Brandon laughed. “Remember, we agreed to give it a month before we request any changes. But my roommate looks like a plus already.”
“Oh, yeah? How so?” Simba asked.
“I just have a hunch,” Brandon said. “He shows a lot of confidence in his art skills. But I’ll show you later.”
“Simba might have found his wife today,” Leon alluded.
Brandon’s eyes grew and he said, “Really?”
“She looks like a short Ms. Universe,” Leon boasted.
Simba grinned and shook it off. “Come on, man. I just met the girl.”
“So, she really looks good?” Brandon asked Simba.
Simba nodded. “Oh, yeah, she’s definitely good-looking,” he confirmed.
Leon laughed again. “Yeah, so I got her smart-alec girlfriend’s number just for the hell of it. She was feeling me, but I’m feeling a lot of girls out here. I’m just gonna go with the flow.”
Brandon grinned and passed out more fliers as they walked through campus. “You guys didn’t forget to pass out fliers and tell them about our event, did you?”
Leon frowned at him. “Come on, man, that’s all day, every day. You’re not the only one excited about this. We’re all making money together. And we’re all wearing our Beast Team T-shirts on Friday, right?”
“Yeah, but let’s all wear a different color,” Brandon said.
“Of course,” Simba agreed. “And just think, guys, in a matter of weeks, the whole campus will know us—or at least the other freshmen.”
“Everyone else too,” Leon argued. “Everybody wears sneakers.”
“So, how are we looking on confirming a deejay and the other special guests?” Simba asked. The plan was to add confirmed guests and a deejay to the updated fliers. The guys were advised to print three rounds, hitting the campus freshmen first, the older students later and the final round of fliers would go out to the larger population of New York and Northern New Jersey.
Brandon said, “Amar’e and Raymond are still making phone calls. They even talked about getting DJ Funkmaster Flex from five to eight, because he’s into sneakers too. But I don’t know if I want to pay that kind of money for just a few hours. They’re still trying to negotiate.”
Leon stopped walking and looked horrified. “Dude, unless he’s asking us for twenty thousand dollars, just give it to him! Funkmaster Flex will make everybody want to come! He’s the most popular deejay in New York!”
“Yeah, but we can’t overpay him. Remember, we still have to give Amar’e fifteen back. And if we pay Flex a lot, then everyone else is gonna want something.” Brandon was also concerned about the money issues his uncle was facing. So, he had a lot riding on how much they could make.
“So, we pay Flex something nice and tell him to keep it quiet,” Leon insisted. “Remember, Brandon, we’re doing more than just sneakers now. We have trademark T-shirts to push and we’re calling ourselves a promotions and marketing brand now. So, stop thinking about the money so much and think about the crowd. Because the money will come. We just want to be successful with it.”
For once, Leon made perfect sense. Even Simba had to agree with him.
NEW YORK GETS SERIOUS
THE GUYS GOT settled into their classes and new surroundings while continuing to hand out fliers and make friends around NYU’s campus. Meanwhile, Amar’e Stoudemire and Raymond House negotiated an undisclosed deal with DJ Funkmaster Flex to spin records and host the tail end of their first big event. The other special invited guests were still unconfirmed. However, Raymond told the guys that he was still working on Kemba Walker, John Wall, Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving, who were all looking to market and promote their shoes.
“Really? Well, we would love to have them all,” Brandon responded excitedly.
“It all depends on their practice schedules. That September date is getting close to their pre-season games in October,” Ray explained.
As expected, Adidas and Reebok became their first sponsors, followed by Nike and Vans. Their setup with basketball, skateboarding, soccer and hip-hop was too sweet to turn down, particularly in the New York market. However, with less than sixty days until showtime, the guys decided to drop their corner-booth price to five hundred.
Jay Stewart and Danielle Lyles were both ready to go, with their appearances and travel plans already confirmed. David Terry’s family confirmed his appearance and travel plans as well. And when the second round of fliers came out, Natasha was impressed. She and Adrienne were then ready to pass them out around Seton Hall’s campus.
“You guys are kicking off your college careers like superstars. Don’t you forget about us after this,” she teased him over the phone.
“Come on, you guys are a part of the team now,” Brandon told her. “We need everyone to make it happen. Especially you,” he added with emphasis.
“Well, what makes me so special?”
Brandon paused. He knew what he wanted to say, but he decided against it. Instead he told her, “Because you’re my special guest at everything. You can even get a tattoo on your wrist that says ‘BRANDON’S VIP’.”
“Awww, isn’t that special?” Natasha cooed.
“So, are you guys coming up to New York this week to get the fliers? I haven’t seen you in a month.”
Natasha thought about it. “Yeah, it has been that long. I guess you’re due for a sighting.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“So, what do you want to do when I get up there?”
Brandon paused again. “You’re coming by yourself?”
“I might, if Adrienne or no one else wants to come. Does it matter?”
Brandon was at a loss for words, still trying to figure out what was safe to say. He didn’t want to offend or disrespect her by assuming things. “It could matter, depending on how many people you’re bringing. I could bring more people too,” he suggested safely.
“No, it’s not gonna be all that. I’m not bringing a gang of people with me. That’s not even my style. But we’ll figure it out,” she told him.
“So, what do you think of Danielle’s baby T designs for girls?” Brandon asked, changing the subject. He had taken a picture of the designs and texted them to her weeks ago.
“Are you gonna have them ready for the event? I told you to order the cotton and spandex. That would make a big difference for girls,” she advised. “You should have ordered at least a dozen for us and the models. How many models are involved again?”
“We don’t really want more than eight,” Brandon answered. “But there’s a lot of fashion girls who go to school here, so they all want to do it. And you already know how much Leon runs his mouth. You give him something like this, and he’ll invite out a hundred girls.”
“Of course, you’re right in the middle of the New York fashion district.”
“Well, guess what? I already ordered three dozen baby T-shirts for girls, just to see how they would sell with our new logo.”
“A new logo?”
“Yeah, I told you my roommate is a graphic design major.”
“And you put him to work already?”
Brandon chuckled. “Actually, he asked me first. He said he could design it better for us.”
“And he did it?”
“Yeah, wait ’til you see it. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Okay. Well, look at you. I am surprised. I thought you had ignored me.”
“Oh, never. I hear everything you say.”
“I see.”
After Brandon hung up with her, he caught up with his guys at the NYU recreation center, where Simba had brought Jinni along to sit at a small table with them.
“Brandon, this is Jintana. Jinni, this is Brandon.”
“Hi, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she greeted him with a smile.
Brandon nodded and smiled back, impressed. “I’ve heard a lot about you too, and they were right,” he hinted. Jintana was everything they said she was and a fancy dresser to boot.
“They were right about what?” she asked.
“They called you a beauty queen.”
She blushed. “I’m only five feet tall. I could never be a beauty queen.”
“You can with us. And a Beast Team model,” he alluded. “My girl isn’t all that tall either.”
“Your girl?” Leon broke in. “You’re talking about Natasha?” He was stunned.
“I meant our girl,” Brandon corrected himself and laughed.
“So, you’re finally admitting it,” Leon teased.
Brandon waved him off and turned back to Jintana.
“Anyway, since you’re here, can I get your female opinion on something?” he asked her. He pulled out the new logo design that he had gotten from his roommate and sat the print out on the table. It was the first time that Brandon had shared the new logo with them.
Leon and Simba eyed the new design. They loved it!
“Man, your roommate did that?” Leon asked.
“Yeah, that’s real cool,” Simba agreed.
Tarun had created thicker, stronger claws that looked more beastly, while allowing the claws to rip through the edges of the first and last “T” of their TBT initials in a thicker font.
Jintana looked at the printed illustrations and agreed with the guys. “That looks awesome. It really looks like a beast did it.”
“My roommate said he copied the claws from the X-Men’s Beast in the comic books and the cannibalistic villain called Wendigo.”
“Yeah, I loved Wendigo. He’s like a big white-fur wolfman,” Simba said.
“Well, I ordered some girl T-shirts with this new Beast Team logo across the front and TBT on the back,” Brandon announced. “I also ordered some new hats with it.”
“You mean, you got Beast Team across their chests?” Leon asked excitedly. “You know what that’s gonna look like, right? Like they’re busting out of their shirts.”
Brandon hadn’t even thought about it that way. So he asked Jintana, “Does that like, offend you as a girl?”
“I mean, it doesn’t offend me, but I wouldn’t wear it to class or anything. I would probably wear it around the house or at the dorm with my girls,” she answered.
Leon nodded. “Yeah, you wouldn’t want to bring that much attention to yourself.”
“Exactly,” she agreed. “That’s just not me. But Fei Yen would wear that to class.”
“Well, would you wear one at our event?” Brandon asked her. “I ordered the Knicks colors with orange baby Ts and blue short sleeves, the Nets colors with white Ts and black sleeves and the Heat colors with black Ts and red sleeves.”
“Sure, I mean, if everyone else is wearing one,” Jintana answered.
“In which colors?”
She smiled. “I don’t really like the Knicks. So, I would wear the white and black or the black and red.”
“Wait a minute,” Leon said. “You’re gonna copy all of the NBA team colors?”
“Or football, baseball or whatever,” Brandon told him. “Especially if we’re doing sports and sneaker events. Then we can do something different later on with crazier colors.”
Leon smiled. “That’s dope. We could sell T-shirts to women at sports arenas all around the country then.”
“Has Natasha and Adrienne seen it yet?” Simba asked.
“No, but I told Natasha about it. They won’t have a problem wearing it though. She was the one who told me to order the cotton and spandex.”
“Yeah, it fits better,” Jinni confirmed as she stood up from their table. “I’m gonna go now.”
Simba stood up too. “You want me to walk you back?”
“No, my girlfriends are waiting up. You can give me more fliers though. I’m almost out.”
Brandon dug into his bag and gave her a handful of his. “Thanks for helping us.”
She smiled. “It’s okay. They make good conversation pieces.”
Simba walked away from the table with her to speak in private.
In their absence, Brandon nodded to Leon. “Yeah, she’s good for him. And she’s definitely hot. You think he’s gonna lock her down?”
“If he doesn’t, then he’s a fool. But I’ma make sure that he does,” Leon promised. “Simba needs a girl as bad as you need Natasha.”
“So, what’s this about Fei Yen not liking you anymore?” Brandon quizzed him. “What did you do?”
Leon shook his head and grinned. “She called me a player because of how many different girls I’m meeting.”
Brandon shrugged. “We have a marketing and promotions business. What did she expect? You like to meet people more than any of us.”
“I am meeting a lot of girls here though,” Leon admitted. “And a lot of these girls like me. So I can imagine what it’s gonna be like when we start doing our events,” he hinted with a grin.
“Well, maybe you should pick one to settle down with,” Brandon suggested. “I haven’t really paid attention to a lot of girls.”
“Yeah, because you’re hooked on Natasha,” Leon said.
“That’s my point. So I’m able to focus more without distractions.”
Leon smiled sheepishly. “I don’t get hooked that easy like you do, man. It’s too many of them here for that. And they look good too,” he gushed.
Simba walked back to the table as Jintana left to find her friends. He grinned and asked Brandon, “So, what do you think?”
Brandon nodded. “She’s perfect, man. I’m happy for you.”
“Yeah, thanks to Leon,” Simba mentioned.
Leon shrugged. “That’s what boys are for, man. I can’t have you lonely forever.”
Simba shook it off and got back to business. “Okay, so, with this new logo—did you have to pay your roommate something for that?” Simba asked Brandon.
“We did a credit and promotion deal. He just wants everyone to know that he did it so he can get new business.”
“And what happens if we get a licensing deal off of this?” Leon asked. “Don’t we have to get him to sign a work-for-hire contract or something? You might want to call Raymond up on that to make sure.”
“Yeah, I agree. It’s better to be safe than sorry—especially if we start telling everyone that he did it,” Simba advised. “We don’t want this guy trying to sue us for more money later on.”
“I’ll ask Raymond about it tomorrow,” Brandon told them. “And if we need him to sign some legal paperwork, I’ll just get him to do it then.”
In the middle of their meeting, a curvy Dominican student walked over and addressed Leon. “Is this your friend Brandon you were telling me about?” she asked in accented English.
Leon looked up and introduced her. “Oh, yeah, Brandon, this is Jacqueline Fernandez.”
“Nice to meet you,” Brandon said.
“How are you?” she responded, extending her hand to his. “So, did Leon tell you I want to model for The Sneaker Kings of New York?”
Brandon looked her over and decided immediately. “Yeah, you got the job.” He couldn’t see anyone taking their eyes off of her. In her colorful blouse, heels and blue jeans, she was naturally hypnotizing.
“Just like that? You don’t need to see me walk or anything?”
Brandon looked confused. “Ahh … you look like you walk pretty good to me.” He knew nothing about modeling and didn’t understand what she meant.
Simba started laughing at Brandon’s ignorance, but Leon saw it as a golden opportunity.
“Yeah, wait up for me. I’ll talk to you in a minute,” he told Jacqueline. “We’re just finishing up our meeting, but I’m coordinating the models.”
“Okay, I’ll wait up,” Jacqueline said. “And nice meeting you, Brandon. I look forward to working with you.” She didn’t even acknowledge Simba.
As soon as she walked away in her heels and fabulous curves, Leon whispered, “You see that, Brandon? These girls are aggressive in New York. And she was talking about model walking, not regular walking. But don’t ever tell them they got the job
already. You have to make them work for it. So now I gotta go get her head right.”
Simba laughed. “You sound like a pimp or something, man. You gotta get her head right? What are you talking about?”
Leon stared at him. “All jokes aside, man, New York is a different kind of place than Arizona. They take you seriously in New York. In Arizona, nobody really thinks about blowing up like that. But in New York, they all do. So we gotta get ready for that.”
Brandon listened to his friend, who was revealing a sense of confidence and maturity that Brandon wasn’t used to. In fact, he watched both of his friends growing up right in front of his eyes with only a few weeks of college under their belts—Simba socially and Leon professionally.
“You guys have to understand that they don’t know us here,” Leon said. “So we get a chance to start over and be who we want to be. But we can’t mess that up by acting like nobodies. You have to act important to be important. And after we do this big event in New York, there’s no turning back. We’ll be made men like the mafia. Now are we finished here?”
Brandon was stunned. He sat there at the table and wondered if he still had what it took to stay ahead of the game. Leon was actually scaring him. Maybe New York would be too much.
“Are we done here, Brandon?” Leon repeated, breaking his friend out of his stupor.
“Oh, yeah, I’ll just ah … update you on everything else as it comes. I just wanted to show you guys the new logo tonight.”
“It’s dope. We’re gonna get a lot of attention with that,” Leon predicted. He stood up from their table. “Now let me go catch up to Jacqueline. I’ll see y’all later.”
“What are you thinking about, Brandon? I know that look of yours,” Simba said as Leon walked away.
Brandon reflected before answering. “I’m thinking that Leon is right. We put a lot of time, money and effort into this thing, more than we’ve ever done before.”
Simba could hear the doubt creeping into Brandon’s voice. “We’ve never done an event like this before. But we’re all prepared for it, even Leon. He’s not afraid of any of these people. I love that about him. And you—you’ve been around NBA players all of your life, Brandon. So, just act like you’ve been there and done that. That’s what you usually do. Don’t change that now, just keep being you.”
The Sneaker Kings Page 21