Spin Control (6 page)

But "talking soon" never came. Unless soon was today, two years later. Looking at Fox now, it was apparent that he did not remember our first brief encounter,
nor did I expect him to.

"Mr. Underhill, it's such a pleasure to meet you" I
shook his hand. "We're all very eager to work on this
account."

"The feeling is mutual, Ms. Brown," Fox said with a
smile.

I seated myself next to Michael. "So, where's the
man of the hour?" I asked Fox in what I hoped was a
casual tone. Perhaps Devin had found out what Fox had
planned for him and refused to show up. Then who
would win the bet between Michael and me, I wondered? I frowned at myself. The last thing I needed was
to get distracted. Focus on the task at hand, not the delicious food after said task at hand is completed.

"Devin's running late. Had some sort of appointment
on the other side of the city, he tells me."

"Is he still unaware of the purpose of today's meeting?" Michael asked.

Fox nodded vigorously. "Definitely. I couldn't jeopardize that. This is too important to me."

I looked over at Gwen, whose grin reminded me of
myself as a thirteen-year-old with a crush on Benji Waters. Man, did I love that boy, his oversized glasses and
curly blond hair and all. Of course, Benji came out of the
closet a decade later, but that was par for the course, I figured. I knew what that crush felt like sixteen years ago,
and I was sure Gwen was going through the same thing
right now. Perhaps Michael and I were right-Gwen had
more invested in this account than just financial matters.

Michael must have noticed, too, and slightly nudged
me. Without looking over, I acknowledged him with a
slight tilt of my head.

"Let's talk briefly of your concern for your son's
public image," Michael suggested to Fox. "Gwen filled
Kate and me in this week, but we would love to get the
full story from you."

Fox straightened his tie. "The company has been receiving complaints from family friends, who happen to
be the biggest clients and supporters of Hotel Bella,
about Devin's behavior."

"Could you be more specific? What do you mean by
'behavior?"' I inquired, even though all of us already
knew the answer. This meeting was becoming a form of
torture, with my asking questions that I didn't really
want answers to.

"Within the last year or so, he has been out all night
with some of New York's, uh, characters, and his encounters keep appearing in the press. Within the last
few months, he has been coming to work late, blowing
off meetings with investors, and refusing to talk to reporters about anything related to the company" Fox
purposefully rolled back in his chair away from the
table. "It might not seem to affect our hotels on an individual basis, but the overall image is declining. I'm
sure you've seen the results of our last guest survey"

Gwen, Michael, and I nodded in unison. I pulled out a
binder and spoke. "According to the survey, overall appeal of the hotel has dropped 22 percentage points since
the last survey four years ago. That's a pretty big hit."

"Here's my question," Michael interjected. "We've
all seen the articles and gossip columns and pictures of
Devin's nightly exploits, but what makes you think that
it's your son's after-hours reputation that's spoiling
business for you, rather than the economy, or the general state of the world today?" Gwen shot me a panicked look, as if to say, "Shut him up! This isn't what
I'm paying you guys for!"

"I think the latter and the former go hand in hand,"
stated Fox, unflappable. "Devin has decided to sow his
wild oats in a time when the hotel business needs a
level-headed leader more than ever. I'm not asking for
perfection, just a better general image. And I don't care
what needs to be done to reach that goal"

"Shall we launch into our plan, or do you want to
wait for your son?" Michael asked.

Fox resituated himself in the black leather chair. "Let's wait." Suddenly, the room fell silent. For the first
time, Devin's absence became noticeable.

As she typically did, Gwen broke the silence. "Fox, I
have a feeling that this cloudy morning is going to turn
into a fabulous spring day! The smell in the air getting
you excited for a summer in the Hamptons?"

"I feel like I'm getting too old for that scene," he said
somewhat sternly. "I might just do some damage control at the individual hotels both nationally and internationally. "

"You know, if you don't want your Hamptons home
to be lonely, I could go there and keep it company"
Gwen gave Fox an awkward, almost masculine, nudge,
and they both laughed and continued talking of expensive summer homes.

Michael and I turned to each other and shared a
questioning glance. He tapped my hand with his pen.
"How you doing?" he asked softly. "Nervous?"

"Not until you reminded me" The acid crept slowly
through my esophagus. Get here, Devin Underhill, so I
can get on with my life.

My wish was answered. The four of us turned to the
door to see Rita, our administrative assistant, escorting
Devin into the conference room. She was in her early
forties and had this weird half-smile on her face,
which was the most emotion I had ever seen out of her.
Yes, she must have been hypnotized by the Devin Underhill spell.

Meanwhile, I could feel my pulse throbbing in my
neck. I swigged from my bottle of water, hoping it
might slow down my heartbeat. Michael, Gwen, and I rose to greet Devin. His hair was a bit longer than it was
two years ago, but everything else was the same: chiseled jaw, broad shoulders, and those eyes. I had to
avoid those eyes. But they did seem to have slight bags
under them, as if he had a rough night.

I took a deep, silent breath as I faced my past, looking sleek in his slate-gray suit. "Devin, Kate Brown.
Pleasure to meet you"

This was the defining moment I had awaited for
twenty-four hours, maybe longer. I saw the recognition
in his eyes, those eyes I so wanted to avoid. Maybe I
was lying to myself, but I thought I recognized a trace
of happiness cross Devin's face. Or maybe it was more
of a smirk.

We might have paused just a bit too long, since
Michael came between the two of us and put out his
hand. "Devin, Michael Korten."

"Michael Korten?" Devin repeated the name. "Say,
did you happen to work with Derrik Train in L.A.?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. How do you know Derrik?"

"He's one of our best customers in Beverly Hills. He
was having some troubles but really spoke highly of
you and how you got him out of a few tough spots"

Weren't publicists at the bottom of the food chain?
What Michael had done for Derrik was out of motivation for a hefty paycheck, I was certain, not to offer him
a spiritual awakening.

"How is Derrik these days?" Michael dropped back
into his chair. "I haven't talked to him since I left L.A.
six months ago."

Devin shrugged. "Well, he's booked a hundred rooms at the hotel next month for his 30th birthday." Michael
plastered a smile.

"Needless to say," Devin continued, "I'm sure that I'll
be pleased with your services just as Derrik has been"

Were Devin and Michael becoming fast friends?
That figures.

"Let's see what happens," Michael said vaguely. "And
maybe the most important person to know in this room is
none other than Gwen Burton, CEO of this fine firm"

Gwen stood up and clumsily reached across the table
for Devin's hand. "Oh, you're just like your father!" she
exclaimed.

"Heh," Devin replied with a phony smile.

"Shall we get this meeting started?" Gwen suggested
to no one in particular.

"Agreed," Devin replied. "My father never really
told me why we're here. Would someone like to fill me
in on the scope of this meeting?"

Gwen gleefully, almost maniacally, pointed to me.
"I'll let Kate get us started, since she's still standing up.
What say you, dear?"

I glanced at Michael, who shot back an encouraging
smile. It was the least he could do, now that he and
Devin were practically best buds. I grabbed large sheets
of black foam core and walked to the front of the room.

I stood there, hands placed on my hips to look authoritative, but the real reason for putting them there
was to keep me from tipping over. "Devin, have you
taken a look at the Hotel Bella opinion survey from a
few months ago?"

"Sure, I glanced over it, but I'm sure my father is dis appointed that I didn't study it more thoroughly." Father and son exchanged a rancorous glance that made
me feel uncomfortable.

"Let me fill you in on the highlights," I hastily continued, making a point to silently monitor my breathing. "The Hotel Bella image has been knocked down
quite a few notches"

Devin leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms
over his chest. "Isn't the entire hotel industry in this position? I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"From what we've been able to gather," I proceeded
cautiously, "you seem to be getting some bad publicity."

Devin furrowed his brow. "Still not sure what you're
trying to say"

"Do you read magazines? And do you know what
they're saying about you? It's not pretty" I spoke directly.

Devin leaned back and locked his fingers behind his
head. "This is rich." He cast a hostile eye toward his father. "Is this some sort of grand scheme to get me out
of the company?" And then Devin returned his glance
toward me, looking directly into my eyes. "Who
doesn't like to have a good time every once in a while?
I think your claim may be a tad exaggerated"

I'd hoped it wouldn't have come to this so soon, but I
showed the group the first board. It contained about
eight cutouts from magazines in which Devin had appeared in the last year. "Devin, in all of these, if you're
not holding a woman, then you are holding a cigarette
or a strong drink." I passed the board around the table.
With a clenched jaw, Devin swept the board toward Fox
without even looking at it, or his father.

"Of course, sometimes the New York media tend to
catch celebrities at their worst moments." I put a spin
on the situation, just as I had done for so many clients
in the past. In fact, I was reveling in the moment more
than I thought I would. Anna was right. I was one lucky
girl to be in this position, deservedly putting an exboyfriend on the hot seat. "But this is eight inopportune
moments."

"This feels like a trial," Devin complained.

"Stay with me. This isn't something that you're going to be tarred and feathered for. We feel that the
guests of Hotel Bella are becoming turned off to a company once known for its strong family values that's now
being led by a man who just doesn't seem to care who
he's seen with or what he does in public."

Devin started standing up, but Michael put up a confident, reassuring hand.

"Devin, look, we're a PR firm, not the ethics police.
Our job is to get Hotel Bella back on track, to get
those profits up. And your father, well, all of us feel
the best way to do so is to improve the public's perception of you"

Devin shot his father a baleful glance before turning
back to Michael and me. "I'm not some sort of player,"
he said defensively. I saw the heat rise from his neck
toward his forehead. Devin looked about two seconds
away from a tantrum. I was going to win my bet with
Michael.

Fox, who had been silent up to this point, spoke up.
"Devin, do you really think this is a surprise? How many times have we talked about this? Your carousing
is hurting business. Simple as that."

"Yeah, but did you really need to bring in a crack team
of publicists?" Devin answered through clenched teeth.

"I need to know what your commitment is to this
company, Devin. Are you in? Because if you're not, I'm
ready to take it to the board"

Devin grasped the arms of the chair at the ultimatum
from his father. I watched Michael, who eyed me with
the same dumbfounded look I must have been wearing.
Gwen's eyes were wide with excitement.

"Fine," Devin said abruptly. "Just tell me the plan."

I raised a suspicious eyebrow at Devin, who offered a
slight nod. I cleared my throat. "As Michael said, we're
not standing on a moral pedestal. We are just trying to
make things easier for you, Fox, and the company. I
have a feeling that your dedication and commitment to
the family business trump the bad press" I tapped into
my personal knowledge, rather than professional, of
Devin to address that last issue. I hoped I had struck a
nerve somewhere deep within Devin, since I was not
confident whether I had believed my own words.

I chose to interpret Devin's silence as acceptance of
my statement and introduced the plan. "Devin, this
isn't as bad as it sounds. We're not asking you to cloister yourself. It simply comes down to common sense
and timing. Who you're seen with, when you're seen
with them, and what you're doing with them all matter."

I picked up a stack of bound presentations and distributed them. "You'll see that Michael and I have out lined some suggested hot spots, activities, and A-listers
that'll all offer good press just by associating with
them. Emceeing an auction with Rudy Giuliani, throwing out the first pitch at an all-star fund-raiser baseball
game, showing up at hospitals for visits. Once you examine the lists, you'll notice that not much will change
for you. Remember: common sense and timing. It's important to surround yourself with reputable, highquality people"

With that, I seated myself at the table and nodded to
Michael to describe the public relations makeover plan
in detail. I needed a break. But I did it. I made it
through the meeting with few flaws. The worst was
over, or so I believed.