Texas Television Station, depending on the form of dissemination, can be divided into the Television Information Department and the Newspaper Information Department.
In terms of position, the two departments originally had no distinction of superiority or inferiority.
However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that with the continuous development of technology and the popularization of television, the importance of the Television Department had gradually shown a trend of surpassing the Newspaper Department.
As for Jack, although he personally spearheaded the "Star-Making Project," his position as a team leader still didn't rank high within the Newspaper Department.
When he brought Mike and his group to the state television station, before they even reached the Newspaper Department Manager's office, a sweet-looking young secretary took over the task.
"Mike, as far as I know, the bottom line within the newspaper is 2.5… Good luck," Jack whispered some inside information to Mike before leaving.
Mike, having received the inside information, showed no unusual reaction. He glanced at Jack with a hint of deeper meaning, then quietly followed the young secretary to the Newspaper Department Manager's office.
Along the way, Mike and his group also received many curious glances from the television station staff.
After all, their group included both elderly and children, a very strange combination…
The key, the key, was also having such a handsome guy like Mike.
Finally, after turning a few corners, the young secretary led the group to the Manager's office.
"Mr. Mike, the Manager is waiting for you inside. As for your friends, I will arrange for them to wait in the lounge area," the young secretary politely said at the door.
"Sorry, this is my guardian, and everyone else is also my family. For such an important matter as signing a contract, I'd like them to accompany me," Mike indicated Connie and the others, then stated his intention.
"This… Alright—"
The young secretary looked at Mike's handsome face and was moved by his sincerity, then said, "Please follow me."
The Newspaper Department Manager was a bald middle-aged man, whose protruding beer belly made him look somewhat portly.
However, the shrewd little eyes on his face made him seem difficult to talk to.
Seeing the young secretary lead a large group of people in at this moment, the Manager's small eyes showed a look of surprise, but it quickly returned to calm.
"Manager James, this is Mr. Mike you were looking for. The others are all family members who came with him," the young secretary explained to the Manager.
Manager James, sitting behind his desk, swept another glance over everyone. When he clearly saw the face of Mike, the person in question, he slightly furrowed his brow.
Then, he turned his gaze to the young secretary and said, "Lisa, you're done here. Go make me a cup of Kopi Luwak, remember to add more sugar…"
After dismissing the young secretary, he smiled and invited, "Mr. Mike, and your family, please have a seat—"
On both sides of the desk, there were two rows of sofas for receiving guests.
However, seeing Manager James's steady posture behind his desk, he seemed to have no intention of talking to Mike at close range.
"Oh, look at my memory, I forgot to ask what you wanted to drink."
After Mike and the others sat down, Manager James asked with feigned apology, "How about Kopi Luwak? Most people can't even taste such high-end coffee…"
"Thank you, but I'm not thirsty." Listening to the Manager's introduction filled with a sense of superiority, Mike decisively refused the other party's good intention.
Manager James seemed to have been carrying ill will ever since Mike and his group entered.
Just like now, the young secretary had already left the office to prepare coffee, and only then did he hypocritically ask Mike and the others what they wanted to drink.
This kind of hypocritical behavior was even worse than being an afterthought.
"What kind of coffee is Kopi Luwak? Is it good?" Among the group, Georgie, who didn't understand the other party's malice, asked curiously in a low voice.
"Kopi Luwak, also known as civet coffee, is a product of civet cats eating coffee berries and then excreting the coffee beans intact…"
Before Manager James could popularize the knowledge, Paige was the first to give the answer. Afterwards, she also thoughtfully explained, "It's best to add less sugar and milk when drinking civet coffee, so you can taste its original flavor."
"Cat poop… original flavor…" Knowing the raw material extraction process of Kopi Luwak, Georgie showed a horrified expression, writing his complete rejection of this coffee all over his face.
Just then, the young secretary returned to the office with a cup of hot coffee.
"Manager, here is your coffee. Is there anything else you need help with?" The young secretary asked thoughtfully as she delivered the coffee to the Manager.
"You're done here, you can go out first," Manager James replied with a darkened face.
After hearing little Paige's explanation just now, the Kopi Luwak that usually felt rich and mellow was making Manager James unable to bring himself to drink it today.
He carefully pushed the civet coffee aside…
Manager James, breathing a sigh of relief, got to the point: "Mr. Mike, regarding your poster collaboration, you can fully entrust it to us to handle. You don't need to worry about anything… You just need to wait until the day your posters fill Texas, and you'll be completely famous…"
As expected of a department manager, for the rest of the time, James analyzed various issues in poster distribution. While speaking, he subtly complained and displayed his strength, and also didn't forget to paint a grand picture for Mike.
Looking at Mike's young face and his "cheap" attire, Manager James felt an inexplicable confidence.
Yes, from the moment he met Mike and his group, Manager James had been deliberately using a sense of superiority to pressure the other party, in order to gain sufficient benefits in the subsequent contract negotiations.
This is a common psychological tactic in business negotiations.
Only this time, James's strategy seemed to have failed.
As soon as he finished his grand talk, Mike calmly spoke, getting straight to the point: "So, you still haven't said what my profit-sharing ratio is in this collaboration. Also, how much portrait fee are you prepared to pay me for that previous issue of the newspaper that featured my image?"
Hearing Mike's sharp question, Manager James felt his stubbornness.
After thinking for a while, James finally said with feigned generosity, "How about five percent? You don't have to do anything, just take a few photos, and you can get five percent of the net profit from poster distribution."
"Of course, don't think five percent profit is little… Let me do the math for you. With the newspaper's distribution capability, at least one hundred thousand posters can be sold. Even if you only earn one dollar per poster, you can get a reward of no less than five thousand dollars."
"You don't have to do anything, and you get five thousand dollars for free, you've made a huge profit."
After discussing the poster profit sharing, Manager James changed his tone, switching to a low voice, and continued, "As for the newspaper portrait fee… I'm sorry, we've never had this expense. Even if we did, I'm afraid we should first pay Frank from the Houston team."
James, who started with a serious tone and ended the topic with a small joke, resumed his usual fake smile.
A pull and a push, this was probably another new negotiation technique.
And Frank, mentioned in James's words, was the quarterback of the Houston football team, last year's league champions.
Frank, with his tall and burly physique, fierce playing style, and excellent skills, was a solid "star player" in the championship team.
After the Spring Invitational began, except for Mike's one time last week grabbing the headline of the state newspaper's color section, the headline position for other times was almost always occupied by this "star player" of the championship team.
And this player Frank, like a chosen one, was regarded by many Texans as the future star of Texas.
Of course, with all the halos surrounding him, he also had his shortcomings, which was his less-than-ideal appearance.
Therefore, multiple issues of the newspaper, which used James's pictures as a selling point, did not see consumer repurchase.