Ch-103

"'Oh, I will,' said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face. 'They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer....'" 

"The End," I read the last word of one of my favorite books before closing it shut. "And that's how [The Philosopher's Stone] ends, kids." 

"Awww," Arjun, a small boy, groaned. "I wanted to know what happened next. Can you start with [The Chamber of Secrets] already?" His brown eyes were doing the best puppy dog expression I had seen in a long time.

I melted right then and there. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time. 

"Yes!" "Next part!" "I have seen the film, the snake is so terrifying!" came a chorus of replies from the other kids who were surrounding me from all sides. 

I gently patted Arjun's head, who stood before me, "Maybe some other time, kids. It's getting late, so I must go." 

"Awww!" Another round of disappointed voices filled the air, but I curbed my instinct to give in to their demand at the cuteness overload. 

I got up and walked away to find that Emma and Jamie were also surrounded by all sorts of kids they were interacting with. When Emma learned that I had been coming to the hospital for the last week, she insisted on joining me. I floated the idea with Dad, who suggested that I should invite Jamie as well, and make it a friendly outing rather than a romantic one.

It helped that Warner was gearing up for the DVD release of [Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban], so if used correctly, this would be a very good PR strategy. Not that I was here only for the PR. If that were the case, I wouldn't have come here for a second time, let alone every day for the past week or so.

Emma looked up suddenly as if she could feel my gaze on her. I smiled at her and started to move forward when Dr. Rothschild came towards me with another woman.

"Troy," she said with a smile. "You wanted to meet other volunteers, right? Meet Allison Cox. She is also a social worker who handles some of our more extreme cases, like Felicity." 

My smile instantly vanished as I was reminded of the small girl. She had talked a bit to Emma but was still reluctant to let me in. 

I turned to Allison Cox and took in her appearance. She was a relatively younger woman, in her early to mid-twenties. She had brown hair and blue eyes. She was on the plumper side, but that didn't diminish her beauty at all. 

"Hi, Allison," I offered my hand, which she shook. "I'm Troy." 

"I have heard of you," she said casually. "I don't watch a lot of movies, but I read the news, so I have come across some articles about you." 

"All good I hope?" I asked nervously. 

"Ah, now that would be telling," she grinned mischievously. 

"I'll let you two talk," Dr. Rothschild said before taking her leave. 

Allison suddenly turned serious. "Vicky tells me that you need my help with opening a charity. I'm all ears."

I nodded, "The process has already begun. My lawyers and accountants are already dealing with the legal and financial side of things for the trust that will be known as the 'Frank Armitage Foundation for Kids'. But I'm not very knowledgeable about this. I want to help kids who have suffered at the hands of adults and make sure they grow up to have normal lives." I finished my speech on a passionate note.

I believed that I could do something good with this step. So, of course, Allison had to bring me down a peg or two.

She scoffed audibly, "That sounds very good on paper, but it's very idealistic. Most of such cases go unreported because kids are afraid to talk about their parents, teachers, relatives, neighbors—these predators can be anyone, anywhere."

"We have to start somewhere," I said in a somber tone. "I've already set aside five million pounds for this cause, and every year, I'll keep donating at least five percent of my future income, probably more."

Allison's eyes widened comically when I said that.

"Not just that, I will personally promote this charity so that we can help kids, especially those who are in foster care. I'll contact other celebrities as well whom I know to help spread the word. We'll hire social workers like you, along with doctors and therapists to make sure that no kid goes through what I had to."

"You?" she asked hesitantly, apparently unaware about the case that made global headlines not too long ago.

I shook my head, not willing to elaborate at the moment.

"Tell me, are you willing to work with me? You will essentially manage the charity from top to bottom. While I would like to be involved initially, I have other commitments, so I can't do this full-time. I can't offer you a high salary because most of our funds will be for the kids, but I'm sure you're not doing it for money, right?"

I had a gut feeling she was a good person. A similar feeling I had gotten from Tobias all those years ago—one of my better career decisions. Let's just hope I'm correct here as well.

"You are offering me a job without even knowing my capabilities?" she asked, surprised by my boldness.

"For a month, yes," I nodded. "I think judging someone to be capable of a job within half an hour of conversation is impractical. I'll pay you five thousand for this first month. If you're good at your job, I'll make you permanent. If not I'll find someone else..."

She nodded slowly, mulling over my offer for a few moments.

"I'll have to think this through," she said after some time.

"By all means," I nodded before fishing out Tobias' card. "Take a week and get back to my personal manager. He'll be expecting your call."

She could only nod before taking her leave. I then turned around to my friends, only to laugh out loud at the scene in front of me where Jamie was swinging a kid around who was in a 'Superman pose,' while Emma was taking their photo like an enthusiastic paparazzi.

I could get used to this.

(Break)

"Thank you for flying to London to meet me, gentlemen," I said gratefully to the three men I was hosting at my home. "I would have loved to come to you, but I recently started a charity, and I'm a little busy with it." 

"No problem, Troy," Lyndon Hanson, one of the founders of Crocs, said genially. "Your offer was something we couldn't refuse so easily." Then he looked down at my feet. "And I can see that you like our product already." 

"How can I not?" I asked rhetorically. "I haven't worn anything else when I'm at home ever since I got them. And if our collaboration turns out to be a good one, I'll wear them outside as well." 

Scott Seamans, the other founder, said, "While all three of us really appreciate your offer a lot, I think a 20% stake in our company is too much." 

"And why is that?" Tobias, who was sitting beside me, asked confidently. "We are investing in the company $10m as well, which is on top of our $10m endorsement fees for the next five years. At your current valuation of $40m, we are already giving you more than double the amount of your net worth. As soon as Troy's name is attached to your brand, your sales will skyrocket. I can guarantee you that."

Tobias had gotten much better at these business conversations. He wasn't as good as Dad, but I think he will get there sooner or later. 

Scott looked over at my father, who was silently sitting in the room but had yet to speak after the initial greetings. That's because I had asked him to leave the matter to Tobias and me. He was only here because, as long as I'm a minor, I have to have a parent present for such settings. 

"I'm not so sure of that," Scott said, turning back to me. "I'm not sure the benefit you bring is equivalent to what you'll get. We know that you have a great fan following, but your fans are young. They don't have that much buying power. If we keep everything else the same, a 10% stake would be doable for us in exchange for five years of promotion and the $10m which you'll pay us." 

"Hmmm," I pondered over their offer. It was a good one, and I could agree with it as it is. But there was just one little problem: why settle for less? 

"How about a bet?" I offered. Before they could question me, I answered on my own, "I know for sure that my involvement will increase your revenue by a lot. So let's keep a target of three years. Your last year's revenue was less than $5m, yes? If I join the company, I know the revenue will go to at least $500m per annum in three years." 

Every man in the room was staring at me as if I had grown a second head, including Dad, the three entrepreneurs, and Tobias. 

I stifled the urge to grin at their reactions and said with utmost calmness, "This I'm very confident about because I believe in my fans. So here's my counteroffer: if Crocs reaches $500m in annual revenue by the end of the year 2007, I would take 25% of the share. If not, then I'll be happy with just 5%."

As soon as I announced that, Scott, Lyndon, and George, the three entrepreneurs, turned to each other and shared looks. Understanding that they needed a private conversation, I said, "Why don't we give you guys the room to talk it out?"

Lyndon turned to me gratefully, so I got up and motioned Tobias and Dad to follow along.

"Have you gone crazy?" Dad hissed fiercely as soon as we were outside. "They barely have any revenue to their name. And you think they will get to $500m just like that?"

I smiled. "You haven't tried these clogs, have you?"

"Why would I wear these ugly-looking things?" he countered. "I can't wear them in my professional meetings, and I prefer flip-flops at home."

"Try them out," I said with utmost seriousness. "I lied to them inside. I don't trust in my fame—I trust in this product. I may not have gone to business school, but I know the four Ps of marketing, and their product is their USP. Their price is good, and it's easy to get placement. Leave the promotion to me. As soon as they sign this deal, I'll promote the hell out of Crocs to make them a household name."

It didn't look like Dad believed me, but my track record speaks for itself. All my business decisions have been good ones until now. Be it [Harry Potter], Yahoo, or [Billy Elliot]. Even my stock market portfolio was showing steady but positive returns. So eventually, he just inclined his head in acceptance.

It didn't take them long for the three old men to come to a decision. After a lot of back and forth, the final decision was that I'd get a 10% stake if revenue after three years was less than $500m, and 20% if it was above $500m. I promptly got Dad to write them a check for $10m after the contract was signed, and we were done with the deal. Now all that was left on my end was promoting it, but that would come at a later date.

(Break)

"Emma," her mother called out softly. "It's okay, love. He's a very busy boy. What with all these other films he's been doing. Not to mention his new charity and endorsement. It's not fair of you to sit here sulking like that."

"He forgot my birthday, Mum," Emma said tiredly. "I don't expect him to do a grand gesture of romance for me. I don't even expect him to shout to the world about us. Heck, I wouldn't even mind if he's not here in person, but at least he could have called."

Her mother hugged her gently while smoothing out her hair. "There's still time. We can get all your friends to come here for a party. It's not every day their princess turns 14."

"I'm not 10, Mum," Emma grumbled, but didn't push her away. She loved snuggling up to her Mum.

Her mother kissed the top of her head before getting up from the spot. "Be that as it may, I'm making your favorite dish for you. Consider that my gift. I'll be in the kitchen, okay?"

"Thanks, Mum," Emma smiled at the older woman, but the smile never reached her eyes.

Sometimes, Emma found it hard to believe she was dating Troy Armitage.

She got to know him for the first time during a chemistry read with him and Jamie. She was a nervous wreck because she hadn't done any acting before, but Troy calmed her down. She hadn't seen [The Sixth Sense] at that point, so she had no idea how big of a deal he already was in Hollywood.

To the world, he might be a genius actor who won awards right, left, and center wherever he went, but to her, he was just Troy—her first friend on the set of [Harry Potter]. When the filming began, Troy would hold practice sessions with all the kid actors on set, including her, to teach them acting. He even tutored them whenever they struggled with their studies in a particular subject. So, obviously, she looked up to him a lot.

She hadn't even realized when she started caring for him beyond friendship, but she did. She was beyond ecstatic when she found out that Troy reciprocated her feelings. Their first kiss was nothing short of electric. Things went a little crazy for a while when their families found out, but eventually, everything returned to normal.

But there was one conversation her mother had with her that stuck in her mind.

"He's a superstar, love," her mother had said. "A very rich and handsome superstar going through puberty. I wouldn't be surprised if other girls start throwing themselves at him. Boys are not the best when it comes to loyalty. Take your Dad, for example. I don't want you to be heartbroken like I was just because some other girl tried something with Troy and he couldn't control himself."

After a lot of thinking, Emma had come to a decision: she wouldn't get angry at him for things that an actor would face in their career, like kissing someone else or even filming an intimate scene. In her opinion, she was the most accommodating girlfriend a boy could ask for. So was it too much to expect him to remember her birthday?

Instead, Troy was in the U.S., shooting a commercial for some ugly slippers. Now Emma was pissed off. Troy would regret this day forever. She'd make sure of it.

"Emma!" her Mum called out from the kitchen. "Can you help me out, love?"

Sighing, Emma got up from the chair in her room and walked out. "Coming, Mum!"

She made her way downstairs slowly, still thinking about the ways in which she would take her revenge on her boyfriend, when…

"SURPRISE!"

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