Facing Your Demons
Hearst observed his opponent calmly. Angus Boyd observed him back. They were two parties sizing each other up before a big battle. Although Hearst wanted to believe that he’d be able to pull off the plan he was concocting in his mind to save Jamie from this bastard, he couldn’t underestimate this asshole.
“Is there something on my face?” he asked.
Angus’s calculated glare turned into an amused look. “I’m sorry, please tell me if I’m overstepping, but I somehow find it hard to believe that you slept with Jamie.”
“Why? Because I’m so homely looking?” Hearst repeated the words he had heard from Jamie on purpose. There was no more exquisite pain than one that was self-inflicted.
Angus let out a short, embarrassed snort. “It’s not about you or your looks. It’s about Jamie and the sort of partner that--”
“That would suit him?” Hearst quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms. Whatever Wencel had told this guy about him, Angus didn’t know him and, to some extent, he had to expect to be surprised more than having his expectations confirmed.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m talking about the sort of partner he’d choose for himself. Yeah, that’s what I meant. Do you have the habit of finishing other people’s sentences?”
“Even their thoughts,” Hearst said brightly.
“Well, before we continue, you should sign this,” Angus said with another strained smile and pulled a sheaf of papers out of his bag.
Since they were on tour, Angus didn’t have an office, so the hotel’s conference room had to do. Hearst couldn’t help noticing that the top management had much nicer amenities while people like Wen had to settle for the cheapest motel rooms.
“An NDA?” Hearst didn’t touch the papers, only leaned over and stared at the fine print.
“It’s just a formality, really.”
Hearst pulled back. “I can’t sign this. My eyesight is poor, and a lawyer should be present when I sign anything that would force me into obligations I fail to understand when I put my name on the dotted line.”
“Should I call Wen, then? I’m sure he can assist you.” Angus studied him with a quizzical expression.
“Wen is not a lawyer,” Hearst said. “I agreed to meet with you because my brother told me you would protect your sources, but it looks to me like you’re only looking out for number one. Am I wrong?”
Angus nodded slowly, a weird smirk painting his face in different colors. The shark needed to show his teeth. Hearst intended to play fair, but only to a certain degree. But, when he was in the company of this asshole, he needed to tread carefully and be as sly as he could manage. For starters, he couldn’t sign whatever papers the guy was sliding under his eyes, expecting his next victim to accept becoming a blood sacrifice for his stupid games. Yeah, Jamie was right. He did have a flair for the tragic and dramatic.
“Ah, I see. So we’ve started out on the wrong foot.” Angus was clever enough not to send Hearst out with a boot in his ass. “Should I remind you that your brother is gainfully employed by us?”
And here came the blackmail.
“No need for reminders,” Hearst said in a chilly tone. “I am well aware. But I’m afraid you should spell it out for me. Why is this aspect important?”
“It is important because I thought you wanted to get something out of this, too. We are generous to our sources.”
Hearst had to give it to the guy. After watching hours and hours of fake news to get the gist of how the world worked at his dad’s insistence, he wasn’t that surprised to see Angus knew how to keep his speech ambiguous enough so nothing he said could be used against him.
“What do you want to know?” he asked, changing tack. “About my relationship with Jamie?”
Angus grinned. He pulled out his phone. “Can I record this conversation?”
Hearst smiled. “May I record it, too?” He placed his phone on the table, as well. Manipulation ran hard in his veins. He had some things he needed to be grateful for regarding the weird education he had received from his dad.
Angus’s plastic smirk grew wider. “Why not? Let’s do this.”
***
“You will have to do this,” Wencel insisted.
Jamie looked out the window, looking positively bored. “Why? Because you say so?”
“You signed a contract.”
“So? What’s going to happen if I continue to tell you ‘no’?”
“Do you really want to go that far? The company is going to sue your ass and you won’t be able to pay the cancellation fee in a million years.”
“Sounds swell to me.”
Wen seemed at a loss for words. Jamie reached over and punched him in the shoulder, earning a satisfying squeal from the bastard.
“Geez, you’re easy. I guess it runs in the family. So, this big reunion with my parents? What’s the play?”
Wencel’s eyes grew wide. “Are you going to do it?”
“Yeah,” Jamie said with a shrug, as if he hadn’t said the opposite until a moment ago. “Take me through it. I’ll do as you say.”
Wencel didn’t look completely convinced. “What did you talk about to my brother?”
“Didn’t he share it all with you? I thought there were no secrets between the two of you.”
“It’s not like that.”
Jamie yawned and stretched. “The long-awaited reunion.” He snapped his fingers in front of Wencel’s eyes, making him start nervously again. “Chop-chop, get to work. I already find all of this so damn tedious, I think I’m going to fall asleep. And don’t bring up your brother again, if you’re interested in getting your job done.”
The veiled threat seemed to work. Wencel stared at his clipboard, obviously searching for inspiration.
“It’s going to be about facing your demons and overcoming them.”
“Oh, wow,” Jamie said in a voice that showed his complete lack of enthusiasm. “How original. Who are the demons? Mom and dad? Am I supposed to sock them in the face to make myself feel better about how they abandoned me?”
Wencel stared at him, narrowing his eyes. “Are you mocking the process, Jamie? Why are you even on this show if you don’t like it?”
“Apparently, I am still on this show,” Jamie emphasized the word ‘still’, “because I happened to sign a terrible contract that says I will have to sell all my internal organs to pay for a cancellation fee. So, be careful what you wish for, Mr. Assistant.”
“Jamie Wicklow, if you do something to put the show in danger--”
Jamie put both hands up, grinning like a cat. “Did I say I was going to do anything like that? However, let’s make one thing clear. You’ll get the minimum possible out of me. I hope you’re good with making edits to present the sort of content you consider entertaining for your viewers, because I’m not going to do a goddamn thing to lift this hefty rock. Ah, and I hope you’ll enjoy the numbers plummeting because of your predatory strategies.”
“You’re not the only competitor on the show,” Wencel squeaked. “The others will be happy to take your place.”
“And what place is that?” Jamie pretended to think hard while staring at the ceiling. “Could it be that I’m your main attraction? That’s rich. If that’s the case, you should treat me a lot better.”
“You’re not the main attraction. How delusional can you be?”
Jamie didn’t mind startling Wencel again by slamming his fist on the table. “Then why so much interest? Ah, it’s because of your personal vendetta, right? Tell me about it. I’m willing to lend you my ear, but the offer won’t be on the table forever. So, make up your mind.”
“We need to get to work.” Wencel pushed himself up to his feet and cradled the clipboard to his chest. “Are you coming? We need to rehearse what you’re going to say when you see your parents.”
“Rehearse… another big wow. I bet the show wants to have my genuine and spontaneous reaction on camera. Nothing beats repeating shock and awe a few times before the real deal.”
“Don’t you know how reality shows are made?” Wencel stopped, throwing him a venomous look since Jamie showed no sign that he intended to follow him.
“It’s all becoming clearer by the day. Who are the show’s darlings, Wencel?”
The question appeared to throw Wencel off-balance for a moment. “What do you mean?” he asked cautiously.
“Since I’m the villain, there are others who must be the good guys.” Jamie showed all his teeth. “Ah, don’t tell me. Is it me against everyone? Why? Because I’m popular?”
“You answered the question yourself,” Wencel said quickly.
When would they throw into the ring the whole thing about the contracts with different clauses? They weren’t ready yet, which intrigued Jamie. Could it be that these guys underestimated people’s ability to get together over being mistreated? But it made sense since the others hadn’t been in the spotlight much. The subtle jabs and barbs, the seemingly harmless trolling hadn’t amounted to much, at least in their eyes. But the producers were definitely looking forward to blowing the lid off many issues concerning the competitors. And, as Will had said, things that probably looked completely fine in their own eyes would offer fuel for meltdowns as far as the people running the show and their evil mentality were concerned.
“I don’t mind giving up the number one spot, then.”
“Since when have you been a loser?” Wencel challenged him.
“Since I don’t like being manipulated. I told you. I’ll do the minimum required of me. If that makes for bad TV or whatever you call this thing, I don’t give a damn.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Be careful with those teeth. I can hear you grinding them from here. But I suppose Angus included dental in the sweet deal he gave you, right?”
The look on Wencel’s face was priceless. This guy was so easy to rile up Jamie almost had fun doing it. Almost, because the asshole looked too similar to his younger brother, and that didn’t sit well with Jamie.
***
“We will modulate your voice so it doesn’t sound like you,” Angus said once their little interview was over.
“I don’t have a problem with not doing that. You can even show my face,” Hearst said.
Angus gave him a stricken look. “But some of the details were, um, a little graphic?”
“Wasn’t that what you wanted?” Hearst shot back.
“Yeah, but… you should sign the NDA first.”
“I told you. I can’t right now. I need to have a lawyer look it over.”
If Angus thought he’d string him along, he would do the same thing. A battle of wills ensued.
“You realize that we cannot pay you until you’ve signed the papers.”
“I am well aware.” Hearst stood and carefully pushed the chair back to its place. He rested his hands on the lacquered wood and stared at Angus. “I believe I’ve provided you with enough entertaining material on Jamie.”
“Yes. And, as I told you, we can be very generous. Only if you sign, though.”
“I will after I get in touch with someone who can help me.”
“We do have a legal team--”
“You have a legal team. That wouldn’t be too kosher, though? For me to use the people on your payroll for advice.”
“At least take the NDA with you, look it over.”
“No,” Hearst refused firmly. “It will remain in your care until I have secured legal counsel for myself.”
Angus shook Hearst’s hand with an apologetic smile on his face. “Thank you for coming here today, Hearst. It’s been a pleasure.”
He couldn’t say the same, but he did shake Angus’s hand back and smiled. Any wrong move and they’d have to prepare one hell of an explanation for their shit. The trap was laid; if the greedy mofos running LiveFeed weren’t careful, it would snap closed on them just like that.
***
“How did it go with Angus?” Wencel asked later in the evening when they were both in the motel room after their busy day.
“He wanted me to sign an NDA. I refused.”
“What? Why would you do that?” Wencel stared at him, without hiding his alarm.
Hearst shrugged. “I think I need to get a new prescription for my glasses. I couldn’t read all those tiny letters.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” his brother asked, this time showing concern.
“Why would I tell you about such a thing? I’m a grownup. It’s not like you are supposed to take care of such things for me, right? And since it’s on grandpa’s dime that I’m going to get a new pair, I don’t see why you’re so bothered about it.”
Wen made a disappointed face. “You make it sound like I don’t care for you at all, and that’s not true. So, what did you do all day? If your meeting with Angus was so short?”
“It wasn’t short. I gave him all the information he asked me about. It’s just that I postponed signing the NDA.”
He hated to read relief on Wen’s face. After living the life he’d lived so far, knowing – unlike his younger sibling – about their family’s many failures, how could Wen be so gullible? Why did he think that these people, who had hired him on a whim, wouldn’t kick him to the curb at the first sign he wasn’t of any use to them?
“So you will sign it after all. Do you have the papers with you? I’ll look them over and read it for you.”
Hearst plopped himself down on his bed. He closed his eyes and linked his hands over his belly. “It doesn’t seem legal to do so. No, I will search for a lawyer and have a professional look it over. You don’t want me to sign something shady, right, brother?”
“Damn, I had no idea you could be so annoying,” Wen said with a huff. “You’re basically telling me that you don’t trust me. That hurts.”
“Good. You didn’t trust me enough to let me know why you’ve had it so bad for Jamie. I suppose you do need to get a little taste of your own medicine, Wen.”
“Angus can pay you quite a bit of money. But I suppose he won’t yet since everything you gave him is unusable at this point. Did you plan all this? Are you trying to squeeze the producers of the show for more money?”
Hearst smiled, still keeping his eyes closed. “And if I am, what of it? We’re not exactly rich, right?”
Wencel chuckled. “Ah, I see what you did there. But how are you going to afford a lawyer?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll find someone willing to work pro bono.”
“That sounds like a pretty long shot. You’re just complicating things. And I don’t think Angus is going to shell out more cash to pay you. They are working on a budget, regardless of all the glamor surrounding the show.”
“What glamor? We’re in the cheapest motel room there is. I’m worried about little four-legged squeaking tenants and their six-legged scuttling friends from the state of the bathroom.”
“Come on, it’s not that bad. But you do have a point, and that’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you. They don’t have a lot of money to throw at extra spicy content, so keep that in mind. Sign that NDA before Angus changes his mind.”
“I’m not worried about that.”
“You should be.”
“Stop being so impatient. I’ll get to it when I get to it. And seeing how the next segment of LiveFeed entertainment will focus on Jamie’s being reunited with his folks, I believe Angus can afford to wait.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Angus told me,” Hearst replied, ignoring the suspicion in his brother’s voice. “The part about Jamie being a sexual deviant will come later.”
“Deviant?” Wen asked with a grunt. “Don’t tell me he forced you to do weird things.”
“But I thought you guys liked that sort of spicy details. I bared it all to Angus. I told him everything. By the way, he didn’t look as shocked as you sound now. I’m guessing he’s the adventurous type in the bedroom.”
“I don’t think I want to hear any more,” Wen murmured.
“Good. Although you’ll hear it all once it goes live on the show. Or are you going to hide somewhere with a pillow over your head?”
“It’s way too clear that your association with Jamie Vayne hurt you more than I thought it possibly could. It’s good that we’re taking him down. This way, you’ll be free of him completely.”
“Yeah,” Hearst said, turning over on one side. Manipulating his brother into confirming what Angus had only vaguely mentioned had worked. He wasn’t keen on throwing his brother under the bus, but at this point it was up to Wen to decide if he was a decent human being or at least cared about pretending to be one. “What’s the angle you’re going to work regarding Jamie and his just-out-of-jail parents?”
“The official theme is about Jamie facing his demons.”
“His demons being his mom and dad? That’s weird.”
“No, not like that. We are going to expose him as being a neglectful son who didn’t care at all about his family once they were thrown in jail.”
“They were thrown in jail because they were fraudsters. And Jamie was ten at the time. It’s not exactly like he could do anything to comfort his parents.”
“Yeah, but we’re not children all our lives. After turning eighteen, he could’ve reached out to them. But he didn’t. He’s a coward, he’s a leaver, all that jazz. You know, interior demons are the best.”
“That’s quite a weak play, if you ask me,” Hearst said, his heart beating faster. It was a good thing that he was keeping his back to Wen because he couldn’t let his brother read his face right now.
“I’m not asking you,” Wen said pointedly. “Angus gave it his okay. That’s good enough for me.”
“I’m sure it is,” Hearst replied.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing beyond what I just said. I’m glad you found your place, Wen. It fits you.”
His brother laughed softly. “It sure does.”
TBC
Thank you for reading!
If you’re interested in my other books, they are all part of Smashwords Summer sale, so they are available at a discount. You can find them all on my profile
@Derek - Hearst is not that easily impressed for sure! And all that experience with Xpress had to have taught him how to find the right information... About Wencel, yeah, in a way, although not dramatical, he'll get his just deserts.
@DavidB - oh, you can trust my 'better angels' :) Despite how dark things look now, about five-six chapters from now, you'll read their happy end.
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