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Normally they didn’t hand off clients. Their projects were personal, one of the hallmarks of Azul. People got attached. And they all had their different strengths in social, which led to sometimes very different campaigns. Staci might not understand how to help Talia, the newscaster who wanted to build up her personal brand, in the same way that Reese did.
Kevin sliced his hand through the air, dismissing her question. “It’s also a job that requires travel. Two months. Daniel was supposed to go, but his wife is pregnant and now on bedrest, so he can’t leave.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Reese asked. She’d never met Daniel’s wife, but that sounded bad. It was hard to tell with Kevin.
“I’m sure she’s fine. You’ll leave tomorrow, Reese. If you have a problem with this, I can switch to someone else. But you’re the one that I want for this. It’s the biggest client we’ve ever worked with. I think you’ll do great.”
Reese knew there was a compliment in there somewhere, but her brain was still struggling to catch up. Staci looked just as confused. “You’re saying that I’m going to spend the next two months working with one client? And traveling? Like, out of Nashville?”
Kevin sighed. “That’s what I said, yes. Keep up. Now, what I’ll need from you is to talk Staci through your clients this afternoon and talk with your clients about this shift. We don’t want them to be unhappy with the experience and want the transition to be as seamless as possible.”
“What kind of client? Where are we traveling? I just have so many questions. This is huge, Kevin. Have we done this before?”
Kevin sighed, as if her questions weren’t completely warranted. He picked up a folder but did not hand it to her. “This is a little outside the normal bounds for our firm, yes. You’ll be touring with Sterling James and helping with an image rebrand and social media management.”
Reese could not have been more shocked had the bottom dropped out of the room. Actually, she felt like it had and now she was free-falling down six floors. Immediately the backs of her knees began to sweat. Reese fanned her face. Beside her, Staci started to laugh. Even a stern look from Kevin didn’t stop her.
“Did you say Sterling James?” Reese’s voice came out like a squeak.
Kevin glared. “Don’t tell me you’re one of his groupies or something. I chose you because you have a knack for strategy. He’s got some major image issues right now and his manager wanted someone who is a good fixer. This account alone could move Azul into a completely new client pool of bigger celebrities. Tell me right this second if I need to choose someone else.”
Reese slapped her hands on his desk. “No! I’m fine. I’ve got this. You can trust me.”
“Fine.” Kevin handed her the folder. “I’m also sending it via Dropbox so you’ll have it online. Everything you’ll need for the client is in there, plus what you’ll need for travel. His manager will be in contact with you before you go. He just got a new manager as well. His name is Morgan something. I gave him your email and cell.”
With a look, Kevin dismissed them. As soon as they were out of his office, Reese grabbed Staci by the arm and pulled her into the stairwell. Staci was still giggling.
“Girl, you’re sunk.”
“I’ve got a plan,” Reese said.
She totally didn’t. But she would. She always did. That’s why she was the one Kevin chose for this assignment. When it came to strategy, whether that was social media or board games, Reese was the queen.
Staci snorted. “How do you have a plan already? You found out about this literally two minutes ago.”
“I will have a plan. I am going to kill this account and then you and I are going to go rogue. Not rogue. Go solo. With two. We’re going duo.”
“We can’t steal Azul’s clients,” Staci said. “As much as I’d love to never see Kevin again.”
Reese waved a dismissive hand. “That’s not what we’re doing. I would never. But working with someone high profile like Sterling James is going to mean exposure for Azul, but also for me. If I can get a recommendation from him, that would be enough to get us clients.”
“I’d love to see how you’re going to get a positive review from him after your meeting this weekend,” Staci said. “Have you got a plan for that as well?”
Reese clutched the folder in front of her. The thought of having to see Sterling James again made her feel like her legs were boneless. Any moment she would melt into a puddle on the concrete floor. “No.”
Staci grabbed her chest in mock surprise. “What? The infamous Reese doesn’t have a strategy?”
“I really don’t. Can I see the video? Just … I need to see the damage. Like, how bad it was.”
Maybe she didn’t need to see the video. Staci’s pitying look told her it was bad. But she pulled out her phone anyway. Reese died slowly, a little more each time she watched the video. And she watched it eight times. Only a thirty-second clip, but so much in that thirty seconds to be ashamed of.
Reese had been nursing a crush on Sterling James for six years. Like most of the girls (and women) in the United States. Heck, the world. He just finished up a world tour the year before that was supposedly the highest-grossing tour of all time. All. Time.
He was a legit rock star, but with pop elements that made his appeal even wider. You could be a thirteen-year-old girl and like him or a twenty-eight-year-old guy and like him without being embarrassed about it. He was a talented singer, song-writer, and guitar player.
He was also criminally good-looking. Go straight to jail, do not pass go, no get out of jail free card kind of attractive.
Reese couldn’t be the only woman who had dreamed out an entire wedding to Sterling, down to the favors and the music for their first dance—the stripped-down version of his song, “Love You to the Moon and Back,” of course. But she may have been the only one who snuck into a meet-and-greet only to tell him that he was going to marry her. Or maybe this happened so frequently, he would forget all about it. Reese would just be another number in the fans who told him they were going to marry him group.
