Page 27 of Strictly Business

“See you on Monday, Serena,” Wyatt says.

“Sure will. Have fun,” I say.

“She’ll be counting down the minutes,” my dad says, and I throw him a dirty look which only makes him laugh more.

Damn, I’m hating this stupid barbecue. I should have just stayed home. But one thing has come out of it. I know now that no matter how much Wyatt might want me, he will never let himself be with me because of who my family is. I also know, by how much even the thought of Wyatt with another woman hurt me, that I am falling for him fast. I have to nip those feelings in the bud before anything can come of them. I’m going to have to try and keep my distance from Wyatt where possible and where it's not possible if we’re working on projects together, I’m going to have to learn how to keep things strictly professional, not just on the outside, but on the inside as well. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be the only way to protect myself from more pain.

I wait a few minutes after Wyatt leaves before I pull my cell phone out, otherwise I know I’ll get teased further. My dad will say I am texting Brook about Wyatt, and I will die of embarrassment, partly because it’s true. That’s exactly what I’m doing.

“Ugh. Wish you were here, x,” I write and send the message to Brook.

“Any other Saturday I would have been. You need to have words with your Uncle Craig and make sure he consults us for our schedules before arranging social events lol. How hard is it being around Hot Wyatt and not letting anything slip? X” Brook sends back.

“My dad thought it would be funny to bring up the crush I used to have on Wyatt when I was a kid and the whole family got involved, even my gran and grandad. Talk about embarrassing. I mean I laughed it off but jeez, x,” I write back.

“Awkward. What did Wyatt say? X” her next texts read.

“Not much. He just avoided me all day so that was fun, x,” I reply.

“Isn’t it what you wanted though? Like in front of everyone, X,” Brook replies.

“Well, I thought I did, but then it happened, and I hated it and Wyatt left early and my Uncle Craig teased him about having a date and he didn’t say yes or no to whether it was true or not, but he said enough to make my Uncle Craig believe he was right. For what it’s worth, I don’t think he has a date, I think it was just an excuse to get away. But even just the thought of him with someone else, it hurt me in a way I wasn’t expecting. I really think this is more than just me liking him, Brook. I am falling for him hard, and he’s not interested in anything more than that one night we had, and I don’t know what to do other than just be cold to him and keep my distance whenever I can, x.”

My text message is like an essay, but I hit send anyway. If I go back through it and shorten it, I will probably chicken out of sending it.

“Of course, he’s interested in more. You know for a fact he is. But he’s worried about your dad and your Uncle Craig and work and shit. I agree with your tactic though. Just carry on like you haven’t got a care in the world and make sure he always sees you laughing and having fun with other people. It will drive him wild, and he won’t be able to keep himself away from you, X” Brook sends back.

“Do you really think so? x” I send.

“Yes. And worst-case scenario, if it doesn’t work, at least he hasn’t seen you moping around after him, X,” Brook texts.

That’s true I suppose. I feel marginally better after texting Brook, and I send her a thumbs up emoji.

“Ok, I’ll try it and let you know how it goes, x,” I write and hit send.

“That’s my girl, X,” Brook texts back and then sends an emoji of a heart.

CHAPTER20

Serena

Ifinish talking and smile around the room, being sure to meet everyone’s eye for a second or two. I relax a little bit when I see the faces around the conference room table are all smiling back at me. Wyatt looks happy which means the presentation went well in his eyes which is good, and the Hislop guys look happy too. I mean I don’t know them well enough to know if they’re just being polite or if they genuinely like what I’ve done, but at least they aren’t frowning or laughing. And even if they aren’t happy, Wyatt can’t only blame me as he was as excited about this pitch as I was, and I do know Wyatt well enough to know by his expression that he thinks I nailed it.

“Does anyone have any questions?” I ask.

One of the executives asks me about the cost of TV ads. I give them a run through of how the pricing works and how the more premium channels charge more money and the difference in the prices in regard to the time slots the ads run in. They go quiet for a moment and then the one who asked the question whispers to the guy next to him.

I feel a little bit worried, and I glance at Wyatt. He doesn’t look concerned, and I think maybe his clients do this regularly. I still don’t like it though. They finish and look back at me and they’re smiling so that’s something I suppose. The man who has been doing the talking looks serious again as he nods to the other guy to speak now. I realize, with a note of panic, that the new speaker is Mr Hislop himself.

“Help me understand something please,” Mr Hislop says. I nod for him to go on. “The TV ads are where the biggest chunk of our marketing spending will be going if we choose to incorporate it, correct?” I nod again. “And yet, that kind of advertising, while I agree that it reaches millions, maybe even billions of people, it is completely untargeted.”

I nod again. In theory, there is a minor bit of targeting based on the kind of show that is on at the time of the ad. For example, for Hislop’s, I would recommend they get at least one ad in a show about pet rescue or an animal hospital. Generally speaking, though, there is no real way to target a TV ad.

“So, in your opinion, would it make more sense to not bother with a TV campaign and spend that money across social media and such where we can target who sees it?” he asks.

I pause. What Mr Hislop is saying is definitely where modern thinking marketing firms are going, but Wyatt and I haven’t had this discussion and I don’t know how he feels about it. Some of the older firms are old school, but I don’t think Wyatt would qualify as old school, but there is definitely more money for marketing firms in campaigns where TV ads are included, and I don’t know whether I am meant to say yes or no to that question. I decide in the end to answer truthfully and if Wyatt is angry, well so be it. I don’t want to start out by lying to a client.

“There are schools of thought for both types of advertising,” I say. “And some products are suited to a mass market campaign, for example, soda or cheese, things everyone uses you know? But for more niche products like yours, in all honesty, I think you would get a lot more return on investment for your money by concentrating on targeted online ads. Maybe you can think about TV ads down the line if you diversify the range, but right now, I think your ideal consumer is going to be much easier to reach online.”

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