Gave him an air of wisdom. "Myron Bolitar is my best friend. I know he'd give his life for me and I for him. But if he ever thought that I was not doing what was in a client's best interest, he would take away their portfolios without a second thought."

Norm said, "Beautiful speech, Win. Got me right there." He pointed to his stomach.

Win gave him the look. Norm stopped smiling.

"I made the deal with Mr. Zuckerman on my own,"

Crispin said. "I could make others."

"I won't comment on the Zoom deal," Win said.

"But I will tell+you this. You are a bright young man. A

bright man knows not only his strengths but equally important, he knows his weaknesses. I do not, for example, know how to negotiate an endorsement contract. I may know the basics, but it is not my business. I'm not a plumber. If a pipe in my house broke, I would not be able to fix it. You are a golfer. You are one of the greatest talents I have ever seen. You should concentrate on that."

Tad Crispin took a sip of iced tea. He crossed his ankle on his knee. Even his socks were yellow. "You are making a hard sale for your friend," he said.

"Wrong," Win said. "I would kill for my friend, but financially I owe him nothing. You, on the other hand, are my client, and thus I have a very serious fiscal responsibility with regard to you. Stripping it bare, you have asked me to increase your portfolio. I will suggest several investment sources to you. But this is the best recommendation I can make."

Crispin tumed to Myron. He looked him up and down, studying him hard. Myron almost brayed so he could examine his teeth. "He makes you sound awfully good,"

Crispin said to Myron.

"I am good," Myron said. "But I don't want him to give you the wrong impression. I'm not quite as altruistic as Win might have made me sound. I don't insist clients use him because I'm a swell guy. I know that having him handle my clients is a major plus. He improves the value of my services. He helps keep my clients happy. That's what I get out of it. Yes, I insist on having clients heavily involved in the decision-making on money matters, but that's as much to protect me as them."

"How so?"

"Obviously you know something about managers or agents robbing athletes."

"Yes."

"Do you know why so much of that occurs?"

Crispin shrugged. "Greed, I suppose."

Myron tilted his head in a yes-and-no gesture. "The main culprit is apathy. An athlete's lack of involvement.

They get lazy. They decide it's easier to fully trust their agent, and that's bad. Let the agent pay the bills, they say. .

Let the agent invest the money. That kind of thing. But that won't ever happen at MB SportsReps. Not because I'm watching. Not because Win's watching. But because you are watching."