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“That’s right.”
“Great, thanks, Alicia.”
“See you there!”
I end the call and turn to Mushu. “Who do we know at Regency Court?”
“The events manager, Brooke Tanaka, used to work at Phillips and Jones.”
“How do you remember all this?” I say in wonderment. Once again, I scroll through my contacts list, locate Brooke’s name, and make the call.
“No, not the taupe one, I said beige,” Brooke’s voice snaps out of the phone. “Hey, Mulan, it’s total chaos here. What’s up?”
“I won’t take long. Are you managing the Women Entrepreneurs Awards ceremony?”
“Yes, hence the chaos. Um, can someone please get Ricky down from up there? He’s breaking like a million health and safety codes right now. Sorry, what were you saying?”
“The drinks—they’ll be made in-house?”
“Yep.”
“We’re providing whiskey for the event and I would like to have one or two new cocktails using the whiskey, if possible?”
“Sure, let me connect you to the bartender.”
“Thank you, Brooke.”
“For fuck’s sake, Ricky—” The call is abruptly cut off.
Mushu and I stare at each other. “Funny how I used to think finance was the most stressful industry to work in,” I say. “Sounds like event planning is even worse.”
“Really? Sounds great to me. You get to boss people around, throw a shit fit over taupe versus beige.…”
A text message from Brooke comes in.
Brooke:
Sorry, hung up by mistake. Here’s the bartender’s contact.
I call Susie the bartender and explain the situation and what I would like.
“Don’t worry,” Susie says. “I gotchu.” She hangs up.
“Oh.” I give Mushu a look. “That was quick.”
“I like Susie. I have a crush on her.”
“You don’t even know what she looks like.”
“I’m not shallow,” she says. “By the way, I like this plan, except the part about providing them with two large crates of Wutai Gold’s finest? Can I ask how you’re going to swing that? Are you going to drain your savings? Embezzle money from the firm? I am always down for some embezzlement.”
“Mushu, you should so not be in finance.” I sigh. “No, Auntie Jiayi is going to source us the whiskey.”
“Damn, Auntie Jiayi showing up. You know, I bet she’d make an excellent mobster. She’s sweet, she’s gentle, she’s slightly terrifying.”
“I don’t disagree. But our work isn’t done. Who do we know in the media? We want them to know about Wutai Gold’s new look.”
Mushu rattles off names of publicists and influencers, and we get to work calling them one by one. Then I call in a favor from a design company we acquired some years back and ask them to come up with a simple, elegant design for Wutai Gold. By the time we’re done, I am exhausted. I sit back in my chair and let my head fall back. “Oh no,” I say, jerking upright. “Now we need to find the right outfits.”