Mr. Park Lane (The Mister)

That sounded like he didn’t think we had a hope of success. I tried to keep my voice even and my face neutral. “You’re not concerned you’re going to have to compromise on the quality of the work no matter who you appoint?” I asked.

“No.” His tone was decisive, like he knew this was going to be an accusation he’d have to contend with. “I’m confident that whoever wins the work will be as good at luxury as they are at pharma and vice versa.”

I nodded.

“You look worried.” Eric delivered another lupine grin before taking a sip of the expensive wine I was paying for. Meanwhile, he held the future of my business in his hands.

“Do I?” My poker face was on point. I didn’t look worried. Eric just hoped I was worried. “If you’re not concerned, I’m not concerned. After all, you’ve worked as marketing director in luxury brands for twenty years. If you can handle pharma, so can we.”

Truth was, I knew that when I walked away from lunch today, I’d have thousands of concerns I didn’t have before I’d arrived at this restaurant. If Luca Brands lost GCVB as a client, we’d lose nearly half our business—not to mention our dominance in the luxury brands space. Everything I’d built could be lost, and hundreds of jobs and livelihoods would be ruined.

Eric raised his glass. “It’s a growth opportunity. Isn’t that what they say?”

I raised my glass in return. “No doubt, we’ll both rise to the challenge.”

Fuck. I wanted to ditch lunch, get back to the office and start strategizing. The first thing I was going to have to do was recruit some pharma talent. I needed people who knew the industry. Great people. I started mentally flicking through my contacts. Who did I know?

“I shouldn’t be telling you, but the pitch won’t be a normal presentation of credentials. I’m going to ask you to create a specific campaign for a very exciting new drug Merdon is going to be releasing.”

My heart was pounding like I was sprinting between bits of bad news. “GCVB already purchased the company?”

“Yes. It will be announced today. Merdon. They have lots of great ideas to democratize the distribution of drugs.”

What the hell did that mean? “Democratize?”

He shrugged like what he was saying was obvious. “Particularly in the US market, where pharma companies charge astronomical fees until patents run out.”

I nodded ambiguously. I had little clue what he was talking about. The US pharmaceuticals market was as far outside my expertise as a market could be.

“Merdon’s strategy is to target hugely overpriced drugs, still under patent, and re-engineer them so they can be produced at an affordable price. Then they distribute them over the counter where possible. They cut out the middleman—the greedy doctors who take a huge slice of the profits. They get medicines to the people who need them for a much lower price. Isn’t that wonderful?”

The way he explained it sounded impressive. Although I don’t think I’d ever heard the word affordable from Eric’s lips before. It just seemed like such an odd decision by GCVB to enter an industry that was so very different to luxury goods. But I wasn’t GCVB’s CEO and shareholders. My job was to deal with the reality I was faced with rather than question it.

“A lot of the work will be aimed toward the US, but Luca Brands have a great track record on that front. Whoever wins this pitch will be helping people, Joshua. So instead of just focusing on making the world stylish and beautiful, this is Luca Brands’ opportunity to do something with real meaning.” It was the first time he’d tried to sell the idea to me, and it gave me a glimmer of hope that he wanted us to succeed.

“Sounds interesting,” I said, the sentiment genuine. I enjoyed my work. I loved the luxury industry and the creativity that surrounded it, but I liked to stretch myself and set bigger goals. “I like the idea of being able to do good—bring medicines to those who need them most.”

“Exactly,” Eric said. “It’s good to see you’re not totally turned off by the idea of doing something outside your wheelhouse.”

“Our wheelhouse is unique, quality brands and marketing services. And we’d be delighted to help you with Merdon along with the entire GCVB portfolio. Who else is pitching?” I’d be a fool not to ask about my competition.

Eric grinned. “There’s you, two incumbent agencies at Merdon, and I’m going to invite two fresh agencies to pitch as well. You know, just to keep you sharp, Joshua.”

I smiled as good-naturedly as I could manage. I was going to have to be more than sharp to land an account in an industry where I had exactly no experience. But there wasn’t an alternative. I had to win this pitch or watch my business and employees suffer. Losing wasn’t an option.