“Hell no, I want that photo for my portfolio.”
I stepped away from the crowd and Kendal and Mom came with me.
“We don’t want to make waves here,” Kendal said. “Let them fight it out, and we’ll just make sure your cute butt is covered in the rest of the shots.”
“How about we negotiate that the three of us get rights to the photo?” Mom suggested. “I think it would be a great addition to his portfolio. We can also get Jeff to pay for all material fees.”
I agreed, so Kendal went over to Clare and Jeff and they worked out a deal. Emily found me some flesh-colored underwear and I put them on. We reset the shot and started again. He let us make out some. Jeff chuckled when we were done, and he had us take a break. I was done with my part, so I took a quick shower to get all the makeup off. The rest of the shoot would be just Ava.
Jeff and my group went over all the photos while Ava changed clothes and makeup. We reworked our original contract to show that Jeff would pay for all materials. I got another CD with all the new shots. Ava was gracious enough to allow me to use her shots in my portfolio. I saw the check made out to Kendal’s law firm with a bonus that paid Kendal’s portion. Jeff was being very generous, so I would get the full $1,000 for today’s shoot. I realized that I had eaten up all of Kendal’s firm’s profits by having Cindy and Angie paid. I wanted to find out who paid it. If it came out of Kendal’s pocket, I would make it up to her.
When we were done, Clare came over to us while Jeff went back to doing Ava’s shoot. Ava was wearing some prep-school outfit that was hot. Clare coughed and got my attention.
“I have the contract here. We emailed David’s portfolio to the client and they accepted. I would formally like to invite you to become a part of the Ford Models family.”
Mom smiled at me. I nodded.
“I accept.”
Kendal screeched in joy. I was sure she was more excited about this than I was. I was looking for a part-time job, and this one was kick-ass. I’d made $1,000 for half a day’s work, plus I got to cut school.
“We’ll take the contract back to my office to verify the terms. We can have it signed and back to you by close of business,” Kendal told Clare.
“Here’s the $10,000 bonus,” Clare smiled. “I read David’s contract, and all bonuses go directly to him; that’s how it’s written. Kendal, that’s very generous of your firm.”
“We expect to be associated with David for a long time, and want him happy.”
Kendal had no idea how loyal I was now. I wouldn’t leave her and Tom unless they made me.
“We’ll be in touch on Monday. I assume that scheduling will go through you?”
Kendal nodded, and Clare turned towards me.
“We want you to come to our offices in Chicago and meet everyone. From what I know right now, I’ll be your agent with Ford.”
She handed me a business card.
“Contact me if you need anything.”
“When I go to Chicago, how will I get there?” I asked.
Clare pulled my contract out, turned to one of the pages, and pointed to it. I read the travel section. Ford paid for everything. They would have a minimum of a town car available for transportation. I also read that, since I was a minor, either a guardian or someone designated as my chaperone would be with me on all trips. If no one were available, then Ford would provide someone. The glorified babysitter was paid to accompany me on the trips. The only stipulation was that they had to be at least 18 years of age. Kendal and Mom read it over my shoulder.
I looked up from the contract and smirked.
“Who gets to go to Chicago with me?”
I could see Kendal and Mom were already planning some trips with me.
“Can you have the key components of the contract summarized?” Mom asked Kendal. “That way we can get through this and get it signed today.”
Kendal called Tom and confirmed that Ford had sent him a copy. She explained what Mom wanted. I went back to finish packing everything. Ava saw I was ready to leave, and ran over to give me her phone number. The other models all gave me hugs, and I thanked Jeff and Emily. We left at 4:30, giving me plenty of time to get home for my date with Peggy, Suzanne and Jim.
WE DROVE STRAIGHT TO Kendal and Tom’s office. They’d called Kendal on the road, and had everything ready for us. I had never been to Tom’s place of work. It was downtown in one of the nicer buildings. When we walked into the office, the receptionist saw me and called me by name. She led me down the hall into an area that had a big sign that read ‘Entertainment Division.’ We walked into another reception area, and on one wall was a picture of Tom and Kendal. On the other wall was my picture with today’s date. Kendal had sent them one of my headshots from the shoot.
I took out my phone and took a picture. I sent it to Tami with a quick note letting her know Tom’s firm now represented me. I figured I would wait until Sunday and tell her about Ford and my new contract with Range Sports.
Tom came out of his office.
“David, Mrs. Dawson! I hear congratulations are in order. Kendal tells us you have your first contract to sign. Follow me to the conference room and we can get that taken care of.”
The conference room was spectacular. There was a glass wall separating it from the rest of the office. The view was what made the room special. It overlooked the park and my favorite pond. I suddenly realized that my private spot wasn’t so private: I could actually see a couple making out. I got out my phone and used it to zoom in. I laughed when I saw it was Beth’s ex, Gary Baxter, and Lisa Felton. It looked like Gary lasted only as long as it took her to touch him. Lisa had that effect on boys. I could see her storm off in disgust. I couldn’t wait to tell Beth.
Tom and Mom went over the contract while I talked to Kendal about nothing in particular. I found out she and her boyfriend were both graduating early in December. He had a job in Chicago and she was staying here. She would need to find an apartment. She wanted to find one with a roommate to help split costs. Her parents had offered, as a graduation gift, to furnish her new place, since she had lived in the dorms throughout her stay at State.
My mom got my attention.
“David, this contract is only for 180 days and guarantees two shoots with Range Sports. Ford is charging you 50% to manage you, and that’s after expenses. You’ll still get $20,000 minimum for each shoot. However, the full value is closer to $45,000. The good news is that, within the 180 days, you’re not exclusive with Ford. You’re able to take on other projects.”
I looked to Tom.
“If we find you a project, we charge you 10%, but you’re responsible for your own expenses,” Tom said. “So let’s use this contract as an example with Range Sports. You’ll earn $20,000 for each of the two shoots, and they take care of everything. It looks like they’re estimating $5,000 in expenses. If we were doing the deal, we would take another $4,500 for a total of $9,500. You would walk away with $35,500.”
“But unfortunately, Tom doesn’t have the contacts to find you work yet,” Mom told me.
“Am I locked in if Range Sports decides to use me exclusively?”
Tom scratched his head.
“The contract isn’t clear. It looks like they go to a flat 35% and they eat all the costs. What’s important to know is that the pay scale escalates per shoot. If I’m reading this right, you’ll be making close to $150,000 per shoot in total, less all the fees. Your cut would be close to $90,000 per shoot, with a guarantee of three more shoots. This contract has an automatic renewal every 180 days with a small window where either party can opt out.”
“I recommend that you sign the contract as-is. At the end of 180 days, we’ll see how it’s going. In the meantime, you finish football, Kendal will graduate, and you can be a kid for a while. If I heard correctly, you have a date tonight,” Mom said.
I looked at Tom and saw him shrug. If Tracy hadn’t gone all whacko on me, I’d be going out with her tonight.