‘Who?’
‘Phil Collins. You know, pop artist? Genesis? Actor? He sang “In the Air Tonight”.’
‘Uh, nobody here knows who that it is, Abbey. Maybe it’s a little irrelevant. We are trying to build the brand’s future. You guys always want to get stuck in the past. It’s the difference between my generation and yours.’
Oh, Jake.
‘Jake, you cannot use that slogan. Regardless of whether you know the song or not, regardless of whether you know one of the biggest-selling artists from the 1980s or not. The song is the reason you cannot use the slogan. The last demographic report that came across my desk two weeks ago suggested that over sixty per cent of Delacqua’s clientele were born prior to 1985, so predominantly our customers are Gen X and Baby Boomers. If you had used them in your focus groups, with the slogan instead of just the word “paradise” – which of course people respond positively to – you would understand what the issue is … before you brought it to this meeting with the owner of the company.’ I was on a bit of a roll. ‘The issue is that the song is about a homeless woman.’
‘But that’s perfect, Abbey. Delacqua is a home for everyone.’
‘Jake, the price tag for a basic room at one of our hotels is $500 per night. I can assure you it is not a home for everyone. The song “Another Day in Paradise” refers to a woman starving on the streets and asking a man for help. He ignores her and goes about his life, livinganother day in paradise.’
‘Oh, I know who that guy is!’ one of the young marketing assistants, who had an iPhone in her hand, piped in, clearly having done a Google search. ‘He’s Lily Collins’s dad, Jake. You know,Emily in Paris.’
It was Nick’s turn to look confused, but I had Ella and Netflix and no life. I knew what they were referring to. Summer was probably a bit young.
‘You guys really don’t know who Phil Collins is?’ Nick asked.
There were a few grumbles and shakes of the head. ‘“Easy Lover”? “Invisible Touch”?’ Nick waited patiently before standing. ‘Okay. Well, we are back to the drawing board with this one, team. Let’s see what else we come up with. Jake, I’ll just get you to run it by Abbey before we meet at this level again.’
We sat as they filed out, dejected.
‘Who the fuck doesn’t know who Phil Collins is?’ Nick said irritably.
‘Jesus, are wethatold?’ I said incredulously.
‘Good save. I wasn’t listening.’
‘I know. Are you—’ I stopped and attempted to rephrase what was going to be a personal question. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘I’m a little flat.’
‘That’s because of everything that’s been going on.’ I couldn’t shift the caring notes of my voice.
‘I guess.’ He swallowed. ‘Why don’t you head home. I’ll send a car to pick you and Ella up so you don’t have to drive.’
I nodded. ‘Okay. That’d be nice. Thank you.’
‘You know what my favourite Phil Collins song is?’
I shook my head.
‘“Groovy Kind of Love”.’
I smiled despite myself. I’m not certain what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.
‘What’s yours?’ he asked quietly.
‘“Against All Odds”.’
He nodded and that smile he had that never quite changed his face appeared. ‘See you tonight, Abbey.’
Oh, boy.I was so desperately in love with this man. I was headed in one direction. Heartbreak.
***
The family dinner was a bad idea. Full stop. I had these clear thoughts as I dressed and prepared to meet him. It was difficult for me to enforce any of the boundaries I tried to implement with him because of how much I wanted and loved him. He was like a tasty loaf of bread on a carb-free diet. I definitely had a bad feeling.
