Page 1 of Gulfside Girls
One
Ali
Ali would forever refer to January 9th of that year as Crapfecta Day, due to the Trifecta of Crap that landed on her life.
She was busy. That was a given. Spinning millions of plates was her baseline of activity. Ali pinned her hopes on next month. Next month, things would be better; they would calm down, and she could get back to a manageable level of spinning plates. Whatever that was.
As the Assistant to the Events Director at the Frogtown Convention Center, Ali was used to having her hands full. She was used to making people happy, even when their demands were unreasonable. Ali prided herself on over-performing. It may not be in the contract her vendors signed, but she made it happen. Smoothly. And with a smile. She took pride in her work and her attitude about her work.
Frogtown Convention Center was the largest convention space and venue in Toledo, Ohio. It was in the center of downtown. You could walk to the ballpark and the hockey arena.There was a view of the river and easy access to the thriving local restaurants.
Frogtown was attached to the best hotel in Toledo. The convention spaces she oversaw regularly hosted festivals, trade shows, and, of course, conventions. Ali Harris planned every event down to the number of extension cords each exhibitor required.
And that was the current conundrum. The vendor in front of her was in the throes of extension cord envy.
“We need four outlets, that’s why we need the corner booth. Jerry promised us the corner.” Archie Hopper was hopping mad. And insistent. And loud. “T-Town Heating and Cooling is the third-largest heating and cooling company in Northwest Ohio. We have the biggest display.”
The air conditioning guy was overheated. That was clear as his demands and shouting directed at her echoed throughout the giant mostly empty convention space. Archie’s face was beet red, and spit shot out of his teeth right toward Ali. She stayed calm. Human freon for this moment. That was her skill. She’d de-escalate the moment and solve his problem.
And, of course, this went straight back to Jerry. Every problem at the Frogtown Convention Center led back to her boss, Jerry.
Jerry Scheck, Director of the Frogtown Convention Center, wouldn’t make her Assistant Director. Like Michael Scott ofThe Office, he insisted she was the Assistant to the Director. She had all of the work, none of the pay, and, of course, not even a nicer-sounding title.
Ted, Ali’s husband, continued to tell her she needed to push for the title change. He wanted her to have something that sounded prestigious, even though the job was the job. Well, thatlittle discussion would have to wait. Jerry had created a mess, and the mess was currently yelling in her face in the form of Archie Hopper.
Ali imagined Jerry and Archie at Sylvania Country Club last summer, drinking, playing a round of golf, and hitting on the beer cart girls. Jerry was famous for making promises to potential vendors that time, space, and the physical dimensions of the convention hall could not accommodate.
Ali had been here before, so many times before. It was up to her to figure out how to cool down the heating and cooling blowhard. It was up to her to fix Jerry’s mistake.
“Archie, I understand. Here’s what I propose.” Ali put her hand out to usher him from the center carpet of the main walkway and through several stations currently being constructed for other vendors who had paid extra for the privilege and for the larger spaces. Archie had not. As the purveyor of the third-largest Heating and Cooling company, he’d paid for a standard booth, one outlet, one surge protector, two tables, and table coverings. That was it. And that was all they had. If she gave in, then why would anyone pay the premier booth price? Everyone would know that all you had to do to get a deal was yell at Ali and invoke Jerry.
She needed to smooth this out without making every other vendor feel cheated.
Ali smiled and met Archie’s anger with peace and calm.
Archie stood with his arms crossed over his barrel chest. A bull who would not be moved. “This is off the main drag, and I want the main drag.” He’d stood where he believed his fiefdom as the owner of the third-largest heating and cooling business in Northwest Ohio entitled him to be.
The venue was arranged as a center main street and then branched out with dozens of grids of smaller walkways. Booths were meticulously spaced and equitably priced. Each booth wasassigned and paid for, and some were already set up. She had to stand her ground but make Archie believe he was winning.
“I know you want the center aisle but hear me out. This is the corner like you need. You’ll have plenty of space here.”
“Yeah, out here in bum f?—”
She interrupted before he could utter the rest of his characterization of the location. He felt hidden. He railed that no one would see them here. But here’s where Ali’s solution kicked in.
“Not at all,” Ali told him, “This is right across from Ruby’s Hot Dog Stand, see?”
“I’m not selling hotdogs.”
“No, but everyone will be here, in line, a captive audience, really. The main drag is great, don’t get me wrong, but you’ll be the only big vendor with your display in this area. Again, all the space you need.” She then lowered her voice to a whisper. She wanted Archie to think she was giving in. “I’ll talk to electrical; we’ll get your four outlets. Do NOT share that. Plus, you’re way smarter in this spot than some.” Ali acted as though she was letting him in on a secret.
“Smarter than some?”
Ali looked around, as though a home improvement and building supply trade show spy was hiding somewhere, hoping to gain valuable intel. She lowered her voice further. “True Flame, your chief competitor, is paying premium for the corner booth up front, but this one, Archie, this keeps it at the regular booth price, but with the size you need, and like I said, hot dog eaters.”
Archie perked up at the idea of sticking it to True Flame. He walked around and assessed his potential trade show home for the weekend. If he didn’t go for this, Ali wasn’t sure what else to do. She had already burned most of her morning dealing with this when she was supposed to be checking on the lanyards.
“Okay, this works. I’ll call my team to start setting up.”
