Did I just lose my commission by opening my big mouth? How can I ensure that I receive it?

Hello Fluther Collective,

I’m a 22 year old intern at a small, but well respected PR firm in NYC. We mostly represent social media companies, advertisers, and creatives in technology. My boss (who I get along great with) told me before that I would be compensated if I brought him any new business. At the beginning of the summer, a friend/colleague of mine was looking for some PR but ended up not becoming a client yet because he doesn’t feel ready to put his company out there until he makes some improvements and gets more solid in the market. He may join our roster in the future.

Last night my friend approached me again because a friend of his is CEO of a social media analytics company and thinks he wants to hire our company as his publicist. My friend told me that he wants ME to get the credit and commission for bringing the new business and to make sure my boss knows that it’s mine. (He’s already become somewhat wealthy and wanted to help me out because I’m still a poor college kid and very new in the industry)

Anyway, I was talking about the potential new client with my boss this morning and accidentally mentioned that my friend (whom he somewhat knows) introduced me to their company. He was on his way out of the office for a meeting and was kind of rushed but said something like “Well, his commission check is in the mail.” (referring to my friend) :(

My heart just about sank when he said that because the commission is really supposed to be for me but I don’t want to sound greedy or like I’m lying. How do I bring this up to my boss tactfully? I don’t want to share private email exchanges between my friend and I but should I show him the email/chat trail anyway just to prove it? I’m really beating myself up over this right now because if I hadn’t have opened my big mouth I wouldn’t have lost the credit for this. My boss is a pretty understanding guy but I’m really unsure how to deal with this sensitive situation.