“I have, yes,” Penny said, glancing at her friend, who was staring at her anxiously. “She said someone might be calling.”
“Oh, wonderful,” Nigel said. “So prompt of her. Please convey my gratitude and best regards.”
“I’ll do that.” Penny took a deep breath. “Holly told me that Daniel Bedford’s publisher has a business proposition for me relating to his, um, controversial Christmas article.”
“Indeed,” Nigel said with a heavy sigh. “That dreadful essay. So unfortunate.”
“You’re with his publisher?”
“I’ve been hired by his publisher to handle the situation. My firm does public relations, reputation management, crisis response, that sort of thing.”
Penny had only a vague idea what he meant by that and normally would have asked a bunch of questions to learn more, but since she was gearing up to disappoint him with a very firm no, she kept her curiosity in check. “Well,” she said, “Mr. Bedford certainly needs all of the help he can get.”
“Indeed he does, Ms. Quinn,” Nigel said, his tone serious. “Indeed he does.”
She glanced at her watch. “I don’t want to keep you and I’m in the middle of a busy day, so….”
“Yes, of course.” His voice became crisper. “Let me explain why I called. We’re preparing what we in the public relations business call an ‘apology tour.’”
“An ‘apology tour,’” Penny repeated.
“In which the offender —in this case, Mr. Bedford —demonstrates, through media interviews and public events, how terribly wrong he was about his transgression and how truly, deeply, profoundly sorry he is for causing everyone so much distress.”
“Your plan is to get him to show the world how much he loves Christmas?”
“Exactly, Ms. Quinn.”
She paused, weighing her words. “Can I ask how you’re planning to do that? He’s made his feelings abundantly clear.”
“Indeed. You’ve identified his core challenge. An apology tour works only when the transgressor’s apology and personal transformation are sincere. Given how eloquently he explained himself in that dreadful essay, a simple press release or media appearance will not suffice.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“We’re going to have him immerse himselfin Christmas and emerge from his experiences a new and better man.”
“Your plan is to have him participate in various holiday activities and discover how wonderful they actually are?”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“And you’re going to have him do that … here? In Heartsprings Valley?”
“Your charming hamlet is well-known for its exuberant embrace of the Christmas spirit.”
“That’s true, but —”
“Snowmen everywhere, I’m told. An enormous army of them —a veritable holiday smorgasbord. Someone showed me a photo of a snow-hippopotamus. A very happy holiday hippo he is.”
“Yes, but —”
“And that town square of yours —utterly charming with all that fresh snow and seasonal decor. So picturesque. And of course the joyful caroling every night.”
“You seem to know a lot about our little town.”
“A former protege of mine — brilliant young woman, just marvelous — grew up there.”
“Oh,” Penny said, connecting the dots. “I just realized why I know your name. My friend Clara worked for you in New York.”
“She did indeed. I called her this morning and left a voicemail, by the way. How is she?”
