by Laurie Lochs
"I see, Daddy. That makes sense."
"Yes, baby," Mark said. "So for the pamphlets and mailers, I want you to be on the marketing brochure."
My cheeks burst into flames. "Are you… Are you kidding me?"
"No, baby. I want you to be front and center of this campaign."
My mind raced. If I was going to be the face of the ad campaign, this meant that any business the pamphlets drummed up would eventually return to… Me. When people saw the advertisements, they would call the Pressure Free Agency and try to get their home listed by me. But why would Mark do this? Didn't he want to drum up business for himself?
“Are you sure, Daddy?”
"I’m positive, little one. You're the sweetest boy in the world and I want to give you a running start. It's also a way to keep you loyal to the Pressure Free Agency. There's no other brokerage firm in the entire Midwest or even the country that is going to give you free marketing like this. You get to keep all of the revenue that comes in and the potential clients, provided that you can close them. But I'll teach you all about closing deals in the future. Right now, the first priority is to get the ball rolling and drum up business for you and Nino’s."
My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what he was saying. This was, well… This was single-handedly the nicest thing a man had ever done for me in my life. It was nicer than welcoming me into his home when I'd been little more than a boy and it was nicer than inviting me over when Ma was in the hospital. This was… Well, this was cutting into his bottom line nice. Mark was essentially giving me not only free money but also the means by which I could generate income for the rest of my life.
This man cared about me more than his goddamn bottom line.
"But how do we do it?" I asked. "How do we make the pamphlets?"
"It's easy," my Daddy said, grabbing a camera from a closet in the back corner of the conference room. He flicked it on and soon the Nikon D5200 hummed with life. "Let's put your shirt back on and we’ll take a few promo shots. But I need one thing from you."
"What is it, Daddy?"
"I need you to smile with your teddy. Show the camera your biggest, brightest smile… And Daddy promises your phone will be ringing off the hook in no time."
My heart melted. I wanted to scream, cry, rush towards Daddy, and throw my arms around his waist. Instead, I let Daddy help me back into my dress shirt and put on my purple tie. After tucking the teddy in between my arms, I stood in front of the bookshelf on the other side of the table and gave the camera my biggest smile. I hugged the teddy tight and watched in amazement as Daddy took five pictures in rapid succession, one after the other, until he'd gotten the magical shot he needed to get people to the free pizza party.
"Jesus," he whispered, staring at the camera. "With a boy like that, who wouldn't come for free ‘za?"
"Da-ddy," I said with scowl, "you promised you’d never say that again."
But my Daddy only laughed. "Kidding, baby. I'm going to drum up a mockup of this pamphlet on Photoshop. Of course, as you're going to be the cover model, you get any final say on the design. If it offends you in any way, tell me and I'll take it off."
"Oh, Daddy… You're asking for my consent.”
“You’re damn right I am,” he said. He made eye contact while he nodded at me, which let me know he was serious. "This is your future, baby. I want to do everything right. Now," he said, setting the camera on the conference room table. He positioned it towards the green screen so that it faced it. "Since we’ve done the pictures, it's time to shoot our video promo."
My jaw dropped. I thought my Daddy only wanted me to be in the pamphlet. But this was… Well, this was the Facebook ad he'd send out to the entire neighborhood. Did he really think I could do a good job?
"Come here. I can see you’re nervous, Kyle. I promise you don't need a stage presence to make an ad."
"I'm so scared," I whispered, burrowing into Daddy's shirt. "I'm terrified, Daddy. I don't want to mess this up and I don't want to damage your brand."
"You won't, baby," my Daddy said, getting on his knees. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. "You're the perfect actor for our promotion and you're going to help Nino’s more than a stranger ever could. You know Nino first hand. Your desire to help him is what will shine through more than the nerves."
I nodded slowly. With a deep breath, I forced the worries to the side and walked to the green screen with Mark. He held my hand, squeezing it tight to let me know everything was okay. He turned on the camera and I knew it was recording. This was my first step into the official world of real estate and the last chance we would have, to save the pizzeria. Inhaling sharply, I forced myself to smile like I was on a TV set. It was now or never. I only hoped I wouldn't fuck it up.
Chapter 38
Mark
* * *
One week later
* * *
"Dammit," I muttered, wiping a crumb from Kyle's collar. "You've still got muffin on your shirt, boy. Hold still."
Kyle's face filled with worry. But it immediately relaxed the minute I burst into laughter and squeezed him in my arms.
"Is it gone, Daddy?"
"Yes, baby," I said, bringing him in for a kiss. The boy beamed as I brushed a sliver of hair from his forehead and placed it back on his head where it belonged. He knew I was fulfilling my duties and taking care of him like Daddies were supposed to do. Like I'd done every single day since we filmed the advertisement that had gone on to generate over 5000 impressions and 130 clicks alone.
The promotion had gone tremendously. Three days ago, Kyle and I had walked the entire neighborhood and distributed the pamphlets we'd generated earlier in the week. Though Kyle had been nervous at first, I'd held his hand the entire way and went with him to every house until he started to get the hang of it. At one house right next to Nino’s, an elderly woman with grey hair and sparkling turquoise eyes even complimented him on his smile and warm personality. "You're so cute, young man," she'd said, winking at Kyle. "I saw your video with the teddy bear. You're going to make an incredible real estate agent."
Kyle had blushed and thanked her profusely. When we got back in the car, however, he confided in me that he'd been slightly disappointed that she could tell he was new, but he quickly got over it the minute I explained it was only natural for people to think you were brand-new for at least a few months. "It takes time, sweet boy. You don't hit it out of the gate the first time around."
"You mean it, Daddy?"
"Yes, baby. My first few months on the job, not one client took me seriously at all. Nobody paid attention to me or thought I could sell their home. But I learned to deal with those objections and shoot them down with confidence. For instance, when a man with five investment properties came up to me and said that he wanted a more experienced agent to take care of his home, I convinced him to let me list it by telling him that I was younger and had something to prove. I explained that this would give me more time to work on his house, as I wasn't juggling five other homes that would compete with his. I informed him I’d focus all my energy on selling his home, and taking perfect pictures, and hosting multiple open houses, and devoting all my energy into getting him top dollar for his home."
"That really worked?"
"Yes, baby. It took him 24 hours, but eventually he saw the merit in my proposal. Needless to say, it was the first listing I ever had and the first home I ever sold. We had five offers on the home, all above the listing price."
"Oh, my God," Kyle said, his eyes aglow. "You must have really had a gift."
"Not quite," I said with a laugh. "The house was in a prime location and right on the lake. Anyone could've sold it. It was only a matter of convincing him I was right for the job. That's all it is, Kyle. That's how you succeed in this business. Even if the home can sell itself, you've got to persuade them that you are the one who will get them the most for the property."
Kyle scrunched his nose. He shook his head. "I don't think so, Daddy. A
t least, that's not what they taught us in real estate class. Even if the home is perfect, without the right agent, the homeowner will never be able to get the most for their property. They need the agent to write up the listing in the correct way and take pictures in the right lighting – or hire someone to do that for them – so that potential homebuyers will see their house in a positive light. They need to rearrange furniture and sometimes even sweep up behind the clients if they leave a mess. After open houses, they need to pick up trash and put it in the recycling so potential buyers will envision themselves living in a clean house. It’s like being a schoolteacher. The day never ends at three P.M. Sometimes, you bring home stacks of papers and worksheets to give your students the best chance at success. A good real estate agent needs to go above and beyond for all of his clients. It could be the most beautiful home in the world, but if it doesn't have the right agent behind it, no one is going to give it a second glance."
"I'm glad you said that, baby. I didn't want to take credit for anything that I didn't do. But I see why you're right."
"Yes, Daddy," Kyle whispered, inching close to me. Such a cute boy. "Baby is always right."
I burst into laughter and welcomed him into my arms. With Kyle behind me, there was no telling what the Pressure Free Agency might do. I had little doubt we would go on to reclaim our position as the top brokerage firm in the state of Minnesota. All we needed to do was distribute the rest of the pamphlets, run more FaceBook ads, and get the show on the road.
Which was exactly what we'd done that sunny afternoon. We'd distributed the flyers throughout the neighborhood, started the Facebook ads, and put up posters in front of Nino’s pizzeria letting the neighborhood know that there was going to be a free pizza party. We even got a huge banner that we draped across Nino’s sign so that people could see there would be a free party from across the street. Then on Saturday, I opened a tab with Nino and agreed to put everything on my account, of course. He was eternally grateful for the help. Of course, he knew it was also going to help our business, but that was the way of the world. You made deals that benefited both parties. You didn’t leave anyone behind.
And now the big day was already here.
I straightened Kyle's tie and let him out of the BMW. He took a sip of the hazelnut coffee I bought him and rushed straight into my arms. "I'm still scared, Daddy. I've never done anything like this in my life."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "What do you mean, Kyle? You never been the center of attention at a party before?"
"Never," Kyle whispered, staring at his feet. Suddenly, it hit me that the poor boy had probably never had a birthday party in his life. Having spent the bulk of his adolescence in the Safe Boys shelter, there had been no birthday parties, or graduation parties, or parties his mother had thrown when he learned to ride a bike. The boy had never been front and center for anything, ever. This was the first time he was going to be the star of the night.
"Well," I whispered, parting his hair. "You're going to have to get used to it, Kyle. This isn't going to be the first event where you're going to need to shine."
"I understand, Daddy."
"If you get scared," I whispered, kissing his cheek. "I'll be right by your side, baby boy."
"Thank you, Daddy. I'm more grateful than you’ll ever know."
Wrapping the boy in my arm, I led him towards Nino’s where a huge crowd had already gathered inside. In the kitchen, I saw Nino was making good use of the help I'd hired to get the party up and going. There’d been no way Nino himself could have made all of the pizzas needed for the party, and a couple of high schoolers from the local high school down the block had done the trick. From the looks of it, it seemed like the entire neighborhood had showed up.
My heart fluttered. This is going to be the best marketing campaign the Pressure Free Agency had done in its life.
"You ready, baby boy?" I whispered, massaging Kyle's shoulders.
"Ready as I'll ever be, Daddy," he whispered, turning to face me. Though he was forcing a smile, it didn't take a genius to see that terror lingered in his eyes. Thinking quickly, I leaned towards him and pressed my lips against his eyelids. "Better?"
Kyle sniffled.
I did it again. Then, I moved my lips to his nose and quickly pressed them against that, too. "Still scared, baby?"
Kyle bit his lip. But I could see a glimmer of excitement flicker in his eyes.
"Hold on," I whispered, running my fingers through his hair. I pulled his head back and arched his body into mine. With my right hand, I cupped his ass over his tight dress pants and inserted my fingers into the back pocket. Without another word, I pressed his hot lips to mine. For the moment in which we kissed, the restaurant, the pavement, and even space-time itself faded to the wings. All that mattered was that we were with each other and that we were connected through our kiss.
"Was that better?"
"Yes, Daddy," Kyle whispered, his eyes ablaze. "I'm ready. I think I can go in and start the night."
I grinned and kissed him one last time. "You're such a good boy. Come," I said, leading him in. I would still make the necessary introductions so Kyle wouldn't be totally on his own and also to let the crowd know that I ran the Pressure Free Agency.
With this in mind, I grabbed Kyle’s hand and led him through the threshold of the restaurant.
Chapter 39
Kyle
* * *
The first thing I noticed as we entered Nino’s was that it was packed. Seriously packed. Packed like sardines, if sardines could fill a pizzeria wall-to-wall with little room for anyone to slide through. Who would have thought the entire neighborhood would turn out to Nino’s to support his big night?
My marketing campaign had been a success. Well… That was partially right. Our marketing campaign had been a success. The boy with the teddy bear standing in his suit coat had warmed the hearts of hundreds. All that was left was to celebrate with delicious pizza and convert these prospects into future clients.
I felt something on my back and I whipped around. To my surprise, it was still Mark. He hadn’t taken his hand off my back, even though there were shitloads of people glancing at us. He didn’t care if people saw, hated it, judged. My Daddy was grinning like a small child, pushing me up to the front register to greet the man who inspired it all.
"Boy!" Nino exclaimed, turning to me with dazzling eyes. "Boy, I don't know how to thank you… I mean, you already know this, but damn. This is more business than I've had in the last five years combined."
I felt myself blush. "No, Nino… This wasn't me at all. You have to thank –"
I whipped around to find Mark, but to my surprise he’d completely disappeared. My heart began to race in the worst way possible.
"Thank who?" Nino shouted in an effort to be heard over the crowd.
"Thank Mark," I muttered quietly, frozen. Didn't Mark say he would be by my side the entire evening? Had my shipping anchor really come unhinged at the worst possible time?
I glanced around the room. People were staring at me. No doubt they recognized me from the marketing campaign. But how was I supposed to talk to them? Was I supposed to go up and begin a conversation like Mark or Peter from my real estate courses had suggested I do? Was that the best way to introduce yourself, to walk right up and not care what anyone thought?
Maybe I should have brought my teddy bear. Maybe then someone would come up to me.
But before I could beat a trail to the back door, someone suddenly stood up on a chair in the middle of the room and raised a slice of delicious Hawaiian pizza in the air. "To Nino’s," the mystery man said, hoisting the pizza high above his head.
The crowd burst into applause. "To Nino’s," everybody echoed, clapping in the air. I noticed that no one was holding pizza.
"Before we dig in," the man said – who, I suddenly realized was Mark – Mark! – "I need to say a few things. I hope you don't mind waiting one more minute."
The crowd smiled and took sips of the c
omplementary water and soda Nino had laid out for them at the entrance. They nodded as if to say, Keep talking. The food smells delicious. It will be worth another minute.
"I just need to say it," my Daddy began, "well, the first thing I need to say is that I hope you enjoy the pizza. Nino’s has been a cornerstone of our community for God knows how long, but Nino isn't exactly the most tech savvy business owner. I used to come to Nino’s every weekend in my college years, but I haven't thought about coming to his restaurant for so long simply because I'd forgotten it existed. I don’t think I'm the only one who feels the same."
The crowd nodded. My heart melted at the thought that everybody loved Nino’s pizza. The only reason they hadn't shown up to support him – especially after the destructive coronavirus had taken away the bulk of his business – was that he hadn't figured out a way to get the word out. Unlike my Daddy, he hadn't realized that marketing was the cornerstone to any successful business. You could have a shitty product but as long as you marketed it correctly, you would at least be able to drum up something and pay the month's rent. You might not build a loyal following but at least you’d put money on the table. Yet even if you had the best pizza in the world, if you didn't know that you needed to change your sign or do a free promotional event, you would never get anyone through the door.
"That's what I thought," my Daddy said, taking a bite of the pizza. It was almost like he was rubbing it in their faces that he was the first one to get the pizza. In the funniest way possible. "And God, it's so good. But there's another reason I invited you here tonight. My name is Mark Godin, and I run the Pressure Free Agency in Minneapolis. A few years ago, my former husband Bruce and I had planned to open locations all across the Midwest. We wanted to expand and take the Pressure Free Agency national. But certain things came up and… Well, some things prevented us from doing so."