Seeking Eden by Beverley Harvey

Author:Beverley Harvey [Harvey, Beverley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781911331896
Published: 2017-07-05T22:00:00+00:00

Harrington’s, thought Ben, was awash with 90s clichés; from the shiny yellow-peril walls, to the glass-bricked entrance and the industrial-looking steel mezzanine above reception. Did all advertising agencies look the same? Certainly the handful he’d been in looked a lot like this one.

The receptionist, Annabel, asked him to wait. She had the look of a young Mia Farrow, an image which was mismatched by her cut glass vowels.

‘May I offer you a drink, Mr Wilde? Coffee, water, coke?’

‘No cake for me thanks, babe – I’ve just had lunch,’ Ben said, knowing full well he’d been offered cola, but unable to resist a dig at her accent.

Mia/Annabel narrowed her eyes, not playing at all.

‘Go on, then. I’ll have water,’ Ben said, nerves suddenly making his mouth dry.

After a few minutes spent flipping through Campaign magazine, an eager pair in their thirties came to meet him.

‘Hi Ben! I’m Amy, this is Anthony; we’re the creative team,’ the woman effervesced, shaking his hand, ‘It’s a real pleasure to meet you; thanks so much for coming in.’

Ben was apprehensive – now it felt like a big deal.

He was taken into a semi-dark Board Room, chilly with aircon. Two other people were already seated.

‘Ben, meet Hilary; she’s the producer – and this is Davina, account director.’ Anthony said.

‘Hi,’ Ben waved into the gloom, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

‘We’re waiting for one other person,’ said Davina, who was all business, in a sharp suit and a sharper bob.

A tall, broad-shouldered guy with chiselled features entered the room.

‘Hi. I’m Neil, the creative director.’ Neil’s handshake was firm, welcoming.

‘Thanks for coming in, Ben. Have you travelled far to see us?’

‘Brockley, South-East London.’ Ben was surprised by the small talk.

‘Ah. Know it well. So, let’s talk about Helium. It’s an energy drink – massive in the States, about to launch here. We won the account last year and have been laying the foundations ever since. We’ll be shooting three ads, for the full product range, which will air in September – and we’d like to talk to you about the soundtrack. Seagull has just the vibe we’re looking for.’

Neil paused and Ben noticed how everyone else was scribbling away; surely they knew all this stuff already.

‘Amy and Anthony are the creative team; we can show you storyboards and so on…it’s being cast at the moment. So as you can see, we are ready to rock. Currently, there is no one else in the frame – we wanted to speak to you first, Ben.’ Neil was looking at him expectantly.

‘Blimey. I’m flattered. Look, this is all new to me – I’ve been a songwriter for decades, but until the retail ad came up, I’d never done commercials.’

‘I don’t think that’s relevant – you write great music, Ben – and it’s what our client wants…hey, it’s what we want. And anyway, we can’t afford to use an existing hit; there are budgetary considerations of course.’

‘Of course,’ echoed Ben. ‘I’m working on an album at the moment – there’s one track in particular that might hit the spot.

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