Chapter 4: Meredith has a Meeting

Meredith got back to her desk and began to gather her things for the meeting. While Taylor was making this project a big deal for the completely wrong reasons, it actually was a big deal. If they could win the favor of Edward Maxwell and get an increase in budget it would mean departmental upgrades on software and possibly even computers. But most importantly it would increase the allowed amount Mr. Hubert could spend on raises.

Meredith turned the corner as she thought of the possibilities. She could maybe actually go shopping for some new work clothes somewhere with more than one dollar sign on Yelp. Karen and Greg were already in the meeting room with notebooks ready to hear what it was Meredith had for them to do.

“Hi guys.” Meredith said as she unloaded her packets on the desk and asked Greg to close the door. “So Mr. Hubert has asked me to head this project with the two of you specifically. It is coming directly from Edward Maxwell’s office and the client is a promising Luxury car brand.”

“Oh! This sounds exciting!” Karen said as she reached out to grab the packet Meredith handed her.

“Oh, it is very. And it is also extremely important. Mr. Hubert wants us to do the best we can on this and wow not only the client but Edward Maxwell as well in hopes to increase the budget of our department. That means software upgrades, product upgrades, and most importantly raise increases.”

“Oh!”

“That would apply to Karen and myself. But in addition if we could increase the budget we may be able to hire another employee which would in turn be very beneficial for an intern such as yourself Greg.”

“Nice!” Greg responded as he opened his packet.

“We are going to be doing a full revamp on their marketing and it will be centered on this new car they will be releasing at the next auto show. As it has yet to be released we have non disclosure agreement on the top to sign before we even begin. I will need you to take these to Edward’s office immediately after our meeting Greg.”

“Oh, okay. Definitely.” Greg responded energetically.

“What is our deadline?” Karen asked as she signed and handed her NDA to Greg.

“We have two weeks officially. We will be presenting to Edward Maxwell’s office next Friday. However, Mr. Hubert wants us to complete it by this Friday so we can work out any changes they may give to us.”

“Okay. That’s a tight schedule but a good point.”

“Needless to say the three of us working on this will definitely receive the greatest perks from this should we win over Mr. Maxwell’s office.”

“Is this the new car they are rolling out?”

“Yes and the colors they will be offering are on the next page.”

“Oh, wow! Such a limited selection.”

“Not only is the color selection limited but so is the car itself. It will be produced as a limited edition luxury car and they want to rebrand around it as the catalyst for their company.”

“This is both exciting and nerve wrecking.” Karen noted as she continued to look over the packet. Greg was quietly listening to their meeting and frantically taking notes of everything.

“It is but we get to start with a clean slate. With that amount of design control we should be able to come up with something amazing.” Meredith assured them.

“True. And the limited color selections should actually benefit us in the long run if they want to center everything around the launch of this car.” Karen added.

“Exactly. I was thinking we can make these colors our primary palette and work to incorporate each of them into the main marketing focal points.”

“Yes. and tie it all in together. That’s a great idea.” 

“I have a rough schedule set up and want to have all sketches done tomorrow we can meet at end of day and compare our sketches then work them in together and come up with final sketches on wednesday and begin illustrations. I’ll work the type if you want to set the graphics.”

“That’s perfect it would give us a very strong look.”

“I plan to create a new font just for this and have it used on all the media produced. Let’s plan to have it finished by Thursday and any retouches we need we can do before lunch Friday.” 

“That’s so fast.” Greg finally added.

“Well we need to get feedback as soon as possible from the client and from Edward Maxwell’s office so we can make adjustments.” Karen told him.

“Greg, this is your priority but you are still to assist the other designers in whatever they are working on.” Meredith told him. “If we need you for something you are to immediately drop what you are doing and assist us.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“And don’t forget we signed the NDA’s so this is top secret.”

“Understood.” Karen replied seriously.

“Yes, ma’am!” Greg said again. 

“Okay unless you have any other questions?” Meredith waited as they shook their heads. “Good let’s get to work.”

Meredith had been working at Maxwell Sharp Marketing Inc. for a little over a year. She had graduated and started work within less than three months. She was twenty-four and felt like she was forty. A cat lady that worked too much and never went out. She definitely didn’t feel like she was in her mid twenties.

She felt like her relationship with Chad had aged her and turned her into a Hermit. She went out but mostly by herself to the movie theaters. She enjoyed going to The Music Box in Wrigleyville and watching all the fun movies they had. She also frequently went to a few other theaters on a regular basis as well.

Taylor kept trying to get her to join group meets and go with other movie fans and maybe meet a handsome single guy while she was at it. Meredith had tried it once but she felt awkward the whole time thinking about how Taylor wanted her to find a date. All Meredith really wanted was to enjoy her movies. But she did enjoy herself and might try it again sometime. Best to try it again when she didn’t have such a big project to work on.

Meredith reached her desk and drafted an email to Mr. Hurbert outlining their schedule for the week. He requested to be in the meeting Friday before lunch to see what they had before they sent it to Edward Maxwell’s office. Meredith agreed then began researching the car company and it’s past ad campaigns. She was working into the night and printed a few sheets to take home with her. She would continue to sketch at home with Dino.