Isabelle: No, but I’m running late. I need to be out the door in a few minutes.
Brayden: What’s your schedule like?
Isabelle: I have back-to-back sessions from nine to six in the evening. We can talk after?
Brayden: That’s when I’m attending the talk shows. Mornings?
Isabelle: During my coffee wake-up time? You like to live dangerously.
Brayden: Always.
Isabelle: Okay. But starting tomorrow, right? I’m already running late today.
Brayden: Tomorrow.
I grinned, hurrying to the bathroom and getting ready in record time. On the way to my office in Brooklyn, I got a headache. It happened a lot because mid-July in New York was horribly humid and the AC in the subway was freezing. On the bright side, I got a few more messages from Brayden. The only problem with my apartment was the horribly long commute, but it was worth it because the rent wasn’t high.
I felt like I was in high school again for the rest of the day, waiting for the boy I liked to text me. I checked my phone constantly, though I was discreet during sessions with clients—only checking my smartwatch for notifications of messages. If I got a message, I was so excited to read it that I completely blocked out what the client was saying. If I didn’t get a message, I was wondering what he was up to. And that had to stop, as I was doing a disservice to my clients.
***
On Tuesday, I woke up with a solution: I’d just leave both my phone and my smartwatch in my purse. But right now, I had Brayden on my mind. We’d agreed to talk at seven thirty.
I snapped a picture after the second coffee, sending it to him along with the caption “I’m ready.”
I sat on my fluffy couch, staring at my phone. My face exploded into a grin when the screen lit up with his name.
“So punctual,” I teased.
“I don’t want to waste a minute.”
“How come you get up so early?”
“We have a gym routine.”
“Now that I’d love to see.” Holy shit, did I say that out loud?
Brayden chuckled. “Always happy to give you a private show.”
I groaned. “Maybe we should rethink this talking in the morning thing. My thoughts are even more unfiltered.”
“I like that.”
We chatted about everything from my breakfast to his plan for the day. Before I knew it, I had to leave.
“I want to hear your voice tonight. Let’s talk after my TV appearance,” he said. “This wasn’t enough.”
“Okay,” I whispered, knowing I was going to think about the phone call the whole day.
***
During every break, I rushed to the closet where I kept my bag, checking both my watch and phone to see if I had any messages..
I was so excited, I couldn’t even explain it, especially since we hadn’t talked about the elephant in the room. I didn’t bring it up, and neither did he. But I was enjoying talking to him too much. Perhaps we could get this flirting out of our system by the time he returned, and then we’d behave.
At lunch, Sasha texted to ask if I could meet her for drinks after work so we could discuss the next steps. I agreed to it because I had no plans.
They’d done another Facebook live video yesterday from Nashville. I’d looked through the comments and wanted to discuss them with her. The talk show they went on yesterday was also streamed on YouTube, so I read the comments there as well. They weren’t as enlightening as the Facebook lives, because the band didn’t have control over the content.
I met Sasha in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel, smack-dab in Manhattan. I knew the building from my guided tours, as it appeared in a lot of movies, like Home Alone 2 and Sex and the City, but I’d never been inside. It was all plush expensive carpets, crystal chandeliers, and golden accents. The place dripped with old luxury.
Sasha was wearing a knockout black cocktail dress. I’d only ever seen her in office clothes before and noticed how lovely she looked tonight. I hadn’t wanted to change at the office, so I’d dressed casual chic this morning, with a knee-length red dress that had a deep V neckline. My favorite part was the black belt around my middle.
Just to be on the safe side, I left my phone in my purse, on mute, so I wouldn’t be tempted to look if I heard a message. I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about this thing between Brayden and me, and until I knew what it was, it made no sense to bring it up now.
“How come you’re not away with the band?” I asked after the waiter brought us peanuts and the menus.
“Good God, I don’t always travel with them. It would be so exhausting. They don’t need me with them in person. I’m always available on the phone anyway. I’ll travel with them during the first part of their tour, but I don’t go away every time. Now, let’s see what you’ve got before we start on the cocktails.”
“Sure.” I took the iPad out of my purse, and of course I couldn’t resist and also checked my phone. My stomach bottomed out. I didn’t have any new messages. Then I remembered the talk show had started. God, I was in trouble.
I showed Sasha the psychological profiling I’d done on the band and their fans and highlighted what they had in common. I’d also made a list of topics they could tackle during their live videos, or even in interviews, if the host was cooperative. It was all designed to fill in that gap the label had identified—the fans wanted personal tidbits from the band, not promo material thrown at them. And if they responded well to this communication strategy, I was certain sales would go up. I also thought they’d reach a new audience—younger consumers who spent all their time on social media and didn’t respond well to ads.
“Oh, this is wonderful,” Sasha exclaimed. “I kept forgetting to ask you about it.”
“I thought it might be useful.”
I loved giving my clients an actionable plan, and it was easy in this case. I always preferred specific instructions over vague ones.
“You know, I was antsy when I first came up with this idea. But I’m so glad I followed that instinct.”
“I am too. It’s by far the most exciting assignment I’ve done in a while.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Want to come by the cottage on Friday afternoon once they land? You could discuss this with them. I’m sure they’d love to hear it from you.”
I hoped my poker face was on so she wouldn’t realize that I already knew of their arrival—thanks to Brayden, of course.
“Sure.”
“Perfect. And now, no more talk of the band. I asked you out here to say thanks for taking on the project. Drinks are on me.”
“Oh, that’s very generous of you. Thanks.”
We ended up ordering white wine instead of cocktails, plus a cheese platter to go with it so we wouldn’t drink on an empty stomach. I liked Sasha. She was fun and easygoing.
“We were so lucky that Brayden liked you right away. Otherwise, there would have been no convincing the others.”
“I kind of got that. They listen to him.”
“He’s always been in charge. At least for as long as I’ve been with them. Thomas is easier to deal with since he’s gotten married. He was a bit of a wild card before, but now he’s calmed down and is settling into family life. I only wish the rest of the boys would find someone, but I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon.”