B-Roll to B-Sides (PR Girls & Instalove 2)

“Black, thanks.” I sat down, and was pleased that she sat beside me. Then it clicked. “You’re the one who had the idea to do a documentary on forty-fives.”

“Yes.”

Her soft smile was absolutely adorable, but she was looking at me very oddly. She was clearly in her early twenties, and seemed like the quiet, thoughtful type. Perhaps she was nervous around strange men, or new coworkers. Or maybe I should stop staring at her like I wanted to devour her.

Jonathon came striding into the room, nearly shaking my hand clean off. “Owen,” he chuckled, plunking himself in the chair on my other side, “Great to see you again.”

His hair was graying a bit more at the temples and thinning above his forehead, but he still reminded me a bit of my father in his younger days. They were old university friends, and stayed in close touch for years. Then my dad became unwell, retiring to a home in Florida where he could shuffle along the beach under close supervision, not needing to know what year it was anymore.

Luckily, Jonathon still hired people from Teal Dot as often as possible. Partly out of respect for my dad, and my brother Joe who took over his media company.

“Great to see you, too. Your agency seems to be doing well.”

“We are,” he said, nodding to Brynn, “Because we keep hiring ferocious little go-getters like this one.”

The soft flush across her cheeks from the praise made my hand twitch, wanting to reach out and hold hers. I’d never been so instantly attracted to a woman in my life.

“Here’s the deal,” Jonathon said, turning to face the two of us. “Silversong Records is a dinosaur. They’re old-fashioned, and they like it that way. They’re not growing, but they want to maintain a steady income flow. I think Brynn’s idea to do a series of short documentaries about the history of music, and the record manufacturing process, is brilliant.”

I turned to flash her a huge grin. “I think it’s a great idea, too.”

She nodded, murmuring, “Thanks.”

“The budget is tiny,” Jonathon continued, “but the client loves the idea. Since Brynn knows the account, and happens to be an old music buff, she’ll do the research, organize the content, and write the script. Owen, you’ll work with her to figure out what needs to be shot, and how to do everything as cheaply as reasonably possible.”

His fingers drummed on the table as he smiled to himself. “This was my first client many years ago, so I don’t need to make a fortune on them anymore. This project is more about...”

“Nostalgia,” Brynn said softly. “That’s why people buy old records. They’re channeling their first music purchases, like you’re channeling the excitement of your first client.”

Jonathon snapped his head around, turning to me. “Sharp as a tack, this one. She’s in total control of the project. Once you have the first one done, you can plan a series. Monica and Alice are already double-checking our database of oldies radio stations, blogs, and contacts – anyone who might share this little movie through their channels.”

“Will it just be online?” I asked.

He grinned. “Mostly, but I know some people at a couple of film festivals that are always looking for interesting shorts.”

Jonathon stood up, shaking my hand again. “Email me if you need to, but Brynn should be able to answer all of your questions. She’s officially in charge.”

He left, closing the door behind him. Sipping my coffee, I looked around the cream and brown room, before my gaze fell back to Brynn. She definitely looked nervous.

“Well, thanks for the gig,” I smiled. “This sounds like more fun than work. You’re into old music?”

“Yes.” Her eyes seemed to dart around looking for something to stare at besides me. “I’ve always thought that fifties and sixties music had more soul. People had to fight a lot more to get a record made back then.”

“When records were all people had,” I said.

“And radio,” she said quickly.

“True, but they were only playing records, weren’t they?”

She nodded, her soft auburn hair waving slightly around her face. “Good point. The only other place to hear music was dance halls, really.”

I took another sip of coffee, not able to tear my eyes from her. Not only was she beautiful, she was ridiculously cute. “Is that where the project should start? How the people got their music, how vinyl records changed the world?”

“Good idea,” she said. “I’m sorry – I forgot my notebook. Let me run to my desk.”

“Wait.” I didn’t want to get to know her in this corporate environment. I’d never

been comfortable in offices and wanted to really be myself around Brynn to see if we clicked. “Is there somewhere else we could go to work? Anywhere interesting?”