Chapter 4
Tyson
I am a little frazzled and I can’t seem to understand the reason why she pushed me away. I know this is part of the dance and I’ve been here before.
It’s all about the little things. A kind word and a smile go a long way. The kiss is making me want her more than ever before and I’m not going to stop until I have her in a compromising position.
Sleeping with Sheila would be easy, but I’m looking for something more than a sure thing. The hunt is fun and the reward is going to be worth the effort to get to know Michelle better.
I could tell from her reaction the kiss was a surprise. It was meant to be.
My life is a never-ending supply of women vying for my attention. There’s always an easy target waiting to have their feet in the air in orgasmic glee. I want Michelle in the same position, but I know it’s going to take more than my usual charm.
I hope she makes me work for it.
“It doesn’t have to be that way. The contract I have with you is rock solid and we are friends. I know I haven’t been easy to work with but blame the divorce. I lost everything including some of the things I wear on stage. She was a fucking bitch and I should have heeded your warning.” Raven is pacing in my office and I can hear the leather of his pants squeaking with his long dark hair swinging in the breeze of the air conditioning.
“Does this impromptu meeting have anything to do with Tamara? You know sending her to me was one of the best decisions of your life. She’s innocent and sweet, but I know how to make her a star. I have done the same thing for you,” I remark, touching on a subject I knew is his Achilles heel.
Raven is a growing attraction in several venues and I don’t have to worry about him complaining about a harsh workload. He loves the stage and his admiring fans begging him to give them a show to remember.
I figure his divorce is a by-product of his philandering ways. He doesn’t talk about it, but I know from those whispering into my ear he’s no stranger to giving young women a tour behind the stage. It terrifies me to think of him saddled with another kid because he doesn’t know how to keep it safe.
I see her walk by and it’s almost in slow motion. She looks at me and I feel like I have made a mistake.
I don’t like the freezing cold of her stare, but I know how to thaw the ice from her heart. I respect her abilities, but she’s obviously hiding something from me.
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. You don’t seem like yourself. Something is distracting you and might it have something to do with a certain young lady that walked by a few seconds ago,” He mocks, knowing I’m not the type to easily get sucked into somebody else’s drama.
“I never saw her before, but there’s something about her. You know I get a thrill out of the conquest. She’s a work in progress. I’ve started something and I’m damn well going to finish it. She denies me and it makes me crazy. Those crimson lips and the way she walks calls to me like the siren of the sea.” I’m waxing poetic thinking about how best to proceed and hoping my friend will have some knowledge to impart.
“I almost have to laugh. The great Tyson always gets what he wants, but this time he’s having a hard time. It looks good on you and sometimes we need a kick in the pants to realize what kind of men we are. It sounds to me like she’s not like anybody else. You might have to come up with a different game plan to seduce her. Don’t let her get away,” He implores with his hands on my desk looking at me sternly.
“I was beginning to think she was a lost cause.”
“I don’t want to hear you talk like that. You are Tyson and no woman is immune to your seduction. You’re going to have to show her who’s the boss literally and figuratively,” He encourages, putting his hand on my shoulder and giving me a wakeup call.
I began to type her name and the only way I’m going to get her to notice me is to find something we have in common. It didn’t have to be true.
Technology is my friend and I can use it to search out what makes Michelle tick. Everybody has a social footprint and she’s going to be no different.
I found I could easily hack her social media account. I didn’t take her for being into the arts. There are several ways I could use that information to my advantage. I have contacts and could easily reach out to acquire tickets that would most definitely kill me with boredom.
I can’t stand the ballet, but I could endure for one evening to make her see me in a different light. I haven’t even begun to fight. She’s going to see a side of me that is going to take her breath away. I don’t show it to many, but I find myself willing to be the man of her dreams on paper.
“I know that look better than anybody. I should take a page from your book. I’m not going to find what I want by sleeping with anything with two legs. You might not know this about me, but groupies have always been my weakness. You know how it is when you’re on the road,” He comments and thinks he’s telling me some big secret.
There’s no point in telling him. It’s better for him to think nobody knows. He’s not very subtle about his intentions and most likely his ex-wife had heard through the Grapevine what he was doing. She didn’t hear it from me. It was time for him to get out of the rock star stage of his life and find something more stable. I’m one to talk.
He’s one of the lucky few who didn’t indulge in recreational drugs. I commend him for being sane enough around the chaos to use sound judgment. I would know if he had fallen into that trap. All of my talent has eyes and ears everywhere reporting back to me.
I’m not opposed to wining and dining to get what I want.
Michelle tries to be good not realizing how much fun she would have being bad. Michelle doesn’t know how to let her hair down. She needs somebody like me to come along to give her a hand.
“I don’t actually know what it is like to be on the road, but I’ve heard the stories. You don’t know how grateful I am that you didn’t end up in rehab like some of my other clients. Take my word for it, it’s a big deal when you don’t have to worry about that kind of negative press,” I divulge in complete wonder at how he has avoided the pitfalls of the rock and roll lifestyle.
I administer to the whims of my talent to a degree. Some diva behaviour can be tolerated, but I do have my limits.
There have been demands on my time that couldn’t be condoned. There’s a clause in every contract where I can wash my hands and walk away without litigation. They don’t know it’s there unless they read between the lines and they rarely ever did.
“I guess I was raised right to avoid temptation. It’s not like I don’t have other vices which I have previously mentioned. I just never found the concept of doing drugs to have a good time something I could get on board with. I don’t need any help in that department. It’s nice to know I have you around to vent my frustrations.” Raven went to the window and stared blankly and seemingly looking at nothing and everything at the same time.
He’s a good friend and someone I can rely on to tell me the unfiltered truth. His perspective on Michelle made everything crystal clear. The mistake I had made was rushing things when I should’ve slowed things down. Dominance is only going to get me so far.
“It looks like I’m going to have to start over from the very beginning and work her like I do most of my clients with kid gloves. She needs to see me as a friend and not a threat. I can always chalk up what happened last night to the liquor talking,” I reveal with something of loose lips not even aware I am doing it until it is too late.
“I knew something happened between the two of you. I take it your advances were met with less enthusiasm than you were expecting,” He highlights the real problem and kissing her was something I had been thinking about for quite some time.
“I sometimes think about the ones that got away,” I muse with this faraway look in my eyes at how I callously use women for my own selfish needs.
“I don’t think there’s any man who hasn’t been down that road. We learn from our mistakes and we soldier forward. Make no mistake about it this is the war of the sexes and they are winning,” He observes with a silly little grin on his face.
“I’m well aware of how women think they have the power, but it’s only because we let them believe it. They want a firm hand even though they won’t say it out loud. A masculine touch to make them breathless is how most of those heroes in trashy novels are depicted. Do you think that is a coincidence?” He asks and brought to mind how romances came with millions of dollars in revenue a year for some publishing companies.
I can tell from Raven’s body language he’s worried about being washed up and forgotten. I could assure him, but I’m not in the habit of holding my clients’ hands. He’s well aware of his expiry date and how keeping things fresh is going to give him a leg up on the competition.
“You won’t believe this, but it seems you might be able to do me a favour. Michelle is one of your biggest fans. She talks about you often enough on her social media that it makes me believe introductions are in order. It would be a good idea to call her in here to meet you,” I propose and he gives me a solemn nod of confirmation.
“Who am I to stand in the way of young love? I don’t see any reason why I can’t stick around to meet the young lady who has you wrapped around her little finger,” He replies while making the motion of a whip snapping in the air.
The winds of fortune are calling my name and fate really did work in mysterious ways. This is definitely going to earn me some brownie points.
I call her extension and she tells me she’s busy on the phone. I couldn’t blame her for becoming the force of nature I had envisioned. This girl knows how to keep her clients happy. It’s the one thing I stress with all of my agents. Give them what they want within reason, but be firm when they become demanding.
I heard her approaching and found myself anxiously awaiting her response. It came in the form of a wild high pitched squeal of delight.
Thankfully, Raven was a good sport and didn’t seem all that put out by her girlish crush. It’s not like he hasn’t seen this kind of behaviour before to know how to deal with it.
I’m going to wait until he leaves before I spring the good news about the ballet. One e-mail and I had already received confirmation of the tickets at the box office waiting for us. I just hope I can stay awake and maybe having her there will make it easier.