'What am I, fucking stupid?' Frank snapped, increasing the intensity of his voice without raising the volume. 'Are we talking business or jerking off?'
The smile vanished from Rain's face. 'I'm listening.'
'I'm telling you that we will double your sales and make you more money in the first year of our partnership than you've made to date. As a measure of good faith I'm willing to accept a trial where we can come to know each other better and have the opportunity to prove what's being said and agreed to here tonight. But once we've proven our end, we're in all the way, and we're in for good, or I take my offer to one of the other independents.'
Charlie finished his drink and sat quietly for what seemed a long time. When he eventually spoke he asked, 'How much?'
'Half.'
'Jesus H. Christ! Half?'
'Relax, Charlie,' Gus said smoothly. 'A little bit of something is better than all of nothing.'
'Think about it,' Frank said. 'Right now you only book between six and eight shots a year. If in the first year with us we do, say, twenty shots, fifty percent of the profits on twenty is still a hell of a lot more than all of the profit on seven or eight.'
'Basic math,' Gus said.
'Of course we also agree to pay half the expenses,' Frank added. 'It's a straight split right down the middle.'
Charlie smoked another cigarette before he spoke again. 'You're willing to agree to a three month trial?'
'Of course,' Frank said. 'If things don't work out, they don't work out.'
'We go our separate ways?'
'If that's the way you want it.'
He considered what Frank had said. 'There's something else you've got to understand. Pro wrestling isn't like any other business – even the regular entertainment business. At first, incorporating you into the performance side of things might be a slow process. The boys don't trust people they don't know, and it'll hurt me with them if they get the idea that I'm answerable to you as an equal partner.'
'Not a problem,' Frank told him. 'Bring us into that end at a pace the talent is comfortable with.'
'Do you guys have a room here?' Charlie asked. 'Or are you heading back to Massachusetts tonight?'
'We've got a room.'
Charlie nodded. 'I've got some promotional stuff for you – flyers, posters, examples of cards and tickets. The sell itself is a simple process. I can explain it all in an hour or two and have you prepared to sell the product by the time I leave. How long before you're ready to rumble?'
'I can have people in place by next week.'
'Let's go up to your room where we can spread out.'
'Then I take it we have a deal?' Frank asked.
Charlie's wide smile returned. 'Why not? The way you set it up I got nothing to lose, right?'
'That's right.'
'Besides,' Charlie said, standing, 'it's just talk. Until you deliver, you're just another rim job.'
They'd nearly reached the elevator before Frank realized that he was the one who had been maneuvered.
It was eleven thirty when Charlie closed his briefcase. He had explained the sell and the breakdown of expenses and profits concisely, in a manner that made it both easy to understand and even easier to present to prospective clients.
'I've got a shot a few towns over at the public high school next Friday night,' he stated flatly. 'Ask for me at the door and I'll get you in. It'll be a good opportunity for you guys to see the ECPWL in person.'
Gus gathered up all the materials Charlie had given them and slid them into Frank's briefcase. 'We'll be there.'
Charlie tossed a copy of a popular wrestling magazine onto one of the beds. 'National magazine rated us best new independent federation in the business. Make copies and add it to the promotional sales package. The editor's from Jersey; hangs around the business a lot. He'll be at the show so you'll meet him then. We'll convince him to do an article on our new Massachusetts office.'
'Sounds good,' Frank said, escorting him to the door.
'OK, I'm out of here, got a long ride back to New York.' They shook hands and Charlie smiled warmly. 'Hopefully this is the start of something special, gentlemen.'
Once the door had closed behind him and they were certain Charlie Rain had gone, Frank and Gus both burst into nervous laughter as a wave of relief washed over them. 'Holy shit,' Gus said, 'we did it! We fucking did it!'
Frank ran his hands through his hair. 'Not bad for a couple of refrigerator salesman, huh? Think he bought it?'
'Are you kidding? You were un-fucking-believable tonight.'
'You forget, I bullshit for a living, sir.'
Gus couldn't stop laughing. 'This is even better than I thought it'd be. Rain's an idiot, Frank. If we play him right he'll be working for us in no time.'
Frank lit a cigarette and flopped down onto his bed. 'No, he's dumb like a fox, that one. He's not as stupid as he pretends to be.' He released a lengthy sigh. 'And we still better be able to deliver.'
'Do you really think we can pull it off?'
'Two things will make it happen, Gus. Money and muscle.'
Gus scratched the back of his neck. 'The money end I can understand, but we've already got the muscle. Both of us can handle ourselves in a scrap.'
'That's not what I'm talking about. We need real muscle. The kind people sit up and take notice of. And we need enough money so that we can make a genuine go of this. We can't start out worrying about how we're going to pay bills we haven't even created yet.'
Gus sat down on the other bed. 'What do you have in mind?'
Frank forced himself into a sitting position. 'I've been giving this some thought from the beginning. You remember my buddy, Vincent?'
'Sure, I met him a few times.'
'I'm going to talk to him.'
'What can he do for us?'
'He's connected, that's what he can do for us.'
Gus didn't respond for a moment. 'For real?'
'Yeah.'
'Can we trust him?'
Frank took a hard pull on his cigarette. 'Absolutely. I've known him for years. He's originally from Federal Hill, here in Providence. His family moved into a place a few doors down from ours when I was in junior high school. He's got an older brother up to his ears in the mob. Vincent works a little freelance for them from time to time but he's managed to stay away from the major stuff. Still, he knows just the sort of people we need to make this happen.'
'I don't know, Frank,' Gus said. 'You're talking about crawling into bed with some serious motherfuckers here.'
'I've been around people like that my whole life, Gus. The neighborhood was full of the bastards. Hell, I've got a cousin in upstate New York who's a made man, for Christ's sake. I'd go to him but I know Vincent a hell of a lot better, and I'd trust him much sooner.'
'Friendship is one thing,' Gus warned. 'Business is something else, Frank.'
Frank nodded. 'I've done some freelance work with Vincent myself over the years. Nothing big. Plus, remember last summer when I had a trunk full of VCRs?'
