Chapter 6
“L ooks like I’m clear until the meeting. I’d love to show you around Lands—on two conditions,” Charlotte said.
Gregory looked at her skeptically. “What conditions?”
“You will go on every ride I ask you to go on, and you will try to have fun.”
“Ah. So you can tell I’m not the type who goes on rides, huh?”
Charlotte had her work cut out for her. “I didn’t know for sure, but I suspected as much. The suit and tie don’t exactly scream ‘I’m here to toss my cares aside while I eat sugar and go on rides.’ ”
He had the grace to look embarrassed, the lightest pink creeping across his cheekbones. “Guilty as charged. To be honest, I’m only here because my mother, Evelyn, forced me to come. Mine’s a family business, too. I haven’t been to a place like this ever, I think?” He tilted his head back slightly, like he was going through memories. “Wait, I kind of remember my grandpa taking me to a park when I was a kid—you know, the target audience for places with rides and popcorn.”
Charlotte didn’t miss the dismissive tone in his voice.
If they had been walking, Charlotte would have stopped in her tracks. He clearly wasn’t young at heart and since he couldn’t understand why other adults would go to a theme park, he looked down on them instead. Every so often online discourse popped up about adults who adored going to theme parks even if they didn’t have children to accompany them. It was a conversation Charlotte had had many times. And it exhausted her, yes, but it also prepared her for this moment. She took a deep breath.
“You’re right. Kids do love theme parks, and families make up a large percentage of our visitors. But a ton of adults come without children. Groups of friends, childless couples. Between my time at Lands seeing visitors from day-to-day to working for DreamUs and reviewing demographics for all of the company’s nine parks, I can confidently tell you adults love theme parks just as much as kids. Plus, they tend to have more disposable income, so they’re especially valuable customers,” Charlotte noted with a small, patronizing smile.
Gregory looked like he was going to interrupt. She didn’t let him.
“Everyone needs an escape, right? Adults want to play in a world of imagination as much as kids. Some parts of society judge them”—she leveled a look at Gregory—“but they ignore the cracks and commentary from other adults who have forgotten how to play. We often treat adulthood as this sacred business, where every moment must be taken seriously—how are we ‘earning’ our way in life unless we follow societal standards? Fuck that. Life is fleeting. Play and happiness are important. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Charlotte pointedly did not think about how little time she left for play.
She concluded, “So no, kids aren’t the sole target audience, and marketing with only kids and families in mind is a mistake for more reasons than lost revenue opportunities.”
Gregory looked like he wanted to argue. Instead, a smirk appeared on his all-too-handsome face. “Do you normally curse while in a theme park?”
Charlotte clenched her fists. That’s what he took away from her impassioned speech?! She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t even get me started on how curse words are arbitrary.”
She gestured around them. “Also, no kids are around right now.”
They stood in uncomfortable silence for a beat too long. Charlotte couldn’t believe she’d agreed to show this limp noodle of a human around the park. It didn’t matter how he turned standing with a slight lean into a work of art. Glancing at her watch, she noted she had three hours until the meeting Marianne texted about, and she still wanted to talk with her aunt and uncle before then. Plus, she did have some work to do before then, so she had maybe two hours. Two hours to make Gregory see the magic of Lands and be the ideal, hands-off money person who gave them a blank check and didn’t interfere. As a bonus, maybe she could show him it was okay to experience joy.
It was going to be fine.
“Ookaay. Sir Cinna-Swirls is open now. Shall we start with cinnamon rolls?” Charlotte asked.
“Lead the way,” Gregory replied.