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"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today, Marc," Oliver reached across the table for their usual handshake greeting. Marc responded warmly to his long time PR manager.
"I was hoping we could iron out the details of that book tour before the office closes up for the holidays."
"I was hoping so too. The sooner we can get all the details worked out the better," Marc nodded, having a seat on the other side of his desk.
Oliver got to work clicking on a few calenders and some promotional materials, opening them on the two monitors in front of him. He turned one of them on it's stand so Marc could see all the details.
"Okay, we're looking at a September release for your book, which means we're going to want to have the tour between three and six months prior. We have a two week block of dates in May that are free. That means we can schedule photoshoots and video interviews around that."
He paused, showing some samples of other authors signed up to Phoenicis Publishing. There was quite a variety there, from a professional looking woman in an office environment to a man in full renaissance faire attire in a medieval tavern.
"Do we have anything that would fit the book? I don't know how easy it is to get a fully sun bleached desert."
"Don't underestimate our graphics team," Oliver quipped, moving the samples away to more closely pick out dates.
"Because we have some connections in London, and I believe you went to University in the UK, right?" He paused so Marc could confirm that. "We're thinking of having some appearances there; at some book stores and on radio shows."
"That sounds alright. How long would I be over there?"
"Hm, it would be the second week, so from the 14th through 19th."
"Ah."
Oliver looked up from his screen from the more muted response.
"That doesn't work for you?"
"Keshet's birthday. Nathaniel has big plans."
"O-oh! Sh-ucks, I'm sorry." Oliver quickly moved a few things around. He had only met Marc's adopted daughter a couple of times, but she was certainly a very cheerful child. And she picked up a great deal of creativity from both her fathers.
"You can swear in front of me," Marc laughed, which only made Oliver shake his head more.
"Not in my office," he chuckled, clicking around on the calendar to check some details.
"Okay, we could move the tour back a week, so that you're still local during Kit's birthday. But that means we'll be missing out one of the local conventions."
"What if we took a break during the tour?" Marc stood up and moved around the desk, pointing a couple of things out on the screen.
"We'll do the first week local, have a week off, then I'll be over in the UK after that."
"It's... unorthodox. Because we like to keep clients in shifts," Oliver said. It wasn't dismissive, more considering. It was breaking the mold of their usual procedure, but this was Marc. He had written some of the biggest hits in recent years.
"Oh hell with it, we can do this." Oliver dragged the schedule window in the calender wider, spanning over three weeks instead of two. "This is probably better for our team too. Less crunch."
"And you can be there for Keshet's party."
"Oh? Do I have an invite?"
"She really likes my 'pear matcher'."
They both had a laugh over her struggle to pronounce 'PR Manager'.
But for the rest of the meeting, it was easy to iron out all the details of the book tour, especially since this was more than meeting of manager and client. It was very much a meeting of friends.