The Crystal Bracelet

Bland Ad Campaign

Lily's day was so full and she honestly felt completely overwhelmed by all the lecture notes she needed to catch up on. It was partially because they were nearing the holiday which meant the half way point of the grading period. She also had an assignment that would be due by Friday, and she would only have two days to really work on it. She felt like cancelling all her plans. Her phone rang and it was her father calling her.

"Hey Dad." Lily greeted him as cheerfully as she could.

"Hey my little flower. You sound tired. Are you feeling ok?"

"Yes. I just have a lot to do before the holiday break and I lost time being sick. How is the annual ad campaign doing?"

Her dad sighed before he answered.

"It's ok. Not like what we had hoped. But it's ok." He didn't want to worry Lily but he was truly not happy with the ad campaign. He was afraid the cosmetic sales wouldn't be as high this year. Not that it would cause a major financial crisis but they truly depended on the fall sales to carry into the Chinese new year at the end of January. They may need to come up with an interim plan around the western holidays this year.

Lily heard her dad sigh and it worried her. She knew him better than most.

"Dad. What's wrong with the ad campaign?"

"I think it's the model we hired. She just didn't carry the glamour or the emotional appeal that past models have. I think we made a mistake hiring her."

"Have you sent the ad out to run yet?" Lily knew it would be running any day now.

"Yes it went out yesterday." He answered sadly.

"What about running a dual campaign this year? Maybe having two different ads would spark interest? Can you put together another similar campaign but with a different model. You could even have one color palette for one model and another color palette for the other model. Make it like a competition. Which palette sells the most. Oh, wait, you could have your web designers come up with a 'vote for your favorite' contest and get the younger crowds engaged." Lily was brainstorming for her Dad.

There was a silent pause on the other end of the phone.

"Lily I think your ideas are brilliant, but I just don't know that we would have the time or the budget for it. I will propose it to the Directors at my meeting this afternoon. I love your ideas. You sure you don't want to just come work for me now?" He teased her knowing full well she would never leave school this close to the end, nor would he let her.

"Ha! Dad, I would but you might be a little angry with me if I did." She giggled. She had lifted her Dad's mood and that was the most important thing to her.

"Oh, hey before I hang up, I need some ideas for your birthday."

"I'm meeting with Din for dinner tonight, I'll tell him. Dad you just worry about the ad campaign for now. I'm fine. I promise!" She didn't want her dad fussing over her when he was worried about business.

"Ok flower, I will talk to you soon. I can't wait to see you."

"Me too, Dad."

They both hung up at the same time, then Lily pulled out her phone and did a quick search for the Yi Cosmetic line ad campaign. The internet comments were not really that great and some were even negative. The model really seemed cold and off putting in the photos. The color scheming was an array of yellows and gold. Which in the past worked well but in this particular case was just bland.

Lily changed her clothes as soon as she got home and put on a fitted sundress. It had pink and blue flowers embroidered on a white background. She checked her dress in the mirror several times as if she was nervous about how young Master Sun would view her. She decided to change her sundress into a dark purple one that was almost identical to the one she had on – except it was purple. She put on a pair of gold hoop earrings and pulled her hair back on the sides. She pinned it with a small clip and brushed some light pink lip gloss on her lips. She took one last look at herself before she put on her gold sandals and then she walked out of her door. A few moments later she rushed back into her apartment and put on the crystal bracelet. She made sure once again she had both cell phones with her, one of which she intended to give back to Gavin Sun, then she threw her lip gloss into her mini purse as well.

She pulled and locked her apartment door then headed down the stairs. She was walking toward the University and café when she felt a presence near her. She turned and saw no one was there. She looked behind her a few more times but she still never saw anyone. She would have sworn that someone was just walking near her. She shook off the feeling and walked up to the Café.

Once she was seated she took a look at her watch and it was 3:59pm. At that moment Gavin Sun walked into the café and looked directly at her. As Lily raised her eyes to see him her breath caught for a moment. He was absolutely a stunning specimen of a man. He towered over people being that he was just taller than 6 feet and he was wearing a three piece business suit that was completely tailored to his body. His broad shoulders and his smaller waist were dreamy. He had dark hair that was shorter on the sides and longer on the top, but perfectly combed back and model like. The chiseled jawline made him look fierce as did his eyes which seemed to pierce right through people. She was mesmerized completely . She hadn't really paid much attention to all the details about him when she met him in the restaurant but in this moment she was taking it all in.