Naked Hero - The Journey Away

the indifference that he usually displayed when marketing was on the agenda.
    “Well, the bids are in,” started Lee, his face animated like Disney. “Of course, they all want you to wear their kit tomorrow, and are offering a lump sum if you do. I’ve told them there will be no contracts signed till after the final, but agreed that if you do wear their kit, then the bonus will be carried over, and doubled if you win, assuming you sign with them. If you want to grab some easy money, then pick the biggest bonus. A couple of them are better than the one I lost for you.”
    “I lost it, not you, Lee,” Lewis insisted. “Are you sure they’ll honour this though, if nothing is signed before the final?” It was rare for him to take such interest, but the question came easy, and he instinctively knew that he would get a straight answer - one he could understand.
    “They’ll honour it. I’ve made sure that Letters of Agreement from all the contenders have been faxed to your agents, along with draft contracts. They’re binding.”
    “Good, so who’s in the frame?”
    “There are five hats in the ring. Financially two stand out as the best, not much to choose between them. Both are cash based, with a golden handshake on signing, again doubled if you win tomorrow, then a monthly retainer with bonuses built in, dependant on performance. There’s a minimum amount of advertising you need to agree to, but not much. You can do more at your own discretion - of course they have to pay extra for that. You would be the main man for them as far as tennis is concerned, so they would want to use you - something to do when you have a bit of time on your hands. You might enjoy it.”
    “So which of the two do you recommend?” asked Lewis. He was genuinely interested now. The buzz that Lee obviously got from striking the deals was infectious.
    “Neither. It’s the one that’s offering you the least cash up front that I suggest you go with.”
    Lewis jerked his head back, totally confused. “Why?”
    “They’ve got nicer clothes! What other reason could be more important to tennis’s only gay boy?”
    Lewis screeched and slammed his hand down on the table in mimicry of Lee’s earlier smack. “You do make me laugh,” he said, breaking into his first proper smile of the day. “Okay, I’ll tell the agents to accept the crappy offer.”
    Lee shook his head, partly in despair, partly overwhelmed by the blind trust that Lewis was placing in him. “It’s not crappy,” he explained, needing to justify. “As I said, you’ll earn more in the long run. They’ll work on a sales percentage for all their products, not just tennis kit. You would become their main man, full stop. It’s the Australian company, HIM Clothing. I told you I was doing some work with them, well... we turned things around. There would be no better person to market their gear than the Australian Open champion, and it’s going to sell like hot cakes, believe me. Well, assuming you agree to wear it at the final. Do you want to see it?”
    “I can’t wait.”
    Lee fetched over the bag and brought out a few shirts, holding them out in turn for Lewis to inspect. It was just standard tennis gear, perhaps a tad more colourful than the norm.
    “These are the basic shirts that they produce at the moment. They’re okay, but hardly original. If this is what you feel comfortable in, then use them. You might not want to bring attention to yourself with anything unusual. And winning tomorrow is the most important thing, not what you’re wearing.”
    “So what’s the alternative?” asked Lewis, leaning forward and trying to peer into the bag for a sneak preview. Lee had him totally hooked.
    “These.”
    Jim and Fiona now gathered around, both with their own reasons to find out what Lee was suggesting. He produced a pile of shirts and unwrapped one of them as his audience watched on. Jim was the first to cast a verdict as it was held aloft. “Sweet, Jesus! You’re not expecting him to go out wearing that. A lot of the new designs are daft, but that’s just ridiculous.”
    “How did you do that?” asked Lewis, taking no notice of his coach. “It was one of my favourites. Not THE favourite, you know what that was, but... it’s amazing.” Lewis got out of his chair and took the shirt from Lee in order to examine it more closely. It was a sleeveless affair which he quite liked, but it was the design that everyone would take note of, not his arms for