Chapter Nine
The last days of vacation passed in a blur of sunshine, sand, and salt water.
On the final evening, Mei and Ali concocted a simple broth with lots of Old Bay, then dropped in blue crabs, potatoes, and corn.
Luc and Alexandre laid the food out on the newspaper-covered picnic table.
Everyone cracked open the succulent seafood as the sun dipped and the sky turned pink.
A full moon was out by the time they’d cleaned up. Mei pulled on a yellow “Livin the Dream” hoodie. She took Joey’s hand and walked onto the beach. The salty breeze whipped her hair. Waves fizzled on the sand, brushing her feet. The night on the porch with Alexandre flitted into her mind.
“This week was dope, but I can’t wait for our honeymoon,” Joey said. “You and me. Stuffing ourselves on pasta. Ravishing you every night and being as loud as we want.”
Mei elbowed him but smiled. They were going to Italy. Neither of them had been there before. Joey’s dream was to visit the country where his family was from, and Mei had been won over by photos of the Amalfi Coast and Venice’s canals.
“An Italian honeymoon to match your new name. Mei DiGiacomo.”
Mei’s stomach dropped. She had never been sure about changing her name, but with the wedding drawing closer, she was realizing that she didn’t want to. “Actually, I want to keep my name.” She forced a smile.
Joey stopped walking. “You never mentioned that.”
“I’ve been torn. It’s a lot to ask of someone, especially when they’re established in their career, like I am. My whole network knows me as Mei Li. Plus, Li is clearly Chinese. I want everyone to know me as Mei Li as I rise through the ranks.”
Joey shoved his hands into the pocket of his gray hoodie. “I always thought you’d take my name. It’s tradition.”
Mei touched the soft fabric of his shirt, searching his eyes in the low light. “What if it were the other way around? Would you become Joey Li?”
Joey was silent for a moment. Then he sighed. “I get it. I wouldn’t want to lose my family name, either.”
They resumed walking. The distance between them closed. Mei reached for Joey’s hand. He brought her fingers to his lips, the familiar scruff on his chin brushing her skin.
“Thanks for spending this week with my family,” she said.
“I love Ali, Luc, and Kaia. I’m still getting used to the professor, though. Dude barely says two words, except to lecture me in my car and give me shit about wedding planning.”
Mei’s face grew hot. “Come on. Alexandre is a good guy. You said so yourself.”
They started up the sandy pathway to the house.
“Speaking of Le Prof.” Joey nodded to where Alexandre stood on the porch gazing at the ocean, his arms resting on the wooden railing.
Mei looked up at the same moment Alexandre noticed them.
She lifted her hand to wave, when Joey wrapped her in a tight embrace, kissing her greedily.
Mei tried to pull back, but Joey pressed his lips against her harder, his tongue rough in her mouth, his facial hair scraping her chin.
Mei gave in, returned the kiss, then extracted herself.
She snuck a glance at the porch. Alexandre was gone.
· · ·
Back at Livin, long days at the beach became a distant memory. Mei stifled a sigh. Her new manager was ten minutes late for their first one-on-one.
“Thanks for waiting.” James finally strode into the O‘ahu conference room, his white button-down crisply starched, his light blond hair slicked back. He grimaced at the tropical plants and oceanic wallpaper, then gave Mei an appraising once-over. “Before she left, Diana spoke highly of you. Said you’re her pick to fill the VP role.”
“That’s very kind of her.” Mei already missed Diana and her warm, empowering leadership style.
“I’m interested in the job and would love to talk to you about it, once you’re familiar with my work.
” Mei launched into an overview of her projects, wrapping up with her upcoming campaign.
“We’re kicking off the Livin the Dream campaign with a global media plan, inclusive new imagery, holiday pop-ups in twenty cities, hundreds of videos and pieces of content on our owned channels, ten brand partnerships, ten executive op-eds, and major features in outlets like The New York Times. ”
James pursed his lips. “Decent. What are your goals?”
Mei swallowed her shock. Her team was one of Livin’s most productive.
“We run one global brand campaign annually, highlighting one key message a month through seventy videos, forty blog posts, twenty podcast episodes, dozens of pieces of sponsored content, five executive op-eds, and a global media buy that spans digital and out-of-home. We also write fifty event scripts a year and run one experiential activation in at least twenty markets every quarter.”
“Double that.”
“Double that?” Mei choked. “Everything?”
“You can think bigger. That’s what leaders do.”
Mei smiled sweetly. “I’m well aware of that. The Livin pop-ups in airport lounges? Our billboard takeovers in Times Square? Getting Julian keynotes at South by Southwest and Cannes Lions? All my ideas.”
“Good for you.”
Mei flinched. “And I’m planning a lot more activations on that scale.”
“ ‘More’ is the operative word.” James leaned forward in his seat. “You’re probably not aware, but we’re preparing to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This could be our last few months to go big with our marketing before the quiet period.”
“Thanks for the context.” So Livin was planning to go public soon. “I can commit to more. But rather than just doubling our output, let’s focus on areas that’ll drive the most return.”
“No. We need to show numbers. Big numbers. Julian won’t understand impressions and click-throughs.
He’ll get quantity. All the other teams have committed to more.
If you don’t step up, your team will sink in the rankings.
” James let out a low whistle as he moved his hand on a downward trajectory. “Is that what you want?”
Mei looked away. Livin fired employees who landed in the bottom ten percent three months in a row.
If James was telling the truth and her team’s rankings plummeted, everyone could lose their jobs.
Tamiko was caring for her ailing mother.
Bryce’s son had special needs that insurance didn’t cover.
And she had a wedding and honeymoon that were about to eat a huge chunk of her savings.
“Fine.” She’d see what her teammates could take on, then do the rest. “We’ll need to ramp up through the end of the quarter. That’s also when I’m getting married.”
“Oh? Are you taking time off?”
“Two and a half weeks at the end of September and early October.”
“That’s a long time, but I suppose it’s reasonable, given the occasion. Tell you what. I’ll give you September to ramp up. If you hit your numbers, we’ll talk about the VP job.”
“You won’t be disappointed.” Mei smiled confidently, despite her growing panic.
“Good.” James stood up to leave. “Oh, and, Mei?”
She looked up expectantly.
“Book another room for our one-on-ones, will you? I really don’t like plants.” He shuddered at the tropical greenery, then walked out the door.
· · ·
“I have no idea how I’ll do everything.” Mei shoved her laptop aside on the couch and curled up in the fetal position.
Joey rubbed her leg. “That’s way too much, babe. Even for you. Think it’s time to find a new job?”
“No way!” Mei bolted upright. “Not before we go public. I’m not losing my shares.”
“We’d be okay without that money. Our parents raised us on much less.”
Mei was quiet. Joey was right. But for the first time, she could pay rent without checking her bank account.
In the winter, she turned up the heat without worrying about the cost. If something broke, she dealt with a friendly management company, not a shady landlord who never fixed anything.
For the first time ever, she’d saved six months of living expenses, creating a little financial cushion.
“True. I just don’t want to live like that again.”
“I get it.” Joey wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t miss those lean times, either.”
Mei rested her cheek on his shoulder. Her eyes roamed their living room, noting Joey’s new MacBook Pro, noise-canceling headphones, high-end monitors, and a gaming chair that somehow cost more than their sofa.
Maybe I wouldn’t worry if you got a raise and spent less on your hobby!
But that wasn’t fair. Joey lived within his means.
He wasn’t saving much, but he wasn’t running up debt, either.
“Can I help with anything?” Joey asked.
The words she’d spoken to Alexandre that night on the porch surfaced in her mind. Sometimes I need a little help with Joey.
“How are you doing with your exam?” she ventured.
A flicker of annoyance crossed Joey’s face.
“Think you can study without me?”
Joey opened his mouth like he was about to argue, then nodded with resignation. “Yes.”
“Thanks, Joey.” She couldn’t wait to delete the corporate firewall study guide from her laptop. “I know it’ll take time, but can you make a plan with your boss and work toward it? For the promotion?”
Joey scrunched up his face, a red flush creeping up his neck. “Why are you so fixated on my promotion?”
Mei bit her lip. Joey never got annoyed at her. “Because it’ll help us. Once we’ve saved more, I can think about other jobs.”
Joey sighed. “Okay. I’ll do it. For you.”
“And yourself. We’re a team now. Remember?” Mei’s eyes searched his until he finally relented.
“All riiiiiiight. Okay, my baby.”
Mei exhaled with relief as Joey ruffled her hair.
“I’ll get cracking on my exam and you keep kicking ass at work. We’ll do our first Wedding Wednesday tomorrow, too. I’ll send you that calendar invite.”
A moment later, it arrived in her inbox. Mei chuckled at his over-the-top title: “WEDDING WEDNESDAY!!! ” When she glanced up, Joey was watching her, pleased.
“You know, I was just thinking I can take on more of the planning, too.”
Mei started to object, but Joey continued.
“You need to focus on Livin. My exam’s not for another few weeks. I can do wedding stuff outside of Wedding Wednesdays.”
Mei raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
“Yes. I want to. Because it’ll help you.”
Mei was speechless. Behind his silver-rimmed glasses, Joey’s eyes shone with determination. His lopsided smile filled Mei with hope. Joey was an underdog, just like her.
He was her underdog.
That familiar fiery rush flooded Mei’s veins. She traced Joey’s scruffy cheek.
As if sensing her thoughts, he pulled her onto his lap, pressing his forehead against hers. “Like you always say, my baby, we’re moving on up, together.”