Page 6 of King of Wands

I was shocked and it appeared everyone else was too. King rolled his shoulders several times and seemed to be grinding his teeth. Richard shook his head. “That’s not a plan and it’s certainly not abrandwhich is the entire point of this meeting.”

“The only brand that matters is Braun-Evans,” Halifax shot back.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Whoever muttered that sentence was fed up and ballsy. I doodled several thoughts into my notebook before I realized the room had fallen completely silent. And when I glanced up, every pair of eyes was on me.

And that’s when I realizedIwas the fed up and ballsy person who’d just uttered that sentence.

Fuck. Me.

Then my breath caught because of all the stares it was King’s that shook me to my core. He blinked with confusion as if he wasn’t sure how or why I’d appeared, then heated to what I can only describe as a smolder.

“Do you have something to contribute, Miss Yates?” Jeremy was terse but not angry.

I sat up straighter and I was pretty sure I was the same shade of red as my Braun-Evans lanyard. “I apologize. I was meant to listen, not participate.”

“Well you’re participating now,” King murmured, his eyes narrowed and laser focused on me. The attention made me want to squirm because it was utterly intense to be studied so openly by a man I had the hots for. Could he see I was attracted to him? Was there a secret signal women gave off that Greek gods could detect with their superhuman abilities? Or was he simply wondering if I might fall off my seat the same way I came off the elliptical this morning?

“I’d love to hear your thoughts, Isa,” Richard said, sitting back in his seat. “This is exactly why you’re here.”

“This is ridiculous,” Halifax blathered. “She’s an intern. She knows nothing.”

“Oh contraire, my friend,” Richard quipped. “She graduated summa cum laude in anthropology and is currently completing a master’s degree that focuses on symbolism and branding in contemporary culture. We brought her in for the summer to test out the idea of having an anthropologist on the PR team. Things you’d know if you were paying any attention.”

The smolder was back. It was so intense I couldn’t look at King so I focused just past him on Richard. “Thank you for that glowing recommendation, Richard. As he just pointed out I’ve been studying how symbols affect communication and in the case of the Braun-Evans Racing Team, yes the overall brand is important, but it is also well established. What Yedlin has proven is that having an individual brand within the team creates a sense of closeness with the fans. It allows them to root not only for Braun-Evans, but more specifically, for Yedlin. It gives them a sense of being on the journey with him. When he wins, they feel that victory. His bright blue color scheme instantly signals to them a sense of belonging. Yedlin can’t share that with anyone else or it destroys the connection with the fans.”

Richard grinned. “This is my point. King is a personality unto himself. We’re missing out by not branding him as an individual driver, growing his presence online. His presence is our presence.”

I wasn’t so sure branding King as Thor was what they had in mind, but I’d be all for it. God of Racing. Maybe we could get him a hammer. And he could do photo shoots shirtless.

“And what happens when he leaves the team?” Halifax sneered.

Yep.Sneered.I’m not being dramatic.

Richard shrugged. “IfKing leaves the team he takes his brand with him. Whoever takes his place will either come to us with a brand or we’ll do the same thing all over again.”

“Such a waste,” Halifax muttered.

“It’s not a waste.” Why was I talking? I didn’t want to talk. And yet...I worried if I didn’t Halifax might get his way. And his way was the wrong way. “This is the way the world works now. Everyone is connected online. They can love you or hate you, but the absolute worst is if they feel nothing at all. Right now King has a limited but passionate group of followers. To everyone else he’s simply the kid who showed up to race. If you don’t control that narrative the fans will write it for you.”

No one said anything and I once again wanted to crawl under the table. If I were back at school we’d launch into a lively debate on the merits of a controlled narrative. I’d have a great time. But here and now, even though I knew I was right, I was also embarrassed.

It was King who finally broke the silence. “What would you do?”

“Do?”

For the first time since he walked into the room he smiled. “Yeah, if you were in charge of developing my brand, what would you do?”

Oh, God. Was I really about to do this? Put my nerdy, researched options on the table for a group that would rather I disappeared?

But the thing was, what did I have to lose? I was uncomfortable here. The worst that could happen would be that I’d get fired. So what? Sure I’d be out of several weeks of research but I could salvage the rest of my summer. I’d hop on one of the other projects and at least get some baseline data. It wouldn’t delay my degree...by much.

So I did it. I opened my big, fat mouth. “Well, your brand should be authentic. It should reflect who you are. You’re known as The King of Wands, right?”

He nodded. “It’s just a nickname they gave me.”

“Right. See? That’s why it would be a great place to start. I looked it up. You were a driver for Lee Racing, a team that uses cards and the family’s Gypsy ancestry as part of their brand. The King of Wands is a tarot card, a very specific tarot card. You’re a natural leader. You’re incredibly focused when you race.”

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