Starry-Eyed Love (Spark House)

“That’s fantastic. Thank you for your flexibility, Miss Spark. Our event is at the Concord. Do you know where that is?”

“It’s downtown. That’s a Mills Hotel, correct?” I can picture it in my head. It’s a gorgeous hotel that boasts stunning views.

“Yes, exactly. We’ll email you with the details and directions.”

I give him my email address and scribble down the name of the hotel, while Harley looks it up. I thank Mitchell, probably more times than is reasonable, and tell him I look forward to meeting him in person tomorrow. I end the call with shaking hands and turn to Harley.

We both check to make sure the red light is off on the phone before we jump out of our chairs, grab each other by the shoulders, and shriek in unison. “Holy crap! I’m meeting with Holt Media tomorrow!”

“I know! This is crazy awesome!” She starts jumping up and down so I join her, but stop abruptly.

“I don’t know anything about this company. Oh my God, Harley. I don’t even really know what the heck this meeting is about. He said something about connecting companies and adding us to their network.”

“We definitely need to do some research,” Harley says.

“Avery should be the one taking this meeting. You know how she is with presentations; she lives for talking about how great Spark House is.” She’s a natural and I’m not.

“But you’ll be awesome. It’ll be just like the phone call this morning.”

Which I spent an hour preparing for. “What if I screw it up? This is a big deal, Harley. Do you think Avery can move around her thing tomorrow?”

She shakes her head. “She has to meet with the caterers or else everyone is going to eat hamburgers and hot dogs at the wedding. And remember, they called us on a recommendation, so they’re already invested. You’ve got this.”

“I’ve got this,” I repeat.

And just like that, I have an entirely new to-do list.

3

PRESENTATE, DON’T HESITATE

LONDON

Harley, Avery, and I have taken over the living room in Avery’s apartment, laptops perched on couch cushions, take-out boxes littering the coffee table. We’re doing Holt Media research and trying to figure out what all I’ll need to focus on when I meet with them tomorrow.

“Okay, let’s review what we know so far about Holt Media. Then, if you want, you can run through the presentation you usually give to new prospective clients, although you’re nailing it, so I’m not sure you really need the extra practice.” Harley pops a mint into her mouth.

“I still think it would be helpful if you fired some questions at me on my next run-through. The kind you think they’re going to ask based on what we know about this initiative.” I wish I’d asked more questions when I was on the phone with Mitchell this morning. Normally I’m so much more composed, but then I don’t typically have a massive multimillion-dollar media company asking for a meeting.

They sent along a packet of information, which was helpful in the general sense, but it was only a three-page overview. Had I had the opportunity to read it over before they called, I would have had a list of questions prepared. As it is, I have two solid pages of notes on the overview of Teamology—the new initiative that pairs green companies with prospective sponsors—including a full page of questions.

“I can definitely fire questions at you, but you’ve presented our business plan and our mission statement so many times, you basically know it by heart.” Avery pops a chocolate-covered peanut in her mouth.

I added a bunch of new slides this afternoon. Typically, I revamp it every month or two just to keep it fresh and update the featured events, tailoring it to whoever I’m presenting to. It had been almost two months, and since this is a very green, very influential company, I made sure to highlight those events in which we were strongly green-focused.

“Right. Okay.” I nod a few times and take a deep breath. I don’t think I’m going to sleep very well tonight.

“Who is the CEO of Holt Media and Consulting, and how long has he been the CEO?” Harley asks.

“This one is easy. Jackson Holt. He’s the founder of Holt Media, and he started it up about eight years ago. When he was only twenty-seven years old. Prior to Holt Media, he made his fortune as an app developer. He’s most well-known for Pic Please, an image-and-video-based social media app and also Break into Love, which is a dating app with ridiculously high rates of positive matches thanks to the Q-and-A feature used before people even go on their first in-person, face-to-face date. And”—I raise a finger because I know Harley is about to move on to the next question—“his least successful app was Keep It Clean, which partnered green companies in similar regions, but there were limitations for its use, and he wasn’t able to properly vet the green companies, which is how Holt Media and Consulting was born.” I fold my hands around my mug. “As a side note, one of the major issues they had was due to the fact that people kept confusing it with a dating app geared toward individuals who were waiting until marriage before they consummated their relationships.”