“And that’s good news for us how?” Caryn crosses her arms. “We’re meant to start our campaign in…. Not now honey, go ask your father.” Caryn stops mid-sentence to address another child who bursts into the room to ask help with her homework.
I need to railroad her.
Offer her something they can’t refuse.
“Part of the deal Connie cut with bothGMAandThe Viewis that they also have to talk about the Brewed campaign during the segment. Both shows have agreed to have a server come out and deliver one of Brewed’s signature Christmas drinks to the hosts.”
The heat rises on the back of my neck.
I’ll worry about getting Connie and the TV shows to agree later.
Right now, I need to focus on getting these two women on board.
“That’s great news.” Chloe writes down what I’ve said, but Caryn remains stoic, almost unimpressed, despite the fact that I’ve just offered them two TV opportunities for the campaign that were part of their original list of requests.
I can hear the cogs turning in Caryn’s head, calculating what that means. They are the same cogs that turned in mine when Connie flagged the TV shows for me. Are they using this as an opportunity to clean up Alexander’s image? To sway Grammy voters? To milk the story for all it’s worth?
“And the bad news?” Caryn unfolds her arms.
“We’ll have to scrap the Albuquerque event, but I’m sure you can agree that the 2.4 million person audience fromThe Viewand 2.6 million viewers watchingGood Morning Americawill more than make up for our change in plans.”
“And the rest of the activation events?” Her tone is brisk, like a breeze trying to force me off a tight rope strung across the Grand Canyon.
In my mind, I dismiss her briskness.
Caryn’s always been lovely to me. A straight shooter but lovely.
Maybe, like me, she’s just over this drama.
“All the other activation events from Wednesday through Sunday next week can still go ahead as scheduled. We just need to readjust the routing to and from NYC.”
“Are Alexander’s team expecting us to pick up the costs?”
“A contribution. I can send through what the expenses would be.”
Paul has already pushed me hard to get their flights, hotels, and ground transportation for the interviews to be picked up with nothing in return. Which gives me room to negotiate for Brewed to be featured on the TV shows, if I can get Brewed to agree to a contribution.
“Please do. I’ll run it by the team first thing and circle back,” Chloe notes.
“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Caryn’s eyes give me a once-over.
“No. That’s it.” My voice cracks slightly.
They don’t need to know about the rest of Connie’s email.
A flurry of fireworks in my stomach is set off simultaneously when Alexander, naked except for a towel, greets me at his door. I grip the door frame tightly at the sight. Despite everything that’shappened between us and his changing looks, the attraction hasn’t wavered or left. It’s permanently on, like an annoying car alarm that can’t be silenced.
“Hey.” His Oscar-winning smile lifts his beard upward.
“Hi.”
My pulse quickens as I enter the room before anyone in the hall can see. I’d already declined his offer of booking adjoining rooms to avoid detection. The temptation of being next door would have been too much. Instead, I chose a completely different floor, at the opposite end of the building.
Healthy distance.
Healthy boundaries.
Alexander looks fresher than I expected. His physique is slimmer, yet he is still ripped. The drawn face that greeted me in September now looks much more rested. His sparkly blue eyes are no longer bloodshot and wired. Maybe I could do with two months at a treatment facility.
