The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley Page A

clothing that had waiting lists as long as your arm, and which items fashion-conscious women would fight over. At the time I’d been amazed that anyone would pay over a thousand pounds for a green sweater, but now it was giving me ideas. “Explaining the benefits and the growth potential isn’t going to work, is it? Because plenty of funds do that, and Marcia still prefers to spend her money on handbags.”
    Anthony laughed and Marcia grimaced slightly; it was all I needed to spur me on. “No,” I continued, getting into my stride, “to make an investment fund as sexy and aspirational as a handbag, it has to be difficult to get hold of—which means waiting lists. It needs visible benefits—maybe a limited-edition purse given out free when you open the fund, so that those in the know recognize it and it becomes a little club. Make it expensive—minimum investment of, I don’t know, two thousand pounds a month or something, so that not everyone can afford it. Don’t call customers ‘customers’ or even ‘clients’ —call them members, so they feel a sense of ownership. And don’t aim your public relations at the finance pages; aim it at Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Get a couple of celebrities to join and get them to mention it in a Hello! Magazine interview.”
    I took a deep breath and looked at Chester. For what felt like forever, he didn’t say a word; just looked down at the notes he’d scribbled, scratching his head. Then he lifted his head.
    “I love it.”
    I looked at him uncertainly. “You…you do?”
    “I really love it,” he said again. “You’ve managed to get to the…what did you call it? The nub? Yes, you got to the nub of the issue so succinctly. You’re right—a formal presentation of slides was all wrong for this. I have to hand it to you, Anthony, this was one hell of a presentation. Off the wall, had me guessing there for a while, but I guess that’s what you meant by extraordinary. It certainly wasn’t ordinary, that’s for sure.”
    I was getting goose bumps on the back of my neck. He loved my idea?
    “Of course it wasn’t ordinary,” Anthony said warmly, winking at me and causing Marcia’s eyes to narrow. “Jess, you’ve done us proud. Thank you.” I looked over at Max to see if he was smiling, too, to see if he was looking at me proudly, but his eyes were fixed downward and I felt my shoulders fall slightly.
    “Thank you,” I forced myself to say, the words sounding alien in my mouth. “I’m so glad you liked it.”
    I grinned, then felt Marcia’s gaze on me. She had a very fixed smile on her face. “That all sounds so great,” she said. “But what about the branding? I thought we were going to cover that, too, Jess.”
    “And I’m sure she’s got it covered,” Anthony said reassuringly, his eyes twinkling. Suddenly he didn’t look quite so plasticky. He was actually quite attractive, really, in a blond, blue-eyed kind of way. “What were your thoughts on the branding, Jess?”
    I shook myself. “Well, obviously,” I said, “the branding would need to reflect these…these values and…and…aspirations.”
    “And they would be?” Marcia asked, wide-eyed.
    “I thought you’d know that, Marcia,” I said smoothly. “The values are luxury, membership, and exclusivity.”
    “Exactly,” Chester said, grinning.
    “What about visuals, Jess?” Max asked suddenly.
    “I…” I looked up to see him smiling appreciatively at me and I felt a surge of happiness zip through my body. Then my eyes flickered back to Anthony, who was grinning ear-to-ear. “I thought that the logo might be a handbag,” I found myself saying, like I’d spent a week prepping for the question. “Or maybe a pair of shoes. Something that tells men that this isn’t a club for them.”
    Chester was still looking at me expectantly, so I decided to continue. “It could have a tagline that plays on the logo,” I said, my eye flicking up to meet Anthony’s again and feeling