I Learn to Waltz, Part I
Mack’s POV
Jorge and Javi are major! Homies who went through the first session of business etiquette classes said it was major. Worth it. They been using the skills and we hittin’ major numbers with the contracts. Javi said he expect us to take the crown this month. We asked what’s keeping us from takin’ it now.
Trenton.
Fuckers. Them poaching Hospitality contracts in our territory means their numbers are crucial every fucking month. They pulling huge contracts and since they got less men, they win with the math. Javi said he and Danny working something, trying to topple Hal cuz Hal’s swinging his balls in their faces. They also gotta watch Diggy in Miami. Diggy and Mark are tied and Mark’s talking shit ‘cuz his branch is pulling big numbers cuz Vic’s pulling major consulting contracts. Only person not talking shit is Tank but they don’t expect that. Tank’s closing in quietly.
RMSA took my redecorating crown! I was pissed and I won that sucker back this month. Boss Lady laughed her ass off and Tank sent me a cigar. ‘Don’t get comfortable, Odom.’ was on the note.
Don’t worry ’bout that, sir. I like my crowns! I told my men that just cuz I’m out the office don’t mean they get to slack. They do that shit again and it will be major.
They got the point and got back on point.
We hype. This is big shit and the Boss Lady wants me to get some polish. Aigh. No prob. I’ll do any fucking thing she wants.
Session One—Introductions and how to work a room
“Mack, I want you to take the lead in these sessions.”
It’s thirty minutes ’til the classes start and Javi and I are taking a quick look at the street numbers. My men are reppin’ hard, trying to keep me off their asses and show the Wall Street boys how we run the show. They think they big shit but Javi keeps it fair and equal. He does something with the numbers, some slick shit I never learned on the streets, and each week me and Jorge talk shit at each other. I’m winning right now and Imma swing my balls in Jorge’s face all week long.
Fair’s fair. He did it to me two weeks ago. Fucker.
I look at my back and frown. “Why? You the big dog. You should be running the show.”
Javi shakes his head. “I did in the first sessions. This time, I want you to take the lead. You’ll be the highest ranking man there besides me.”
I look at him, eyes narrowed. “You settin’ me up for some shit, son?”
“No!” Javi’s eyes are wide. That’s his tell. Homie’s lying. I look at him, smug, and he snorts. “OK, look. Caro needs an assistant in these classes to help her demonstrate stuff. I did it the first time and it worked out. You should this time. Besides, I need to keep an eye on the numbers.”
I consider this. Homie is lying his ass off for some reason, but we so close to kicking Trenton’s ass this month I’m willing to play along. “Aigh. I got it. Today only.”
Javi smiles. “Don’t worry. I’ll show up.”
Now, why don’t I believe my partner?
I hit Conference One at 0755 and shut the door. Everyone’s here and seated but me, so I take my seat in the back, slouchin’ to get comfy. Lady in the front looks cool, staring at the room.
“Rule one in business etiquette: You should always be fifteen minutes early.”
Uh, who you talkin’ at?
She walks to me, arms crossed. “Are you Mr. Odom?” I nod. “Something verbal, sir.”
“Yeah.” She raises an eyebrow but she already startin’ wrong with me. I’m thinking early 50s, blue eyes, brown hair going grey, settling into middle-age spread. Ring on the finger. Nice one. Serious cash there. She’s wearing a power suit with the pearls. She got a real Hillary Clinton-vibe on her but not as cool. I stare at her and it becomes a contest until she gives up. “Mr. Odom, my name is Caroline Waltham and I’m from Etiquette Masters.”
I’m tempted to nod but I decide to meet her halfway now that she actin’ right. I sit up. “Sup. Mack Odom, head of security administration here.”
I get a chilly smile and she nods. She bites her lip, looks at me, and walks back to the front of the room before turning and waving for me to follow her. I raise an eyebrow, but I get up and take the seat in the front row.
I’m feelin’ a little crunchy. I need her help, but I’m not lettin’ anybody diss me. I was early. I wasn’t 15 minutes early but I was early. Quit bitin’.
“OK gentlemen, it’s 8 a.m. and it’s time to get started. Mr. Odom, I apologize for making an example of you, but I do want to impress upon all of you the importance of always being early to your meetings. Five minutes might seem sufficient, but for business meetings, that’s cutting it extremely close. Rule of thumb: to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late and to be late is unacceptable.”
I’m feelin’ that. That’s RangeMan rules: if your shift starts at 0700, you should be there and ready at 0645, minimum. Drink your coffee, talk shit, and do yo’ thang, but be on point when you on the clock.
I give her a small smile and she smiles back. OK, Imma let you slide on that. Now, teach me what the Boss Lady think I need to know.
“So, why are you here?” Caroline is passing out a bunch of notebooks and I’m skimming through mine. Her question catches me off guard.
I look up and everyone’s looking a bit confused. Doobie raises his hands. “I’m here cuz I heard you’re good.”
Caroline smiles. “Thank you . . . ?”
“Doobie.”
She looks amused. “Legal name?”
“Aw man, you really want that?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck,” he mutters, and we all laugh. “Doubray Manning.”
“No cursing, Mr. Manning,” Caroline says, but she looks amused. “Thank you for the compliment. I’m glad to hear the men who attended the first sessions found it worthwhile and chose to recommend you attend. However, what made you attend?”
Doobie sits back and looks at her. I look at him and the answer is clear, but he can’t bring himself to say it so I decide to cut in.
“Yo, can I answer?”
She looks at me. “Certainly.”
“Yo, I asked Javi for these classes. This branch is growing and we’re gonna be in front of serious moneymakers, the movers and shakers we only see on TV and read about in the Times.”
“Times?” Doobie says.
“Aigh, the Post.” Everyone in the room laughs and Caroline hides her smile behind her hand. “Imma be real. I’m hood.” Again, everyone laughs. “Yo, Security Administration means I’m out in the streets all the time, shakin’ down hustlers and running down skips.”
“Skips?”
“Failure to appear. You got a bond and you got that amnesia. My job to find you and help clear yo’ memory.”
Again, laughter in the room. Caroline is openly smiling.
“Anyway, I’m Jorge’s second. I need to be able to be smooth with the Wall Street boys when he out the office. Plus the Boss Lady asked me to get some polish. She thinkin’ big thangs and I’m on her mind. I wanna be ready for whatever she wanna throw at me. So I need to be smooth in the streets, Bushwick Ave and Wall Street.”
I turn and look at everyone in the room. “Yo, we’ve all seen Les and Ranger do it. They smooth in the streets and in the big rooms with the big firms. That’s what I want. Boss Lady called it ‘polish’. I want to be polished, still me but able to operate anywhere.”
The rest of the men are nodding and murmuring “that’s what’s up” and “Mack’s on point.”
She turns to the rest of the room. “Is that why everyone’s here?” Everyone nods. She smiles at us. “Then let’s get down to business.” She leans against the table. “What is etiquette?”
We all yell the same answer. “Manners.”
She laughs and goes to the flip chart. She flips to the first page, which says Etiquette = The conventional rules of polite behavior. I write that down in my notebook. “Manners is correct but etiquette encompasses more than that. After all, the rule I just gave you about being 15 minutes early isn’t necessarily a manner, but a way of operating, correct?”
Hm . . . wise.
“That’s why etiquette covers so many topics. It’s not just how to say hello and shake hands. It’s how to present business cards, how to operate in a business meal, and how to follow up business meetings. It’s how to work a room and open and close conversations. Etiquette can literally make or break your business.”
She walks down the middle row. “As an etiquette expert, I am my business, my brand. Everything we do reflects on our company and our products. By acting professionally, we send the message that our business is credible and trustworthy. It’s the same for you. If you want to sell yourselves as security experts, you need to look, sound, and appear to be security experts. If you are protecting a client at a major function you need to both fit in and disappear into the background. Personalized care may very well be your edge against the competition.”
Now, I been thinkin’ that Jorge was an insane fucker for the past few months, with his finger fetishes and attention to body language, but I see that fucker’s on point.
Caroline starts with making introductions and we learn the rules to making introductions. Now, we serious in NYC clubs so we thought we knew how to make an introduction but we find out there’s rules to this.
“Mr. Manning, I’d like you to introduce me to Mr. Odom.”
Doobie looks at us, confused. “OK. Umm . . . Caroline, this is Mack. Mack, Caroline.”
She laughs. “Not quite. When making introductions, you want to project warmth and confidence.” She moves Doobie into her spot and takes his. She moves her body so she appears to be next to Doobie, but not quite, but facing me. “See? I’m close to you, so I appear to be your friend or intimate”—widespread snickers—”but I’m now facing Mack. Now you try.”
Doobie takes her place and repeats her moves. She smiles.
“That’s fine, but try to make it smooth.”
“Ha,” Levi says from the back. “I got this, Doobie.” He comes to the front and smoothly does the move. Caro grins.
“Exactly!”
Levi smiles smugly and looks at everyone. “Club moves, fellas. See?” He slides his body around until he’s at a 90 degree angle to Caroline and ready to whisper in her ear. Caroline is looking at him in confusion but every man in the room is laughing. Doobie takes his place and executes, doing it smoothly this time.
“I get it,” he says. He looks out to everyone. “This is crack numbers all over again.”
That gets true widespread laughter in the room. Even I crack up and we laughing for a good few minutes while Caroline stands there looking amused.
“Don’t ask,” I tell her, smiling. “OK, what’s next?”
She shakes her head. “OK, so when introducing someone, you want to state both their first and last name and repeat the other person’s name when given to you. When introducing others, it is important to (a) introduce people based on their seniority in a company, (b) introduce strangers first, and (c) use formal titles unless invited otherwise.”
I’m staring at her. So is Doobie. “OK . . . ” He looks at me but hesitates for a few moments before starting again. “Caroline Waltham, this is Mack Odom, head of security administration for RangeMan NYC. Mack, this is Caroline Waltham of Etiquette Masters.”
“Bravo!” Caroline says, beaming. Doobie grins big. “That was perfect. Now, why did you do it that way?”
Doobie thinks. “Well, you’re the stranger, so I introduce you first.”
“Exactly.” Doobie smiles, relieved. Caroline turns to everyone else. “Now, I’d like everyone to split into threes and practice.” She turns to me. “If you would introduce me to Mr. Manning, please.”
We practice introductions for a good ten minutes, moving around the room to practice. I realize that, as the senior man in the room, everyone is introduced to me. That makes it easy for me but I wonder.
“Ms. Waltham?”
“Caro, please.” She walks over. “Do you have a question, Mr. Odom?”
“Mack, please.” She smiles. “OK, so say both Jorge and Drake are in the room and I need to introduce someone to both of them. Who gets intro’d first?”
“Are they at the same level?”
“Yes.”
“Which one is your boss?”
“Jorge.”
“Then you introduce Jorge first.”
I’m nodding. “What’s the rule behind that?”
She smiles. Everyone is listening. “He’s your superior, so he gets the first introduction.”
“Ah.” Makes total sense.
“So everyone’s practiced making introductions?” We nod. “OK, let’s move on to the rules for shaking hands.”
We’re all staring at her. “There’s rules for that?”
She nods. “After all, if you were trying to teach me how to do one of your complicated hand things”—she flops her hands around and we try not to laugh—”you’d have to teach me the rules. Slowly. Very slowly.”
Every man laughs and Doobie slowly walks her through a basic hood hello. She giggles the entire way through, but she gets it pretty quickly. “Exactly,” Doobie says, satisfied. He speeds it up and within ten tries, she’s doing it at normal speed. I’m impressed.
She can say hello to any Crip on the streets now. Of course, they might shank her but at least she appears to be down.
“OK, so now I’m going to teach you how to shake hands.”
“Are there rules to this too?” Levi asks.
“Yes. OK, ready?” We nod. “Rule one: introductions accompany the handshake. That’s why I wanted you to practice that first.” She starts listing the rules and stops after rule eight. We’re staring at her again. “Everyone ready to practice?”
We pair off again and she immediately stops Levi and TC. “OK, I knew someone would do this. Everyone pay attention. Gentlemen, do that again.”
The guys do what I call ‘The Bill’ and Caroline smiles. “OK, so this is known as the politician’s handshake and it’s considered a no-no.”
“Why?” Levi asks, confused.
“Because it suggests intimacy where there is none. If you’re introducing yourself to someone for the first time, you don’t know them. You aren’t close. This makes you seem fake. Avoid at all costs.”
We nod. Wise. We start practicing shaking hands again. I have to eye a few fuckers to remind them this is serious and to take it seriously, but everyone’s on point. I want to pull us into the number one spot. Yo, if Javi can bring this lady here to teach us, everyone will treat this like it’s major.
We break for lunch so I ask Caroline how she’s settled.
“Thank you for asking,” she says, smiling. “I’m having lunch with Jorge. You’re welcome to join us, if you’d like.”
Hmm … I’d like to, but I need to check numbers. “Thank you, but I need to check on my department.”
“Another time,” she says, patting my arm as she leaves.
I eat a quick lunch at my desk while checking numbers. There’s an email from the Boss Lady.
Mack!
I hear you’re in etiquette training today. I’m glad you’re taking advantage of that. Can’t wait to hear about it.
I’m coming to NYC on the 15th to shop and take my nieces to the Rockettes. I’d also like to take them to see the Christmas tree and go skating. Still interested? If so, are you still bringing your sons? I’ll go ahead and buy some tickets if you are. I’m thinking I’ll stay a week. Just trying to get things squared away.
Have fun!
Steph
I’m grinning at the monitor. I forward the email to Jorge and Javi with the message, We gotta get security straight for the CO’s visit. I’ll get my men on point. Anybody else interested in seeing the Rockettes?
That made my day.
“Networking is not complete without receiving or giving a business card. The business card is a way for you to follow up on the people you have met. Likewise, it is a way for them to contact you for further meetings.”
We back at it and Caro asked us to bring our business cards.
No one else has any except me. That didn’t stop us. I handed everyone a few of mine. We gotta learn.
“OK, so the idea is this: Anyone can hand out business cards. It’s what you do with them that matters.”
Again, wise. I like Caro.
“The common mistake people make is to hand them out without thinking about what’s important. Here’s the secret.” I look up and she’s looking directly at me. “Think less about handing yours out and more about getting everyone else’s.”
“Why?”
She smiles. “Because you want to make an impression that is so powerful that this person wants to give you their card. They want to follow up with you. They want your services. The common mistake I see is executives, especially young ones, going to seminars and meetings and handing their cards out to everyone. It’s as special as a napkin at that point. Everyone has one.”
“Kleenex,” Johno mutters.
“Right,” Caro says, nodding firmly. “Think of your business card as a $100 bill.” Eyebrows across the room rise. “You don’t want to give it to everyone. You want to give it to people who are nearly there. You want to give it to people who need it and you want everyone to need it.” Caro has this greedy look on her face that’s funny and we laugh. “So, the business card is the last step in the introduction and the handshake. Think of them as the powerful three. Everyone gets the first two. Not everyone gets the last.”
Doobie mutters something in the back that has the entire room cracking up. I turn and raise an eyebrow but he blushes.
“Share,” I command. I bet it wasn’t appropriate and homie’s benevolent scores are high. I gotta keep on him.
He sighs. “Please don’t make me.” I raise a brow. “Aigh. I said, it’s like getting the digits, getting the panties, but do I wanna throw dick that way if it was that easy?”
I raise a brow but inside I’m laughing my ass off. Nice one. I look around and Caro is laughing, leaning against the table. She calms and nods at Doobie. “Exactly right. If it was that easy, god only knows who else has been there.”
We all look at her. She smiles and waggles her eyebrows. Yo, that was like seeing Les and we laugh our asses off. She waits for us to calm before continuing.
“Getting their card means you can follow up and say, you know, nice to have met you, please keep me in mind for security in the future, but that’s useless. What if they never contact you again? You need them to want you as much you want them.”
I’m kicked back, thinking. She’s right. “So, if I’ve got your card, I’m hustlin’ you. I gave you all the power. I need you to hustle me like I’m hustlin’ you.” I like it. It’s backwards but brilliant. I want you trying to get with me.
“Exactly!” I nod, satisfied, and she goes to her flipboard.
YOU
Want to follow up.
Continue to pique their interest in your services.
Want to keep your name, face, and company at the forefront of their minds.
THEM
Want your services.
Don’t want to try to remember your name, title, or company.
Need an easy way to remember you.
Caroline’s POV
I can’t wait for my driver to arrive so I can laugh. This group is hilarious and I’m going to enjoy teaching them. Jorge was right: These men are serious but they’re funny and they’re unpretentious. I have a headache from not laughing. I’m packing my things when Jorge slides through a side door and walks over. “Caro.” I get the double cheek air kiss and I smile at him. “How did it go?”
“I’m going to enjoy this group much more than I enjoyed the first group.” I start giggling. “What is ‘crack numbers’?”
Jorge closes his eyes and goes red. I see he’s trying not to laugh. “The men in this branch have diverse backgrounds and experiences.”
“Some not quite legal?”
“Some.” He smiles. “Anyway, when Javier was trying to teach them the marketing conversion math they didn’t understand it until Mack used street language to help break it down. Now every man in this branch understands complex financial equations. Quite a few can do them in their heads.”
I cock my head. “You have a group of Wall Street vets.”
“They were hired later. These men you have right now are the men who have been in this branch from the beginning. Don’t let appearances fool you.”
“Never,” I reply. I remember the way Jorge behaved when he first hit Wall Street. Brilliant mind and incredible ambition, he just needed some polish to get to the heights he wanted to reach. Sigh. He was in the wrong company at the wrong time. I smile. “Quite a difference.”
Jorge grins. “The first group was Wall Street vets. This group is our ‘street’ group,” he says, using finger quotes.
I shake my head. “I can tell. Brooklyn, Bronx, and the Queens in those accents. No posh schools there.” I smile. “I like them. They’re unpretentious and clear about the fact that they want this training, but I learned something new.”
I stretch my hand out and Javi grasps. I try to remember the rules for the handshake Doobie taught me. I look up and Jorge’s turned red trying not to laugh. He finally breaks and does the handshake with me. We both laugh.
“I have street cred,” I choke out, which makes Jorge laugh harder. “I’m down.”
“Yeah. Don’t try that in the hood, Caro.”
“Why not?” My hood is Connecticut. I can’t practice that with anyone I know anyway.
He grins. “That was a gang handshake.” I sober, eyes wide. “I won’t tell you which one.”
I close my eyes and laugh. “Great. I learned something new I don’t understand and can’t tell anyone.” I’ll ask Andrea. Maybe she’ll know. “Mack?” His smile drops and he looks nervous.
“Yes?”
“He’s the ringleader, isn’t he?”
“Yes. He’s my second, Javier’s partner.”
I nod. “He’s a natural born leader.” Jorge looks relieved and smiles again. “Is he married?”
Jorge’s eyes widen. “Umm . . . Caro . . . “
I smile. “No, I have an assistant who has bad luck with men. I think Mack might be the perfect man for her.”
Jorge backs away, hands waving. “Oh god no! I’m not getting involved in Mack’s love life. I need him focused. I don’t know if I ever want to meet lovesick Mack.”
I laugh. “Is he single?”
“Yes. Well, divorced.”
I smile. “Then leave everything to me. I won’t introduce them if I don’t think there’s interest.”
I roll my briefcase down to the first floor and wait for my car. I’m glad Jorge called me and asked me to run seminars for this group. I like these men. In NYC, every man is trying to show you some false face, some pretension he believes will impress you. These men? These men don’t care. They aren’t trying to impress me. They are humble enough to admit they want help.
It’s been a long time since anyone actively wanted etiquette training because they knew they needed it. Most of the time, I’m running these seminars for bored junior executives or spoiled teenagers whose bosses or parents have ordered them to attend. They openly check their email on their cell phones and take calls in the middle of my sessions. They are quick to let me know that they are bored and they already know everything I’m going to cover.
These men? I had their complete attention. They were funny and polite (if occasionally inappropriate) but they took notes. They highlighted information in the workbooks I handed them. They joked and smiled and put me at ease, which was a relief because it was clear that this group was armed to the teeth. The first group of men were more like the men I was accustomed to teaching, polite but not especially friendly and, although I believe Jorge when he says every man was carrying, it really didn’t seem like it.
These men? I’d hire them any day. They approach everything seriously. That’s clear. They mean business.
Jorge’s POV
Oh man, the last thing I need is a lovesick Mack. I’m half tempted to warn him, but I’ve known Caro forever. She was my mentor when I was on Wall Street and she’s sharp. I know she’ll polish Mack until he shines, so I’m staying out of it.
I’m about to stick my nose in somewhere else though.
“Yo, son.” I poke my head in Mack’s office. He’s serious about his numbers. They’re everywhere and he has them memorized. I know. I came in one morning and fiddled with them. Mack raised hell with his men for touching his memo board until I confessed.
Fucker left me in the middle of Deer Park, on Long Island, for an hour before he rescued me.
“Sup?” Mack kicks back and smiles.
“What are you doing tonight?”
Mack grins. “I’m about the ladies only, son.”
I flip him a finger. “Same here. Monica’s mom was just rushed to the hospital and Javi’s gone to join her—”
“She OK?” Mack sits up, looking worried.
I shrug. “He said he’d call us both when he knows more. They’re headed to White Plains hospital. Anyway, there’s a benefit in Harlem tonight and I’m short one. Interested?”
Mack looks dubious so I decide to sweeten the pot. “Marcus Samuelsson is catering from the Red Rooster.”
“Crap. You’da had me if it was Sylvia’s.” He laughs. “Aigh, I’m in.”
“What color is your suit?”
Mack freezes. “Shit. I need a suit. I bulked up so much since I became a RangeMan I doubt the sucker fits.”
I check my pockets for my keys and jangle ’em. “Come on. If you need a suit, we need to get that now.”
Javi and I have really taken Steph’s advice to heart and we’re trying to give Mack lots of exposure. I’ve told him that when he shadows me places, it’s fine if he doesn’t say anything. Just soak up the atmosphere and watch me work the room. Mack has his own style and it works in the streets. I try to take him with me as much as possible so he sees how to work a boardroom. We usually pretend he’s my bodyguard, which allows him to pay close attention to everything and say nothing.
Tonight’s benefit is for people who suffer from sickle cell anemia, a cause close to Mack’s heart. His youngest has the mild version, trait, and there’ll be serious money here tonight. I brought Mack because he’s an expert on this stuff and we may be able to gain some business tonight.
We’re seated in the middle of the room and I see Mack look around. He looks good in his new suit. Banana Republic. I told him to go have it tailored a bit more, but the salesman and I did a good job with the fit. Mack’s still feeling faint over having spent almost $500 on a suit. By the time we added the shirt, tie, and shoes, Mack had dropped a ‘G’ and was pale.
“Homie, I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much on one suit,” he said as we left the store.
I looked at him. “First thing I learned in college: drop serious money on the suit. The suit is what they see. You can’t skimp there. You might be able to slide on other stuff but not the suit.” We got back to the office and I pulled a file picture of Lester. I slid it in front of Mack.
“Price his outfit.”
Mack looked at me in amusement. “Expensive as hell.”
I grinned. “Give it a number?”
He shrugged. “$5,000.”
I laughed. “The watch is Tourneau. That’s $5000. The suit is a custom Armani. The tie is Charvet. I’m not sure about the shirt.” I looked at Mack, whose eyes were wide. “I’m estimating $15,000.”
“Shit!” Mack’s mouth dropped and I laughed. “You gotta be fucking with me.” He shook his head. “No, I can believe it.” He looked at me. “Steph bought a watch for Ranger when we were in Miami. $12K. Hal and I nearly had a heart attack, but that woulda meant leavin’ her with Tony’s sorry ass.”
Mack scowled. I don’t give a damn where Tony is but I wish I’d been able to fuck him up. Everyone in the company knows not to talk. I love my job and this company. That fucker nearly brought it down and that shit’s personal to me too.
At the time, I just laughed. I wondered which watch it was. I pulled my suit. “Custom Armani from when I was big. Thomas Pink shirt and tie. Paul Stuart shoes. This outfit is about $6,000.” Mack was nodding, eyes wide. “I’m not on Wall Street anymore, but I invested in the right pieces when I was big and now I don’t have to rebuy this stuff. I just have it retailored to fit my body. The suit has caused quite a few clients to reassess me when I show up to negotiate contracts. I’m not some hood, like they expected. The outfit says, ‘I’m serious’ before I open my mouth.”
I smiled at him. “Tonight, your clothes will talk for you before you open your mouth and they will say ‘I’m classic and timeless. I know my shit. I’m simple and uncomplicated and I’m here about business’.”
Mack smiled. “I’m real.”
“Really real.”
Our table is live and I’m chatting with the men on my left. I see Mack’s not saying much until the woman next to him turns to him, all smiles.
“Hello.”
Mack freezes for a moment, then relaxes and smiles. “Hello. I’m Mack Odom.” He smiles and I can see he’s slightly nervous, but he holds his hand out to shake. They shake and she smiles at him.
“Hello. Alison Meikle. Are you here as a supporter?”
He smiles. “I’m not sure, but this is a cause close to my heart.”
“How so?”
“My youngest son suffers. Trait.” She nods sympathetically. “My partner, business partner, brought me tonight. I didn’t even know this was kicking off.”
I turn back to my conversation but turn every so often and keep an eye on Mack. Not needed. I’m not sure what he does or how he does it but the man is panty-bait. Within ten minutes there’s a crush of women around him and they’re all smiling and flirting with him. Every single one of them is model gorgeous.
I shake my head. Damn! I thought I was big pimpin’. Mack’s on another level. I walk over and Mack smiles.
“Ladies, this is Jorge Ortega, Head of Client Services at RangeMan.” He grins wickedly. “Want me to introduce you or shall I leave him to you?”
They laugh and crowd around both of us. “Jorge, I’m Alison Meikle.” She introduces her friends and next thing I know I’m handing her my business card. Somehow Mack found the head of a new modeling agency and they happened to have just fired their old security firm and need a new one.
Fuck! I’m gonna have to let him count this in his numbers.
A new contract and models. I’m looking at Mack’s balls for another goddamn week.
Mack’s POV
I’m glad Jorge dragged my ass out tonight. This is something I’d never have known about but Jorge got them contacts. I write a $1000 check to the benefit. I figure that if I can drop that kinda money on a suit I can give to a cause that actually affects me. I’ve sat up with Hamid when he’s suffering in pain and that shit hurts me as a daddy. If they working on a cure or a treatment, I wanna contribute.
I use Caro’s lessons to work the room on my own for the first time ever. Since I actually know about this stuff, I can talk with some authority and I find myself talking to all kinds of people. I shake hands and hand out and collect business cards until I’m damn near out. At 2200, I find Jorge and nod. I’m tired and I’m on deck at 0700. We get in the SUV and head back to Brooklyn.
“How did you do?” Jorge asks. He starts counting his business cards.
“Not bad. Six leads.” I look at him. “I’m counting the models in my numbers, son.”
He laughs. “Yeah, I know. I’d already conceded that one to you. I might have four.”
“Not bad. Three hours, good food, and ten leads.” I look at him. “Thanks for telling me about that group. I donated.”
He nods. “So did I. How’s Hamid?”
“Good. Hasn’t had an attack lately. Let’s call Javi and check on Monica’s mom.”
Jorge dials and we put Javi on speaker.
“Yo!”
“Yo! How’s Mommy?”
He sounds tired. “Angina attack. She’ll be fine. They’ve put her on a diet. I asked Lucia if she’d mind coming up with a special diet for Lida. How was the benefit?”
“Mack found a modeling agency that needs a new security firm.”
“I’m bottling whatever he throws off and letting the ladies come to us.” He laughs.
I laugh. “They know I’m live, homie.”
“Fuck that, partner. What cologne do you bathe in?”
“Polo.”
“I’m switching. That’s unreal. What kinda leads you guys get?”
“Ten leads. We both donated.”
“Shit! My check’s just sitting on my desk.”
“I covered it,” Jorge says.
“Thanks,” Javi says, sounding relieved. Click.
We hit Brooklyn in silence. We leave the RangeMan SUV in the garage and I head home. I drop my keys, gun, and knives, take a shower and pull out my notebook and make some notes. I take out the cigar Tank sent me. Everyone knows what was on the front of the note. What no one else saw was what was on the back of the note.
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. ~ Colin Powell
Your results show. Continue to inspire.
I smile. I may never smoke this cigar. Boss Lady believes in me but Tank is watching. That means they’re all watching.
Major.
