster fire..."
"Well, if you go in thinking like that."
"We've got one month Lex, how can I not think that?" Emily pulled herself up from her chair and began to pace the cramped office. I pushed my chair back to give her the space she needed to work out her frustration.
"Yeah, don't think that's not lost on me," I said with my own bit of frustration pulling at my words. "What could Quinto possibly be thinking?"
"That he has money and he knows how to use it." Emi rolled her eyes and waved her hand as if she saw dollar bills just fluttering away. "I'm not sure people like him understand the real cost of things. Or in this case the actual limitation time can present. No matter how much money you throw at it."
"Yeah, kind of defeats the purpose of the event if we put so much money into securing a venue and vendors, that the ticket money is mainly spent covering costs."
"I'm not too worried about that. Usually the bulk of the money we bring in at these galas come from additional donations. Still, the man could use a taste of reality."
"I imagine," I said with a laugh that was only mildly envious, "that he pays a chef handsomely to taste anything but reality."
"Well, as long as that's the same chef working the gala and I get to have one blissful night eating a fantasy for free, then whatever."
"Well, make that your initiative on Colin's team."
"Oh there's so much to do," cried Emi as she buried her face in her hands.
Before I could figure out some way to comfort not just Emily, but myself as well, a knock at the door shook both of us from our self-pity. We snapped up and looked to the wall that separated us from the Pit. Both the door and wall were completely glass so that we still looked a part of the group even if we were given a small measure of quiet and personal space. It also meant we could see whoever stood at our door, just as much as they could see us.
"Come on in Mr. Radcliffe," I said, with a forced smile. Neither of us had ever tested the effectiveness of the soundproofing in the room and I wondered if the glass allowed our voices to be heard just as easily as we were seen.
"Alexis, it's time to meet up. Emily, Colin is waiting for you in the conference room." He wore a tired smile as he gestured towards the long room against the back wall of our floor. It too only had glass separating it from the Pit.
With a curse on her breath, Emi picked herself up and ran for the door.
"You ready?" This time a slightly amused grin greeted me and it lightened up his often haggard expression. The newness of the experience brought a smile to my own face and I wondered if I only got to see this because we were partners now or because I'd just spent more time with Alec in that one day than I usually did in a month. I felt that blush bubbling up again.
"Right, let's go." I grabbed my tablet and thanked Alec as he held the door open for me. We made our way to the Pit, where our little team of five awaited us on the couches.
"Well," Alec said, greeting the group, "Ryan, Dennis, Cynthia, Jean, and Theo, welcome and I look forward to working with all of you on this. So let's get right to it. Thankfully, I learned about this project last Friday so I've had a chance to spend this past weekend devising a game plan for us. Our big pushes will be social media, a commercial, print ads, and an interview with the local news."
I took a seat by Ryan, who welcomed me with a friendly smile. I then pulled out my tablet with intent to take notes. Though I knew most of our main areas of interest, Alec didn't have the time that morning to tell me much more than that. So I made it my job to start recording the finer details of our plans.
"Jean and Theo, I want you two focusing on social media since you both already work the community side of the company."
Obvious choices. I felt certain neither of those two were surprised to have been placed in the marketing team.
"Ryan, I want you leading the commercial with Cynthia assisting."
A few months back, Quinto's rather rambunctious son — who also happened to be company president — decided to have a little too much fun out in the Caribbean. Ryan came in to save the day by devising a rather impressive script for a spin commercial. He regained some respect for the company and since then he was known as the go to guy for commercials. As for Cynthia, she was probably the least happy to see me where I was. She'd been at Quinto for seventeen years and had seen nearly six different departments during her tenure, and had been passed on to us about two years prior. She's a terrible gossip, but her nosy nature gives her good insight on how the public thinks. Though I didn't envy Ryan for having to work with her, I understood why Alec stuck her there.
"I'll work on the print ads with Dennis and Alexis will be doing the interview."
"What now?" I asked, my hand sliding across my tablet screen as I snapped my head up to face Alec.
"You'll be doing an interview next week with Mariska from Mornings with Mariska." He gave me an expectant look, waiting to see if I had more to add after learning I'd be sitting in the hot seat with the city's biggest television personality. A diva that was known for her lack of mercy.
"Great," I said with a smile.
"All right then, let's start talking details. I hope you all brought lunch, because we're going to be here all day."
Fantastic, I thought. My day just kept getting better and better.
***
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A Charitable Scandal
Romance*COMPLETE* Alexis "Lex" Jeffries has survived her fair share of quick spin stories and opulent company events during her years in Quinto Technologies' Public Relations Department. However, none of it could prepare her for being tasked with marketing...
