Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Joshua
I always knew in the first few minutes of a pitch whether Luca Brands was going to be successful in winning an account.
Today was no different—Eric wore the decision like a push-up bra with a low-cut blouse.
It was obvious. What I hadn’t been expecting was Eric to announce the decision to us before we’d packed up our presentation.
“I’m delighted, Eric. You know Luca Brands will work tirelessly for GCVB, Merdon, and Calmation.
” I tried to stay as stoic as possible, when what I really wanted to do was punch the air.
Not only had I saved hundreds of jobs at Luca Brands, we were going to have an opportunity to help children get the drugs they needed.
I couldn’t wait to tell Hartford.
“We need to get started right away,” Eric said. “Can we talk implementation?”
“Now?” I asked. He couldn’t have seriously expected me to work up the implementation plan before I knew if we’d won the account.
“Just a few headline points and I can do some introductions. It will save putting another meeting in the diary. We’re filing with the US regulator tomorrow and . . . Let me bring in the team.” He scurried out of the room.
I glanced at the four members of the Luca Brands team that sat either side of me.
I could tell by their tight jaws and panicked expressions that this was the very last thing they wanted.
But we’d won the account. That’s what we had to focus on.
And it would give me a chance to ask some of the questions that I’d prepared about potential medical opposition to the drug.
Before I could voice my reassurance, Eric was back, as if he had a line of people waiting outside.
I stood and moved around my chair, ready to shake hands. I knew two of the six people who had filed in, as they were previously in GCVB.
Two other women—strategy and PR for Merdon, respectively—offered their business cards along with a handshake. The final two people to join the meeting weren’t so forthcoming. They gave their names—Jean and Tim—but nothing more.
We all took our seats around the large table.
My assistant distributed the Luca Brands team sheet that set out headshots and job descriptions of everyone who would be working on the account.
I waited for Tim and Jean to slide their business cards across the table so I would be able to understand their roles in the meeting. It didn’t happen.
“Shall we do introductions?” I suggested, wanting to know more about the two new people in the room.
“I think most of us know each other. I’m keen to see what you’ve got in mind for implementation,” Eric replied, his tone a little more tense than usual.
It was a weird reaction. It might be a little time-consuming to go around the table, but completely normal given the size of the meeting.
“We haven’t had much time to prepare, but maybe we could walk through the timeline.
Everything flows from there.” I made sure to keep scanning the room, looking for micro-expressions.
Maybe I was paranoid, but I got the feeling something was up.
The pitch meeting had been professional but warm.
Now a thin layer of ice had settled on the other side of the boardroom table.
Eric glanced across at Tim and Jean, almost as if he was expecting them to chip in. They remained silent. “As I said, we’re filing with the US regulator tomorrow and expect approval by the end of next quarter.”
“And the supply issues you mentioned before are all ironed out, is that right?” I asked.
Eric gave a brief nod. “We’ll have enough stock for launch of Calmation at the time of regulatory approval,” he said.
I took a breath, thinking about first steps.
I wanted to understand what doctors like Hartford and Gerry would think about Calmation.
And I wanted to show Eric that we knew what we were doing when it came to launch.
“We want to capitalize on the exposure the approval process will bring, particularly among medical professionals.”
I spotted a slight wince from Eric’s assistant and paused. I needed to know more.
“We might need to amend that approach slightly, but go on,” Eric said.
“Amend the approach, in what way?” I asked.
Eric met my eye and took a deep breath. “We’re hearing of some disquiet from a group of pediatricians.”
My gut curdled, but I stayed silent, wanting him to elaborate. Was the disquiet the unofficial lobbying that Hartford had talked about? Were she and I on opposite sides on this? But Eric didn’t say anything. He surely wasn’t going to stop there. I needed more information.
“What sort of disquiet?” I asked.
“Some people think parents shouldn’t be the ones to decide if their children need Calmation.”
Some people? Did he mean Gerry and Hartford?
“The key thing is that we put control back in the parents’ hands, rather than the hands of GPs.
That’s the insecurity that underpins the disquiet about Calmation.
We’re leapfrogging the doctor’s prescription pad.
We understand parents know their children best.” Eric’s delivery was stiff and rehearsed.
It sounded like talking points had been circulated internally before our meeting.
Eric might be on-script, but if he was referring to Hartford and Gerry, what he was saying wasn’t entirely true.
Neither Hartford nor Gerry was a power-hungry control hound looking to make life harder for patients.
I knew Hartford cared about children and their health.
And she worshipped Gerry, so I was sure he was the same.
I needed to stop fixating on Hartford’s viewpoint.
The opposition might not be her and pretty much every product and service on sale today had haters.
This account would save the livelihood of nearly half my staff.
I needed to think about the big picture and not borrow trouble unless it was going to impact the campaign.
“And you think this . . . disquiet may impact our timetable?” I asked.
Eric shot a glance at Tim and Jean. “We’re putting together some options that should keep the campaign on track.”
“Can Caroline help with that?” I asked. Caroline was heading up PR for this campaign and was the best in the business.
“We’re very used to competitors creating anti-launch campaigns through social media and have some strategies to counteract those.
And we have excellent relationships with the press across Europe. ”
“Thanks,” Eric replied. “We’re just going to do some basic counterintelligence work.”
Counterintelligence? “You suspect some kind of internal leak?”
Tim finally spoke up. “We’re reviewing internal practices and procedures.”
That was a non-answer. Something was off.
Were they thinking about pulling the drug but didn’t want to tell us?
I much preferred it when I could work hand in hand with my clients.
If they kept problems and issues secret, there was less I could do to head off disaster.
“We’re here to help and support you in any way we can.
Please feel you can use our resources and network for anything you need. ”
Eric gave one of his tight, shallow smiles.
This time it was Jean’s turn to speak. “If any of you are approached, or notice anything unusual, please call me immediately at the number on this card.” She passed a stack of cards for each member of my team to take.
When they came to me, I saw the plain white rectangle didn’t provide much in the way of identifying information—just a name, a phone number, and a generic email address.
Who were these people, and why were they here?
“Approached?” Caroline asked. “And what do you mean by ‘unusual’?”
“Let’s keep going through the timetable,” Jean said.
I’d spent most of my career working for luxury brands.
I was well used to creatives being paranoid about competitors.
I was familiar with the importance of secrecy and threats of corporate espionage.
I was accustomed to sitting in a room with a stressed-out, overworked team who were doing everything they could to launch their product with a bang.
But this meeting was unlike any I’d ever experienced before.
It was like they were MI5 and had discovered plans for Italy to start a war.
I didn’t like to work blind. It was a sure way to look like an idiot. Eric might not be ready to tell an entire meeting room what was wrong, but perhaps he’d talk to me one-on-one. If I had all the facts, I’d be better at my job. I wanted to make sure there were no surprises.
I had a Google alert set up on all my clients, target clients, and clients’ competitors.
I also had a junior assistant responsible for briefing me on whatever was in the news that might impact our accounts.
Whatever was happening hadn’t yet hit the news cycle, but that didn’t mean disaster wasn’t just around the corner.
I knew one person who might be able to see into the future of Calmation. The only problem was that so far today, she’d refused every one of my calls.