One Year Left to Play-Chapter 45 - 13: Want a Ticket?
The staff dared not linger, afraid of embarrassing themselves—she was clearly the most capable among the Lakers owner’s children, once very famous in Los Angeles’s modeling scene in her twenties and gracing Playboy’s covers multiple times... By 34, she had already become the Lakers’ Executive Vice President of Business Operations. Although her lifestyle seemed open and indeed quite messy, within the team, she held significant authority, second only to the owner Jerry Buss, with a level of influence comparable to the team’s General Manager, Jerry West.
The staff fled, while Zhang Hao continued to gaze directly at her, making Jeanie Buss quite pleased. Despite being in her thirties, she still managed to capture the intense gaze of an eighteen-year-old... Mainly thanks to Zhang Hao’s parents for giving him a good appearance—tall and reasonably handsome.
"Hello, I’m the Lakers’ business operator, Aix, is it okay to call you that? Come in..."
Jeanie Buss rested a hand on Zhang Hao’s forearm as she led him into the office.
Typically, NBA team management shouldn’t engage with a basketball player/student, but since Zhang Hao was there to swap tickets, it was acceptable.
It wasn’t until Zhang Hao sat down that he realized he had possibly... been flirted with?
Flirted with by a thirty-something mature woman!
And discreetly, too... This lady wants to be the old cow eating young grass!
Zhang Hao found himself narcissistic again...
However, Zhang Hao was evidently overthinking it—it was likely just her habit, being a former socialite. After sitting down, Jeanie Buss went through the formal procedures without any redundant actions, taking out a standard form and saying, "Aix, you wish to reschedule the award tickets from last night’s Dunk Contest?"
"Yes, I have a friend who also wants to watch the Lakers game, he’s been a Lakers fan since childhood..."
Zhang Hao replied honestly because it was the truth, but before he finished speaking, she quickly interjected, "Let me guess, is it this year’s California basketball sensation Paul Pierce?"
"Correct..."
Pierce’s reputation in California undoubtedly exceeded Zhang Hao’s. Apart from performing exceptionally over the last couple of years, his two brothers had also drawn some attention to him locally. The Lakers had already known about his Lakers fandom, and if given the chance, would certainly prioritize him during the draft selection... Of course, only if Pierce plays well in college.
Jeanie Buss didn’t inquire about the other person and followed procedures, called the sales department, finance department... After a series of processes, she told Zhang Hao, "Tonight there’s only one adjacent seat to yours still available, do you want to exchange it or swap for other seats?"
"Just swap one, the other doesn’t need changing."
After confirming, Jeanie Buss made a phone call and said a few words. Soon, a staff member brought a ticket to her.
They didn’t chat much—once the ticket exchange was completed, Zhang Hao bade farewell. Jeanie Buss didn’t do anything unnecessary either, adhering well to NBA’s regulations.
Her strong adherence to team rules and her competency were part of why Jeanie Buss, although being a woman, was regarded by her father Jerry Buss as the child most like him.
Leaving the arena, Zhang Hao saw near the ticketing windows a crowd lined up for tickets to tonight’s game between the Lakers and the SuperSonics, as well as upcoming home games for the Lakers.
Zhang Hao glanced at the four tickets in his hand, putting away the three for tonight, hesitating for a moment... Soon, he ceased hesitating, moving through the crowd, eavesdropping on conversations of obvious scalpers to listen to their offers, and walking around amongst them, eventually spotting his target—a man complaining about front row tickets for the next Lakers home game being sold out... Zhang Hao knew these tickets marked for resale were gone.
Zhang Hao made a decisive move, slyly approaching.
The person was startled seeing a tall figure coming close, only to see this Chinese face with a salesperson smile ask, "Buddy, want a ticket?"
...
...
US Dollars!
It had been a while since he had that much money in his pocket! Back at the apartment, Zhang Hao couldn’t help but grin. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Having scouted the market price earlier in the morning, a third-row Lakers first-round Game 4 ticket worth 972 US Dollars had quickly sold out after the Lakers upset the SuperSonics in Game 1. Being presale tickets, there’s a good chance they’d become second-round tickets. Taking into account Game 1, although the Lakers didn’t perform as well as the SuperSonics during the regular season, their playoff performance outshined them, thanks to their three nearly All-Star level players, hence the good sales. The scalpers marked them up heavily—the third row reached above 3500 US Dollars and were still scarce; the tickets being sold were mostly stands tickets, as front-row ones would get snatched up instantly the moment they became available.
Zhang Hao directly quoted 4000 US Dollars; the person bought it without hesitation, even just one.
Becoming a scalper... and a costless venture, Zhang Hao found it somewhat thrilling.
He never expected to sell at such a high price.
"Had I known, I wouldn’t have swapped tickets for that guy upstairs, 4000 dollars... surely two adjacent seats could’ve sold for even more, right?"
Recollecting yesterday, with barely 300 US Dollars left, he debated when to call back and send money abroad—it’s a bit cumbersome, unlike future mobile app transactions—now he wouldn’t need to worry about meals for a while.
Taking two tickets with adjacent seat numbers to the room upstairs where Pierce lived, next to the landlady’s room.
Just home, Pierce had been scolded by his mom, but he was used to it, having grown up being disciplined; his two brothers excelled as students, so he too had to excel or face reprimands. No one could predict he’d become such an outstanding basketball player in the future, since both high school and college were filled with talent, and only a few would make it to the NBA.
But the frustration was still there—had he really been punished for just going out and gaming for a few days? Now tasked with cleaning the hallway, without pay, he was about to begin with mop and broom when Zhang Hao arrived.
"Paul, here, this is for you, tonight’s ticket, third row..." Zhang Hao straightforwardly handed the ticket to Pierce.
"Lakers ticket? Oh my god, it is a Lakers ticket! These must be expensive, how can I accept your ticket..." Pierce said that, but showed no sign of refusing; accepting the ticket and handling it carefully like a treasure, "You bought two tickets with the prize money?"
Pierce understood the event better than Zhang Hao, knowing that the past high school dunk contest’s first prize was 1993 US Dollars two years ago, 1994 US Dollars last year, and shouldn’t change this year.
As for the Lakers’ tickets, Pierce had checked—their front-row tickets were out of reach, the stands tickets exceeding 50 US Dollars, making home viewing at a few dollars for streaming more worthwhile.
"No, I think they were an award provided by the Great Western Forum ticket as part of this year’s All-Star package."
"That’s fantastic, hosting games in Los Angeles is always more rewarding, with more prizes compared to elsewhere—the Lakers’ front row tickets! I’ve never sat so close to the court, I really appreciate it, when I become an NBA star, I’ll repay you for sure. How about lunch on me today, wait up, let me finish cleaning the hallway first, my mom will definitely give me money..."
