‘I don’t know. . . I just feel like it needs more,’ he says.
‘Like more rides?’ I grill him further.
He shakes his head. ‘Like more substance. Anyone can throw a party– Evie always does things with meaning.’
He makes an annoyingly good point. Evie has always been someone that posts with a purpose, be it a good cause or someone she can lift up.
‘We could reach out to tourism boards for the gift bags– include fact cards and links to causes people can donate to,’ I say.
‘Yeah, and serve authentic cuisine from each region, from smaller family-run businesses who would really benefit from the money and exposure,’ he adds.
‘And of course, if we’re going immersive, we’ve got to go all the way. What about if we have the waiting staff in cabin-crew uniforms or traditional cultural dress?’
‘That works, then theme the invites around travel kits,’ Aiden continues. ‘I’m thinking boarding passes, custom passports. . .’
‘We could ask Production if they can make some event-exclusive passport cases just for guests as pre-event promotion.’ I throw out the idea.
Aiden nods. ‘Actually, if it isn’t too late to add passport cases to the range, they could be released on the website a week after the party. We wait a couple of days to announce it, so fans have time to ask where they can get one and then boom– surprise drop with instant sell-out potential.’
‘We make it clear that it’s limited edition– that way we not only get hype, but massive resale value,’ I say.
We both stop to catch our breaths, the rush of the back-and-forth knocking us speechless. The moment is fleeting, but it’s just long enough to notice the five now-startled faces staring at us.
Evie gasps. ‘That was electric.’
I still can’t speak. I’m forced to stare back at her silently, and by the sounds of the poorly concealed panting to my left it seems that I’m not alone.
‘Oliver, Maxwell. You heard that, right? I want all of it, just like they suggested. How possible would you say that is?’
‘Well, we’d have to look into suppliers and run some numbers, but if you’ve got the budget I can’t see why not,’ Oliver replies.
‘We can get a deck together by, let’s say, this time next week?’ Maxwell looks to Pippa for confirmation.
‘Perfect. Friday works for me,’ Evie says, flicking through her phone calendar. ‘How does eleven a.m. sound? We can swing by the office.’
‘Oh, absolutely!’ Pippa forces herself back into the spotlight. ‘We’ll get on it right away!’
The deal’s in the bag; everyone is visibly more relaxed at the knowledge. We’ve got Evie’s Summer Splash and I managed to play a part in it.
‘Brill! So we’re done.’ Evie’s eyes are still glued to her phone. ‘And I want those two leading on this.’
The sentence sends a visceral ripple through the group, ripping apart any trace of status quo as all eyes follow her pointing finger to where Aiden and I stand. I can barely process the words myself; a rush of adrenaline vibrates through my body. If this is everything I’ve wanted for years, why does it feel so terrifying?
Pippa splutters, plastering a strained grin on her face. ‘Well, as a team, we tend to work in a certain order. . . Maddison will, of course, be heavily involved, but she works in an assistant capacity. I really don’t want to overwhelm her at this stage in her career. Especially with something as important as this.’
The words drip off her tongue like honey, but I see them for the lumps of coal they really are. She was not concerned about how ‘overwhelmed’ I was when she made me take over hosting duties at our last Christmas event so she could shed some mulled-wine-fuelled tears, or when she was passing all of her incomplete tasks to me before going off for unscheduled annual leave, or while sending me off on three buses and two trains to location-scout because she just had ‘too much on’ to do the half-hour drive in her car. It doesn’t fool me one bit and it doesn’t look like it fools Evie either.
‘I believe in empowering people, especially young women in the workplace. I would never have got to where I am otherwise. I am sure you agree that if Maddison is big enough to come up with the idea, she’s big enough to execute it, right?’ she asks bluntly.
‘Oh, yes, we believe in empowerment and have a strong focus on diversity at Abbingtorn too,’ Pippa recites robotically.
Evie’s done with Pippa. Bored, even. Her eyes swoop over her head and land on me.
‘Maddison, do you feel capable of leading this, if you are supported?’ she asks, her face softening.
I’ve always known what I could do if I were just given the chance, but it feels validating to know that someone else can see it too. There’s something about the way Evie carries herself and the support in her eyes that lights a fire in me that I have not felt for a long time.
‘One hundred per cent,’ I reply, holding her gaze and trying to block out the sets of eyes burning into my skull. ‘I won’t let you down.’
