The Brand

by M. N Providence

For a long moment they gazed at each other’s eyes, and it was such an emotional moment, filled with mutual reminisces of what they’d been through together, that Gary became overwhelmed and rose to his feet.

  They were on the front porch of his home in Heidelberg, facing a horse stable in which a white horse and a brown stallion were feeding. Gary walked to the waist-high wood railing surrounding the porch. He gazed out at the plain, the trees and the grass yellow with the severe temperatures of winter. He turned to face Jansen, sitting on a rocking chair against the wall, and leaned his back against the wood railing.

  ‘It’s hard for me to say this to you, Jan,’ he began. ‘I love Sheila. She’s very important to me…to my life. I left her before, and I was lucky that she took me back when I returned. I would be a fool to leave her again. I am sorry, but I can’t coach you.’

  Chapter 4

  AMERICA

  Joelyn Smith had a list of things to do when she left rehabilitation. The first one was to get a decent place for her family to live in. Previously, during her married life and afterwards, it had neither bothered nor concerned her that her family made do with a 3-bedroom dwelling that was scarcely adequate, in an area that was increasingly inhabited by Black families. When she returned to South Africa for her family reunion after her release from rehab, she spent a week in Johannesburg hunting for a house with her mother. Not wanting to be far away from the neighborhood she had become used to, her mother decided on a spacious 5-bedroom two-story house with a big yard in Houghton, close to the offices of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

  Still riding the wave of success following her second music album, the production of which had been the 2nd thing on her list, and about to go to Europe to shoot a movie for Columbia Pictures, Joelyn did the 3rd thing on her list. She cut the size of her immediate staff by half, getting rid of vanity appointments and remaining only with essential individuals. She even seriously considered leaving Hollywood, the 4th item on her list, and going to settle in the south of France, a country where privacy laws actually worked and were respected, but she was talked out of that idea by her brand managers, who said her presence in Hollywood guaranteed the strength and validity of her brand name.

  The 5th item on her list was to get rid of the JK’s PROPERTY tattoo above her vagina by laser treatment. This was done discreetly at a Los Angeles plastic surgeon’s premises, during which Joelyn read the current edition of Forbes magazine, in which were the rankings for the previous year’s top earning Hollywood celebrities. It was said that though Joelyn Smith had lost “around $50-million” in 2012, mainly due to the poor performance of her JOY-LINE PICTURES-produced film at the box office, she had still collected $68-million during that year from endorsement deals, movie deals, music revenues and Jo S-affiliated merchandise.

  The next thing on her agenda was to resume her film career, and that was already underway. After the joy of removing her tattoo, she went straight to fulfilling the 7th item on her list of things to do in 2013. She contacted Jansen, and actually flew to New York City to try and mend their strained relationship. Jansen adamantly refused to kiss and make up.

  Joelyn stayed in New York for four days, at the end of which she concluded the purchase of an $11-million house in Long Island. Then she used the convenience of a private chartered Gulfstream G650 to depart from JFK’s International Airport and fly to Johannesburg, where she had a crucial appointment with one Gary Speckman.

  Chapter 5

  SOUTH AFRICA

  Gary Speckman dressed himself in blue Diesel jeans, into which he tucked a crisp-white shirt from the Fabiani shop in Sandton City. He threw a navy-blue Armani blazer over the shirt, and then sat down on the bed and pulled on his Italian shoes. Sheila, his lover, stood leaning against the doorframe, watching with curious eyes as her man went through the trouble of looking presentable for his evening date with one of Hollywood’s foremost stars, the inimitable Ms. Joelyn Smith – born and bred right here in South Africa.

  Speckman got up and stared at her. ‘How do I look?’

  Sheila shrugged and silently pursed her lips.

  ‘Are you jealous?’ Gary teased.

  ‘No, I’m not,’ replied Sheila. ‘She’s a Hollywood star. What could she possible want form you?’ The last word was uttered with such belittling spitefulness it betrayed her real emotions.

  Speckman grinned smugly. ‘You never know.’

  ‘I do,’ said Sheila cheekily. ‘You’re old, and, except for a few hairs remaining on the sides and back of your head, you’re bald. When you sit down, your bones creak and complain. You have a hard time getting your dick up, and once inside a woman it can’t last…What would a Hollywood star want with spent goods like you?’

  ‘Ouch!’ Gary grimaced with a hurt expression.

  Sheila’s face softened and she smiled. ‘I’m playing.’

  Gary sighed with relief. ‘Phew! I thought I was being prepared for the grave.’

  Sheila laughed. ‘If she wants you, I’ll kill her.’ She feigned a serious expression. ‘And I mean that.’

  Gary went to her and kissed her. ‘I love you.’

  Sheila smiled into his grey eyes. ‘It greatly comforts me to hear that you won’t be stolen from me by the beautiful Joelyn Smith.’

  He smiled back. ‘Never.’

  ‘In any case, if she wants to sleep with you, bring her here for a threesome. I’ve always had this wild fantasy of fucking you together with her…’

  Gary Speckman couldn’t help but laugh.

  * * * * *

  Speckman drove his Range Rover Sport with a powerful V8 engine from Lanseria and went to meet Joelyn Smith at the Radisson Blu Hotel at the corner of Rivonia Road and Daisy Street in the heart of Sandton. She was staying in a sumptuous top-floor suite at the hotel, and room service had brought in her requested meal of roasted duck served with Thai rice, pancakes, cucumbers, and sweet bean sauce, as well as some vegetables for her; a bottle of Evian water for her, and a bottle of Dom Perignon for Gary Speckman.

  ‘Dom Perignon,’ Speckman observed with a raised eyebrow, sitting across from her at their table in the dining room adjacent to her sleeping quarters in the luxury penthouse suite.

  ‘For your pleasure, sir,’ Joelyn said with a breathtaking smile. ‘And water for me. You’re aware of my unfortunate history with alcohol, I’m sure?’

  The smile knocked the senses out of Speckman’s head. Jansen was one hell of a looker, but she was like a daughter to him; he just didn’t have those sorts of feelings for her. But this woman…at the moment so very close to him…was a bloody beautiful woman, with captivating blue eyes, sexy lips and lush, scintillating skin that begged to be touched…

  He controlled himself – with difficulty. ‘And duck, how did you know I love duck?’ He forced a smile to his lips but it was a pathetic effort.

  Joelyn, instantly aware of her power over him, smiled even more broadly and narrowed her eyes seductively at him. ‘I didn’t,’ she said simply.

  ‘You’re pulling my leg.’ It was a statement, expressing genuine disbelief.

  Joelyn acknowledged it. ‘Yes, I am,’ she said with a light laugh.

  The laugh, while short and meaningless, captured Speckman’s heart and shattered it to pieces. He longed to hear it once again. She cut a slice of the duck and carefully fed it into her mouth. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

  ‘Honestly,’ she said, swallowing. ‘I went to the trouble of finding out about your favorite food. There is nothing that pleases me as much as making people happy. A little money sometimes helps to find out about people’s little pleasures and fulfilling them.’

  ‘I’m humbled, Miss Smith,’ Speckman said with genuine modesty.

  ‘Call me Joelyn.’

  ‘Fine.’ He had called her Joelyn so many times in his dreams it was easy to do so in reality.

  ‘Please eat your food, Gary. It’s tasty and delicious. I should make a habit of staying at the Radisson,’ she added with light laugh
ter.

  Gary picked up his fork and knife and nervously attacked his food. The curried Thai rice…the duck…it was heavenly! And Joelyn Smith was sharing the meal with him! He opened the bottle of Dom Perignon and poured himself half a glass to calm his jittery nerves.

  ‘I hear Jansen came begging you to coach her once more but you turned her down.’ Joelyn took a sip straight from her water bottle, a habit she had never made an attempt to discard. She gave Gary Speckman a piercing look, waiting for her answer.

  He challenged her stare, but was unable to hold her gaze for long. He diverted his eyes to his plate of food as he responded. ‘How did you know? Jan kept her visit to me quiet.’ In fact, as far as he knew, the matter was known only to him, Jansen and Sheila.

  ‘I’ve already told you,’ Joelyn answered smoothly. ‘A little money here and there helps in acquiring information about people. I apologize for intruding, but I want to help.’

  Speckman ignored the last part of the question. ‘I don’t mean to be rude, Joelyn, but you don’t have a small amount of money. You have lots.’

  Again, she gave him a beautiful smile. ‘I understand you’re not doing so bad yourself.’

  He smiled back. ‘True.’

  The smile vanished from the gorgeous woman’s face. ‘Why won’t you go back to coaching Jansen?’

  He shrugged expressively. ‘Personal reasons.’

  Joelyn narrowed her eyes at him in that sexy way of hers, and he felt his loins go ablaze with the fire of desire. ‘Your partner…Sheila is her name, right?’ She continued talking after a nod from him. ‘She must be a wonderful woman.’

  ‘She’s all I have,’ he replied honestly. ‘Why?’

  ‘Please don’t get me wrong, Gary, but to make you think twice before you can commit yourself to coaching Jansen again must mean she’s no ordinary woman.’

  Gary looked at her eyes, and this time did not feel powerless under her gaze. ‘Most men foolishly spend their lives chasing the wrong dreams. If you find someone that truly loves you, the easiest thing you can do is love them back, and stop chasing after the ones that don’t belong to you. If everybody could realize that, the world would be a better place.’

  With a mesmerized gaze, Joelyn sat back in her chair and stared at Gary. ‘Those are the most powerful words I’ve heard in a long time, and I don’t mean that lightly.’

  ‘It’s no gospel truth. Just my thoughts.’

  ‘But they are true. And I shall apply that philosophy to my life from now on. It’ll make things easy.’ Without elaborating, she dived into the purpose of her visit. ‘Gary, I’m here to ask you to train Jansen again. It will mean a lot to me and her if you do.’

  ‘I’ve already told Jan my position on that, and if what you say about being informed is true, then you already know my reasons and the difficulties I have faced making that decision.’

  ‘I don’t want to sound presumptuous, Gary,’ Joelyn said with a sincere expression. ‘But I think it’s possible that you can train Jansen and live the life you want to live with Sheila…I mean, I came here straight from New York, where I spoke to several estate agents, and they have a number of ranches outside the city on their for-sale lists. If money is an issue then I’ll ask you to please allow me to put you up in a place of your choice – with Sheila, of course.’ The dangerous smile surfaced again, and as usual, it had the same pulverizing effect on Gary Speckman.

  ‘Money is not an issue,’ he said, finding his voice with some difficulty. ‘But it is commendable of you to do this on behalf of Jan, considering your…er…unfriendly…past. It makes me realize how badly she needs me, for her to forget the past and ask you to come all the way—.’

  ‘She didn’t ask me,’ corrected Joelyn suavely. ‘This is a favor I am doing for her unprompted. And I’m praying she’ll thank me by forgetting this childhood feud she holds over me. You have to understand, Gary, that I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. I know I’ve been a bad bitch before, but that’s not how I want the world to know me. When I fade out of the spotlight, I want it to be known that I was kind, compassionate, caring, and full of love.’

  She noticed by the look in his eyes that her mission was about to be successful. She was left with one last item on her list of things to do in 2013; which was specifically to find a man who was caring and loving.

  Chapter 6

  AMERICA

  By her own admission, Sheila was not a city person. Whereas Johannesburg city life had intimidated her, New York City terrified her. With the help of Joelyn, Gary and his long-time lover found a place they loved in Hartford, Connecticut. It was a double story house with 4 bedrooms, 3½ bedrooms, a swimming pool and a tennis court. The house sat on 165 acres and also contained a barn and horse stables. It was no different from their place in Lanseria, South Africa, which they left under the supervision of a caretaker.

  Jansen, oblivious of Gary’s presence in America, and that he was actually very close to her home in New York, was “seriously” looking for a professional coach – no easy task, not because there were none available, but because Jansen had set her own criteria and standards for hiring a potential candidate, conditions which most of the applicants for the job found tough to fulfill.

  It took Gary and his partner two weeks from arriving in America to purchasing a place to live. After that, Gary picked up the phone and called Jansen on her private and very confidential number, known only to a select group of people. It was not answered on the first try. The second attempt proved successful.

  ‘Gary?’ she sounded surprised. ‘It is Gary, right?’

  ‘It is, kid. How’re ya?’

  ‘Jesus! Gary!’ she screamed. ‘My God! Gary! This is an American number…You’re in the States?...Wait a minute…What are you doing in the States?’ The questions shot out in rapid succession. ‘Gary, is it really you? When did you—.’

  ‘It’s me, and I want to see you. When can we meet?’

  ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so excited to hear your voice, Gary…um…I’m in the middle of shooting a commercial right now, but after that I think I can meet you…Lemme see, I’ll send you the details right now.’

  ‘Okay, keep in touch, kid. I miss you.’

  He heard her breath catch. ‘I miss you too, Gary.’

  He ended the call abruptly, not wanting the conversation to get sentimental. In fifteen minutes, she sent him a message on his phone to tell him that she would be at her condo at the Trump Hotel International and Towers at 4PM.

  Gary thought he had left Connecticut early, but he was delayed by traffic within the grand city of New York and actually arrived at her condo apartment at 4.39PM. He found Jansen almost dying with anxiety. When she saw him, she ran into his arms and enveloped him in a bear hug, shedding tears of joy. After a long moment, she let go of him and wiped away her tears. ‘Oh Gary! I am so glad to see you!’ Suddenly she frowned at him. ‘How long’ve you been here? You don’t look like you just arrived.’

  Gary shook his head and went to take a seat on a nearby couch. ‘Two weeks.’

  ‘Two weeks!’ she exclaimed, and stared at him with an astonished expression. ‘And you didn’t tell me you were around?’

  ‘Calm down, Jan, and sit down.’ She obeyed him and came to sit on a chair opposite him. ‘I wanted our meeting to be appropriate. Firstly I had to find a place to put Sheila in. You know she’s not comfortable in the city—.’

  ‘Sheila’s here? In New York?’ she asked with eyes wide open.

  It warmed Gary’s heart to see her enthusiasm…her gorgeous eyes…her beautiful face…Jesus! He loved this kid! How could he have lied to himself that he would never return to coaching her? ‘We found a place in Connecticut. It suits her fine, and she’s happy as a kid with a candy bar.’

  ‘Connecticut?’ she asked, concern in her eyes. ‘Gary, wasn’t it expensive?’

  ‘Joelyn put up half the money. She wanted to pay the full amount for the place, but I wouldn’t let her, so we eventually agreed to meet halfwa
y.’

  ‘Joelyn?’ Jansen frowned, a look of profound confusion on her face. ‘What does Joelyn have to do with this?’

  ‘She came to South Africa to ask me and Sheila to move to America so that I could coach you, so here I am.’ Gary was smiling at her, but her face was unhappy.

  ‘I didn’t know she cared.’

  ‘She does,’ Gary responded. ‘And she means well. My return to coaching you is based on a few conditions. The first one is that you bury the hatchet with Joelyn. She did not ask me to, but I want to reciprocate her kind gesture. I hope you realize how important it is for her that you mend your relationship with her. People don’t just go through all this trouble unless they mean well.’

  Chapter 7

  AMERICA

  Round about that moment, in a different time zone, in the showbiz capital of the United States of America that was Los Angeles, California, another serious conversation was about to take place. It was between two best friends, namely Joelyn Smith and Samantha Ashford, upon the request of the latter. Joelyn had absolutely no clue what Samantha wanted to discuss with her, but she did notice her friend’s discomfort and general restlessness.

  They had their private conversation inside Joelyn’s Malibu mansion’s main bedroom suite, which also contained a set of canary-yellow leather couches. They sat next to each other on one of the couches, Joelyn eating from a plate of plums. She looked expectantly at her friend’s face.

  Samantha let out a heavy sigh. ‘Joe, I’m pregnant.’

  Joelyn was genuinely surprised. ‘How’d that happen?’ Realizing how foolish that question was, she quickly added another one. ‘You haven’t been with anyone since arriving here, have you?’