Naked Hero - The Journey Away

then spent a couple of hours in the gym , finishing his morning with a leisurely swim in the rooftop pool. The afternoon would be occupied as well – lunch had been arranged with Chantal and Marie after which he planned to do some shopping. Lee was happy for these diversions – they took his mind off the fact that Lewis had called first thing and asked him to stay away during the day, citing Scott Taylor as the reason. He didn’t want the American getting flustered by Lee’s presence, which was fair enough – the boy had to be single-minded in his approach to the big day, and Lee was the obvious sacrifice. They would meet at Melbourne Park before the match... and after that? After the match they would get on with their lives, which was something Lee didn’t want to think too much about.
    But before he got ready for his lunch date, Lee needed to speak to a couple of people. Whilst he’d been exercising there had been numerous missed calls – two individuals in particular being rather persistent. Lee was pretty sure he knew what one was about. The other was more of a mystery, but could only be bad news.
    The first person he rang was Anthony Jenkins, who was in a rather tetchy mood. He had paid out handsomely last night for the services of a man who had turned out to be rather disappointing. Anthony was also rather miffed at Lee, and his frustration had intensified during the course of the morning as his repeated calls were ignored.
    In actual fact Anthony should be thanking Mr. Porter. Lewis Macleod’s agents had called him late on Saturday to confirm that Lewis would wear HIM Clothing’s new range of tennis shirts at the final, and would sign contracts the following week. A few minor changes were required to the ones he had drafted with Lee, but on the whole it was an amazing coup, and HIM Clothing would have on their payroll a re-emerging superstar at very favourable terms. Anthony Jenkins would be the toast of the company for landing such a deal. The designs were already thought to be a master stroke, and everyone predicted they would be an enormous success, even if they didn’t appear tonight on Lewis Macleod’s back. But to be worn by the Australian Open finalist, and possibly even the champion - that would be the most incredible piece of advertising, and Anthony had got it for the price of a few inexpensive paintings. But Anthony wanted more - he wanted the double hit of Macleod and Porter. He wanted Lewis to make real his marketing dream and say those words after the match which could then allow them to use the slogan alongside pictures of Lee in their clothing: ‘What makes the perfect man? ...HIM!’
    The Perfect Man campaign was still a very attractive angle, which, if combined with Lewis endorsing the shirts and other products, could propel HIM Clothing into the big league and make everyone a fortune. Unfortunately Lee Porter had delayed authorising the use of the photo shoot material, and now was refusing to play ball. If Anthony’s piece of hairy trade had been a disappointment - that was nothing compared to the horror of the message he had received early this morning, informing him that Lee was backing out of the campaign and refused point blank for his image to be used in association with the clothing. It took all of Anthony’s self control not to scream down the line once he heard Lee Porter’s voice.
    “Good morning, Anthony. I understand you have been trying to reach me. Sorry, but I’ve been a little busy. How can I help you? I trust you got the good news about Lewis wearing the clothing tonight.”
    “Yes, I did. Thank you. We very much appreciate your help in landing this deal. Will he wear all of the shirts tonight?” asked Anthony working his way in to the crux of the call.
    “Not necessarily - if it only goes to three sets then some may not be needed. You’ll get three at least on display. That should be enough to grab the public’s attention. And he’ll only wear the Aboriginal designs. The other one didn’t go down so well.”
    “Thank goodness for that!” exclaimed Anthony. He had been mortified when he’d seen the tartan shirt and had no desire to have it promoted. “And what about yourself, Mr. Porter - how can I tempt you to authorise the use of our photo shoot? It came as a major disappointment to hear that you were backing out. I thought this was what you wanted. You would become famous and very rich no doubt. And with his endorsement of the clothing it will