“For now, I’m done looking for true love. I think Greg did the smart thing when he was younger by just dating,” I said as I contemplated the old Greg. “You know, my friends thought he was a rock star. He was linked with almost every cute girl at school at some point. I know he’s changed since you and Kyle came into his life. I don’t plan on going as crazy as he did, but why not just have fun for now?”
I’d had a lot of time in the hospital to reflect on Tracy and what she’d done. I found I was indifferent. Whatever there had been between us was gone. Could we be friends? I really didn’t care, because she was too much drama for me right now. I still needed to talk to Tom, her dad, after his little outburst when she broke up with me. As long as he could act like an adult, I thought we could work together. I wanted to get that cleared up soon.
Angie gave me a timid look.
“You seem different.”
I sighed and looked into her eyes.
“I feel different. Trapped in that basement, laying under that workbench for a couple of days had given me time to reflect on my life. I feel more calm and sure of myself. Let me tell you, almost dying gives you a different outlook on life. A good example is the whole fiasco surrounding football at the end of the season. I worked my ass off and did the best I could. If that isn’t enough, then I’m sorry, but I don’t care what everyone else thought.”
Angie just nodded.
“Okay, enough of the tough questions.” She gave me an evil grin. “When are you ever going to let me use my free passes?”
“Meet the new fun David. You name the time and place, and I’m yours,” I said as I waggled my eyebrows.
“Uh, oh! This might not be good. I’d better warn Greg that it’s game on.”
I got serious for a moment.
“Angie, I love you and Kyle too much to ever let you collect on the free passes, at least with me. I know we joke around about it, but I don’t want you to think it’s ever going to happen.”
“I know, Baby, but it’s nice to see you smile again.”
AFTER ANGIE LEFT, I met the personal trainers to talk about my issues with muscle and joint pain. The geniuses decided Pilates would be a good idea. I thought they were trying to kill me. By the time they were done, I was almost crying. The slow stretching and focused moving were so deceptive. I knew better, but I was in too much pain. It made me consider this might be a good idea.
Next, they had me swim. The idea was that I wouldn’t strain my joints as much in the water. I was starting to feel human by the time I was done. It was going to take a bit more time for me to come all the way back.
AFTER I WAS DONE, ANGIE took me to Rigby, Thompson and Associates, my local agent. Kendal, who had been my personal assistant last year and since graduating college was now my agent, was out drumming up business. I would cut her some slack, but the next time I talked to her, I’d have to tease her about actually working. I’d put off talking to Tom long enough. I went to the secretary’s desk in the Entertainment Division.
“Hey, David, I’m glad you’re better. We were all worried about you.”
“Thanks. Did Kendal leave me a phone?”
She pulled out a bag and handed it to me.
“She said to tell you she set up everything. I charged it for you, so you should be ready to go.”
I’d broken my phone in Denver after talking to Tom. The drama from that conversation was what had me on edge.
“I appreciate that. Is Tom in?”
“He should be back soon, but Mr. Rigby and Mr. Thompson would like to speak to you. Do you mind waiting in the conference room?”
“No, that’s fine. Do you know what they want to talk to me about?”
She just gave me a cryptic grin and led me to the conference room. I made myself at home and grabbed a Coke out of the fridge. I had waited about fifteen minutes when two guys in their late 40s came in. They were dressed in power suits and both seemed very confident.
“Mr. Dawson, I would like to introduce my partner Roy Thompson,” the nearest lawyer said. “I’m Don Rigby. We’re the managing partners of the law firm, and we felt it was time you met us.”
I shook both of their hands and we sat down.
“We’ve been in close communication with Ford Models, and we agree the time is now to push your career forward. Ford has pulled your Q Score, and you test out very well. It’s a measurement of the familiarity and appeal you have to the public. Ford is concerned about your plans to take the month off. They feel now is the time to strike. You’re in the public’s mind with all your recent coverage. What we’d like to propose is you go full-time.”
If they had hit me with this proposal two weeks ago, I might have agreed. Nevertheless, I was now clear as to what my objectives were.
“I appreciate your sense of urgency. I know I may never have the public’s eye on me again, and it would be best to take advantage of my fifteen minutes of fame. However, I have three things I need to focus on right now. The first is my mom. Her cancer treatment is at a critical point. My family comes first. The second is I mentally need a break. I haven’t had any time to myself since September; it’s been nonstop football or modeling. The third is physically, I’m having some issues. I just got out of the hospital yesterday.
“So I’m going to have to decline going full-time,” I said.
Tom and Kendal had come in and heard the last of my explanation. She must have finished her appointment.
“Roy, Don,” Tom said in greeting.
“We were just telling David that Ford is pushing for him to go full-time,” Roy told Tom and Kendal.
“I wish you guys would have talked to me first. We cleared David’s calendar for the month of January so he could have some personal time. He’s been on the go since September with everything,” Tom reiterated.
“Who’s making the push at Ford?” Kendal asked.
“Deb Thomas,” Don answered. “It sounds like she might have tried to pull a fast one by talking to us instead of you, Tom.”
“Let’s put this on our agenda for the partner’s meeting on Wednesday. I want Deb to feel comfortable talking to any of the partners, but we need to be on the same page.”
“Can we do our own end run?” Kendal asked.
“What do you want to do?” Tom asked.
“My guess is that Range Sports is excited about the media attention David got them. Why not have David and me call them directly, and see if they need anything? If Devin Range isn’t behind the media push, then we’re in a better position to tell Ford ‘no.’”
Don and Roy were nodding.
“Good point. Let’s find out if Devin’s behind this,” Tom agreed.
We had our marching orders. Kendal and I went to her office to make the call. We were soon on the speakerphone with Devin.
“I want to thank you, Sandy, and the Range Sports family for taking care of me in my time of need. I don’t know what I would have done without your help,” I started the conversation off.
“We all are relieved you’re alright. I just got out of a marketing meeting, and they have a great idea I want to run by you.”
“What do you need?”
“Your press conference touched a chord in our client base. They all want to know what gear you were wearing. We want to run an ad campaign for ‘David Approved’ gear. Sandy suggested that we start you off with the whole outfit. Then you take off an item and hold it up. We would then describe the attributes of each item. Of course, I think Sandy just wants to see you in your underwear.”
“When do you want to do it?”
“We’d like to have had done yesterday.”
“Is it really that time-sensitive?” I asked.
“Yes, it is,” Devin told me.
“Could Mr. Hill, of Hill Marketing, do the shoot this afternoon? I can run to the local sports store that carries your gear and get everything I had on. I could be there by three.”