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9
Annie
Two weeks later, we’re back in the conference room, except this time I’m not skulking in the corner of the room, ready if anyone needs a drink refill. I’m sitting up front with Enzo and Billy.
Mr. Jacobson walks in before the clients arrive, while I’m straightening all the proposal booklets. Neither Enzo nor Billy have arrived yet, telling me to stall because something must have happened to the video we prepared for the presentation.
“Miss Stewart, I’m eager to hear the new pitch.” He unbuttons his coat and puts his hands in his pockets.
“I’m excited for you to hear it,” I say.
“How are you getting along with Lorenzo?” He leans against the windowsill.
His older, more distinguished look screams successful man. Rumor has it he wants to retire soon. He spent his entire life building this company so he could enjoy a younger retirement, but with no kids of his own and since Mr. Earl passed away a few years back, he’s been waiting for someone to hand the day-to-day off to. Lorenzo Mancini seems to be the man he trusts.
“Good, thank you for asking.” I pour water into the glasses set around the table.
“Is he welcoming your ideas?”
I take a moment to think over his question. If he’d asked me three weeks ago, I would’ve said no way would an egomaniac like Enzo Mancini listen to one idea in my head. But the truth is, he’s been receptive. He’s added to my ideas and morphed his own to work around mine. The three of us truly were a team on this campaign. I’m as surprised as the next person by that, because the Enzo Mancini I saw before is not the man I’ve gotten to know. He still hangs up on me and he’s still abrupt, but he’s allowed me to be much more a part of the advertising than Mr. Beardsman ever did.
“Yes. Very. I will say Mr. Beardsman has been left with temps coming and going which…” I let my sentence trail off because like Mae told me, I have to take what I want once in a while. I realize that I don’t want to go back to working for Mr. Beardsman.
“I’m aware of the struggles we’ve found in replacing you. Let’s see how today goes and we’ll move forward from there.” He smiles, but his words pretty much mean if the pitch sucks, I’ll be back with Mr. Beardsman, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s a mental slap to remind me what’s riding on today’s success.
“Perfect.” I nod.
Elise’s voice comes through the speaker of the conference room phone. “Annie, Mr. Peterson and company are here.”
I smile at Mr. Jacobson. “I’ll be right back.”
Walking out, I inhale deeply the entire way to the front desk, doing my best to rein in my nerves.
“Mr. Peterson, so nice to see you again.” I hold out my hand.
He turns away from his daughter, Blair, and shakes my hand. “Miss Stewart, we’re eager to see what you’ve added.”
I shift my attention to Blair. “Miss Peterson.”
“Blair,” she says with a smile.
I return her smile and continue shaking hands with the other employees in attendance. We file into the conference room, and I blow out a relieved breath when I see Enzo talking with Mr. Jacobson. They part and say their hellos before everyone is seated. It takes me a second to realize that Billy is still missing. Not a good sign.
I sit down and open my proposal to find a Post-it note inside, written in Enzo’s scrawl.
Don’t freak out. Video is gone. We’re going old school with your sketches.
My eyes widen,my heart rate skyrockets toward the sun, and I look at Enzo.
He shoots me a look to say yeah, we’re kind of screwed, then stands and addresses the room. “Thank you for giving us this second opportunity to show you how we can help you achieve your goals. As you’re aware, we’ve added Annie Stewart to our team, and I say with confidence that she’s brought just what was needed to give you what we think is a winning campaign for your diaper line.”
“I hope so,” Mr. Peterson says, eyeing me.
Blair beams at me since she liked my first idea. I hope I don’t disappoint her. I’m all too familiar with what that feels like, given my relationship with my mother.
“That being said, we had some last-minute technical difficulties. We hired actors and filmed the shots, but unfortunately, the file was corrupted somehow… well, I’m not going to act like I have any idea what the technical details are, but the result is the same. There isn’t a mock commercial to show you on the screen.” He smiles to mask his annoyance. “Thankfully, Miss Stewart is a pretty great artist and we’re going to act through some storyboards she prepared to pitch our idea, so be kind. My acting skills aren’t stellar.”
Everyone in the room laughs, and I tilt my head, trying to understand what he’s talking about. We’re not acting out the sketches. They speak for themselves.
