I work in the marketing department for a major athletic apparel company. We have an annual event for employees which we skipped last year due to Covid, so this year management wanted to make it special. As part of that, we hired a big name (ex-Victoria’s Secret) model to emcee the employee awards ceremony. Unfortunately, she bailed a few weeks beforehand (health reasons, ie Covid) and the events department was left scrambling to replace her. Me being the big ‘ol pervert that I am (let’s get it out there), I saw an opportunity and I seized it: I suggested for a replacement my favorite online model—a gorgeous, stunning blonde bombshell—and to my surprise, they went for it.
I’m not in events but I’m in marketing, which is adjacent, so I offered to make contact with her agency to find out her rates. Here’s where it gets a little complicated, but it’s important for the story. I knew how much money had already been budgeted for the VS model, and it being last minute I knew *my* model could ask that amount and they’d pretty much have to give it to her. So, after making contact with her and her agent, I strongly hinted in a separate email (not from my corporate account, natch) what she could *really* ask, which was several times her usual fee. She (and her agent) got the message, and in their “official” reply quoted a number in that range. And of course Events went for it. She and her agent were clearly thrilled. So was I :)