Xander. I sent him to voicemail and turned my attention back to the clients. “I understand what you are looking for. I’d love to help you get this very special young woman the party of her dreams.”
“You know, if you were an independent contractor, we could hire you to handle our business. We would want you to be exclusive to us alone.”
“That’s a very generous offer. Why don’t we see how this party goes? I would want to make sure we are a good match.”
“Obviously, this will be a test of your planning skills and how well you take direction.”
I was already thinking of ways I could intentionally fail the test. I didn’t think they were the kind of people I wanted to work for on a daily basis. Working with them did not appeal to me. “All right, I am looking forward to seeing what we can create together.”
The phone began to vibrate again. The father looked up from his phone, raising an irritated eyebrow. I silenced it again. “You must be very popular,” he commented.
I offered a nervous smile. “I am.”
“I told you she was the best,” Carla said with a satisfied smile. “I know these things. I have a lot of friends and we talk about things like this.”
“I’m happy to know my reputation precedes me,” I said.
“Oh, it definitely does,” Carla said. “Now, do you have any connections with any of the big names in the industry?”
“What industry would that be?” I questioned.
“Music. I want Justin Bieber at my party.”
I almost choked. “I do not have those connections. I can put out some requests and see if I can get a manager to call me back, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
She popped out her lower lip. “But I wanted Justin.”
“I’ll make some calls, sweetie,” Carla said, shooting me a dirty look.
I took control of the meeting. “I’m going to put together some color ideas and send you over some sketches. We’ll talk about menus and music. If we can’t secure your first choice, there are plenty of local bands and singers I work with on a regular basis. I can send you links to their websites and you can listen to their music.”
The girl curled her lip. “I really don’t want a nobody.”
“I think you will be impressed with our local artists. Many of them are on the rise in the industry. You’ll get to be a little part of their climb to the top.”
“I suppose,” she mumbled.
“We need to get going,” the father announced. “I’ve got a board meeting. Send whatever and I will review it and make the necessary adjustments.”
I held my smile in place. “I will do that.”
They left my office. I shouldn’t have taken them on as clients but I couldn’t stop now. The contracts were signed, and unless they fired me, I was on the hook. I was used to working with difficult clients. I could do it.
The phone began to vibrate across my desk again. I flipped it over and saw it was Xander again. He was persistent. The guy hadn’t talked to me in over a week and now he was suddenly in dire need to speak to me? I declined the call again and called Nelle.
“Hey,” she said, sounding out of breath.
“Where are you at?” I asked.
“Just climbing off the treadmill. What’s up?”
“Ugh, I just got done with a very difficult client meeting,” I complained. “It’s a sweet sixteen for what is probably the most spoiled kid in America.”
“Don’t do it.”
“I have to do it and it could lead to a lot of future work if I don’t kill them before I get it done.”
“Eek, that bad, huh?”
“Worse. And then, to make matters worse, Xander decides to call nonstop during the meeting.”
“Really? What did he want?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “I didn’t take the call. I was in a meeting. And it wasn’t the kind of meeting that allowed me to answer my phone.”
“Did he leave a voicemail?”
“Nope.”
“I hate that,” she groaned.
“Me too. If it was important, he could leave a message. The guy has fallen off the face of the earth again. He hasn’t called or texted and now he blows up my phone? I’m not interested.”
“Liar,” she shot back.
“Okay, I am interested but I don’t want to make it too easy.”
“You know you’re never going to be able to think of anything else if you don’t call him back and find out what he wants.”
“Won’t that make me sound like I’m desperate for his attention?”