“So noted, little sis.” Riley’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she winked at a grinning Blake, exiting the conference room with everyone else. “So noted.”
Chapter 9
“That has to be Thom. Odd, he’s usually not awake this early. And none of the other three have ever called me.” Brooke frowned as she looked at her cell phone, the ring tone of “Nasty” by Janet Jackson—used specifically for the Reflex Rebranding Group phone number—causing Blake to smirk as she usually did. Brooke had just finished eating a large Cobb salad, sitting back with the remainder of her iced tea, as Blake ate the last bites of her chicken Caesar salad. The Utopia head had opted to take her femme to a cozy little diner at the northernmost tip of Whimsy, not too far from the APS headquarters complex, for lunch so they could relax before Brooke called to schedule her meeting with Thom.
Shrugging, she answered the phone. “Brooke Marino Designs,” she chirped, rolling her eyes at a grinning Blake. “Oh! Hey, Jack.” Her gray eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the team lead. “I was expecting it to be Thom since he’s the one who usually calls me.” Blake immediately moved her chair so she could put her ear right next to Brooke to listen to both sides of the conversation—the diner being too noisy to put the phone on speaker. “What can I do for you? I was going to call Thom in a bit to set up a meeting for the end of the week so I can show him the completed concept art pieces.”
Jack’s cold tones came over the line. “Unfortunately, Thom now has a conflict, so you will be meeting with Robert, Clay, and me instead. And Gene,” he added, almost as an afterthought. Brooke’s eyes grew even bigger, her mouth dropping open a bit. “Rather than meeting at the end of the week, we would prefer to see your concept art tomorrow afternoon at Cask & Canvas. Thethree of us have told Thom the timeline needs to be moved up on this because progress has been taking too long. If that will be an issue for you, we may need to revisit our contract.”
Although her eyebrows lowered and a pissed look crossed her face, Brooke ensured her voice stayed cheerful. “I’m so glad to hear you say that, Jack! As a matter of fact, I’ve told Thom on several occasions that his generosity with the timeline isn’t necessary. Full steam ahead, then! Just let me know what time you want to meet tomorrow afternoon, and my apprentice and I will be there.”
“Apprentice?”
“I’ve always hired art students to apprentice for me, which helps both of us out. I get an extra pair of hands, which is great because I’m so busy, and they can, in turn, learn a lot about running a graphic design business.” Brooke paused. “That’s not going to be an issue, is it? Neeta will be as still as a church mouse, and you won’t hear a peep out of her. She’ll only be there to observe. It’s never been a problem for any of my other clients.”
His voice dropping another degree or two, Jack nonetheless said, “Fine, as long as she doesn’t delay the process or get in the way. Be here at two o’clock. We’ll be at the far end of the bar closest to the office, since the office itself isn’t large enough to accommodate everyone. Don’t be late.” And he was gone.
Blake wrapped her arms around her irate femme after Brooke had tossed her phone on the table. “Before this is over,” Blake growled, “I’m going to use that bastard son of a bitch as target practice for being such a fucking piece of shit. Thehell, baby? Has he always been that much of a dick?”
“Pretty much.” Glowering, the graphic artist made a visible attempt to calm herself. “I think of Jack as the ‘enforcer’ of Reflex. Thom is the ‘CEO,’ Robert is more like whatever passes for a tech geek in their world, and Clay is their salesman. Ihaven’t seen Clay since I signed the contract with them, which makes sense if he’s the one hooking the fish. In any business, the salesman is on to the next prospect when they’ve landed a contract. They don’t stick around because their job is done. Frankly, I’m surprised he plans to be there tomorrow, which makes me wonder what’s up.
“Robert is responsible for their website, such as it is, although…I’m also starting to wonder if he’s the one who coordinates the money laundering layering for them in addition to creating the detail behind their actual embezzlement plans. Jack? He’s been a total asshole since day one, which is why I call him the enforcer. I feel like maybe he’s the one who makes sure the other three stay in line? One look at him and you can tell that dude is the muscle of the group.”
Blake was thinking. “In other words, Jack is the one who determined the timeline was too long; it was making him nervous, so he took steps to shorten it. Which begs the question: Why not let it ride the way it was? Why speed it up? What’s his hurry? And where is Thom all of a sudden, if he’s been your point of contact this whole time?” She grimaced and let Brooke go. “I’m not liking this shit, baby.”
Taking money out of her wallet and laying it on their check—waving the server away with a smile when she said she would be back with change—Blake sent a rapid text. “I’m going to take you home so you can get back to work to get ready for your meeting tomorrow, then I’m going to meet up with the management team in the Bunker. This is somebullshit.
“You can coordinate with Lys about the schedule change—with luck, it won’t be an issue for her student—and I’ll let you know what the team thinks when I get home. The fuck I’m playing games with these motherfuckers anymore. And if Mr. Jack Whoever-The-Fuck-He-Is thinks he’s going to keeppushingmywoman around, he’s going to find out fast what it feels like to have the collective foot of APS up his ass.”
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“This is my apprentice, Neeta.” Brooke gestured to the short, bubbly young woman standing next to her. “She will only be observing, so don’t let her presence distract you. Neeta is an art student, here to learn what happens during a client presentation. Neeta, this is Clayton Tucker, Jack Webb, and Robert Hoyt of Reflex Rebranding Group, along with Eugene Wheeler, the owner of Cask & Canvas.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you.” Neeta’s voice was hushed, her eyes wide. “Thank you for the opportunity.” She gave a small, overwhelmed gasp. “And working with Brooke is like a dream come true. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but she is a graphic designlegendin Florida!” A small hand pressed against her chest theatrically.
Oh, brother. Brooke caught her eye roll just in time. Through the hidden ear comm in her ear, she heard soft laughter from the APS management team. Blake and the rest of her team had decided to fit Brooke with a comm until this whole clusterfuck was over, teaching her how to get in touch with them immediately if she needed them and Blake wasn’t with her. A tiny hidden Wi-Fi camera with sound recording capabilities was also in the medallion of the chunky vintage necklace she wore, so the twins and the Seven could see what was going on.
“Thank you, Neeta. That was sweet,” Brooke answered demurely, then looked at the four men as she pulled her concept art drawings from her portfolio case. “Shall we begin?” Focusing on her presentation, not letting herself worry about their reactions as closely as she would have had Neeta not beenthere, she outlined her concepts, paying the most attention to Gene since he was the brewery owner.
Conscious that the Reflex guys weren’t whom she was truly interested in engaging, she succinctly but thoroughly guided Gene through her approach, stressing how it could help restore the Cask & Canvas reputation and good name in the community—although she was careful to keep looking at the three investors as well, as though she was including them. When she was finished, she answered Gene’s questions, a bit disconcerted that there had been absolutely no reaction nor attempts to engage at all by Reflex. Gene appeared suitably impressed, thanking Brooke for her time and hard work, and asked what her next steps would be.
Here we go. Brooke mentally took a deep breath, then beamed at Jack, Clay, and Robert. “I guess that will depend on these guys,” she said cheerfully, gesturing to the stone-faced men. “Although I do have a question for them, considering the process for me being hired to do this project was a little irregular. Do you mind if I ask what other breweries you’ve had a hand in turning around in the past? I notice you don’t have a client list on your website.
“Maybe a conversation with one of them could shed some further light for me on what your expectations are as far as the rebranding goes. Thom and I have certainly talked some, although I must admit he’s seemed content to hand me the reins. Frankly, that makes me a little nervous, though. While I have every confidence in my abilities, such a conversation would give me a more concrete idea of what final graphic art will be acceptable.”
From the impatient look on his face, Jack was about to be his usual dick self. Bracing herself, Brooke waited to see what kind of garbage would fall out of his mouth this time. Before he could say anything, however, Clay cut in smoothly. “Brooke, weare quite protective over the privacy of our clients. Our clients also appreciate our discretion. I’m sure, given the nature ofyourbusiness, your clients are equally appreciative that you are circumspect when it comes to discussing their operations.”
Brooke turned her beaming smile on him. “Absolutely. I couldn’t agree with you more, Clay. Although I can’t say a client of mine has ever objected if a Brooke Marino Designs prospect wanted to contact them about their experience with me. Perhaps you could ask your breweries to see if any of them are willing to have a conversation? I don’t understand why that would be a problem.”
With an expression almost as unemotional as Jack’s, Robert interjected, “Perhaps, since you haven’t been involved in investor/client relationships in the past, Ms. Marino, you might have a better understanding if you become aware that discretion between an investor and a client is a top priority. It may seem,” he hesitated for a moment, then, “almostsecretivewith how we handle the release of information, but our methods are ones our clients have very much come to appreciate.
“I am quite sure it is no surprise to you that there is much that can go wrong in a microbrewery environment. Product formulation theft, stolen assets—the list goes on and on. Keeping our clients out of harm’s way by isolating their business requirements, focusing on their needs, and establishing solid practices without any outside interference is our way of ensuring their success while minimizing the risk to them. That includes allowing them to make their own decisions on whom they might wish to speak to and whom they might not, without us violating their privacy.”
Are you fucking kidding me?What complete and utter bullshit.Nonetheless, Brooke made sure the expression on her face didn’t alter as she acted as though she was seriously absorbing what Clay and Robert had said. Finally, she shruggedas if she was done pursuing the subject. “While that is an extremely unconventional approach—and one I’ve never heard of before—the last thing I want to do is make Gene uncomfortable. If he’s happy with the references you’ve given him, I’m happy to do the same.”
Opening her portfolio case, she gave Gene smaller facsimile copies of the concept art she had done. “If you can initial the concept you feel would be the best representation of your rebranding within the next day, then call me to tell me the number that’s stamped at the top so I know which one it is, I can send Neeta to pick up the signed facsimile from you when it’s convenient. That way, I’ll be able to start the actual rebranding process as far as creating the label goes immediately. Unless you can see any changes you would like to have made now?”
“He doesn’t.” Evidently, Jack was done with being sidelined, his impatience clearly written all over his face. “He’ll text you by the end of this afternoon with his decision, so you will be able to start work right away. We’ve already wasted too much time on this.She,” he waved his hand imperiously at Neeta, “can come and get what she needs tomorrow. I assume you won’t need to interrupt us anymore after that?”
