Page 28 of Just for the Cameras
“Whatever, same thing.”
He takes a step forward, his menacing stare eating me alive. “It’s not the same thing. My specialty on that field vastly differs from what you have in your head.”
“Honestly, I have nothing in my head because I don’t know anything about football.”
His tongue pokes against his cheek as he slowly nods. “So what I’m hearing is that you want to use my platform that I built from a sport that I’ve been playing my whole life, a sport you know nothing about, and use me by having me become a goddamn encyclopedia for Double Bubble Bubble Gum birds? Tell me how that computes.”
“They’re flamingos, so you can call them that.”
He shakes his head. “Pretty ironic that you want to use me while knowing nothing about what I do but insisting I know everything about what you do. Not an even swap.”
“You’re getting good publicity out of this.”
“It’s not guaranteed,” he says. “But if I learn your shit, then you will get grants and benefits, some new facilities. It’s not an even swap.”
I go to protest, but then I shut my mouth and consider what he’s saying, because he’s right. It’s not an even swap. He can wash dishes for the flamingos all he wants, but that doesn’t mean he will earn the public’s trust.
I mull it over, my mind racing with a possible idea.
No…I couldn’t.
But…what if…
“You’re mumbling to yourself,” he points out, stalling me in my thoughts.
“I was just thinking, what if…” My teeth pull on the corner of my lip.
“Please, I don’t have all fucking day.”
Ugh, I hate him.
I really hate him.
But I also need him. I know I do. Phil favors Travis and Callie. He also favors money, and what makes money? Merchandise.
And what does he need for merchandise? A central store.
And where would be a great place for a large central store?
The Flamingo Lagoon.
So as much as I hate to admit it, I have to make the most of this “partnership,” even if it pains me.
Gathering all my courage, I say, “What if we do something a little different from what Travis and Callie are doing with OC and Bennett?”
He eyes me. “Like?”
“Well, what if…instead of doing a vlog thing where cameras follow us around, why don’t we treat this as a partnership…a trade-off of sorts?”
“Not sure how I could possibly benefit.”
No, you couldn’t, could you?
Ass.
Grasping at straws, I say, “What if we went for a whole…social media approach instead? Where we start an Instagram account together. It could be about our unlikely pairing. You helping out with the flamingos and me…attempting to train as a football player?”
His brows shoot up, and then slowly the corners of his lips tilt to the sky. It’s not quite a smile, but I think it’s the most I’ll ever get from him.
