The Billionaire’s Fake Marriage

“When Bilal was telling me all this, I realized we were lacking something very important.”

Janet and Rebecca were listening to Kitty with deepest of anticipation.

“Every working model needs a proof. And sadly, we don’t have any.”

“So you mean we need a success story? Two people from our service getting hitched together?” Rebecca confirmed.

“Yes, but not necessarily married. Only coming together will be enough for us. We desperately need a success story to show our users how effective our service is.”

Kitty was right and Janet and Rebecca could see why. Without a proof, all the promises made by High Seas were nothing but tall tales.

“But how do we make people fall in love with each other?” Janet wondered.

“We pay them.” Rebecca came back with an instant answer.

“NO!” Janet did not like it one bit. “Are you crazy?”

“What is the problem? We hire actors to act in the promotional video. Why can’t we hire two people to fall in love with each other using our service?” Rebecca questioned.

Janet looked at Kitty for an answer but she seemed torn between her and Rebecca.

“That is because when you share a secret with people, they tend to capitalize on that secret. What if those pretend lovers start blackmailing us in the future? This could ruin our business and reputation forever.”

“I agree.” Kitty said.

“See?” Janet showed Rebecca.

“We need somebody who will keep their mouths shut.” Kitty concluded herself.

“Are you serious Kitty?” Janet could not believe her. “You are actually thinking about it?”

“Yes, because there is no harm in it. The only flaw in this plan is that the pretend lovers get greedy and start blackmailing us like you said. But if we have a counter measure that prevents us from getting blackmailed, this is a brilliant plan.”

“What is wrong with you two?” Janet stood up in shock. “This is not how we do business!”

“Alright, tell me that other genius plan you have,” Rebecca said to Janet with clear sarcasm. Janet knew she did not have any other plan and so stayed mum.

“Yeah, I thought so. There is no other idea right now.”

“We have other options. We can try changing our marketing strategy and see what it does for us.” Janet tried to take Rebecca and Kitty away from that idea.

“But what about the proof?” Kitty asked.

“Enough! If it is so important we will have no other option but to come back to it. Right now we need to focus on our marketing strategy.”

Kitty did not want to argue with Janet right now. Besides she could see Janet was right. A shift in the marketing policy was the priority at hand.

“Alright, we will deal with marketing first.” Kitty said calmly looking at Rebecca. “But then lets come back to it and discuss the success story.”

Janet remained quiet. She did not agree, but she also did not say no.

*****

For the time being, Kitty took her mind off that ridiculous plan and focused on creating a new marketing strategy that focused on rich users. After working for a week, the team came up with a new plan that spoke to the people with abundance of money. Overnight, the billboards and promotional videos changed drastically. Instead of young and hip people, models with fancy clothes and lavish background settings were seen everywhere in High Seas advertisements. Expensive accessories replaced trendy backpacks and jewelry and luxurious cars and yachts adorned the backgrounds.

The whole campaign was turned on its head and now it looked something else altogether. The website and app interface also received a major face lift and now users with iOS were given more preference. Things changed so quickly that even reviewers did not understand what was going on. The marketing team delivered on its promise and now it was time to see whether Bilal was right or not.

The campaign started showing its result from the very first day of its execution. Kitty and Janet were so elated to see a sudden and short spike in the registration numbers. The increase was not significant but it was like a breeze of fresh air. The new strategy gave Janet a hope but it was not enough — she needed a miracle.

In addition to new billboards and fancier videos, High Seas also started exclusive tie ups with elite brands. Handpicked showrooms of the finest jewelry and expensive brands were filled with High Seas branding. Janet was praying for it to work because she did not want to resort to Rebecca and Kitty’s plan.

After all the strategies were exhausted, the registration numbers saw a significant rise but they were still not enough to be called a success. But all this proved that Bilal’s call was a life saver. Now Janet was thinking of any way to keep Rebecca’s preposterous idea at a safe distance from her company. High Seas was her baby and she could not afford to lose it due to a childish move.

“I think we should discuss the other option.” Kitty reminded Janet showing her the numbers.

“Give it one more week. I am sure they will go up.”

Kitty knew Janet was avoiding the discussion and so she did not press the matter any further. She was willing to give her one more week because after that there would be no excuse left.

Janet decided to hold meetings with marketing and sales team everyday in that week. Her office was turned into a war room where she was in a meeting with somebody or the other. Kitty had never seen Janet working this hard. But soon the weekend came and it was time to review the numbers. Praying to every god and deity she could remember, Janet opened the reports and found out that the statistics had left her with no other options, but to have that dreaded discussion with Rebecca and Kitty.

“Fine, lets talk about it,” she said putting the reports away. She was ready to talk.