Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
It’s making me feel hopeful this could be more than an exchange of work intel, and I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.
ElizaBeth: Seth convinced Madeline to have a late lunch with him this afternoon after a lot of sweet talking. It was the same ol’ song and dance routine he used with Laura, but this time, it worked. I don’t know if he got anywhere at lunch, as they did not invite me to attend a meal, as you so graciously just did.
ThunderStruck: The gracious offer is still there.
ElizaBeth: And I wish I could take it. But I can’t. Goodnight, Beau.
ThunderStruck: Wait… That’s it?
ElizaBeth: Yep. That’s it. I need to get to bed. You know, to work in the morning.
ThunderStruck: You think we should accidentally meet in the break room? Say around 9:30 a.m.?
ElizaBeth: LOL. No, I do not.
ThunderStruck: Still worried about your whistleblower status?
More like, worried about you realizing that your Mystery Woman isn’t a mystery at all. And downright terrified over what your reaction would be if you found out.
ElizaBeth: Something like that. Night, Beau.
ThunderStruck: Sleep well, Mystery Woman.
In my dreams, Mystery Woman is replaced by June, and Beau doesn’t just tell me to sleep well tonight, but every night.
Too bad my dreams have never been much of a glimpse into the future. If they had, Beau and I would have been together a long time ago.
Every week, I have a check-in meeting with my team to discuss the various accounts we’re running. But as of a few weeks ago when the Midnight campaign was added to our already overfilled plate, all things Hughes International have become our biggest priority.
And today’s meeting showcases that tenfold. It’s all we’ve been discussing since we stepped through the conference room door.
“How are the mock slides coming along, Jay?” I ask, directing my attention to him.
“Good.” He nods, looking down at the screen of his laptop as his fingers quickly scroll through whatever is on the screen. “I got confirmation from Ned in Content, and he anticipates rough first drafts will be ready by end of week.”
“Did you manage to get him the font changes we decided on yesterday?”
Jay frowns and fidgets with his pen. That’s a no if I’ve ever seen one, but I get it. We’re fucking swamped right now. My team alone is responsible for nearly thirty campaigns, not including Midnight, and that means burning the wick at both ends.
I can hardly fault Jay for a mistake I could have made myself just as easily.
“Get those to him by today, okay?” I request. “Otherwise, the mocks are useless. If we can’t see the vision completely, we might as well be blind.”
“And if he says that will delay us?” Jay questions. Uncertainty sits in his eyes, and I smile to break some of the tension.
“I think we need to go ahead and anticipate a delay. But push him to get it to us by early next week.”
The last thing I’m going to do is ream his ass. Now, if he doesn’t manage to get the mock slides updated at all, that’s a different story. But Jay is reliable, and I’ve never found it conducive to productivity—or, most importantly, creativity—if the members on my team have chests full of anxiety because they’re afraid of me.
Leadership is a delicate balance of encouragement and accountability. And an iron-fisted ego isn’t the way to achieve that. I have my father to thank for that knowledge. He’s a great leader because he doesn’t inspire his employees to have confidence in him. He inspires them to have confidence in themselves.
Now, Chris McKenzie is another story. He’s harsh most of the time, and if it weren’t for my father’s true understanding of leadership, I honestly don’t think Banks & McKenzie Marketing would be where it is today. They’re the definition of a good cop-bad cop dynamic.
“Will do,” Jay agrees, typing out an email as he talks. “Sorry about that, Beau. I can’t believe I forgot.”
“No worries,” I answer, clasping him on the shoulder. “We’re all ten feet under right now, Jay. Setbacks and mistakes are going to happen, and we’d rather them now than at the charge to the finish line.”
Jay nods, and I move my attention to Laura, who sits directly across from me at the conference table. “How many versions of copy do we have?”
“At least fifty so far,” she answers. “Though, most of our focus has been for the digital space, so character limit is prohibitive. Should I get something else going for print and editorial?”
“Yes. I’d like to see at least twenty long-form. I’m pretty confident we’ll get placement in Cosmo, Elle, Men’s Daily, Fitness, and Good Housekeeping from our past connections, but I want to have this in every major magazine on shelves. When Susie Somebody picks up her airplane read in Hudson News, I want Midnight to be unavoidable.”