“HERE’S THE LATEST COPY of Ad Age,” Marcus says as he drops the tabloid-size magazine on my desk.
It is my job to peruse the industry trade magazines and Internet for pertinent client, brand, and competitor information and turn my research into a bullet-point summary sheet.
“You look tired, rough weekend?”
Marcus is my counterpart on the media-buying side of our agency, McKay Advertising. It’s one of the last independent agencies that haven’t been sucked into the vortex of large advertising conglomerates (e.g., Omnicom, Interpublic). Our clients are mainly from the Mid-Atlantic; we pride ourselves on being a hometown company that truly understands the culture of the Virginia, DC, and Maryland markets.
Marcus has brown, curly hair that he plays with every time we are in a meeting. He will grab one of his curls and pull at it as if to straighten, then tuck a finger inside the curl and twirl it. I don’t think he even knows that he does it. Marcus, who recently became engaged, jokes that I’m his work-wife. Our work-friendship isn’t threatening to anyone; we’re simply work-equals who give each other moral support. I’ve never met Marcus’ fiancée, Gretchen, but I’ve seen pictures. She’s blond and gorgeous. Even though Marcus is only a year older than me, he likes to provide me with dating advice as if he is so much older and wiser.
“My weekend was okay,” I answer Marcus. “Kaitlyn and I went to The Bayou Saturday night and then I ran around yesterday doing errands. I think I’m just getting a cold or something.”
“How was The Bayou?” he asks. “I heard it’s pretty cool.”
“It’s okay. It’s a little too much of a meat market for me.”
“Really? I thought you enjoyed going to meat markets,” Marcus says with a laugh.
“Yep, that’s me, a meat market connoisseur. I just love watching women parade around in skimpy outfits while guys treat me like I’m invisible.”
“So, I take it you never heard again from Mr. Text Dumper?” Marcus knows better than to call him by his real name, Zach. The coward doesn’t deserve that much respect.
“Nope.”
“You know, I could set you up with one of Gretchen’s friends? She has a friend from college who just moved to the area.”
The thought is tempting, but I am not mentally ready for a blind date.
“I appreciate the offer, but no thank you.”
“I’ve met him. He’s a good guy.”
“Good guy as in ‘nice’?” I ask.
“Yes, nice.”
“You know that ‘nice’ is code for ‘not good-looking’.”
“No, nice means nice. What are you looking for, another jerk?”
“Noooo,” I say defensively. “Okay, what’s he like?”
“I only met him once, but I thought he was cool.”
“Is he cute?”
“I don’t know. Sure, I guess. Look are you interested or not?”
“Can I get back to you? I just don’t know if I’m ready to be set up. I’ve never been on a blind date and not sure if I have it in me right now.”
“Suit yourself,” Marcus answers, not putting up a fight, which I have to say disappoints me a bit.
“Maybe another time?” I say, trying to keep the door open.
Our agency is a whirlwind of nervous energy that day. Robyn Gallagher, our chief creative officer, announced that we will be pitching for the Virginia Tourism Corporation and have a short window to create and finalize our pitch.
Marcus and I watch as the higher-ups scurry about the office, off-loading work assignments to the underlings (surprisingly, we are not caught in their crossfire), before convening in the boardroom for a marathon meeting.
I am grateful for the reprieve that comes with having leadership confined to the boardroom. It is a temporary quiet before, what I am guessing, will be another storm.
Paul Harris, the director of client strategy, is the last to enter the boardroom. He has been with the agency for several years and always swaggers around the office as if he owns the place.
“He’s such an arrogant ass,” Marcus whispers over to me, which is out of character for him; I have never heard him speak ill of anyone. He is right though. Paul is an arrogant ass, one in which our younger associates seem to fawn over.
Marcus and I watch as Paul flirts with Sarah, a young intern who seems to relish his attention. Doe-eyed and enamored, Sarah’s all smiles as she flirts back with Paul.
“Hey, Ashley,” Paul greets me as he passes by Marcus and me on his way to the boardroom. “You’re looking good today.”
“Thanks,” I answer coolly. Paul is always flirting with me too—I think it’s a challenge for him to get me to reciprocate. Fortunately, I never fall for his unwanted attention, particularly because it seems so fake and off-putting. His compliments are always double-edged, such as ‘you look pretty today’ as if you didn’t look pretty the day before. Also, he treats Marcus and the other males as if they are non-existent. Even though Marcus is sitting right beside me, Paul doesn’t even acknowledge him.
“You see what I have to deal with,” I say to Marcus. “Guys are horrible. They’re just, ugh, creeps.”
“You do realize that I’m a guy.”
“Yes, but you don’t count.”
“WHAT? YOU TURNED MARCUS down on his offer? You should have given it a try,” Kaitlyn insists when I tell her about his offer to set me up.
Kaitlyn is much more adventurous than me when it comes to dating. Unlike me, she’s been on plenty of blind dates; some of those blind dates even worked out, like her last boyfriend, Alex, who she dated for a whole six months.
Kaitlyn was set up with Alex by her mother, which goes against everything I believe in. If you ask me, that’s just playing with fire—if you do end up liking the guy then your mother’s not going to let you forget that she had a hand in your love life. I know my mother wouldn’t. In fact, she’d insist on knowing all the sordid details and say that she earned the right to know. On the other hand, if you don’t end up liking the guy, then you could end up with an unhappy mother who throws out jabs like, “See, that’s why you’re still single.”
Yep, too dangerous!
Alex was a nice guy and treated Kaitlyn like a queen. The trouble was that Alex was a bit too clingy and got upset when she actually had to study for exams.
“I can just hang out while you study,” he would say to Kaitlyn who preferred studying alone.
She eventually had to tell Alex that they needed to take a break so that she could concentrate on her studies. That excuse only kept the door open in Alex’s mind for a future rekindling. After a slew of texts from Alex, asking “how long of a break” and stating that he was “willing to wait,” Kaitlyn finally had to end it altogether . . . in the nicest possible way she could.
...
4
Mastering Martial Arts
Karate is a form of martial arts that has many physical and mental benefits. It is a discipline, a fitness regimen, and can be used for self-defense. Health benefits include improved cardiovascular health, muscle strength, confidence, focus, discipline, and mental toughness.