Page 6 of Escaping the Bratva
Companies hire us to take their business to the next level with unique marketing strategies and public relations techniques. I fell in love with advertising from a young age and continued to follow my heart until I built Elevate. At first, it was just me. I took on whatever client would pay me to do things like run their ads and come up with a marketing plan. Once I built a name for myself, I started hiring people, but the real growth at Elevate has come in the last few years. We’ve been able to get the attention of a few high-class companies, some of which were started by A-list celebrities. That’s when we expanded to all parts of marketing, including public relations.
I check the status on all of our on-going projects and reply to a few emails before digging in my bag and pulling out my sketch pad. I’d been scribbling down ideas late last night, and I need to talk with a few of my team members about them. For some reason, my creativity is at its peak when everyone else is asleep. During the day, it’s all about business, but night time is where all the fun happen. Splitting my time between being a CEO and a creative is not an easy task, but over the years, I’ve learned how to make it work. I grab my sketch pad and head out to the floor. The atmosphere is just how I like it. There's a good amount of talking and laughing and a good vibe all around. I worked at a few corporate offices as I saved money to open up Elevate, and I hated the culture. I knew I didn’t want that for my own business. I head to the back of the room where my graphic design team manager, Amanda, sits at an open desk.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I ask, taking the empty seat next to her.
She spins in her chair and gives me a smile. Her dark brown hair is pulled up in a bun at the top of her head. She’s dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a band T-shirt. I allow my employees to wear basically whatever they want on days they aren't meeting with clients.
“Good. We’re making some headway on the sample ads for Blue State Realty. Branding sent us over a few things they need us to tweak.”
“Perfect. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Oh, no. Does this mean you came up with a great idea while the rest of us were sleeping and you want to have it done yesterday?”
“It's like you know me.”
I pull out the sketchbook from behind my back and flip through the pages, getting her opinion on some of the drawings I’ve made of advertisements. Collaboration is a huge part of my business. I hire the best people in the business, and I value their opinion. We settle on a couple of sketches to add to the presentation. I leave my sketchpad with her so she can get her team working on them. After they’re finished, I’ll talk to my copywriting team about coming up with a catchy tagline to go with the images. I take the ponytail holder off my wrist and put my hair into a high pony. It’s going to be a busy day.
*****
I pull my Jeep up to Alyssa’s house a little bit after seven o’clock. I finished work at six and then had to run by my place to shower and pick out an outfit for tonight. I turn the car off and throw my big, heavy purse around my shoulder before walking up the cobblestone steps. She opens the door before I’m even able to knock. She’s dressed in a pink, silky bathrobe, and her bright red hair is still wet from the shower.
“Finally.”
“It's seven o’clock,” I say, stepping around her and into the house. The house is beautiful. It’s open and spacious with light hardwood floors and orange walls. We’re within walking distance to the beach. It cost her ex-husband at least four million to secure this house. He didn’t bet on the chance Alyssa would win it in the divorce, but she deserved it for putting up with that asshole. He was an NFL player with a wandering eye. He was paying for an apartment for his girlfriend when Alyssa finally found out. Since then Alyssa has been living up her new single life, and I can’t blame her.
“I’ve made martinis already,” she says, walking over to the kitchen island and grabbing two glasses. I set my purse down on the couch and accept the martini glass she hands me.
I take a sip. “Oh, that is so good.”
“Isn’t it?” She sits down on one of the kitchen stools and pats the one next to her. I take the seat.
“So what’s new?” I talk to Alyssa damn near every day, but she always has so much going on with her life, it’s easy to miss things.
“I think I’ve filled you in on everything. What’s up with you?”
I take another sip of my drink. I kind of hate that the only thing I have to talk about is work, but it consumes every part of my day. Being a business owner means making sacrifices. I’m paying the cost to be the boss.
“I have a meeting with Blue State Realty on Monday, so I was up late last night finishing some sketches.”
“Do you really? They are huge. It'd be amazing if you were able to sign them on.”
“I know. It would be good press, and it would be good for my PR team. They need something fresh to work on.” I take another sip of my martini letting the drink relax me.
“Alright, we should probably start to get ready. The club doesn’t open until ten, but if we’re sitting in VIP, I want to look amazing.”
We get ready together, talking as we do our hair and makeup in her master bathroom. I picked out a short, sparkly, purple dress to wear tonight that nearly matches my hair. It shows off my long spray-tanned legs and gives just a glimpse of my cleavage.
Alyssa drives, and we arrive at the club not long after it opens. There is still a ridiculously long line of people out front waiting to get in. The night passes just like any other Friday night out on the town. We sat in VIP with Alyssa’s newest boy toy and some of his hot friends. We dance and drink until it’s time to call it a night. I’m sure Alyssa’s boy toy will meet her back at her house later. His name was Brandon, and he’s five years younger than her. They are two horn dogs, unable to keep their hands off each other. I, on the other hand, spend the night turning down every single man who invites me to go back home with.
“Hey,” Alyssa says, snapping my attention back to the present. “Do you know what sounds really, really good right now?”
“What?” Alyssa can barely keep her eyes open, I hadn’t been keeping track of how much she was drinking at the club. I’m glad there are no cars on the road at three a.m. It's not like I’m in a much better situation to drive. We should have taken a cab.
“A Slurpee.”
I laugh. “Oh my gosh, I haven’t had a Slurpee in years.”
“I know. Remember we used to get them all the time when you lived in that apartment across the street from 7-11?”