by Nard J
IN THE MORNING
NARD J
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
IN THE MORNING
Copyright © 2016 Clarence D. Johnson
Publisher: Clarence D. Johnson
The right of Clarence Johnson to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.
A few weeks after a devastating loss to end his rookie season, Darius Coleman was now looking to expand his name into new arenas outside of the usual ones that held twenty-thousand fans or more. Today he was taking his talents, other than the ones on the basketball court, to Phire Wilson’s team. Phire was an up and coming agent that had started her own agency and already had a few interesting names she was representing and doing a great job to boot. Plus, knowing that Mike Benson, a longtime friend of his family, worked alongside Phire Wilson helped Darius make his decision to go with Phire’s agency for his business representation.
Darius loved his mother and the endorsement deals that she had negotiated for him along with his lawyer Jeffrey, but he knew if he wanted his career off the court to keep up with his career on the court, he would need some professional help. Making this move would take some stress off of his family and lawyer. On top of that, Phire’s firm had its own representation that was at his disposal as well. Feeling that he was making a great decision with his career and future business endeavors, Darius slept like a king after a feast.
The next morning, he woke feeling refreshed and ready to take on whatever the day would throw at him. Since the meeting wasn’t until later that afternoon and it was the off season, he decided to forego his usual daily workout and did something he hadn’t done in years. Darius turned on his gaming console and picked up a video game controller. It almost felt foreign in his hands. He rarely used them other than to watch movies or listen to music, let alone actually play a game on it.
After what seemed like hours, Darius got up and turned the game off, looked at the clock, it was only 7:00AM. He had only played the game for one hour. A smile appeared on his face as he shook his head. He was trying to clear his mind of thoughts about how different he was from most of his old friends and most people his age. Not many nineteen year olds stand six foot seven inches tall, make millions of dollars a year, or even lived by themselves. He was definitely cut from a different cloth and it was a good thing.
Darius made his way to the kitchen to start preparing his breakfast and he was feeling really excited about what the day was about to bring. So excited, in fact, he decided to send Phire a text reminding her about their meeting. Even though he was sure she didn’t need the reminder, he wanted her to know that he hadn’t forgotten about it.
Immediately after sending the message, he felt like an over anxious teenage boy getting ready for his first sexual encounter with his girlfriend. This was a thought that he pushed out of his mind while preparing breakfast. Today, his breakfast consisted of some favorites from home, three buttermilk pancakes, four eggs scrambled, four pieces of bacon, two sausages, apple juice, water, and a glass of ice cold Coca-Cola. This breakfast alone could keep a cardiologist and personal trainer in business forever, but Darius felt the need to feel comfortable, confident, and satisfied going into the day. After all it was the beginning of the rest of his life.
With breakfast done and the dishes cleaned, Darius went and took a shower to get ready for the day. Once he was done in the shower, he checked his phone for messages, calls, and the time. There were no messages, but there were two missed calls, both from his mother. It was little after 8:00 AM and the only other task he had to do was pick out some clothes for his meeting today. He figured it wouldn’t take too long to find the right thing to wear, so he pressed the call button on his phone and sat down to have a conversation with his mother. It had been a couple of weeks since they had last spoken, because of the European vacation he had sent her on.
For Darius, it was a small token of appreciation for all of the sacrifices his mother had made for him throughout the years. He made her a promise that once he made it, he would send her on a vacation of her choice. The phone only rang twice, before the high-pitched, southern drawly voice of his mother answered on the other end. She was very excited about her vacation and about the news she heard about him signing with Mike.
Before he could say anything she switched topics back to her vacation again and went on for about twenty minutes detailing the events of her days in France, Spain, Italy, England and Germany. Darius was glad to hear his mom had enjoyed herself and he was glad he could give her that type of enjoyment. Right before they got off the phone, his mom said something that really shocked him.
“Darius, I spoke with Mike this morning. He said that this Phire lad is very smart, great at her job and looks better that most of the model girls she represents.”
Darius chuckled a bit, “Okay, mom what are you saying? She’s also going to be my agent and not to mention she’s older than me and probably involved with someone else. Women like her don’t stay single forever, unless they choose to.”
“Have you seen her in person, yet?”
“No, Mr. Benson did all of the leg work for this deal.”
His mom laughed at him, “That’s so typical of Mike. Well, baby, let me just say this. First impressions are lasting impressions. So if you want to have sub-par representation, just go ahead and continue dressing like so many of the other men of your generation in America. But if you want to this woman to work hard for you and take you seriously by turning your off court image into a household name, go and buy you some real clothes.”
Darius wasn’t too particularly pleased with what his mom had said, but out of respect he stayed quiet for a few moments.
“Alright mom. I see your point. And since I do, I have to go and shop for something to wear today.”
They talked for about a minute longer then clicked off. Darius sat on the edge of the bed and looked over at his closet. It was full of clothes, but most of them were t-shirts, jeans, and the occasional Ralph Lauren Polo shirt and dress pants. He only owned two pair of dress shoes and the rest of his shoes were sneakers. He had to admit, most of the clothes were in style but also considerably childish.
With his mom’s words echoing in his head, Darius got up and put on some shorts, flip-flops and a t-shirt. He had some shopping to do, if he wanted to be serious about making a good impression on Phire. He stopped in his tracks. Why did it seem like his mom was trying to hint at him and Phire possibly being an item? He shook that thought away, too. No need to ponder on something that’s not going to happen. This was a business deal, not a summer fling in the making.
It was a short walk down the hall to the parking garage, where Darius got in his brand new BMW 750Li. To some, it would seem like too much car for a person who was barely out of high school, but for Darius it was a great purchase and the best investment he had made so far. Now, he was on his way to make another investment, a new wardrobe.
On the way to the mall, Darius sent a text to his lawyer asking about a good store or clothing line to look into for buying new clothes that will work for these types of engagements. It took a little while, b
ut the reply finally came and he gave him a list of stores and clothing lines that he regularly shopped. It was a good list of names, some he definitely hadn’t heard of, but very good quality and style that fit his taste. He knew he would have to call his mom and thank her for this piece of advice.
Darius took his time shopping, meticulously picking out articles that he could wear in just about every possible scenario. Sasha, a very good looking Latina sales-woman in her early thirties, saw Darius looking for clothes and came over to assist him. He told her the style he was looking for and why and she instantly took a keen interest in him. At first, it seemed to be a mother helping her son, but after seeing how well he could clean up, Sasha started making subtle gestures and suggestions toward him. Darius noticed this but made no attempt to pursue her. He had an impression to make, so he wanted no unnecessary distractions. However, what he did take from Sasha was that he evidently looked like a very debonair gentleman with a very good balance of business and pleasure.
About two hours after arriving at the mall, Darius emerged with enough bags and boxes to look like he had just went shopping for a family of five. Before he left the parking lot, his phone alerted him of a text he had just received. It was from his barber, Fresh. Fresh was the hottest barber in the city and he only catered to the VIP crowd aside from his friends.
What made him such a unique barber however was that he didn’t have a shop that his clients came to, he was a mobile barber. He would either set up in their home or he would meet his clients wherever they were and cut their hair in the back of his climate controlled van that had all the bells and whistles of a state of the art barber shop.
Today’s text from Fresh wasn’t to confirm an appointment, but to ask if he needed a haircut because it had been awhile since he had given him one. Darius replied back accepting the offer and they arrived at Darius’ apartment around the same time. Darius opened the door and let Fresh get set up while he funneled all of his bags through the door. Once he finally got them all in, he looked around his apartment and thought that he would need to get a bigger place or at least a designer to help him rearrange his closet at least. When Fresh came to let him know that he was ready for him, Darius dismissed the thought and vowed he would revisit it a short time later.
It had been a little over a month since the season ended and thus a little over a month since Darius had had a haircut or trimmed his beard. Fresh took a good look at Darius’ head and face and then dived into the sea of wild hair like a landscaper tackling one of his favorite yards for the first time of the year. The haircut and beard trim didn’t take long, it never did and about a half hour after starting, Darius stood in front of his mirror admiring his taper fade and neatly lined and trimmed beard. He still had about two and half hours left to kill before his meeting so he and Fresh spent about thirty minutes catching up. When Darius told Fresh what the haircut and all of the new clothes were for, Fresh’s mouth dropped. A couple of moments of silence passed and then he started to nod his head in approval at his friend. They shook hands and Fresh wished Darius good luck and left the apartment so he could get ready for his meeting.
Darius took another shower to make sure all of the hair was off of him and then he picked one of the suits that Sasha had helped him find. It wasn’t tailored, but it fit just as well. He had now transformed from a boy to a man virtually in the blink of an eye, by simply changing clothes. Darius took another look at himself in the mirror and then his phone rang. It was from his lawyer Jeffrey. The conversation was short, as always, and in the end the message was simply to meet him at Phire and Mike’s office and they would go in together.
They clicked off and Darius admired his watch, another one of the purchases he made today. It was a strange motion that he felt weird performing, but at the same time he felt good about being able to do it. The time read 12:45PM. He had forty-five minutes to get to the office and it was lunch time. Luckily, their office was only about a twenty-five-minute drive from his apartment. In lunch traffic, if it wasn’t too bad, it would only add about fifteen minutes to that commute, leaving him ten minutes to make any quick changes that may be necessary.
The commute went smoothly and he and Jeffrey pulled into the parking lot right after one another. When they got out of the car, Jeffrey looked over at Darius with an approving eye and nodded with a curt smile on his face.
“You clean up nice, sir.”
Darius smiled and mocked adjusted his tie, “Thank you. I had some good advice on a wardrobe change, but as you know, I make everything look good.”
They shared a laugh and shook hands as they started toward the office door.
Jeffrey Savage didn’t stand as tall as Darius, but he wasn’t little by anyone’s standards. He had been an athlete in college and his body still showed it, albeit he was pushing fifty years old and took pain relievers for his knees on a regular basis. He was a veteran lawyer and loved having big name clients to represent in their time of need. He wasn’t cheap and he wouldn’t even consider knuckle heads as clients. Darius was lucky to have him, being that he didn’t have a track record to go on, but something about Darius just relaxed everyone around him and Jeffrey liked working for Darius, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to get him all of the deals that he deserved, so he was happy that Darius had found a good agent to work with.
Even though this was a routine contract signing, Jeffrey’s legal expertise kicked in and he went over the game plan with Darius and told him what to expect as well as explained Mike’s position in the deal as compared to Phire’s.
Darius was nodding his head in agreement to everything and Jeffrey looked him over once again and said, “Alright, let’s go get it done.”
At exactly 1:25PM Darius and Jeffrey walked into the office and were immediately received by the receptionist at the front desk. She knew who they were, for two reasons: 1) They were the talk of the office for the past few weeks; 2) Darius was one of the most popular athletes in the country at this time. She directed them down the hall to the conference room where the signing was taking place in. When they walked in the room everyone turned to look at them. Darius’ eyes searched the room quickly and locked in on Phire Wilson. She was even more gorgeous than he imagined. He felt his heart slow and if this had been a cartoon, he was almost certain his jaw would be on the floor. To keep from clamming up and making himself look and feel childish, he shifted his gaze to Mike, a familiar face. It had been a while since they had seen each other, but they had been in contact via e-mail and Jeffrey.
Jeffrey reached out and took Connie Reynolds’ hand. She was the attorney that had worked with Jeffrey to draw up the deal. They introduced everyone in the room and Darius had been focused on Phire pretty much the entire time. He almost felt like a high school boy trying to sneak a peek into the girls’ dressing room before and after games and practice.
After the introductions, Phire turned her attention to Darius and started speaking very quickly to him. She had taken his hand was shaking it very quickly and firmly. He hadn’t expected such a grip from her, but he appreciated it. For him, it meant she was the real deal, but if Mike hadn’t cut her off, he feared she might notice him still checking her out.
Mike and Darius spoke briefly before Jeffrey and Connie asked to start the meeting. They went through the contract one final time and made sure everyone was fine with the final draft of it. An hour later, Darius placed his signature on the contract. He was now the newest client to be represented by Phire Wilson and Associates.
They toasted champagne and munched on the finger foods. Jeffrey left right after the toast, he had to go and check on another client of his. Darius stayed around a little longer and he and Phire talked about upcoming promotions and events that she had already started ‘unofficially’ working on for him. He was happy with the choice he had made with Phire representing him. This was the start of a partnership that would be beneficial for the both of them.
On his drive home, Darius took a different
route. He wanted to drive a little and reflect on his day so far. During the drive, his phone rang. It was his mother again. He thanked her for the advice about the clothes then went on to recall the rest of the day to her. They spoke for a bit more and she congratulated him on a job well done and told him how proud she was. By the time they clicked off he had made it to his parking garage and he felt like he wanted to celebrate, but not like he normally would. Instead of calling a bunch of people for a party, he called a restaurant and made reservations for two. It was a club/restaurant that belonged to one of the team’s owners. They had given him a VIP booth and he was very grateful for it.
Next, he cleaned his apartment from top to bottom. He had never been a junky or dirty person, but there wasn’t a crime against being too clean. The cleaning took a few hours and when he finished he sent Phire a text inviting her to dinner. After a few minutes passed a no response, he lay down and took a short nap. He woke up and still no response, but something told him to get ready and go claim the reservations anyway. Darius took another shower and put on a Maison Margiela t-shirt, a pair of slim-fit Balenciaga chinos, and his Gucci Loafers (no socks). He looked like he had just stepped out of a fashion magazine and he felt like it, too.
When he made it to the restaurant he was escorted back to his booth and awaited Phire’s arrival. His wait wasn’t long and his patience was rewarded. When she made her way into the booth he didn’t try to hide his wandering eyes and she didn’t hide hers either. It was evident that their thoughts and intentions were the same. Throughout dinner, the only thing Darius was thinking was how beautiful she would look while the sun rose as she was moaning, because he knew he was going to get her tonight and again in the morning.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to take this time out and first thank Jehovah God for blessing me with the talent to write. Without Him none of this would be possible. I would also like to thank Him for giving me the time to finally sit me down to be able to pursue my dreams and stop just talking about it. It really is a blessing.