from talking to Dad.” He waggled a finger at Ben. “You’ve been a bad little boy, Benjamin.”
Ben’s stomach sank. Bobby was usually a pain in the ass, but the irritating grin was more menacing than usual. “Get your finger out of my face. What are you talking about?”
“I’ve got big news from New York.”
“Brother,” Billy muttered, and Ben had to agree. Whatever was coming would either be bad or irritating. More than likely, both.
“Hear me out.” Bobby’s voice took on a serious tone. “I’ve been working on a synergistic deal that is going to grow our business across all markets, and I know you guys are going to love it.”
Damn it. Josey had absorbed Ben’s every free moment for the past month and a half. He’d actually managed to put Bobby and deals with producers out of his mind. Ben turned off his angle grinder and set it down. Hitting a man with an angle grinder was bad. Punching him was still on the table.
“You mean, like the jackets that no one buys and furniture that no one sits on? We’re still carrying that loan.”
“Or the time you promised those yahoos I’d build them all those crappy bikes in two weeks? And they sued me for breach of contract?” Billy’s arms dropped. Ben made damn sure not to be in the way.
“Guys, guys! Come on—hear me out. This is totally different. A real game-changer.” He glanced over Ben’s shoulders as heavy footsteps echoed down the stairs and smiled that smile that meant nothing but trouble. “Besides, Dad just signed the contracts, so there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“You rat bastard,” Billy growled, lunging.
On the one hand, Ben hoped Billy would pound the little zit into oblivion. On the other hand, he wanted to do the pounding himself.
“Knock it off,” Dad roared as Bobby easily danced around Billy’s big swings. “When the hell are you three going to grow up?”
“They haven’t even let me explain what the deal is, Dad.”
“Dammit, you kids,” he said, sounding older than Ben remembered. He didn’t “talk” to Dad often. Usually, he just mediated the shouting. “I ain’t afraid to set you down the hard way, so sit down and shut up.”
Ben and Billy glanced at each other. They could probably take both Dad and Bobby, but then the police would get involved and Cass would yell at them all for trashing the shop—again. Reluctantly, they backed down.
“That’s more like it. A little family meeting.” Dad let the blatant falsehood of that statement hang for a second before he pulled up a stool. “Bobby here has a hell of an idea. It’s going to mean a lot more exposure, a lot more business—a lot more money. It’s going to make Crazy Horse Choppers the name in custom bikes.”
“How much?” Because, as far as Ben was concerned, that was the only question. What would this cost the company—and would they be able to survive the losses?
“What’s the deal?” Ever the practical one, that Billy.
“I’m thinking big-time, guys.” Bobby managed to look conniving and childishly excited at the same time. Man, Ben hated that look. “I signed a deal with a production company to do a series of webisodes.”
“What?” Ben and Billy asked together.
Bobby had the nerve to look smug. “Webisodes. You know, episodes for the web? This is the first step. We build our platform, bring a dedicated viewership to the table and—” He spread his hands wide. “Boom. Reality show. This is a game-changer, guys. Big-time. This takes us from a boutique brand to an international player.”
Ben shook his head. His ears must still be ringing from the angle grinder. Sounded like the little twerp had said…
“Did you say reality show?” Billy sounded truly surprised.
“We have to start with the webisodes.” When Ben and Billy kept right on staring, Bobby elaborated. “I had a meeting with David Caine, head of FreeFall TV, and he loved the idea of a show that could compete with—and beat—American Chopper. We’ve got it all—gruff father, creative genius, bottom-line boss and me.” He spread his arms wide, like he was welcoming his adoring public. “The total package. Caine loved the personality mix. Said it would lead to the kind of explosive family drama that both men and women aged eighteen to forty-five are flocking to.”
“We’re going to be on TV?” Was it possible that Billy sounded scared?
“Just the web, for starters. If we can hit Caine’s viewer targets, we get a slot on the schedule. Think of it, guys! FreeFall