“Oh no, the presentation will do that,” Analise said. “I seem to remember you saying something like she won’t be able to say no.”
Eden raised her brows. “Oh yeah? Was your confidence showing?”
Randi sighed. “I’d just made a fool of myself. I was trying to dig myself out of that!”
Eden laughed. “Oh honey, that’s when you’re the cutest.”
Analise laughed. “Don’t worry, Randi. We’re all counting on you.”
The look on Randi’s face made Eden want to get up and give her best friend a hug. “Hey, no one knows marketing like you do. The pitch is going to be great, just like you.”
Eden was one of the few people who could see Randi’s doubts creep in and knew how to push them away. Randi smiled at her and Eden could see her confidence returning.
“I’d better get to work then,” Randi said.
As they left her office Eden turned to her computer.
“Hey,” Randi said from the doorway. “I’m glad you had a good time this morning with Tennie.”
Eden smiled. “I am, too. But hey, still no sparks.”
“That’s okay. Sometimes it might take a minute. Besides, you have two other dates this week.”
“I think Tennie is going to become our friend.” Eden liked the woman and was looking forward to getting to know her better.
Randi nodded and walked away.
Eden wrinkled her nose and sat back in her chair. She thought back to her other relationships and remembered feeling sparks almost immediately. Maybe this was different. She shrugged and turned her attention to the work she needed to complete today.
Randi walked into the office across the hall from Eden’s. This would be her space for the rest of the week when she wasn’t practicing her pitch in the conference room. She looked around the space then back over her shoulder. It would be nice to be able to walk the few steps into Eden’s office to run ideas by her or to just take a break.
Randi knew a lot about Hook, Line & Reader because she’d spent a lot of time there over the years, meeting Eden to go out for lunch or after work, or because she had something important to share and couldn’t wait for the workday to end. She’d even given Eden suggestions from time to time that she’d shared with Analise which in turn had been beneficial to the company. In just one day Randi had realized there was a lot more for her to learn. Yes, she was good at using social media or other marketing strategies to sell products and services, but this was different.
She was beginning to feel the pressure and importance of this presentation for the company’s bottom line. Randi was a people-pleaser and wanted to help Hook, Line & Reader, but especiallyEden. It would give her a thrill to land Cari DeWare as their newest client. Yes, she was just one author, but she could also open the door to other sapphic authors giving HLR a chance.
This excitement, anticipation, preparation, and pressure were the things that made Randi love her job. She thrived on it. Eden often chided her on changing jobs regularly, but this was why. Oftentimes, after she’d been in one place for a while the job began to feel mundane. She never wanted to become complacent, so she changed jobs, her outlook, and looked for new marketing strategies for other products.
Randi was already familiar with Cari DeWare because she’d read her books. The more she knew the better able she would be to present Cari with options. She opened her email and found Cari’s profile. She read through it and took a few notes she’d use to hone her approach to Cari’s author business. Sure enough Cari mentioned using music in her social media posts because she often referred to specific songs in her books.
Maybe it would be a good idea to invite her to join them Thursday. Randi could get to know her better and tailor the pitch even more. She knew Cari was only in town for a short time so maybe a night out listening to music would be welcome.
“Hmm,” she mumbled while staring at the computer screen.
The thought of turning Eden’s date into an informal client meeting didn’t sit well with Randi. She was supposed to be covertly looking out for Eden, not trying to gather information for her presentation. Still, Eden was the one who suggested it.
Randi sighed then looked up the contact information for Cari. She used the company phone so Cari would know who the call was coming from and punched in the number.
“Hi, Cari,” Randi said into the phone. “It’s Randi Powell at Hook, Line & Reader.
Cari chuckled. “Hi Randi. That was so formal.”
“Oh? I wanted you to know it was me.”
“There’s this thing called caller ID and I have HLR in my contacts, so I had a pretty good idea it was you.”
Randi wondered if Cari must like teasing her because it certainly felt that way.
“Seems like I’ve heard of that.” Randi chuckled. “I was wondering, if you aren’t busy Thursday night, would you like to join me to listen to live music at a local bar?”
