“You realize we get twenty percent of your income from the time we sign on the dotted line?” he asked wondering if she was as naive as she sounded.
“Oh, I’m very well aware of that” she said softly.
He looked at her sharply. These Southerners could be pretty sharp and he wasn’t fooled by her soft spoken voice. She had gone pretty far but they could do better for her than whoever was representing her now. Whoever it was hadn’t capitalized properly on her notoriety but they could fix that. Even he who abhorred country music knew who Cassie Summers was from the tabloids. He sat up and shuffled some papers looking important “well then, I think the first order of business is to get you under contract so that you and I both know what you’re expecting from us and what you will get.”
“I do have a few conditions” Cassie began carefully holding up a hand showing a few fingers.
Uh oh, here it comes he thought to himself and hid a grin. He loved negotiations.
“I want to be as famous if not more so than Melissa Etheridge, Celine Dion, or there abouts” she said quietly.
“You do know that Celine Dion is not gay?” he asked.
She smiled “it isn’t being gay that I’m worried about. She has a carefully built career and legions of fans both gay and straight.” Karin and she had this very conversation once which was why she was thinking this way. “I want the fame that she has, I’m good, I’m very good” she said it without sounding conceited, absolute confidence in her abilities, “and I want a firm that can give me my just dues. I’ve worked hard, not that I won’t continue to work hard but there are things I want” like a roof over her head, she thought.
“We can help you obtain those things” he said kindly thinking far beyond her.
She held up her fingers as though she had a list “I would like to be nominated and possibly awarded for a Grammy in the next couple of years.”
He smiled, “that’s doable.”
She smiled, he was making it easier than she had thought “thirdly” she paused and he thought, uh oh as she continued “I want Karin Myers to handle it all” he felt the hammer fall as he was hit in the stomach with that.
“Karin Myers doesn’t handle entertainment representation…” he began but she cut him off with a slicing motion of her hand.
“I know she doesn’t anymore, but she does to a degree on smaller clients before handing them off to others in your firm. I want her to handle my career, every aspect of it. I trust her and I need her. She is one of the best, I want the best.”
“Pardon me for asking but have you ever met Karin Myers?” he asked curiously. Why was she so adamant about Karin handling her career?
“Yes” she nodded her head and smiled “I know Karin.” She didn’t need to tell him any more than that.
“Then you know how fanatical she is about not handling the entertainment clients.”
She nodded again “I know that, but I think she’s wrong. She’s good, she’s really good” she stressed “I want her and no one else.”
“Please Ms. Summers …” he began.
“Cassie” she corrected.
“Please, Cassie, let me put your career in one of our other representatives hands, we have several...” but he left off as she shook her head.
“Look, this is a deal breaker. We both know someone of my … shall we say, unique position, can make a lot of money for both of us. I have the talent. I’ve made the tabloids, we can make a lot of that and to both of us that bottom line means money.” She knew that to men like Elliott that was godlike. Karin had told her about him and Cassie was using it to her advantage.
“I don’t know if I can convince her” he began.
Cassie smiled “I’m sure you’re very persuasive when you want to be.”
“Surely someone else who wanted....”
She shook her head and held his gaze, she wasn’t going to budge.
“How do you know Karin?” he ventured curious. She was too sure and he wondered why.
“I’ve been dating her for several months” she said without flinching.
Elliott froze. That explained a lot. He’d had no inkling, but then Karin was good at that as she protected her clients. Cassie wasn’t a client though. He wanted her on his roster though. She would add prestige and open other avenues that they might not already have. Each celebrity on their list was another feather in his cap. One celebrity or star attracted others. He liked money, he enjoyed it, Karin made a lot of it for him, but he always craved more. He knew she could and would make a lot more for him in entertainment than she would in literary circles. He would do it! “Okay Cassie, let’s get those contracts going” he capitulated as he pressed the button for his secretary.
It took several hours for their legal team to hammer out the deal and Cassie was very explicit. She did it without legal representation but knew exactly what she wanted. She wasn’t stupid although some of the more sophisticated New Yorkers assumed because of her easy ways and southern accent that she was lacking intelligence. She was thorough and had them explain any and all legalese that didn’t make sense to her. The agreement was iron clad and binding to both parties, all contingent on Karin Myers representing her. She was quite pleased with the result when they broke for lunch. Elliott had stopped in the conference room several times to see how it was going. Everyone had basically dropped what they were doing to accommodate this deal. It was like that sometimes and they all rolled with it.
“Is Karin back yet from Maine?” he asked one of her many assistants.
She looked up at him fearfully. Elliott Kreske didn’t often come to this side of the building but Karin was a very important executive in their firm and she thought she understood why he was here. “No sir, not yet” she shook out.
“Is she due back today?” he barked.
She wanted to shrug but you didn’t do that to someone of Elliott’s stature. She really didn’t know. “I believe so sir, I’ll inform your office as soon as I know something” she offered.
“You do that, I need to see her the minute she gets back” he said as he strode away. This was an important deal and he didn’t want it screwed up!
“What was that about?” one of the other girls asked.
“I haven’t the faintest idea. Do you know if Ms. Myers is coming in today?”
The other girl shrugged. It wasn’t part of their job to know her whereabouts unless she wanted them to know.
Karin strode into work directly from the airport. She was feeling pretty good about herself. First the author out on Long Island and then this morning Jack Perowski had signed on the dotted line for representation by their firm and especially by Karin Myers. She was very proud of herself and justifiably so. She had worked hard on these two authors for a long time and Jack especially had been a hard fish to catch. This was going to annoy a few other firms that had been romancing him as well as ruffle a few feathers in their own firm but too bad. Karin had done her job and she had done it well. It was why they paid her the big bucks she laughed to herself as she rode the elevator up with her familiar briefcase over her shoulder and her carryon luggage rolling behind her.
“Um, Ms. Myers, ma’am?” one of the secretaries approached her as she stopped at the reception desk for her mail and any messages or packages.
Karin looked at her annoyed for the momentary distraction but she was in too good a mood to snap at the stuttering girl. “Yes?” she looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Mr. Kreske would like to see you as soon as you got here” she hastily got out.
Karin looked at her in surprise and then nodded to acknowledge that she understood.
She strode into the hallway with her suitcase rolling behind her. Instead of turning left to her own office she headed right towards Elliott’s. She wondered what he wanted; he didn’t usually ‘command’ her presence. They communicated a lot through memos, emails, and phone calls. She wasn’t here a lot so that was the best means of communication. She guessed he wanted to know w
hat had happened in Maine though; everyone had been vying for Jack.
She knocked on his door not knowing that someone had already phoned ahead to announce her arrival. “Elliott? You wanted to see me?” she asked as she stuck her head in.
“Come in, come in” he waved her in as she pushed the door wide. She walked the length of his office thinking as always it was a tremendous waste of space which was why her’s wasn’t as large although it could be. It also wasn’t as warm, she preferred it clean cut and less cluttered.
“I got Jack” she bragged hoping to beat him to the punch with her good news.
He looked at her puzzled for a moment and then remembered why she had flown to Maine. For clarification though he asked “Jack Perowski?”
She grinned as she nodded “contracts signed sealed and in my briefcase” she patted the bag under her arm.
“That’s great!” he enthused. “Please have a seat, I have something else to discuss with you” he indicated the chair in front of his huge desk.
She looked at him suspiciously, she hated feeling like a schoolgirl and the principal calling her in to admonish her for something she hadn’t done. She was confident she hadn’t done anything though. She put her bag next to the chair and let her briefcase fall next to it. Sitting down she looked up and calmly asked “what’s going on?”
“We have a new client” he began v-ing his fingers into a steeple as he began. “The deal is worth millions of dollars to the firm.” He stopped for a moment to let that sink in.
Karin nodded; this was a common occurrence and didn’t faze her. Millions? That was probably an exaggeration. But with Elliott, probably not, he liked money, he worshipped it.
“This client was very persuasive and argued their case admiredly. I’m very eager to get started on work with them” he hesitated not sure of how to go on and then “we can do so much for them and profit handsomely from the endeavor.”
She nodded wondering where this was going. She was listening attentively.
“I don’t want any screw ups on this, we’ve gotten the contracts signed and sealed today. There is just one contingency.”
She turned her head listening and giving him her full attention.
“This client insists that you handle all aspects of the contract.”
She nodded again her mouth pursed, this didn’t faze her. She waited patiently for Elliott to go on.
“I mean every phase, advertising, booking, all the P.R. We could make a lot of money but so can our client.”
Karin knew that, it was why they were all in the business. What was he getting at? Why the pep talk, the lead in?
“There is one aspect of it that you may not like.”
Here it comes she thought.
“It’s in the entertainment industry.” He stopped as she was already shaking her head. He held up his hand to stop her. “No Karin, this time I won’t let you say no. Too much is at stake” too many potential millions “you’ve had a lot of years to get over it. You’re too good at your job to say no to this.”
“I don’t like the entertainment industry. It’s sleazy and corrupt. I told you five years ago I wouldn’t go back to it, I told you many times over the years, NO!”
“I’ll give you that, it is sleazy and corrupt. You however are honest and classy. This client needs that expertise of yours. It’s unique and besides, it’s written in the contract. If you say no we lose this contract. Now, we’ve all worked very hard over this contract” he didn’t tell her it was all day and how many people had dropped their other important schedules to achieve this “but I will tell you now, if you drop the ball on this one I will be very unhappy.”
Her eyes narrowed at this thinly veiled threat. Never had Elliott used a threat to get what he wanted from her. Conning and conniving yes, threats no. They had always had a great relationship and he had appreciated her work. She knew though in this industry you were only as good as the next deal you brought in or succeeded at.
“I’ve told you time and again, I will not handle an entertainment client. You know why, give it to Michael....”
He shook his head. “She asked for you explicitly.”
Again her eyes narrowed, her face was perfectly calm but she was very, very angry. That subtle threat about him being very unhappy told her a lot. If Elliott was unhappy heads would roll. “Who is she?” she asked coldly.
“I am” a voice said behind her and Karin spun around so fast she nearly got whiplash in her neck. There sat Cassie in a chair she hadn’t noticed behind the door.
“What are you doing here?” she said harshly and then in an instant realized what Elliott had been leading up to. She turned back to him. “This? This is your new client?”
He nodded watching curiously wondering at their relationship. Cassie had said they dated but in all the years he had known Karin he had never seen her mix business with pleasure. She flirted endlessly at the parties they attended with both men and women, she was very popular, it garnered them contracts all across the board and she was good at it but never had there ever been the hint of scandal or the intensity he now saw in Cassie Summers’s eyes as well as the blazing in Karin’s own.
A million thoughts crowded Karin’s mind as she assimilated this situation. Cassie had boxed her neatly and she was furious. If she refused she was probably out of a job, probably the best she had ever had or would ever have, no one else would give her the freedom that Elliott did, however if she accepted she might lose her soul. She turned back to Cassie and asked “you do realize that we will end up hating each other?”
Cassie rose from her chair and began walking across the office towards Karin “it doesn’t have to be that way” she began but Karin cut her off.
“How long do I have to decide?” she asked Elliott as she turned back to him.
“48 hours” he calmly decided. They needed to get rolling on this to capitalize on the scandal he had found in Nashville. He had people researching Cassie as soon as she agreed to begin writing the contract. While she was at the table with legal he had a team researching everything about her that they could find. His people earned their paychecks; the portfolio they had on Cassie was already quite extensive and would continue to grow as they worked.
“I’ll let you know. I’ll drop this off” she indicated her briefcase as she reached to pick it up “at the desk. I’m taking two days off” she told him as he nodded in agreement.
She ignored Cassie as she picked up the handle to her suitcase to walk out of the office.
“Karin” Cassie tried to plead with her reaching out to her but she had turned stone cold. When Cassie grabbed her arm she looked her up and down as though she were a stranger.
“You know you and I are finished don’t you?” she asked conversationally as she wrenched her arm away and walked out of the office.
“Cassie, let her go” Elliott said wisely as the woman went to follow her out. He knew her. She wouldn’t chuck her career away. She’d do it, begrudgingly yes, but she would do it and she’d do a hell of a job. Her relationship with Cassie Summers might be over though. Then again, if they were involved she might chuck it all, he thought musingly, not as certain as he had been.
Cassie watched her go stunned at what she had just said.
Karin dropped off the contract for Jack at the desk so her team could get working on it. She never even went to her office; instead she headed for the elevator and hailed a cab once she got out of the building. Her anger sustained her. How dare Cassie do this to her? She loved her job; she was damn good at it too! How dare Cassie Summers or anyone else force her to hold their hands for them because they ‘wanted’ her to? She tried to be fair about it; she wondered what she had missed in the last couple of days that had made Cassie desperate enough to come to New York. She had given her a list of people that could help her. The accounting firm had been thorough. They had been efficient. The others would be too. Why her? She hated the entertainment industry with a passion. She detested the people that lived
and worked in it. At one time she had thought it exciting and had pursued it and its inhabitants avidly; she had learned a hard lesson at the hands of fate and didn’t want to get bitten twice. Was losing her career over it worth it though? She had almost lost it once before and still came out stronger for it.
Goddamn Cassie Summers! It wasn’t just the job; it was the emotions and feelings she had for the woman that were conflicting her now. She loved her; she knew that without having to analyze things. She didn’t want to work with her or for her for that matter. Damn Elliott, he knew she wouldn’t give up her job over a client. He also knew very well why she didn’t want to do this. She wondered if Cassie had signed a standard contract to get him to act this way or had she had a custom one made to make him as rabid as he was about this.
The taxi dropped her off in front of her building and she headed inside. One look at her face and the men who usually greeted her cheerfully and tried to engage her in conversation politely said hello and nothing more as she impatiently pushed the elevator button. Carl, in the act of greeting her stopped mid hello when he saw the rapidly shaking head of Gary who was on doorman duty today as well as Stan who was behind the desk. He quietly dropped her at her door and she angrily used her key to get in her apartment. D.O.G. ecstatically greeted her and she ignored him as she went to her bedroom and kicked off her shoes towards the closet. She lay back on the bed and D.O.G. jumped up to cuddle next to her sensing her anger and upset. She lay there a while before getting up and changing angrily out of her clothes.
What saddened her the most was the loss of Cassie. She knew it didn’t have to end but yet she also knew she couldn’t let anyone manipulate her in the manner in which Cassie had. Her anger over the possible loss of her job was intertwined in with what Cassie had pulled. She was hurt and so furious she just couldn’t sit home and take it. She had 48 hours to come to grips with what she was going to have to do. She could quit. That was an option. She could do it, she’d do a good job and the businesswoman in her already could envision ways to help Cassie’s career but her anger rose up again at the unfairness of the situation she now saw herself in. Changing into blue jeans that ironically she had purchased for Cassie to see her in she got out one of the camisoles and one of the suede jackets as well, they were favorites of hers already. She pulled the pins from her hair to release it from its bun and ran her brush through it. She slipped her I.D., credit card case, and cash into her front pocket and headed for the door grabbing her keys. D.O.G. looked at her hopefully and she considered for a moment before she said “go get your leash” and he ran to the cupboard, nosed it open, and grasped the leash in his mouth joyfully wagging his tail to let her know how happy he was to be going with her.
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