My stomach sinks. “Oh?”
“One of the keynote speakers dropped out, and they asked me to fill in for him. The keynotes are back
to back, and I only get one break, which is when I’ll swing by at the store.”
“And you can’t say no? They have time to find someone else.”
“This is a fantastic opportunity to get my name out there.”
“I know, it’s just... I wish you could stay longer. We’ll only see you for half an hour? We could drive you to the airport.”
“That’s a drag. How about an early breakfast on Sunday morning? You can show me everything we don’t have time for on Saturday.”
“Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Just like that, my good mood is back.
***
Daniel
On Friday morning, I pace around the meeting room, waiting for my team to arrive. Our weekly meetings are usually on Tuesdays, but we had to reschedule since I was in the Adirondacks last week and the Rocky Mountains this week. We used to do them Monday, but since many weekend events last until Monday, part of the team was always missing.
I usually look forward to the weekly meeting. Everyone presents the highlights of the past week, the plans for this one. We strategize and brainstorm. If there are any problems, we tackle them together. Damn it, I trust every single person on my team. But those leaked pictures were too clear to be taken by paparazzi from outside with a long-lens camera.
And the only ones attending both events were the four people from my team: Marcel and Honor, who spearhead all events of this type; Justin, who’s an excellent organizational talent and has been with the company almost from the beginning; and our intern, Colbert. It’s too early to point fingers, but I’m going to keep a closer eye on Colbert. He’s been with us for only four months, and is the most likely to be tempted by the money gossip magazines offer for insider pics.
My assistant, Jennifer, arrives first, sitting in her usual chair. “Morning.”
“Morning, Jen.”
One by one, the rest of the team filters in, all twenty-five of them. I pace the room even after everyone sits. I decide to open up with the unpleasant subject, get it out of the way, though I won’t share my concern about the culprit being part of the team.
“As you all know, we had a second case of leaked photos last week. We can’t let it happen again.”
“We’ll secure the perimeter outside better,” Honor suggests at once.
Marcel taps his fingers on the table, frowning. “Maybe as a precaution, we should ask the guests to leave their phones with us for the duration of the event.”
Justin shakes his head. “These are heavyweights in the entertainment industry, not kids going to a concert. You bring that up, you’ll piss them off. Any more bright ideas like this, and soon we won’t have customers left.”
Justin’s experience is worth its weight in gold because he’s absolutely right. As the most senior member of the team, I respect him. He’s like a mentor to me, but he lacks tact. His tone is so cutting that Honor almost recoils. Marcel sets his jaw. Colbert doesn’t say anything, but he rarely does. He’s a doer, not a talker. One of the reasons I gave him the internship.
“No restrictions on the guests,” I say. “We need them happy. Happy guests come back for more.”
“Honor and I will work on a list of measures to implement,” Marcel says. Looking around the table, he adds, “Everyone around here is welcome to send me suggestions. I’ll go through them with Daniel. No point discussing them now, or we’ll spend the entire meeting doing just that.”
“Let’s move on,” I agree. “Anyone have any issues which are not on the agenda?”
Chelsea, our activities coordinator, clears her throat. “We’re getting more and more inquiries about indoor activities—team sports, individual training, maybe even indoor rock climbing.”
“You want us to add a gym,” I say, finally sitting too. We’ve had this conversation a few times, and I wasn’t sold on the idea. Doesn’t fit under our umbrella of experiences too well, but I might just be too subjective because I like being outdoors so much.
“It’s not exactly our jam, but why not give people what they want?” As if reading my mind, she adds, “Everything can be an experience. Depends how we sell it. I’ve compiled a list of the activities that keep popping up in the requests.”
“Okay. Come to my office after the meeting, and we’ll go through them.”
“I’ve had some requests too. I’ll gladly pass them on,” Marcel says with a look at Chelsea, who nods appreciatively.