Risky Business

Xavier is scribbling notes onto his iPad. “I’ll have it by end of day, live online within twenty-four hours.”

“Excellent. Thanks, Xavier. Anything else we need to address or ideas we can supplement our current strategies with?” I ask the table. I value their input and knowledge and am happy to consider their offerings even though Jayme seems to have things well in-hand with her experience in reputation rescue.

“Okay, let’s keep at it, then. Jayme and I are working on the summer concerts. We’ve got our big headliner, Jazmyn Starr, prepped to close out the series.”

There’s a gasp, and like everyone else, I turn to see an unfamiliar face in the corner of the room. The young woman there is bright pink, her hands pressed over her mouth and her eyes wide. “Sorry, sorry,” she mumbles from behind her fingers. “Just excited.”

Jayme gets up to go over to the woman. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jayme.” She offers a handshake, which the woman takes reluctantly.

“I’m Kyleigh, an intern. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Actually, I’d love to know what’s got you so excited. Is it Jazmyn Starr?” Jayme asks, leading her as she sits down next to Kyleigh in an empty chair.

Kyleigh’s nod is as quick and fast as the words gushing past her lips. “Oh, my God, yes. She’s awesome! I love her style. And her music. And her.”

Kyleigh is fangirling big-time, her voice spiraling higher and higher. But the instant she realizes everyone is looking at her, she clams up.

“No, no. I need this sort of feedback. You’re our target audience, after all,” Jayme tells Kyleigh, smiling warmly. “Do you mind if I pick your brain?”

“Mine?” Kyleigh echoes. “Uh, okay.”

“Tell me everything you know about Jazmyn Starr. The info only a true fan would know.”

That seems to be something Kyleigh can talk about easily because she instantly starts reeling off facts about Jazmyn’s childhood, musical styles, influences, and more. “She’s friends with DJ Amalfo too. He started out as a Starr-light—that’s what she calls her fans—and adds her bass lines to his mixes.”

“DJ Amalfo?” I repeat.

Kyleigh smiles wide. “Yeah, he’s this great mix of classics and fresh beats. He’ll seamlessly blend Jazmyn Starr with something old like Blink-182.”

Todd sputters, choking on his coffee. “Did you just call Blink-182 old?” Todd’s creeping up on forty, though I bet he’d definitely insist he’s mid-thirties.

Kyleigh shrinks again. “I think that’s what they’re called. They’ve got a song called I Miss You or something like that? I’m not sure, it’s a guy with a weird accent, like he’s trying to sing in cursive but not very good at it.”

“What’s singing in cursive?” Todd asks, looking even more confused.

Kyleigh sings, adopting a drawling, mumbled sound. “Dond waste yore toime yon me, yorall redii the voice insoide moye yedd.” She shrugs. “Kinda like that, but I’m very good at it either.”

Todd looks like he might explode.

“Focus,” I remind everyone, hoping to bring us back to the topic at hand—the summer concerts—before a generational skirmish breaks out.

Kyleigh looks grateful for the help and finishes with, “Yeah, DJ Amalfo does stuff like that because he likes Jazmyn’s music too.”

“Where do you see him live?” Jayme asks.

“Live streaming, usually. He does pop-ups at clubs or venues. Sometimes, even warehouse raves. And people dance along at home with the show.”

I don’t consider myself old by any means, but I simply can’t relate to what Kyleigh is talking about. I’m somewhere between EDM raves and the concerts by the old bands that we usually host in the summer. Hell, the last concert I went to was a BTS show that I got tickets to for Toni. I didn’t know a single word of any of the songs, but the dancing, costumes, and energy were amazing. And I’d gotten the title of Best Brother Ever from Toni when I tried to copy the choreography, so it was a definite win.

“Oh, my God,” Jayme gushes suddenly. “I’ve got it!”

She snaps her fingers and gets up, pacing with wild eyes that definitely aren’t seeing the conference room or team right now, but rather an idea taking shape in her mind. Talking to herself, she mutters, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before! It’s perfect. Quick implementation, instant publicity, a sense of community . . .”

She trails off, and my team looks to me for a reaction. Are we really listening to this crazy woman? This is the ‘fixer’?

“Care to share?” I tease with a grin, excited to hear what her brilliant mind has come up with now.

“We’re going about the concerts all wrong. It seemed logical to implement them in a similar fashion to what Americana Land has already done successfully. Build on your strengths, especially when we’re trying to move quickly.” She shakes her head, talking aloud but also seeming to talk to herself as she fiercely proclaims, “But no. That’s not good enough. Not nearly good enough.”