“Positive. Be sure to send over a revised agreement for this batch of work since I contracted you for three, but I’m getting eight.”
“Don’t worry about it. Think of it as my gratitude for the continued business.”
“That’s sweet,” Koa started. “But I won’t do that. You put the work in, they came out amazing, and I’m going to compensate you for them. You’re also undervaluing yourself. For my first merch drop, I only got two designs. His work wasn’t as good or concise as yours, and he charged me almost four times what you charge. I didn’t realize at first that the deposit I paid was half the total cost. I thought it was a quarter of it until I went back and read the agreement.”
“I’m just starting out, so I priced it based on entry-level salary.”
“I get that, and I would agree if this were entry-level work, or if you were working for a big company and not freelancing. Don’t underestimate yourself. People who want quality will pay for it,” Koa pointed out. “It was a lesson I had to learn myself.”
Eri thought about it for a moment before nodding. “You’re right, but I wouldn’t feel right changing the pricing we’ve already agreed on.”
“Okay, then don’t change the pricing for these. Charge me for the extra ones, and what I’ll do is pay you fifteen percent of whatever profits are made on the limited drop in October. In the new contract, price at what you’re worth and add in the fifteen percent bit for all limited drops.”
“What? No, you don’t—”
“It’s only fair,” Koa cut her off. “I can be indecisive sometimes, and I know myself well enough to know there will be times where I decide I want to do a limited drop or a special edition something or other a week before it happens. Paying you a commission on the products only seems fair for the stress it’ll put you through, especially if you have other clients too.”
Eri thought about it for a moment. It was a great opportunity. Not only would her name be on every piece of merchandise as the design creator, but it would be on the website, and she would make a passive fifteen percent income a few times a year, whichwas an added bonus. Koa’s channel had over four hundred million subscribers. Those were people Eri wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise.
“Okay. I’ll get the agreement revised and the contract together.”
“Perfect. Send those over to me when they’re done. I’ll sign and send the rest of the payment, and then you can send me the designs.”
Eri nodded. “When are you launching your merch store?”
“The new season ofLove, Honeystarts posting in the second week of August, and I want to place advertisements at the end for them to shop.”
“That’s less than six weeks,” Eri pointed out.
Koa laughed, likely catching her skeptical tone. “Don’t worry. I’ve already chosen the company to produce everything for me, and once I send them the designs, I can get a couple of hundred of each item within a few weeks. But that just shows you how last minute I can be.”
“Alright, then I’ll get them over to you tonight. That way, you can have the designs as soon as possible, and I’ll start on Christmas designs next week.”
“Thanks, Eri.”
“No problem.”
They stayed long enough to finish the drinks they ordered before going their separate ways. Eri was so giddy about the outcome of the meeting that she couldn’t wait to tell her dad, Elias, and Avian.
31
Eri couldn’t help but feel the Fourth of July event felt more like a block party than anything else, and she was digging it. The organizers had rented the large event building at the park and opened the sliding back doors to allow it to spill out into the open space. Outside, there was a DJ, food stands, tables set up with any game you could think of, along with a dominoes and spades tournament. The former of which she, Avian, and Nesiah had left their men and Ricardo at in favor of getting a shaved ice. There was also an area off limits to everyone except for the person who’d been hired to perform the fireworks show at the end of the night.
“Did you get everything planned for Javier’s birthday?” Avian asked as they waited for their turn in line.
“Yes, finally. I had to plan it when he was busy with work, or after he’d gone to sleep. That man is so nosy.”
Eri and Avian laughed as Nesiah fondly rolled her eyes. “Well, what did you plan?” Eri inquired as they moved up in line.
“We’ll spend the day doing all his favorite things, and I’m even going to cook all his favorite foods, which entail holiday foods. I also got him this limited-edition action figure from the nineties that he was looking for. It took me forever to find it, and it cost way more than I think any doll should, but I know he’ll be excited to have it.”
“That sounds like a great birthday,” Eri responded. In her opinion, there was nothing better than your special day being spent doing the things you enjoyed with the people or personyou cared about the most. She’d always been more prone to intimate celebrations than big parties. Even as a kid, she hadn’t wanted them and often avoided going to her classmates’ parties.
They placed their order when it was their turn, and once they had their shaved ice, they headed back to where they’d left the men. Eri stepped beside the chair Elias occupied and noticed they were finishing up the current game. He placed his hand on the back of her thigh as he played his next-to-last domino.
“What flavor did you get?” he inquired.
“Peach mango,” she replied, holding the spoon out and feeding him some. “How long do you plan to play?” she asked after his turn came around again, and he played his last domino. He and Marco were currently on standby since they’d won their first two hands, and were just playing for fun. Since it would be at least an hour and a half before they had to play again.
