Third Time's a Charm (29 page)

Tori nodded, and glanced into the room where the couple stood by the window, looking down into Triangle Park. “They really aren’t expecting us to pitch any ideas, right? I don’t have anything ready to show them.”

Her boss’s smile was cold. “Maybe if you concentrated on your own work instead of Phil Osborne’s, you’d have something to show for your time last week.”

The room dimmed around her as angry blood rushed to heat Tori’s face. She clamped her teeth together to keep from snapping a response as Kate turned away and stepped into the room. Not a single hour had passed last week without a phone call or email from Kate, demanding numbers or updates that easily could have waited until she returned to the office. That woman was a micromanaging maniac! Tori ought to quit, that’s what she ought to do. Just walk in there and say the words. “I quit!” Watch Kate’s mouth drop open. If she had another job, she’d do it in a heartbeat.

Mitch arrived at that moment, a notebook in his hand. He’d ignored her so far this morning. The memory of their encounter in Maguire’s parking lot lay uncomfortably between them as he edged past her into the conference room. He didn’t meet her eye, but mumbled, “’Morning, Sanderson.”

While she walked around the cubicle maze toward Rita’s desk, Tori gulped deep breaths of air and tried to force herself to calm down. Puffy eyes, Kate, Mitch, and a pair of clients for whom she was totally unprepared. This was shaping up to be the worst morning of her life.

“I assure you, Ms. Sanderson and Mr. Jackson are two of our brightest analysts. They’ll come up with a campaign that will knock your socks off.”

The smile Kate flashed around the conference table held so much confidence that Tori almost didn’t recognize her boss as the same woman who’d insulted her an hour before. Mr. Connolly and Mr. Farrin had both put in an appearance early on, and then excused themselves, assuring the Maguires they were in capable hands.

Mrs. Maguire, whom Tori immediately recognized as the woman she’d assumed was the restaurant’s manager when she and Ryan were there, nodded as she sipped from a white coffee mug. When she lowered it, a new lipstick mark decorated the rim. “I know they’re certainly on the ball. I’m impressed that you’ve already visited the restaurant.” Her gaze settled on Tori, and she gave a small nod. “You’ve been in twice, even.”

Mitch shot her a narrow-eyed glance, but Tori ignored him. Instead, she focused on Mrs. Maguire, impressed. How many customers had dined in the restaurant in the past week? “You’re very observant of your customers.”

She smiled. “That’s my business.”

Mr. Maguire leaned forward, his fingers entwined before him on the table’s surface. “So, you two will put together some ideas and then run them by us, right? How soon will we be able to get a look at what you’ve come up with?”

Kate answered. “We’ll have something ready for you to look at on July fourteenth. You can come back—”

“That’s too long. I’d like to see something next week.”

Beneath the table, Tori squeezed her hands into fists. She didn’t even have a solid idea yet, and it took time to work up sketches and graphic representations suitable for a client’s eyes.

Kate’s smile didn’t change. “I assure you, this timetable is already accelerated. Some of our campaigns take months to create. We’re moving quickly on yours because we value you as a new client of Connolly and Farrin.”

“Look, we’ve never hired an advertising agency before.” Mr. Maguire flattened his palms on the table. “You’re probably used to having people sit back and wait for you. But we don’t work like that. We’re used to doing things ourselves, not turning them over to someone else to do for us.”

Tori glanced at Mrs. Maguire. She was apparently content to remain silent and let her husband speak for her, but her slight nod made it clear the two were in complete agreement. She picked up her mug for another sip, her eyes moving as she looked from her husband to Kate.

“If this is the first time you’ve hired a marketing firm,” Kate told him, “you may not be familiar with the process involved in creating a highly effective campaign.”

The man’s lips pursed. “You’re right. We don’t understand. And maybe we can’t have a finished product next week, but I want to see where you’re heading. That way, I can give my input before you get too far down a path I don’t like. Is that too much to ask?”

Kate paused for only a moment. “Of course not. We’ll show you what we have next Monday.” She held up a finger. “With the understanding that the ideas will be conceptual, not final.”

“Done.” Maguire sat back, a pleased smile on his face.

Great. I hope she gives me time to work something up.

Mrs. Maguire spoke. “Do you have any questions for us?” She gave Mitch an inquisitive look.

He shook his head and indicated the notes he’d taken from their conversation thus far in the meeting. “I think we’ve got an idea of your expectations.” His expression became overly polite as he turned toward Tori. “What about you, Ms. Sanderson?”

Tori mirrored Mitch’s polite smile, then allowed her expression to warm as she looked at Mrs. Maguire. “I did have one question. What interested you in the new location?”

Mr. Maguire held up a hand and ticked off fingers as he answered. “It comes with a lot of the equipment we’d have to buy new elsewhere. It’s empty, so we can move in quickly. It has plenty of parking. The rent is cheap compared to some of the other places we looked at. And the owner is willing to sell sometime next year, if our business supports the investment.”

She sat up straight. “So you did consider other locations?”

He nodded. “A few. But this building is perfect. It has everything we’re looking for.”

Tori started to ask what other locations they’d considered, but Kate’s expression had hardened. Aware of her boss’s eyes fixed on her, Tori smiled and told Mr. Maguire, “Thanks. I was just wondering.”

“Well.” Kate rolled her chair back and stood. “If you have no more questions for us, I think that does it. We’ll expect you at nine next Monday.”

Everyone got out of their chairs. Mr. Maguire extended a hand across the table to Mitch. “If you have any questions for us in the meantime, give us a call. We don’t mind.”

“Thank you, sir. I look forward to showing you my ideas. I think you’ll be pleased.”

The brown-noser. Tori noticed that Mitch’s habitual smirk was absent, replaced by a confidence he projected toward the clients. He’d been calmly professional through the whole meeting, exuding competence. No wonder Mr. Maguire directed most of his questions toward Mitch instead of her. With a sinking heart, she realized Mitch looked like an account executive. Whereas she probably looked like an inexperienced analyst pretending to be an executive, even dressed in the new suit she’d bought just for this meeting. For the first time, new clothes weren’t giving her the confidence she needed. What was up with that?

Now the meeting was breaking up, and Tori hadn’t asked for permission to conduct the research she wanted to do. Nor did she want to say anything that might tip Mitch off to the direction her ideas were heading.

As she shook Mrs. Maguire’s hand, she was given an opening.

“I’d like to use the ladies’ room before we leave, if you don’t mind,” the woman said in a low voice. “Can you tell me where it is?”

“I’ll show you,” Tori said quickly. “It’s on the way out.”

Mr. Maguire nodded a farewell to Kate and Mitch, and fell in beside them as Tori led the way around the cubicles toward the elevators and the restrooms beyond. She didn’t speak until she was sure they wouldn’t be overheard.

“I’d like to do some customer analysis work this week, if it’s okay with you.”

Mrs. Maguire’s expression became curious. “What kind of analysis?”

Tori kept her tone casual. “Oh, just some exit interviews to identify customer demographics and preferences, things like that. It will help me better understand your customer base, so I can craft an ad campaign to communicate a message that appeals to them.”

Mr. Maguire frowned. “But we want to get new customers. That’s the whole point of advertising, right?”

“Oh, we will,” Tori assured him. “Still, we need to know why your existing customers choose Maguire’s over the other dining choices they have. If we can understand that, we’ll find something we can use to attract others.”

He nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”

“It’s usually best if we provide an incentive to answer a few questions. Would you be willing to give away some desserts?”

“You mean like giving them a coupon for a dessert on their next visit?” Mrs. Maguire asked.

“Exactly.”

The two exchanged a glance, and then they nodded. “We could do that.”

Tori smiled. “Terrific. I’ll create a coupon and have some researchers there this week.”

They arrived at the restrooms then. Tori promised to be in touch within a day or two, and left to return to her cubicle by way of the breakroom. While she stirred creamer into a Styrofoam cup of coffee, Kate entered.

“There you are.” She tossed her head in the direction of the conference room. “What was all that about?”

Tori tossed the stir stick into the trash. “All what about?”

Kate crossed her arms and tapped a finger. “The questions about the new location. Where were you going with that?”

Tori glanced toward the doorway and lowered her voice, just in case Mitch was hovering around somewhere. “I went by the new restaurant a few days ago, and I’m not convinced it’s a good location for them.”

“Why not?”

“It’s right off campus, for one, and their prices are too high for most college students. Plus, I don’t think their menu will appeal to that age group. Three previous restaurants have failed there.”

“I’m sure they know that.”

Tori leaned against the counter and sipped from her cup. “Yes, but do they know why, so they don’t make the same mistakes? I think they need an in-depth analysis before they sign that lease.”

“Tori, you’re thinking like a research analyst, not an account executive.” Tori drew breath to protest, but Kate forestalled her with a raised hand. “I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t disagree that research is an important part of any campaign. But in this case we haven’t been asked to weigh in on the location. You heard the man. They’re calling the shots. They don’t want us making decisions for them. Nor are they paying us enough to justify a full-scale analysis on their location decision.”

“But if we can prevent—”

A high-heeled shoe tapped the floor impatiently. “They’ve hired us to create an ad campaign. Period. And that’s what we will deliver.” Kate took a step further into the room and lowered her voice. “If the Maguires have to find another location, that will delay their campaign. But Connolly and Farrin needs the revenue from this account on the books this quarter. So give the client what they’ve asked for, and let it go.”

Tori pressed her lips together to stop from arguing further. Apparently she was supposed to just stand back and let a client make what might be a costly mistake. What kind of sense did that make? When she could speak without sounding like a sulky child, she asked, “Is it okay if I hire a research firm to conduct some exit interviews this week?”

“What for?”

She lifted a shoulder. “Demographics.”

Kate studied her with shrewd eyes. “I don’t think you need that. There’s plenty of data available already. Just come up with something creative to show the clients on Monday.” She turned and left the breakroom.

Tori dumped her barely touched coffee in the sink. Plenty of data available? Yeah, but it was generic data. She needed data specific to Maguire’s. If Kate wouldn’t let her hire a marketing research firm, then she’d do it herself.

“Please say yes, Allie. I need you!”

Tori covered the phone with her hand and spoke as quietly as she could. For once, she was glad for Diana’s fifties music in the next cubicle. “Rock Around the Clock” provided the perfect sound screen for her conversation.

“I don’t know, Tori.” Uncertainty doubled Allie’s syllables. “I can’t see myself as one of those people who stand in the middle of the mall with a clipboard and accost people as they leave Dillards.”