“Tell me, then, how do I make this work?”
“First, get what you can in order. Whatever bills you have, consolidate them. After you’ve figured that stuff out, then, and only then, speak with Samantha and tell her what you can bring to the table.”
“What if it’s not enough?”
“Tox, she’s living out of a damn bus so she can get to know you better, so give her the benefit of the doubt and stop acting so pessimistic. It’s not like you.”
He’s right. Samantha could be staying at a hotel right now, but she’s choosing to spend the week on the Hunks tour bus with me. Which isn’t a small thing.
It won’t be easy, but it’s not fair to Samantha that I haven’t told her what’s going on in my life, especially with everything she’s doing for the Hunks. Things aren’t going as I’d hoped, but maybe it’s not as bad as I imagined it to be.
I just need a plan.
“Thanks, man. I really needed to hear that.”
“Don’t mention it. Now get your ass back to the bus because we’re about to take off.”
TWENTY-FOUR
Samantha
Not to patmyself on the back, but damn—I’ve outdone myself.
My outreach on the Hunks’ behalf has been nothing short of a monumental success, with over thirty brands bidding to do business with them.
I’m selective with what I bring to Carl because image and reputation are so important and he’s so excited, he would say yes to just about anything.
If I had come into his life years ago, he’d be doing shows all over the country.
“What the hell am I looking for again?” Toxic picks up an eyeliner from the shelf and flips it over in his hand.
I scan the shelf, finally locating the Alley Prem items in a locked cabinet. “Ah-ha!”
Toxic comes alongside me and squints. “That can’t really be fifty dollars for just that? It’s skin colored.”
“It’s actually a great deal. It can cover anything, including tattoos.”
“But we’ve never had to use it before.”
“And you won’t have to now. The Hunks just need to promote it.”
He scratches the back of his head. “It seems awfully expensive.”
“That’s why they emailed me a gift card. It’s too hard to send us the items when we’re on the road.”
I wave down an employee to unlock the display, grab what I need, and make my way to the front of the store.
As I’m walking, I pass the self tanner section and pause.
Oh, yes...this will do nicely.
“Hold up a moment,” I tell Toxic as I peruse the shelf, pulling off several bottles and putting them in my basket.
After checking out, we return to the bus, bringing the Alley Prem items to Carl.
“You’ll want to take a ton of pictures with the Hunks holding the products. I’ll sort through them and pick which ones will work best for the campaign. In addition to pictures, you must shoot a video of a Hunk demonstrating the product by covering only half of a tattoo, so people can see that it works.”
Carl looks hesitant. “Women like tattoos, though. Why would we want to cover them?”
