by Lisa Fenwick
********
Sam glanced at her phone again and frowned. She had texted Jez before she had gone to bed the night before, and he still hadn’t texted her back. He was on the road for games, and she knew it could be hectic. But still, it took all of five seconds to send a quick text. She had really hoped to hear from him before her meeting.
She announced herself to the receptionist at Bordiana and then looked around the large lobby. It was two stories high and full of eclectic art and furniture. The walls were splattered with neon lights, and the marble floor was a striking mix of blue with gold veins running through it. The furniture was all blue, to match the marble color, and upholstered in crushed velvet. She walked over to one of the oversized chairs scattered throughout the lobby and sat down, her anxiety starting to kick in. She was surrounded by beautiful people and beautiful things. Even the receptionist looked as if she had stepped off of a movie set.
“Samantha Reynolds?” a voice from behind her asked.
Sam stood up and turned around to find a handsome blonde stretching his hand out to shake hers. She grasped it firmly.
“I’m Mr. Drew’s assistant, Xavier. It’s such an honor to meet you. I’m a huge fan. Huge. Follow me. Can I get you anything? Water, coffee, soda, a cocktail?”
Sam walked next to Xavier, thinking how much he looked like a young Brad Pitt. He had the same chiseled look and was extremely tan.
“No, I’m fine, thank you.”
Xavier led her into an enormous meeting room that had a black conference table that must have been at least twenty feet long. The seating consisted of white leather chairs, and there were screens in the conference table in front of every seat. The middle of the table had a foot-wide gap, and in it was a variety of juices, water, and sodas. Sam had never seen anything like it before.
“It’s crazy, right?” Xavier said to her as she stared at the table. “Only the best for Mr. Drew. That’s why he wants you.”
“My boots, you mean,” Sam replied, taking a seat. “He wants my boots.”
Xavier gave her a funny look and then excused himself. Sam fidgeted in her seat and took out her paperwork. She hoped that this negotiation went fast. She hated talking about herself. Her services, her clients, that she could really sell well. But selling a design? This was out of her league. How hard could it be though?
“Samantha! Kevin Drew. Good to finally meet you.”
Sam stood up to shake his hand, instantly taken aback by his appearance. They had only spoken over the phone before, and he was known for hating to meet in person. The two had bonded over their hate of having meetings. While she knew he had to be at least sixty, he didn’t look a day over forty. If he had had work done to his face, it was the best Sam had ever seen. He didn’t look overdone or plastic. His skin was tanned and smooth, his lips full with a hint of pink. He had perfectly white teeth. His hair was short, shaved on the sides and longer on the top. It was jet black with streaks of gray.
“Nice to meet you,” Sam managed to spit out, still taking it in. He was also extremely tall. He had to have been at least six foot five.
“So, I guess we will get right to it. As you know, those boots that you made for the show became an internet sensation overnight. We were flooded with questions about them. People wanted to know where they could buy them. The back is so unique it’s an instant hit. I’m hoping to sign you for a campaign and to buy the rights to the boots.”
“Uh…rights? Those boots…”
“Oh, I know the boots are owned by you. You’re good, Sam. I’ve had my team do a search for every name possible, but they couldn’t come up with whatever shoe company you have an interest in or own. Regardless, I’m willing to pay you a percentage for each pair we sell exclusively as well as to pay you to be the spokesperson.”
“Me?” Sam said, grabbing a bottle of water from the middle of the table. It dripped small droplets of water onto the perfect conference table as she pulled it toward her.
“Well, yes. You do own the design rights to the boots, correct?”
Sam wasn’t sure what to say. She really didn’t. No one did. Was she supposed to tell him that the whole design had come from ripping apart a pair of boots because they didn’t fit over her large calves?
“Well, my colleague Holly..”
“Whoever owns the rights, I will buy them out. I’m willing to pay top dollar. I know that the proposal stated five hundred thousand dollars, but I will pay more. Seven hundred thousand, to be exact.”
“Seven hundred thousand!” Sam exclaimed.
“Okay, Samantha. One million. That’s as high as I can go. You drive a hard bargain, but this will be worth it. We have to move fast while these boots are still on the radar, though, before the excitement dies down. Luckily social media follows you around, and you’ve worn them, which has just made people want them more,” he said.
Sam was dumbfounded. What the hell was going on? Were the boots really that popular? Was the design worth a million dollars? The original boots hadn’t even been name brand. They had been a pair from a small shop that had gone out of business. Bordiana had done that on purpose so that the highlight would be the dress and not the boots. Oops.
“When you say you want me to promote, them what exactly do you mean?” she asked.
“I mean we want to use you in the ad campaign.”
Sam laughed. Use her in the ad campaign. Right. She was just an ordinary-looking woman with large calves.
“Samantha, you’ve become quite the household name for the younger generation. You do know that, don’t you? The twenty-something crowd loves you. The whole fight-your-way-to-the-top thing. Don’t you have Twitter?”
Sam didn’t tweet. Facebook and Instagram, yes, but Twitter had never really made much sense to her. She knew Addi did though, and had thought Addi had been exaggerating when she had said that Sam had been trending on it a few weeks back. Hashtag thesearemyboots or something.
“Uh, no, I don’t tweet. Mr. Drew, this is all very flattering. But I’m not someone who can be in your ad campaign. I can absolutely find someone for you. In fact, I have several clients that would be amazing for you.”
“Like Sydney was supposed to be?” he said, his lips deflating into a thin line.
“I apologize for her. Again, had I known…”
“Samantha, we are counting on you to be in the ad campaign. If not, then we will need to recoup some of the costs associated with Sydney not showing at the last minute, which I am sure neither you nor Rossi want to do. I’m willing to forget them if you agree to the campaign.”
Sam stared at him in disbelief. So he was blackmailing her? She shouldn’t be shocked. This type of thing happened every day in the business world. She had just been lucky and avoided it when it came to her own business. Until now, anyway.
“Well, how can I say no to that?” she said, cautiously sarcastic. She wanted him to know she wasn’t exactly thrilled with being blackmailed.
“One million dollars. You can send the revised contract to my office. I want half of the money up front, the rest can be paid in equal installments over the life of the campaign. And a monthly percentage of the profits for the boots when they are on shelves.”
She stood up and shook his hand firmly and then left his office, seeing herself out through the lobby. The colors in it didn’t seem as bright now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Wait. What? Seriously?” Holly asked Sam as the two sat in Sam’s office.
“Yes, seriously. I assumed they just wanted the design for the boots. They want that as well as to use me in the ads.”
The two of them burst into laughter. Sam knew that Holly was thinking the same exact thing that Sam was: this whole thing was ridiculous. From the makeshift boots being cobbled together at the last minute to Sam being a model. It was hysterical.
“So did you say no?”
“Not exactly,” Sam said, avoiding making eye contact with Holly.
“Oh boy. This ought to be good,�
�� Holly replied, leaning back in her chair.
“They will pay me one million dollars. I didn’t tell them that we don’t really have an actual design, but we can outsource that, have someone come up with drawings. I hope.”
Holly bolted upright in the chair, her jaw dropping.
“Sam! A million dollars? That’s a lot of money!”
Sam smiled.
“Yes, it is. And I’m pretty sure it’s enough to get us back on our own. Away from Rossi, I mean. Things just don’t seem to be meshing with them. I want to go back to being solo.”
“What’s enough?” Mo asked as he entered the office.
Sam and Holly looked at each other. Sam wasn’t sure she was ready to have this conversation yet, and she had a feeling that Mo wouldn’t be happy. Mo didn’t like change, and she knew that he had considered this merger with Rossi to be long term, as in years and not months. She hadn’t spoken to anyone aside from Holly about possibly breaking the contract with Rossi.
“Well, you tell me if it’s enough. One million dollars. If I had one million dollars to invest in the business, would that mean we could get out of the agreement with Lan…err…Rossi?”
Mo sat down in the chair next to Holly, shaking his head.
“Sam, it isn’t that easy. I mean, there’s clauses and fees and…”
“Mo, please. Short answer, yes or no,” Sam interrupted. She knew that he was being his usual overly cautious self. That was what she paid him to be. But this time, she needed a simple answer.
“Yes. Assuming Rossi agrees, then yes. And by agree, I mean they don’t want to enforce it by taking us to court. That would be years and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Lance isn’t going to like this, Sam.”
“He doesn’t have to like it. He just needs to agree.”
********
“You’re sure that it was him?” Lance asked.
The voice on the other end of the phone confirmed that it was. He hung up the phone, unsure of what to do next. Whatever he did, he needed to do it carefully.
********
“Tatiana is here to see you,” Addi said to Sam through the intercom, sounding a bit perplexed. She didn’t have an appointment.
Sam smiled. She had been trying to reach Tatiana for more than a week, and the most she had gotten was a “sorry I’m busy, promise I will call” text back. Sam’s nerves had been on high alert, and she had a strong feeling that she was going to lose Tatiana as a client.
“Send her in,” Sam said, getting up to open the filing cabinet that held their contract. She walked to the meeting table and put the papers down just as Tatiana entered the room. She looked thin, something that disappointed Sam. Tatiana had struggled with an eating disorder years ago, and the weight gain had actually been part of why she had been such a huge hit when Sam managed her comeback. The waif figure was out and curvy was in. Now she was back to being a waif, and her face looked gaunt.
“Hi!” Sam gave Tatiana a hug then motioned for her to take a seat. “You have great timing. I was just going over your contract. I’ve tried to get a ho—”
“I know you’ve been trying to get ahold of me. Sorry,” Tatiana interrupted, not making eye contact with Sam and looking out the window instead.
“Uh…it’s okay. So, I have everything all set and just wanted to go over a few things.”
“Sam, err…I’m not signing anything. I’m actually giving my thirty days’ notice.”
Sam froze. Her pen slipped out of her hand and fell to the floor, with Sam wishing she could just follow it. She had sensed that maybe Tatiana wouldn’t renew but had really thought that after all they had gone through together, Tatiana would have at least given Sam a heads-up and not waited until the last minute. Of course, it was her decision to go with any agent that she wanted to, but Sam had a feeling she knew who it was, and that wouldn’t sit very well with her. At all.
“So you’re going to Rossi,” she said, trying to make it a statement instead of a question. She wanted Tatiana to think that Sam already knew.
“Yes. I’m sure Lance told you. I’m sorry, Sam, but there’s things they can offer me that you can’t. You know, I have a team of people there that will assist me, not just one person. And they have more contacts.”
Sam smiled as Tatiana babbled on, not really hearing anything she was saying. She knew that Tatiana’s comeback would never have happened if it weren’t for Sam. No one had wanted to touch her, between her horrible reputation and the weight gain. But Sam had turned it all around for her and made Tatiana the top plus-sized model in the world. And now she was leaving to go to Rossi. Her weight loss made all the sense in the world now to Sam.
“It’s for the best,” Sam said, knowing that Tatiana would be surprised with her lack of begging for her to stay. Instead, Sam stood and opened her door. “Best of luck, Tatiana.”
********
“What was that all about? Tatiana just stormed out of here, and she didn’t even say hello,” Holly asked as she entered Sam’s office.
“She’s signed on with Rossi,” Sam said matter-of-factly, not looking up from her keyboard.
“Oh no. No. Did she say why? After all you’ve done for her career, Sam. This is kind of crappy of her – and Lance – to do! Especially after everything he said to you about Jez!”
Sam clicked on the print icon on her computer, and the printer whirred to life, spitting out paper. She grabbed the papers and stood up.
“It’s fine. This is the contract with Bordiana. One million dollars. Now we don’t need her and we don’t need Rossi. I can do this without Rossi or Tatiana.”
Sam dropped off the papers on Mo’s desk then made her way to the elevator. As the doors slid open she almost bumped into Lance, who was getting off on her floor.
“Oh, good. I wanted to talk to you,” he said to her.
“Funny, I was just on my way to see you,” Sam said, smiling at him.
“What for?” he asked, stepping out of the elevator.
“To congratulate you.”
“For what?”
“Signing Tatiana,” Sam said dryly. She saw Addi’s head perk up from behind the reception desk like a gopher popping its head out of a hole.
Lance shifted uneasily on his feet. “Err…well, I was hoping to tell you that in person. She needed a larger firm to represent her, Sam.”
“Says you. It’s fine, Lance, just a bit disappointing but definitely not shocking. I knew making this deal with you would be signing a deal with the devil. “
Lance’s face scrunched into anger, making Sam smirk. She wanted to make him mad, and it was working.
“I made a deal with you that was best for both of our companies, Sam. It’s not my fault that you can’t understand how the financial side of running a business works.”
“Ouch!” Addi blurted from behind the reception desk, sinking down in her seat as Sam and Lance both looked over at her.
“I do understand how the financial side of running a business works. In fact, if I sign Jez, I’m pretty sure that means I don’t need your…help,” Sam said dryly, exaggerating the word “help.” She started to walk away as Lance stood there, his tanned face turning red.
“You can’t sign Jez, Sam. You don’t want him as a client. Trust me, please,” Lance barked after her.
Sam stopped in her tracks, turning slowly on her heel.
“Watch me.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Sam sank into her bathtub, closing her eyes and wishing she were on some tropical island. Even with the lights off and scented candles flickering, her mind still raced over work. She was disappointed about Tatiana’s decision but also knew that she shouldn’t have assumed that Tatiana would stay with her forever. Did it sting that she was signing on with Rossi? Of course. And while at first she had been mad at Lance about it, after thinking for a while, she realized that it was just business. Not everything was personal. She had spent so much time taking things with Lance personally that it had really clouded her judgmen
t on the business end.
Her phone ringing startled her, and she sat upright in the tub, some water splashing over the side onto the tiled floor. She got up and grabbed for a towel and then rushed into her bedroom to the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, sexy,” Jez said.
“Uh…hi,” Sam replied. This was the first time that she had heard from him in three days. No texts, no calls, nothing. She had tried her best not to text him repeatedly, but she had sent four to him. Each time she didn’t get a reply, she felt stupider for sending them. She knew that he had read them.
“Where have you been? I miss you, honey.”
Honey? He never called her honey. Babe yes, honey no. And she thought she detected a slight slur in his speech. Was he drunk?
“I’ve been where I always am. Home and work. I texted you a few days ago and never heard back.”
“What? I never got any texts.”
Sam sat on the edge of her bed and rolled her eyes. He had to have gotten her texts. She had seen the “read” on each one.
“Sam, I swear I didn’t get any texts from you. It’s probably the arena we are playing and practicing at – no service in most of it.”
