At twenty-seven, YouTube sensation Ben Leonards is married to his work. If he's not whipping up lasagna with a side of science experiments, he's running statistical analysis of bitcoin during explosive behavior periods.
When a friend asks him to org...
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I move my eyes over page five of the contract Martha, the agent, printed out for me. Linda sits in the chair next to me and scrolls through her phone. The agent folds her hands on her desk and is watching me read. That does not help my concentration. I re-read the same sentence for the third time. "Neither this Agreement, nor the rights of the parties hereunder, shall be assignable, and any purported assignment shall be null and void, except as follows." I don't care about this and I'm not sure I can consume the remaining four pages or understand what they mean.
"Can I take these home?" I ask. Linda set up the meeting with Martha, a reputable agent with twenty years of experience who reps TV chefs and cookbook authors. She emailed me back within an hour after I inquired about her services and mentioned that Linda referred me to her. "I need a bit of time to read through and I'll email you my questions."
"Sure, sure, it'll be just fine with me," Martha says. "Linda told me you are going to New York to negotiate your contract with Mo Ballerini on Monday next week. If you'd like my agency and me to represent you, it's best we sign this week and I can start the official communication with Mo's team and come with you to New York. It'll be vital for me to offer the advice and make sure you are treated fairly and professionally."
"Is that included in the fifteen percent commission you charge?"
"It is, and I will work with Mo on providing you with accommodations and tentative schedule for the time you spend there. My assistant can help with booking any trips if you'd like, but you are free to do all of that on your own, of course."
"You are better of with the assistant doing it," Linda says. "And on the off chance Mo can cover the trip, it'll be easiest to have it organized through them, so all you have to do it show up and talk." She is the firm and decisive Linda that leads the fundraising effort for the largest library in Chicago. Her professionalism and her friendship fill me with a notion that I can do it and that I'm not overreaching for letting myself think I can do this TV thing.
"I'll review it tonight and send you my questions by tomorrow morning." I take the printed papers and put them into my backpack.
"I'll email you a copy, just in case," says Martha. "And, please, please email, text or call me with any questions. I'm here for you and I aim to respond the same day. It's not a bother and you will see, I'm worth the money." She smiles at me, leans over her desk, and pats the top of my hand. I slide my hand from under hers and busy with straightening the contract papers. She pats Linda's hand as well and Linda returns the smile.
"I understand." I get up, zip up my backpack and head for the door. "Thank you for your time."
"Oh, we're leaving?" Linda is still sitting in her chair. She looks at me for a second. "Oh, we are leaving, I see." Linda gets up and slings her purse on her shoulder. It's so tiny, I don't know what could fit in there apart from credit cards and a phone. "I'll give you a call, Martha. Thank you so much for moving things around to see us. You are getting another star client, and I know a couple of ways you can thank me later."
