‘Promotion on its way, I heard,’ he said with a wink. I gave him a quick smile and shoved my jeans in a drawer. Ever the consummate pro, Heidi obviously hadn’t shared the bad news with the leadership team, otherwise Andy would have said something. It made sense to keep it on a need-to-know basis until we understood the severity of thesituation, assuming it was bad news of course. Which it surely must be. Brooke would have her own way of doing things and would understandably want her own PR people in.No. Stop it.I was spiralling. I sent a note to the team telling them not to disturb me under any circumstances and googled her. Prior to Sunseekers she’d worked in Las Vegas at The Bellagio and was responsible for a refreshed mix of water dances in their fountains and the residency deal with Adele. What else had this woman done? Invented cheese? Clearly she was a big-ideas person, or a lover of them at least. I suddenly felt anxious about meeting her. Maybe we weren’t as cool or creative as the American agencies? Maybe I didn’t know what I was talking about? I doused myself in Chanel, slid my laptop and a couple of creds decks into my bag and ran downstairs.
Heidi sat with her eyes closed the entire journey, gathering herself together and creeping me out, while I stared out the window, not wanting to disturb her process. We’d taken Excalibur on as a mid-market brand with zero personality and repositioned them as the ‘Tardis of the Seas’.Step aboard and be transported. Everything taken care of, your gateway to a smorgasbord of fantastical places. We’d had so many successes as a client-agency team, with award-winning campaigns, record sales and the share price increasing fourfold since we’d started working together. I mentally rehearsed my facts, so they’d be front of mind in the meeting. God only knew what Heidi was doing, but this was my account and my opportunity to make a good first impression with Little MissCruising Queen.
The Excalibur office loomed large above us as we got out of the cab, dominating the skyline. A skinny metal buildingwith a square head, which we’d nicknamed The Spatula. I’d walked through these revolving doors thousands of times over the years and felt as much at home here as I did back at the agency. The security guards gave me a friendly wave as I beeped us through the barrier. They saw me just as often as the Excalibur staff and had issued me with a pass to save the daily admin of signing me in.
‘Off we go,’ I said, as the lift launched us up to the tenth floor. Heidi took a deep breath, her eyes now wide open as we catapulted through the building then shuddered to a halt.
‘Let’s do this,’ she said, as the doors slid open, more to herself than me, and the pair of us marched out and nearly collided with Greg Excalibur and his entourage.
‘Hold the doors!’ he called, and I wedged my foot in as they started to close. He had an air of James Bond’s dad about him and still dressed sharp and smart despite being in his late sixties. Lithe and dynamic, his beautifully tailored Armani suit singled him out as the captain of the ship. It was clear he was the boss.
‘Morning, Greg,’ I chirped, as he strode past me, followed by his PA, his EA and two men with open laptops. All of them far too busy to put the work down for even a second.
‘Ladies,’ he said, acknowledging us with a curt nod. ‘Enjoy your meeting with Brooke.’
‘How are you, Greg? It’s been too long…’ Heidi started, as the doors slammed shut.
Greg Excalibur had been passed the family business by his father, who’d been passed it by his father before him. Three generations of men who loved being in front of the camera and the sound of their own voice on the radio.Greg wanted Excalibur to be the by-word for cruising. Like Sellotape or Hoover or Jacuzzi. To be in the dictionary and part of the British lexicon as his family legacy. For cruisers to saywe’re off on an Excaliburand for people to know what that meant. The teams on both sides had been working hard to make it happen and we were finally starting to get somewhere, so a new boss coming in to shake up the strategy would really throw them.
Heidi put her laptop on the reception desk with an over-zealous smile. ‘Heidi Caddel and Kat Brennan for Brooke Harris,’ she said to the man beaming back at us. He was wearing full crew uniform, as were all the front-of-house staff. Everything but the sailor’s hat.
‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘Ms Harris is expecting you.’
Were people still saying Ms? I’d tried it on for size instead of Miss at one point, but both titles sounded ridiculous at thirty-four years old. But then I wasn’t a Mrs either. So many words to let people know your marital status as a woman, but only Mr for men. Typical. The mahogany doors opened automatically – a replica of the dining room entrance on the very first Excalibur cruise ship – and a tall, perma-tanned lady with a head of blonde hair appeared in a flurry of green.
‘Brooke Harris, delighted to meet you both,’ she said, smelling zesty and fresh. My new best friend was all business, with a firm handshake and intense eye contact, the exchange only slightly softened by her southern accent.
‘Pleasure’s all mine,’ I said, imitating her style. ‘Kat Brennan, Business Director at Northstar PR.’
‘And Heidi Caddel, CEO. Great to meet you in person.’
My face already ached from all the smiling as we followed Brooke into the boardroom. It was an enormous space, withviews across the city, and the wooden table was polished to gleaming with tiny goldfish swimming up and down the centre section. I’d been to many a product showcase session in this room and knew it almost as well as my own flat. Greg would use the big screen to reveal the latest cruise liner to the leadership team and their agencies, with platters of Pret sandwiches and buckets of beers on the table. This was the first time I’d ever felt out of place in here. The atmosphere was awkward and uncomfortable, and I wasn’t entirely sure how to behave. Ordinarily I’d have helped myself to a coffee, made one for Fran, and got going with whatever we needed to discuss, but not today. No. Today was the Brooke show, and Heidi and I sat quietly, waiting for her to speak.
‘Thank you so much for coming in at short notice.’ Brooke beamed. ‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting you both so much!’
‘And us you,’ Heidi said, fawning over her. ‘Congratulations on your new role. This has been quite the surprise announcement… for all of us.’
Brooke leant back in her chair. ‘I know. Internally here too, of course. There’s been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to push the deal through, so I’m glad to finally be through the other side of it.’
‘Fran will be missed,’ I said, hoping to get some kind of reaction or gossip out of her. ‘We’ve worked with her for years.’
Brooke played it cool, with no sign of emotion as she answered. ‘So I hear. Yes, Fran has been great for the business, but you know what they say – a change is as good as a rest. She felt it was time to move on and who were we to stand in her way? All very amicable of course.’
Fran would never have suggested moving on – amicably or otherwise. Excalibur was her everything. They must have paid her a chunky wedge to just pack up and leave like that.
‘She’ll be snapped up soon enough,’ Heidi said. ‘These kinds of situations inevitably lead to growth opportunities if you keep your positivity glasses on.’
‘Right?’ Brooke said. ‘I’m glad you see it like that, Heidi, as that’s very much our thinking on the situation we have here with you gals and Northstar.’
The room went a different kind of quiet as Heidi and I realised we’d been talked into a trap.
‘Is it?’ I asked.
‘Absolutely! There is ahugegrowth opportunity when it comes to our PR strategy and I’m here to make it happen.’
‘Alleluia. That is music to my ears,’ Heidi said, and I wasn’t sure if she was deliberately misunderstanding. ‘Between us, Fran was never very ambitious for the brand. We have loads of ideas we’d like to present. We are here and ready to supercharge the PR with you.’
Heidi kicked me under the table and I jumped.
