‘I must phone Robbie! He goes up to London for meetings sometimes!’
The line went dead. As soon as Lizzy put it back on the hook it started ringing again.
‘Mum, for God’s sake …’
‘It’s Ken Dennings, Lizzy!’
‘Sorry about that, Ken, I thought you were someone else. How are you?’
‘I’m afraid I’m about to throw my toys out of the cot. I’m not sure about the direction A Helping Hand is going in.’
‘Oh.’ Lizzy sat up. ‘In what way?’
‘I’ve been thinking it would be a good idea to change the name back.’
This could be tricky. When Ken had first come to Haven PR his product had been in dire trouble. It had been a long and arduous process for Lizzy to convince him to rebrand.
‘With all due respect, Ken, I think the reason A Clear Passage didn’t take off was because it was a bit too literal. There’s still a certain amount of embarrassment associated with buying constipation products. As yet most people unfortunately aren’t as enlightened as you or I.’
‘How about U Bend?’
‘I think you’ll probably run into the same issues.’ Lizzy fervently hoped he wasn’t going to suggest A Bum Deal again.
‘OK, OK, I’ll take your word for it. I’ve also had an idea for a new online campaign.’
‘Great! What is it?’
‘It’s from this programme I saw the other night about the Alps.’
‘Oh?’ Lizzy said, wondering where he was going.
‘There was this big avalanche, and it got me thinking. Isn’t that a great analogy for A Helping Hand?’
‘I’m not sure I follow …’
‘Follow through, more like! Ha ha!’
‘You were talking about avalanches.’
‘Ah yes. What I mean is, all that compact ice just sitting there. One rock dislodges it and boom! The whole lot comes tumbling down. A Helping Hand could be that rock, Lizzy.’
‘Wow!’
‘I knew you’d like it. I was thinking we’d release it as a thirty-second clip on YouTube and watch it go viral. And you know all about that, Lizzy, ha ha!’
A new alert flashed up on her phone. It was another message from Reuben.
So when can I take you out for a drink? xx
Yes!
She metaphorically punched the air.
‘Lizzy? Are you still there?’
‘Sorry, Ken, I was thinking it through. Can I sit on it and get back to you?’
‘Be my guest. That’s where I sit when I need inspiration.’
‘Sorry?’
‘The toilet! Ha ha ha!’
Avalanches of poo were far from Lizzy’s mind as she went to meet Reuben two days later. They’d arranged to meet in a pub on the Strand but when Lizzy arrived five minutes fashionably late and walked through the bar, she almost walked straight out again. The dark, tousle-haired vision of gorgeousness sitting alone in the corner couldn’t possibly be the man she was meeting for a blind date.
‘Lizzy?’ He got up from his chair. ‘It is you, isn’t it?’
She couldn’t take him in fast enough. The soulful brown eyes, the dimples, the muscular body modestly nestling under a simple white T-shirt. Reuben was even better-looking in real life!
‘Can I have my hand back?’ he asked.
‘What?’ She let go. ‘Oh, sorry!’
He grinned adorably. ‘What can I get you to drink?’
‘So what do you do?’ he asked. They were sitting at the table with a half lager each.
‘I work in PR.’ Lizzy knew she was staring gormlessly, but it was beyond the realms of her control. People this good-looking just didn’t go on dates with girls like her in real life.
There was a short silence.
Now you ask him what he does.
‘What do you do?’ she asked.
‘I’m a graphic designer.’
‘Oh cool, who do you work for?’
‘I’m freelance, I mainly work from home.’ Reuben gave Lizzy a questioning smile. ‘I hope you don’t mind me asking, but it is you, isn’t it? From YouTube I mean.’
She was yanked out of her lustful reverie. ‘Yep, I guess you found me out.’
Reuben’s handsome face was sympathetic. ‘I didn’t know whether you’d want to talk about it. Being
The line went dead. As soon as Lizzy put it back on the hook it started ringing again.
‘Mum, for God’s sake …’
‘It’s Ken Dennings, Lizzy!’
‘Sorry about that, Ken, I thought you were someone else. How are you?’
‘I’m afraid I’m about to throw my toys out of the cot. I’m not sure about the direction A Helping Hand is going in.’
‘Oh.’ Lizzy sat up. ‘In what way?’
‘I’ve been thinking it would be a good idea to change the name back.’
This could be tricky. When Ken had first come to Haven PR his product had been in dire trouble. It had been a long and arduous process for Lizzy to convince him to rebrand.
‘With all due respect, Ken, I think the reason A Clear Passage didn’t take off was because it was a bit too literal. There’s still a certain amount of embarrassment associated with buying constipation products. As yet most people unfortunately aren’t as enlightened as you or I.’
‘How about U Bend?’
‘I think you’ll probably run into the same issues.’ Lizzy fervently hoped he wasn’t going to suggest A Bum Deal again.
‘OK, OK, I’ll take your word for it. I’ve also had an idea for a new online campaign.’
‘Great! What is it?’
‘It’s from this programme I saw the other night about the Alps.’
‘Oh?’ Lizzy said, wondering where he was going.
‘There was this big avalanche, and it got me thinking. Isn’t that a great analogy for A Helping Hand?’
‘I’m not sure I follow …’
‘Follow through, more like! Ha ha!’
‘You were talking about avalanches.’
‘Ah yes. What I mean is, all that compact ice just sitting there. One rock dislodges it and boom! The whole lot comes tumbling down. A Helping Hand could be that rock, Lizzy.’
‘Wow!’
‘I knew you’d like it. I was thinking we’d release it as a thirty-second clip on YouTube and watch it go viral. And you know all about that, Lizzy, ha ha!’
A new alert flashed up on her phone. It was another message from Reuben.
So when can I take you out for a drink? xx
Yes!
She metaphorically punched the air.
‘Lizzy? Are you still there?’
‘Sorry, Ken, I was thinking it through. Can I sit on it and get back to you?’
‘Be my guest. That’s where I sit when I need inspiration.’
‘Sorry?’
‘The toilet! Ha ha ha!’
Avalanches of poo were far from Lizzy’s mind as she went to meet Reuben two days later. They’d arranged to meet in a pub on the Strand but when Lizzy arrived five minutes fashionably late and walked through the bar, she almost walked straight out again. The dark, tousle-haired vision of gorgeousness sitting alone in the corner couldn’t possibly be the man she was meeting for a blind date.
‘Lizzy?’ He got up from his chair. ‘It is you, isn’t it?’
She couldn’t take him in fast enough. The soulful brown eyes, the dimples, the muscular body modestly nestling under a simple white T-shirt. Reuben was even better-looking in real life!
‘Can I have my hand back?’ he asked.
‘What?’ She let go. ‘Oh, sorry!’
He grinned adorably. ‘What can I get you to drink?’
‘So what do you do?’ he asked. They were sitting at the table with a half lager each.
‘I work in PR.’ Lizzy knew she was staring gormlessly, but it was beyond the realms of her control. People this good-looking just didn’t go on dates with girls like her in real life.
There was a short silence.
Now you ask him what he does.
‘What do you do?’ she asked.
‘I’m a graphic designer.’
‘Oh cool, who do you work for?’
‘I’m freelance, I mainly work from home.’ Reuben gave Lizzy a questioning smile. ‘I hope you don’t mind me asking, but it is you, isn’t it? From YouTube I mean.’
She was yanked out of her lustful reverie. ‘Yep, I guess you found me out.’
Reuben’s handsome face was sympathetic. ‘I didn’t know whether you’d want to talk about it. Being
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