by Lisa Fenwick
“Those are never going to fit on you,” Addi blurted as Sam held one of them up.
“Gee, Addi, ya think?! No stress here!” Sam just wanted to leave. What a stupid, idiotic plan this was.
“Pull on them!” Michaela practically yelled as she knelt in an attempt to help yank them up Sam’s legs.
“They’re too small. This will never work,” Sam said as she frantically looked around the room, hoping to see another pair that would magically fit her.
“I told you this was a bad idea,” Randee muttered to Lance as they sat in the corner of the room.
“How wide are your calves? These are the biggest we have!” Michaela said, sounding disgusted.
Sam slunk down in her seat, feeling defeated and alone. She was surrounded by people, but all she could feel was that she was letting everyone down, and it was a very lonely feeling. What was she doing? She couldn’t even manage to run her own business the right way, and now it was all going to come crashing down around her. Over a pair of stupid boots.
Her eyes scanned the room and focused on a shiny pair of scissors on a table.
“Let’s cut them. Make the back wider,” Sam said, walking toward the scissors.
“No!” Michaela gasped as if Sam had asked her to hand over her firstborn son.
“Do you have another idea? She needs to present in ten minutes.” Holly was now standing at one of the tables that held accessories, rummaging through it and tossing things to the side. “Aha! This! We can use these.”
“Uhh….ribbons? Holly, the only thing that looks halfway decent on me is my hair. I’m not going to put ribbons in it!” Sam yelled.
“No. It’s for the back of the boot. And these, too.” She held up a small silver-link chain. “We do what you suggested, we’ll cut some slits to widen it in the back, lace it up with the ribbon and chain intertwined. I’ll do it. Give me that boot.” Holly grabbed the boot that Michaela had been holding, causing Michaela to gasp and open her eyes in horror.
“Addi, hold this for me,” Holly instructed as Addi stepped forward and gingerly held the boot, one hand on the foot and the other on the top.
Sam watched in awe as Holly quickly snipped away at the backs of the boots, wondering if she had any idea what the hell she was actually doing. It sure seemed as if she did, but she and Holly were pretty close, and Sam had never seen her sew anything. She couldn’t even manage to carve a pumpkin; the two had tried last Halloween and had ended up just buying new ones and leaving them intact.
“Try this.” Holly handed the boots to Sam, complete with yellow ribbon and silver chains laced up the back of them.
Sam took a boot and scrunched the top of it down as far as she possibly could and put her foot inside, toes first, pulling the heel as hard as possible to get her foot in. It fit! She smiled, and her heartbeat slowed down a little. She stood up and pulled the rest of the boot up slowly, the fabric in the back starting to stretch with each little tug she gave. She grimaced and closed her eyes, aware that everyone in the room was watching her and holding their breath. She pulled it all the way up to her knee and looked at the faces staring at her. She knew what everyone wanted. To see the back of the boot, to see how bad it looked. She pictured her skin spilling out against the ribbon and chains, looking like a fat roast that had been tied up.
She slowly turned around and waited for the gasps of horror.
“Oh wow.”
“That’s so different.”
Sam’s heart sank. She couldn’t walk out in front of thousands – no, millions – of people like this. Everyone would see the backs of her legs when she turned around to walk away from the podium.
“It’s so perfect!”
Sam turned to see Michaela beaming.
“Seriously?” she asked, walking over to the trio of full-length mirrors so she could see for herself.
Looking over her shoulder at the back of her reflection, she was pleasantly surprised at how the back of her boots looked. She couldn’t tell that they had even been cut. The ribbon and chain looked like they were supposed to be there. The silver mixed in with the yellow added a little depth to it and broke up the whole Big Bird look.
“We need to go now. The show has to start!” Michaela said, reaching out for Sam’s arm. Sam hesitated, looking at her reflection again. Was she really going to do this? What if everyone laughed at her? She had worked so hard the past few years to become so confident in herself, and all she wanted to do was run from the room. As she looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes caught Lance’s.
“You got this,” he said to her as he nodded approvingly.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The bright lights shined in Sam’s face as she made her way to the podium in the center of the large stage. She couldn’t really see the audience due to the lights shining in her eyes, and she was grateful. There were thousands of people out there watching her, and if she saw them all, she would probably freeze in her tracks.
Her hands trembled as she gripped the cards she had been given in case the teleprompters broke. She had memorized her lines. There weren’t many, and she was grateful for that. She just hoped that no one yelled “Who are you?” or cracked a Big Bird joke while she was speaking.
“Good evening. I’m Samantha Reynolds.”
She heard the roar of applause and eased up a bit. No one was booing her. That was a good sign.
“I’m honored to be kicking off this show by presenting the award for the most influential female in the talent industry.”
“IT SHOULD BE YOU, SAM!” someone yelled from the crowd, causing everyone else to clap.
“Well, at least one person here knows who I am!” Sam said, the crowd breaking out in laughter. “Thank you, but this individual is much more talented than I am. In my job, I just find the talent, and this person certainly has an abundance of it. From winning the silver medal at the Olympics to being nominated for an Oscar, she has risen above many obstacles in her personal life and has become a role model for many young women. Please join me in congratulating Lexa Harris!”
Sam breathed a huge sigh of relief as soon as she was done. The crowd was on its feet in a standing ovation for Lexa, who deserved it. She had been raised in foster homes, bouncing around until she was eighteen, when she had been kicked out and become homeless. She had endured years of physical abuse in her foster homes as well as when living on the streets. She had always played basketball and had eventually gotten herself into a homeless shelter, where she taught younger kids to play. A coach had seen her talent, and the rest was history.
Lexa walked over to Sam, and they hugged each other, and then Sam stepped back to the side of the stage while Lexa gave a short speech. As she stood listening to Lexa, Sam could see the crowd better, an eclectic mix of fans and celebrities. Was she really standing up on stage in front of all these people?! She smiled as Lexa finished, and then the two of them walked off the stage together, the crowd giving another standing ovation.
“There was no one else I would have wanted to present me with this award. Thank you so much!” Lexa said to Sam as soon as they were off the stage.
“What? Me? Oh my gosh, are you serious?” Sam asked. Lexa was a huge celebrity!
“Sam, you’ve opened so many doors for women, ones who no one else would accept as clients. Kasey Connors is a good friend of mine, and she speaks so highly of you and how you took care of her during her…difficulties. You’ve turned the industry around!”
Sam was floored. Sure, she had signed on several female clients with troubled pasts that other agencies wouldn’t touch. But didn’t everyone deserve a second chance? They had all kicked ass with Sam and had landed really great sponsorships, especially Kasey Connors.
“You did great! I told you that you could do it!”
Sam turned to see Lance walking toward her, his arms outstretched. She hugged him without even thinking then immediately pulled away.
“Err…thanks!” she said. She was riding on an extreme high and didn’t
know if it was the fact that things had gone so smoothly or that it was just over that was making her feel so great, but she was considering it a win either way.
********
“Good job.”
Sam cringed as she heard Lance’s voice from her office doorway. She lifted her head from her desk, where she had been typing away feverishly, trying to get caught up on her emails. She was afraid of what he was going to say.
They had returned from New York well after midnight, exhausted and unsure of how her appearance had gone. The team had all agreed that it seemed to go well, but the ratings were what mattered in the end. She had heard the office phones ringing off the hook all morning. She was positive that it was Bordiana calling to say that Sam had ruined the show, and they had most likely called Lance to complain as well. She assumed he was being sarcastic with his greeting, and she really didn’t want to hear about it. She had done the best that she could.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, looking back down at her keyboard and starting to type again.
“I take it you haven’t heard?”
Sam stopped typing and stared at the keyboard before she looked up at him. Here it comes, she thought. She braced herself for the negative feedback.
“Heard what?”
“The boots. They’re a huge hit.”
Sam sat back in her chair. The boots? The crazy ones they had made with ribbon and chains?
“What are you talking about? What boots?”
Addi came bursting in, pushing her way past Lance.
“Sam, it’s all over the news! Your boots! OH MY GOD! Look!”
Sam pushed her chair back as Addi maneuvered herself in front of her desk and whirred away, typing something on the keyboard and then excitedly pointing to the monitor.
“Look!”
Sam stared in bewilderment as she watched herself on the monitor. It was footage on a well-known entertainment site from after the show, when they had gone out to eat. And they were zooming in on her boots. The backs of her boots specifically. Now the reporter was asking where people could buy the boots and saying they had received thousands of calls, tweets, and comments about the boots. Sam started to laugh.
“Isn’t it great? The phone’s been ringing nonstop!” Addi said, moving back toward the door.
“For what? Boot orders? Why is that great? What the hell is going on?” Sam questioned, frowning as Lance sat down in one of her chairs.
“Everyone wants to know where you got them!” Addi yelled as she ran out to answer the phone.
Sam looked at Lance in amazement.
“I don’t believe it,” she said.
“Well, believe it. And I just got off the phone with Michaela. Their phones have been ringing off the hook also. What you called the Big Bird dress has been flying off the shelf, so Bordiana is thrilled.”
“Excellent,” Sam said.
“I told you that you could do it,” Lance said, grinning.
Sam grinned back at him. “Yes, you did. But Randee wasn’t so sure.” Sam giggled.
Lance rolled his eyes.
“Yes, she can be a bit…negative.”
“Reminds me of how Tatiana was. Thank God that’s not the case anymore,” Sam said. Lance’s ex-girlfriend, Tatiana, had been horrible to Sam, body shaming her and humiliating her. But she had changed after she gained weight and had actually become Sam’s first client.
“I’m sorry that Randee was rude. I spoke to her about it when we got home.”
Sam tried not to let her surprise show on her face. What did he mean, “when we got home”? Did they live together or something? She smiled at him and forced herself to not blurt out the question that she was dying to ask.
“Thank you. I get the sense that she doesn’t like me too much,” she said. Was she baiting him? Maybe.
“It’s not that she doesn’t like you, Sam. What’s not to like? I guess she’s just threatened by you.”
Sam was taken aback. Why would Randee be threatened by her? She had expected Lance to totally deny that anything negative had even come out of Randee’s mouth.
“Threatened by me? Why?” Sam asked.
“Well, you are kind of a legend around Rossi. You know, like Addi said. Girl moves from receptionist to the CEO’s assistant, then quits and rules the world. That type of thing.” Lance shrugged sheepishly.
Sam felt her face getting red, and Lance’s intense blue eyes staring at her didn’t help her feel less embarrassed.
“I…I…that’s not exactly how it happened, Lance. You know that. I just had to do what was best for me,” she said.
“No need for apologies Sam. We are way past that, right? You’ve done amazing for yourself, and now we are going to hopefully do something amazing together. Uhh…businesswise. You know what I mean. Anyway, I was thinking that we should work on a plan of potential targeting for clients, brainstorm who we know is coming up for renewals.”
“Sure, that’s a great idea. I was actually just thinking about Sierra McMaster, the ice hockey pro? Her contract with Valiant ends in two months, and I think she would be good for you guys. And I really think she’s ready for a huge endorsement deal, Nike, Bauer companies like that.”
Sam fidgeted with her pen, wondering if Lance would recognize it and say something. It was the Tiffany pen that had been sent to her anonymously when she had opened her office. She had always assumed that he had been the one that had sent it but had never known for sure.
“That sounds great. That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” Lance said.
The two met for a few hours, going over potential new clients as well as having some laughs in between. As they were wrapping it up, she felt almost sad, as if she didn’t want it to end. For a minute, she thought about asking him to get a bite to eat, a working dinner kind of thing, but thought maybe that wasn’t the best idea at the time. Instead, they agreed they would go over the lists with their teams and circle back.
As he stood up to leave her office, Lance paused for a minute, focusing on her desk.
“What?” she asked, looking around at the papers.
“Nice pen,” he said, winking and then disappearing through her door.
********
Sam handed the delivery woman a fifty-dollar bill and grabbed the warm bag of Chinese food from her. She closed the door with her foot and walked into the living room, where Holly was already sitting on the floor, surrounded by papers. They needed to brain storm on the hiring situation, and both had agreed they would prefer to do it at Sam’s place, in comfy clothes with takeout instead of at the office or at a restaurant.
“Oh, that smells good. Hand me that lo mein. There’s nothing better on a Friday night than Chinese,” Holly said as she reached out to grab the square white box.
“Uber Eats is the best thing ever,” Sam said as she plunked herself down on the sofa and placed the rest of the food on the coffee table.
“Agreed. Maybe later we can use them to get some cannoli’s for dessert.”
Sam shook her head and opened the box of chicken fingers, taking one and biting into it, a small piece of the crispy batter falling onto the table.
“Okay, so has Mo given us our hiring budget yet or not?” Holly asked as Sam swiped at the crumbs that had fallen.
“Nope. So I think it’s best if we just go over the candidates, pick who we think is best, and run the numbers ourselves. Then we can tell him what the costs are, and he can just work it out on his end.”
Sam loved Mo’s cautiousness when it came to her company’s finances, but in this case, he was slowing their growth. The whole point of merging had been to get more cash in the door so that they could hire more agents for new clients. They had already helped Rossi sign some clients, easing cash flow.
“Right. So, first up, I have David Noel. He would be perfect for the male clients that don’t want a female agent. You know, the ones who think that women don’t understand sports.”
Sam laughed and nodded. She knew exactly what Holly mean
t.
“He has ten years of experience, and he worked at MarkSun for years. He left before you were there though. He’s been at Vantage the last few years and has a solid list of clients.”
“Why does he want to join us?” Sam asked as she looked around for a napkin.
“He’s just a number at Vantage. He wants to be at a smaller firm where he can stand out more and be given more opportunities.”
Sam knew how he felt. Larger firms did tend to treat their employees like numbers versus actual people.
“Okay. What are you thinking for a salary? I know Vantage must pay…”
Holly’s phone rang, interrupting Sam. It was common for clients to call at off hours, like now, which was Friday night at nine.
“Hello?” Sam watched Holly’s facial expressions, her mouth open in an O shape and her eyes widening. Who was calling her? “Yes, of course I remember you! What can I do for you?
“Oh. Well…sure! I mean of course I can give her your info. I mean give you hers. Ha ha. Sorry, it’s been a long day!”
Sam listened as Holly rattled off Sam’s cell phone number to whomever was on the other end of the phone. As soon as Holly hung up, she did a little dance.
“Who the hell was that, and why are you dancing?” Sam asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“That was Jez Reklovick. I think he wants to ask you out!”
Sam spit her wine out.
“What?! No! How do you even know him?”
“I met him when we were in New York. He’s a really nice guy actually. Very funny. He was there with some teammates to watch the awards. I guess he liked what he saw!”
Jez was a professional hockey player who was known for his laid-back attitude as well as his ability to score goals. He had been drafted to the Boston Bears out of college, played in their minor league for a few years, and then been called up to the pro league. The Boston fans loved him; he made the game exciting with his unpredictable shenanigans.
