"By the way, did you know that Jason gave me one of his clients?"
"Oh yeah, when he was over my house the other day, he may have mentioned wanting to get rid of some new band that's been a headache for him."
Abby scrunches up her face as soon as I sayover my house.
Ha!
"They're actually a really cool group. If this Spin thing works out, I may just get them signed on as one of the opening acts for their next tour."
"Sweet," I respond with faux enthusiasm and a saccharine smile.
"I actually need to catch up with Jason, before we head in the conference room. I'll see you in there."
She's looking for some sort of reaction from me, but I don't give her one. Not this time. And it's not because I'm working hard not to give her the satisfaction, but because I actually don't give a damn about any of it.
"See ya."
I'm sitting in awe of the three beautiful men in the conference room who make up the group Spin. The guitarist Ren. The drummer Paxon. And of course lead singer Marley. After a few minutes of introductions, coffee pouring, pastries and pleasantries, Marley doesn't waste much time getting down to business.
"So everyone, we agreed to this meeting because everyone at Carson has been such huge supporters of our career, and we felt that we at least owed you the courtesy of coming in; but having said that, the three of us have already agreed that since Priscilla is no longer with the company, we're ready to move into a different direction."
My stomach drops. Along with probably everyone else's in the room. We thought that the fact they were taking the time to come in was a good sign. Or at least a sign that they were open to being convinced to stay. Now it seems as if they're shutting us completely down, before we even get to make our case.
"We're sorry to hear you say that, guys. We've shared a long and committed relationship with Spin. One that we're very invested in keeping. Why don't you tell us some of your concerns. Give us a chance to address them."
"To be honest, Pete, we stayed with the company this long only because of our loyalty to Priscilla."
"Are you following her somewhere else?"
Word around the office is that Priscilla is starting her own firm, which would make sense. Her husband started the company with his connections and money, but it was her personality and attention to detail which kept clients happy.
"We gave it considerable thought, but we've grown so much as a group, and as men, that we feel at this juncture that we need to go with a company that is more aligned with our consciousness."
"In what way?"
"Well for instance, I'm sure your office is still burning fossil fuels. We are more interested in a company that is concerned with doing business in an environmentally green building. Using wind and solar energy. Composting food waste. Finding ways to reduce their carbon footprint."
There's an uncomfortable silence in the room. My guess is because there's nothing particularly green about a prewar office building in Midtown Manhattan, and there probably won't be for many years to come. It would cost a fortune to implement some of Marley's ideas.
"To be fair gentlemen," Marisol speaks up. "We don't make decisions about office space and things of that nature. Mr. Carson owns this building, but he doesn't make building administration decisions. He contracts a management company for that."
"And that management company will do whatever the person paying them tells them to do. You're just proving my point–that Carson is a seventy-year-old millionaire who has no interest in what his impact on the environment is. On what world he's leaving for the next generation. We're not comfortable with that."
I think I'm starting to realize just how loyal Spin is to Priscilla. More than any of us realized. It sounds to me like they don't want to stay, because they now have a strong dislike for our owner. The philanderer. The out of touch CEO. And there's zilch we can do about that. So I might as well put my two cents in. This may be my only chance to speak to my favorite group of all time.
"Hi guys, my name is Sabrina. I'm an account manager here and can I just say that I totally understand everything that you're saying. I'm not going to lie, I doubt that Mr. Carson would be able to implement any of those suggestions you had in any sort of timely fashion. But what we could do as a team, is to make sure that we invest your dollars into investments that align with your ... consciousness."
Marley smiles at that comment, so I take that as approval to keep going. I start flipping through my tattered marble notebook and look for one of the ideas I jotted down for them eons ago.
"For example, what if we find a specific and local need in each city you tour in, and donate ten or twenty percent of the show's proceeds to that charity. What makes it unique is that instead of a general cause like say breast cancer, your donation would make a direct impact on the community you're performing in. Getting that community even more excited. Getting the press more excited about you, the concert, and the charity.
"And just to take it a step further, I took a look at some of your last tour dates. You had a great turn out in Hawaii, but did you know that Honolulu has a very high homeless rate in ratio to their population? A twenty percent donation to shelters in that city could dramatically impact the ability to serve more displaced families."
"That's a damn good idea," Marisol says. Backing me up like the friend she is.
"It definitely is," Peter agrees. "What do you think, fellas? Does this sound like something you'd like to hear more of? I'm sure if you give us the opportunity to brainstorm, our team here can come up with a lot of ideas that will work for you."
"Maybe," Marley responds then turns his body in my direction. "Do you listen to our music, Sabrina?" he asks.
