Page 12 of A Colourful Country Escape
Lexie clenched her fists in her purple pinstripe lap. ‘You don’t. You can do it yourself, if you prefer. But it’s a full-time job, and a business the size of yours needs a presence on the social media sites where your clients are likely to be. Have you profiled your ideal client? Do you know where they hang out?’
‘In business meetings, I shouldn’t wonder.’
Being stuffy, and boring andbeige? But she dared not ask that.
‘I appreciate a lot of your paint might be sold to existing business clients, but you can’t ignore the online world. You need a website, a blog, social media accounts. How will new clients find you? How will you share your story? How will you maintain a two-way dialogue with people, stay ahead of trends, move with the times?’
‘We’re doing just fine.’ Ben crossed his arms over his chest, and Lexie wondered if that was the full picture.
‘Are you doing as well as The Paint Guys? Paint by Numbers? Inspired to Paint?’ Lexie had managed to research their main competitors. ‘They’ve decorated the internet with their presence. Their audience is thriving and engaged, dying to buy. It’s your call, but you know how business works. If you don’t stay current, you’ll be washed up. Like I said, you can do this with or without me, but don’t ignore it.’ Lexie shrugged.
Ben studied her, his eyes narrowed. ‘And if all of that were true, why should I do it with you? Why you and not me?’
Lexie was sure Ben was astute enough in commercial conversations, but what was the polite way of telling him he was an anti-social tit?
‘It comes down to time, money and skill-set.’ There. Tactful and professional. She really wasn’t too bad at all this. ‘If your hours are better spent working on the things you excel at, and you can afford to employ someone better suited to being sociable, why wouldn’t you? Do you do your own accounts? Run the machines in your factory? Make deliveries? Carrington Paints is surely a team.’
Did he just nod, ever so slightly?
‘OK. And in the unlikely event I accept this role is necessary, why you and not the other candidates? You have experience, I presume? And the specified qualifications?’ He shuffled the papers on his desk.
‘Yes, of course!’
Well, yes to experience, at least. But qualifications? She hadn’t even stayed on at that snobby school she’d got the bursary for, where she’d never belonged. She’d been desperate to start earning to help out her parents and Sky. After that, she and her second-hand backpack had followed her first boyfriend, Inkie, around Asia. But she’d set up a website, learned to travel-blog and starting acing social media. The university of life was surely a thing?
Lexie skated over those questionable years and told Ben about the social media work she’d done for a few trendy start-ups after her travels. Maybe her self-taught story wasn’t so terrible, but the job advert had insisted on letters after her name and she just wanted to prove she was worthy of something. Lexie hated lying, but now was not the time to rock this already precarious boat.
‘But all of this is not just about flinging snazzy words and pretty pictures into the world. You need a social media strategy. And, with my experience, I can help you with so much more. Your website, your branding, your marketing. I’ve juggled it all. I love taking photos that capture the hearts and minds of your customers, and crafting words that inspire them to take action.’
Wow, she was even impressing herself at what she’d learned along the way. YouTube was a fine place.
‘And what action would that be?’
‘You want people to respond, to follow you, to visit your website and buy into the dream you’ve just sold them. To invest in your paints.’
Did one of his eyebrows just move in vague interest? Phew, this guy was a tough nut to crack. Lexie was longing for Good Cop to return with that nice cuppa; it was like she was singing for her life. What more could she say? Why was he eyeing her like that, and didn’t he have any more questions? Maybe he’d had enough of her already. Damn it. When in doubt, waffle.
‘I have so many ideas for blog posts. We could do exciting behind-the-scenes stuff, explore the story of how the business came about. Honest stories are so powerful.’
Oh God, she sounded like she was trying to sell him a drill. Was that a smirk emerging? Perhaps she should change tack.
‘You seriously do need a website. I’m pretty handy with a widget!’ She looked towards the door, willing it to open.
‘Right.’
‘And there’s search engine optimisation, of course. We want your website ranking on Google. When people search paints, we want them finding you before your competitors.’
‘Hmm.’
Jeez, no one would be mistaking him for Chatty Cathy. It seemed like he needed someone to take charge ofall thingssocial, if only he could admit it.
Just as Lexie was wondering if she should just give up, something clattered against the door and made her insides flip. What if it was that fox of a mother, coming to sniff out her guilty CV secrets? Her eyes darted around the room. Was there a designated exit for liars with their pants on fire?
The door swung open and a silver tray appeared. China quivered on top of it as though it was as anxious as Lexie. And … what was that lovely smell? Something lemony – a drizzle cake? Cory’s body appeared behind the tray and Lexie let go of a long, tense breath.
The sight of a soft, spongy cake gave her a small sliver of hope. It looked home-made. Maybe there was some warmth somewhere in the depths of this place, after all.
Her stomach groaned. She couldn’t remember how many hours it had been since she’d eaten her stale cornflakes, but it was definitely too many. All this flitting around the countryside, being pounced on by peacocks and withstanding interview interrogation had made her hungry. If she could just avoid choking on a cake crumb and coughing up her skeletons, perhaps she’d make it.
