FF17

The Agent
Steve Slavin
Michael had three things going for him. He hosted
great parties. He loved introducing people. And his
parents, who had been killed in an automobile
accident, left him a four-story townhouse on Fifth
Avenue, just a few blocks from the Metropolitan
Museum.
But Michael also had three things going against him.
Although an Ivy League graduate in his late twenties,
he had never held a full-time job. He slept most of the
day, and was up most of the night. He made friends
very easily, but he had trouble hanging on to them.
1
As his inheritance was rapidly being depleting, it
looked as if he would soon have to sell his townhouse
for a few million dollars, and try to live off the
proceeds for as long as he could. Meanwhile, the
economy was sinking into a deep recession, and
President Richard Nixon, who had taken office a few
months before, didn’t seem to have a clue about how to
restore our prosperity.
The one thing that Michael could still look forward to,
at least in the immediate future, were his parties. If
only he could figure out a way of turning them into
money-makers, he could at least put off having to
actually find a nine-to-five job.
There was a middle-aged woman who occasionally
attended his parties who always brought a sketch pad
and surreptitiously drew portraits of unsuspecting
attendees. Michael sometimes sneaked peeks and was
always impressed. One evening, he engaged the
woman in conversation, telling her that he greatly
admired her work.
She smiled.
“Do you ever sell your sketches?”
“Very rarely. They’re just a hobby. I’ve got a day job
and would probably starve if I ever tried to do this fulltime.”
At that very moment the wheels began turning in
Michael’s brain. Soon he was beaming at her.
“What?” she asked. Now she was smiling too.
“This might sound very crazy, but I have an idea that
could make us rich.”
“Does it involve robbing a bank?”
“Not at all! It involves selling your sketches to my
friends. Most of them are very rich.”
“You want me to sketch your friends and sell them the
sketches?”
“Actually, I’ve noticed that you’ve already done some
of their sketches. If you let me be your agent, I think
we will soon find out that we have a very lucrative
market.”
“Where do I sign up?”
“I can have a contract for you on Monday.”
When they next got together, Michael handed Yvonne
a single sheet of paper. He would get one third of the
selling price of each drawing and one-half for their
reproductions.
“How come your cut is larger for the reproductions?”
“It’s simple. I’ll be arranging and paying for making
the reproductions.”
“That’s fine with me.”
“I’ll be your exclusive agent. Our agreement can be
abrogated by either party with three months’ notice.”
“May I take on commissions on my own sales?”
2
“Yes, but not with any clients you met through me.
And you can even make reproductions on your own.
So, if I’m not involved, then I don’t get a commission.”
“I can live with that,” said Yvonne.
“So can I! Now, let me tell you what I’ll be doing to
earn my commission.”
“You’ll be introducing me to potential customers.”
“Exactly. By the way, do you happen to have five or
six charcoals that I can hang in my ballroom?”
“Of course!”
“I’ll have them framed and reproduced. Then we’ll be
in business.”
“Sounds good to me!”
Founder’s Favourites | December 2021—Issue 17 | 9