Chapter 9
Liam
Two days after Henri came to my apartment, Fallon calls me into her office.
“I can’t approve your budget proposal for the article.” There’s no hesitation as she hurls a wrecking ball into my plans.
Her words send a heavy rush of dread straight to my stomach and I’m grateful that I’m seated because I might topple over. “It’s her standard rate plus travel expenses. Didn’t you say that advertisers are already eager for that space?”
“Yes, but the point of this is to make money, not breakeven. The maximum we can do is seventy percent, in addition to the increased costs of last minute holiday travel expenses for her. I understand that because of the unique nature of her work we can’t offer exposure the same way we do with most products, so this is the best we can do. ”
“But—”
“If that doesn’t work we’ll just have to axe the follow-up and come up with something else for that slot.
This is a last minute addition, so this is stretching the budget as is.
” Her tone leaves no room for negotiation.
Spitfire isn’t the type of publication that could be considered a household name, and Fallon is a smart business woman.
She won’t risk going into the red over one piece, no matter how much potential it has.
“I’ll send her our offer and negotiate.” I rise shakily to my feet bracing my hands on the armrests of my seat.
There’s no point in telling Fallon that Henri needs that money, or that our initial article is the reason why.
Even if we pull it, the damage is done to Henri’s career.
I also have a feeling that if I voice this, Fallon will get as far as she can from the entire project to avoid any potential legal issues.
But Henri isn’t like that. From what I witnessed the other night, she’s the type of person who would rather work harder to make up for her losses than enter into a legal battle.
“Fallon?” I say. “What if I can get her to agree to covering travel expenses and we cover her standard fee. That way we wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of collecting itemized receipts. And she travels a lot, so maybe she has miles?”
“If you can get her to agree to that, let me know and I’ll issue an official approval.”
Back at my desk I settle in and navigate to my email.