Zero Forks - Cat Johnson Page 0,34

looked as if they were deep in the Millennial age bracket, had used them today. As part of normal everyday conversation.

The younger generation had apparently resurrected and adopted the old sayings. And lucky me, I was there to hear it.

Thank goodness I’d seen Boone’s truck and had stopped by. Now I had something to take my presentation to the next level. Something Jerry wouldn’t have.

It was like I’d found a golden nugget of Millennial culture and I sure as hell wasn’t going to share it with him.

I might have to share this project with him but this information was all mine and I would make sure I was the one to present the suggestion to the boss that we incorporate these cool new words from the Millennial lexicon in our campaign.

I couldn’t believe no other companies were using this approach in their campaigns.

Was it that cutting edge? If it was, this campaign could go down in history with all of the great unforgettable campaigns. Thing such as I’m a Pepper. Or have a Coke and a smile. And where’s the beef?

I could see it now… MOD, Media On Demand, it’s the bomb diggity.

So afraid I was going forget one of the phrases the three girls had spouted, I sat in my parked car in the driveway of the house, dug out a pen, and scribbled the phrases in the top margin of my notes.

Even then I had to think, did she say cat’s meow or cat’s pajamas. Not sure, I wrote them both down. At least I was sure about the bee’s knees and bomb diggity.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins. I hadn’t been this excited about an idea in a long time.

I could even envision the visuals. Thanks to that coffee shop and Boone’s friends, I had a second idea, besides the family scene I’d first come up with.

Three girls, getting together for some me time. It would all be very Sex and the City. They would be talking about all the great things they’d streamed recently.

It could be like a book club, but they’d be discussing the shows they’d watched and recommending them to each other, which would be a perfect place for one to mention how the streaming app learns the viewer’s preferences and recommends more like them.

And of course, the dialog would be peppered with the new Millennial phrases I’d heard today.

I could kiss Boone for taking Stewie to the bakery, which had led me being there to hear his friends talk . . . and at that thought I realized I’d better temper my creative high before I said or did something foolish.

Adrenaline was a powerful drug. So was victory.

I already had my plan in place for tomorrow morning’s progress meeting with the boss. I would let Jerry go first. Let him fall on his face presenting whatever crap idea he’d honed.

Then I’d go up and pitch my take on the campaign.

I’d convinced Jerry that we should both work on our pitches separately tonight, for various reasons.

It was true we needed more than one idea. Nothing killed a team faster than going all in on one single pitch, only to have the client shoot it down.

But my real motivation was that I wasn’t about to work on the presentation with Jerry after hours, as he’d wanted.

Ugh. Nope. Never again.

Hell would have to freeze over, and even then, Lucifer would be a preferable choice compared to Jerry for a mate.

It might take me all night to get my presentation ready since I was working alone but I was willing to do it.

In fact, I was so wrapped up in thinking about my idea for the campaign, I wasn’t even distracted by Boone as he worked in the kitchen, which was pretty amazing but a good thing. Of course, my ability to concentrate might have been helped by the fact that he actually kept his shirt on tonight.

I did feel bad that I was also so distracted I barely listened as Stewie babbled on about his day . . . until he dropped his fork, and then dropped the f-bomb.

That got my attention.

I turned to glare at Boone, who’d frozen in mid-bite. I didn’t even have to say a word. He knew what I was thinking.

He put his fork down and glanced toward the counter where a clear glass jar sat next to the sink. On it, written in black marker, was CUSS JAR.

“I swear it wasn’t me today. I was good. It was Cash. And I apologize