Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Most people put their attention elsewhere or plucked lint off their clothes, because they hated eye contact. It made me feel out of sorts that he wasn’t doing any of that, so I shifted on my heels, ignoring the thought and his powerful presence.
“I’m really honored that you agreed to meet us,” I continued. “I know it’s the offseason and you’d much rather be hanging out with family and friends than coming to boring work endeavors, so thank you.”
Another nod from Deke. “It’s my pleasure.”
Tish returned with two cold water bottles and placed them on the table in front of the men. Then she smiled at me, giving me big side-eyes that screamed GIRLLLLL!
I wanted to shoo her out of the office before my professional facade cracked.
“I see you like to do a lot of small talk.” Deke grabbed his water bottle and opened it.
“Oh. Is my small talk bothering you?” I asked.
He shrugged a shoulder after taking a sip of water. After a wet gasp, he said, “A little.”
“Okay.” I kept the corners of my lips turned up. “Well, then let me cut to the chase.” Jerk. “We were hoping you’d sponsor our products for five months. In exchange, we’re willing to give you four hundred thousand dollars.”
Deke smirked. Nothing more, nothing less. He then glanced at Arnold, who raised a bushy brow and bobbed his bald head.
“Okay,” Deke said. “Seems like a fair deal, coming from a small company.”
“Really?” I sat up taller, my eyes stretching with surprise. We were lowballing him—I knew this—and I expected him to immediately counter it, which I was prepared for, but still.
“You want the truth?” Deke asked, and my smile slipped a bit as he leaned forward and placed his water bottle on the table again.
“Um . . . the truth?” I gave pause. “Sure, give me the truth.”
“Well, the truth is four hundred grand or so ain’t nothing to me. I can make that in a day.”
I avoided a frown, which I nearly failed to do, because his arrogance was stinking up the room. I kept a neutral face, though, as he continued.
“But I’m willing to agree to this deal as long as I get to negotiate something else.”
I blinked, confused. “Like what?”
Deke shifted his attention to Arnold. “Arnold, think you can give me a moment with Ms. Klein?”
As if Arnold was used to this, he hopped up and said, “You got it.” He collected a mint from the candy bowl, picked up his water bottle, and left the office as quickly as he’d entered.
I glanced over my shoulder as Arnold shut the door behind him, and from the corner of my eye, I noticed Deke shift on the love seat. I faced him again.
The last thing I had time for was games. I didn’t care if he was some famous basketball player that everyone loved.
“What is this about, Mr. Bishop?” I asked, keeping my voice level. This was a practiced calm—one I’d used many, many times before. Trust me, he wasn’t the first person with lots of money to ever waste my time.
“Deke,” he corrected, which I found funny because he kept addressing me as Ms. Klein.
“Okay, Deke.” I folded my arms. “What is this about?”
He looked me up and down, tilting his head a bit. “Am I getting under your skin?”
I sighed. “You want the truth, Deke?”
He leaned back on the sofa, spreading his legs farther apart. “Sure. Give me the truth.”
I avoided a smile. He was using my words against me, just as I’d done to him. “The truth is you are getting under my skin.”
“Honesty.” He gave me a lopsided grin. “I like it.”
“Look, you showed up here for a reason. There are many places you can be right now, but you’re here. You clearly love our products and you don’t mind sponsoring them, so what is this really about?”
“It’s about you,” he stated simply.
I hesitated. “What about me?”
He rose to a stand. This man was a giant—six feet and four inches, according to his Wikipedia, but I think sometimes players lie about their height by adding an inch or two. And Deke was tall, but more like three over six to me. Lewis was six one, and Deke couldn’t have been that much taller.
Still, he took up a lot of space and towered over me like a giant.
“As I said, four hundred grand is easy to come by. And for five months of my time, I normally request more to sponsor stuff like this.”
“We can go up in price,” I assured him. His cologne tickled my nose. Damn, he smelled good, like cocoa butter and mahogany. “That’s no problem. What are you thinking?”
Truth is, it was a problem. We couldn’t go past $500,000. Anything more, and it would really put us in a financial bind. Offering so much was already a risk, but it was one I was willing to take because I knew it’d pay off.