3. Chapter 3
Jack had just ended a video client meeting when Tim stuck his head in the door, waving a large manila folder.
‘Boss, want to go through these draft designs over a cuppa?’
Jack leaned back in his chair. The thought of looking over new client designs when he had an email backlog that would take a week to clear didn’t fill him with glee, but he smiled and nodded.
‘Sure. I’ll put the kettle on.’
‘No need.’ Tim grinned. ‘Already done. I’ll be back in a jiffy.’
Jack rubbed his hands over his face and felt the stubble on his chin. It had been an exceptionally busy week, and he knew it showed in his face. He stood and opened the window in the hope that fresh air would revive him. The sound of traffic and occasional voices drifted up from the street below.
Tim was back, holding open the door for Kathy.
‘She beat me to it, boss.’ he grinned.
‘I told him,’ Kathy said as she sidled past Tim balancing a tray, ‘that you’ve been stuck in here on that video call for hours, and you need more than just coffee to see you through.’
Kathy, Jack’s devoted assistant, had been due to retire last year but instead had asked to just cut her hours.
‘You’d never manage without me,’ she had said, winking at him.
‘Here, let me take that.’
Jack took the tray from Kathy that balanced two steaming coffee mugs and two generous slices of Kathy’s homemade chocolate cake. Kathy’s motto was, a little of what you fancy does you good. Jack eyed the slab of cake and wondered if his waistline could take it.
‘I put a nip of sugar in your coffee,’ Kathy whispered to Jack, patting him on the arm. ‘You need the energy to get you through.’
Jack grinned. Kathy’s solution to most things in life was either a nip of sugar, a cup of tea, fresh air, or a tot of whisky. To be fair, she was mostly right.
‘Thank you, Kathy, you’re a marvel.’
She nodded sagely as she closed the door.
Jack took a long sip of too-sweet coffee and felt it burn his throat a little as it went down.
‘Okay. What do we have here?’
Jack clapped his hands and smiled broadly at Tim.
Tim, his head of design, was exceptionally gifted, and Jack was grateful every day that he continued to work with him. He was talented enough to work for any agency in any major city. But Tim had married a Yorkshire lass who would never be persuaded to swap the hills and countryside for city streets and parks. Something for which Jack thanked his lucky stars daily.
Tim spread out the draft logos and key brand identification points for a luxury bespoke furniture company, one of their newest clients.
Jack sipped his coffee and gave Tim his full attention as Tim described the thinking behind the colour palette, the logo style, the tagline, and the identity he wanted to create for the company.
‘As you know, they feel they’ve really outgrown their current branding, and it’s not supporting them in their expansion plans. They want visuals and messaging that conveys a sense of place and history, with high-quality build standards, but for a national audience.’
Jack nodded as he looked over the designs spread out before him.
‘Yes, okay. This is looking good. Really good. Have you spoken to Ellie about the social media key messages and the first campaign?’
Tim nodded.
‘Yes. And I hope all three of us can meet next week to finalise things before we go back to the client.’
‘Yes.’ Jack nodded. ‘We can fit that in.’
He wasn’t sure exactly how he would fit it in, not without another few hours in the day, but he’d make it work somehow. He opened his phone and started scrolling through his calendar.
There was a knock at the door, and Ellie, the social media strategist for their clients, stuck her head in.
She pulled a face.
‘So sorry to interrupt you, but we’ve got a bit of an issue. Can I bend your ear?’
She looked at Jack, eyes wide.
‘Of course.’ He swiveled to face her and smiled. ‘What is it?’
Ellie stepped into the room and glanced from Jack to Tim and back to Jack.
‘Well, Herberts are on the phone. They want extra support urgently to manage an emerging situation about some posts on X.’
Ellie looked nervous.
Jack leaned forward.
‘Go on.’
‘It seems they had an intern at their head office, and someone…’ she shook her head, ‘let the intern help with some of the social media. Only, it looks like the intern then forgot to sign back into their own private account, so they’ve posted a few things on X that now look like they have been shared by Herberts.’ Ellie paused. ‘At least one is a bit… explicit.’
‘Shit.’ Jack said, rubbing his eyes.
Tim took his cue and started gathering up his papers.
‘And,’ Ellie continued, ‘they’ve already been screenshotted and re-shared. So we can’t contain it. Herberts are getting some pretty severe backlash already.’
Jack was on his feet.
‘Where’s Toby?’
‘With me, trying to help. But we really need someone to speak to Herberts. Sasha over there is pretty much losing her mind.’
Tim was at the door. He grimaced and waved the folder.
‘Catch you about this later,’ he said, slipping into the corridor.
Jack nodded.
‘Right, come on, Ellie. Let’s take a look at the damage, and then I’ll call Sasha and we’ll agree on a strategic response. Please tell me someone has now locked that intern out of the Herberts account.’
Jack strode out of the room, Ellie hurrying at his heels.
Three hours later, they had devised a consistent response to the Herbert’s mess. Working alongside Herberts’ own in-house media team, Jack’s team at BrandFriendsSocial had helped coordinate a response to the slew of angry posts, re-shares, and never-ending new memes that were popping up at Herberts’ expense. A press release explaining the unfortunate situation was quickly drafted and was live. Jack had had a frank conversation with Herberts’ marketing manager about how on earth an intern was ever given access to social media accounts in the first place.
He was pretty sure that once the initial furore died down, they could help Herberts spin this into a funny when work placements go wrong story and recover some more favourable coverage for the company.
Jack sank into his chair at his desk and looked at all he had to do. The Herberts’ situation had torn a hole in his day. Ellie and Toby would also have to push all their work into next week while they stayed on the Herberts account for the afternoon.
When he founded BrandFriendsSocial the focus was on helping companies build strong customer relationships through relatable branding, online profiles and social media engagement. The business model helped to build a strong reputation for the clients in a noisy marketplace. Protecting companies from themselves was a less commonly talked about but nonetheless vital part of their expertise. It had developed later as the explosive and uncontrollable nature of these public forums made itself known.
No company liked to think it would ever grab a massive shovel and dig the hole for itself. But at some point, many did. Whether on a grand and highly unexpected scale like Herberts, through poorly made products (Jack had recently led on reputation damage control for a kitchen appliance company after a massive recall for toasters that spontaneously combusted), or simply shoddy customer service that slowly eroded customer faith. At some time or another, many of BrandFriendsSocial clients had shot themselves in the foot and jumped on the phone looking for damage limitation. Jack rather enjoyed this part of the job—the chance to take an existing story and craft it into something new, all while battling the clock, the press, and countless keyboard warriors.
But it wasn’t easy to balance this work with the ever-growing demands of running the company.
His landline flashed as Jack clicked his mouse to bring his computer to life. He picked up, and Kathy’s cheery voice announced, ‘Jack, I have Steven from Bryce and Mays on the line for you.’
‘Great,’ Jack said. ‘Put him through.’
‘Hello, Jack.’ Steven’s calm and reassuring tones floated down the line. ‘How are you?’
Jack laughed.
‘Honestly? A bit frazzled. As you know, it’s a busy time as it is, and it’s never ideal when a client creates a major issue for themselves on a Friday afternoon.’
Steven laughed.
‘Yes, Herberts really went up in flames on this. Which is partly why I am calling.’
Jack fell quiet.
‘Casston’s is impressed with how BrandFriendsSocial has handled this, and they know that you’ll have been at the forefront of the strategic response. They’d like to discuss a revision to the draft contract for the purchase of the company.’
Jack was wary. Casston Media Communications had been in talks with him to buy his company for a few months now, so any change now was really eleventh-hour stuff.
Steven chuckled into the silence.
‘It’s not bad news, Jack. As your lawyer, I’d tell you upfront if it was.’
Jack ran a hand through his hair.
‘I think it’s an interesting proposition, actually,’ Steven continued. ‘They want you to move to New York for a year, as part of them buying the company, to help with the transition and the development of the new client base in the States. You’ll act as a consultant, and they’ll cover all expenses, of course, and better your current salary.’ Steven paused. ‘They want the company, Jack. And they want you.’
Jack stared out of the window at the late afternoon light. Outside his office door, he could hear the familiar shuffling sounds of people gathering belongings as they prepared to leave for the weekend. He looked at the stack of work on his desk.
‘I’m going to need some time to think about this, Steven,’ he said. ‘It’s exciting, in theory, but it’s a big ask, too.’
Jack had a sudden thought.
‘Steven, is this a case of they’d like me to do this, or is me going to New York now a condition of them buying the company?’
There was a slight pause before Steven replied.
‘They haven’t put it quite like that, Jack, but reading between the lines, if you decide against going to New York for the year, I think it could make them reconsider. I think they’ve now come to understand that BrandFriendsSocial is you—so they want a piece of you with the sale, to smooth the transition. I know pursuing your new business venture depends on this sale too, so my advice is to weigh this decision carefully. I appreciate that a move on this scale makes it both a business decision and a personal one.’
‘Yes,’ Jack said slowly, watching a car undulate along a country lane on a distant hillside.
He was too tired to take this all in, and six more emails had come in during the few minutes they had been on the phone. It looked like another late Friday evening at the office.
He sighed under his breath.
‘There’s a lot to think about, Steven.’
Steven, sounding far less fatigued than Jack, replied, ‘I understand. They’ll send over draft terms shortly—it’s only lunchtime there. Then, they’d like to meet next week to address questions and iron out details, and then they’ll issue the updated contract for consideration. They’ll want a final answer a week later.’
Jack snorted.
‘That’s a pretty tough timeline for them to try to impose, given this late request. It’s not a small ask.’
Steven chuckled, and Jack could feel him shrug over the phone.
‘That’s business. How do you want to proceed? We can push back and say no outright or ask for more time?’
Jack eyed his computer as more emails stacked up. A year in New York. A new adventure with new people. Someone else doing the heavy lifting and the long hours while he consulted and advised. He took a breath.
‘Tell them to please send the draft terms.’