Buy Me a Dream, page 32
With Kyle on my side I immediately felt more confident. I had no doubt we would win the first round of this fight and the Judge would rule that I could continue representing Sasha. A Cease and Desist Order is not legally binding, it is just a lawyer's opinion that the law has been breached. It needs the backing of a Judge before it is actually enforceable. When we win round one on Friday B&M's lawyers will then pursue their claim against me for Breach of Contract. If I win that case they will Appeal the decision. Then we go around again, and again, if necessary. The law was never designed for the small guy to win. Fines are a perfect example of that; say two guys get caught speeding; both are 20 MPH over the speed-limit. Both get fined, say $250. So far the law is perfectly fair. Not so. The first man is a successful businessman making $5 million a year and the fine is similar to the tip he would give a waiter after a nice meal. The second guy is unemployed and losing $250 is a near mortal blow to his lifestyle. So, if the law was fair the first man should have been fined say, $2.5 million, or more. It still wouldn't hurt as much as the second guy's fine though.
The irony for me is that most people would see me as guy number one in my example. I'm not, and if this legal problem goes badly I will be wiped out, financially.
I call Bibi, yet again, and get no reply. I hope she hasn't had an accident; it is unlike her to not return calls. I can't be to blame this time, surely? I haven't had my hand on her "squishy bits" again, unless I have started to sleep walk. Just to make sure I go to her bedroom. I knock but get no answer. The door is just resting closed so I slowly push it open. 'Bibi! It's me,' I call. 'Are you there..?'
I can see her bed is made and the room is neat. There is no sign of her things, or Gizmo, either. Then I see it on the bed. A note.
My hand shakes as I read her familiar neat, tiny handwriting: "I'm so, so sorry Mark. I can't hurt you anymore. I love you as much as I hate you. Bibi."
***
Panic races through me as her choice of words sink in. I can't hurt you anymore. Oh God! The multiple meanings rip through my brain. The main one terrifies me; she can't hurt me - because she is no longer here. I struggle with that. I've known Bibi for a long time and I never would have suspected she could be a "jumper". But the note suggests it. I urgently look for a meaning that takes that one off the table. I can't hurt you anymore. She has been hurting me, but - she can't continue to do it? That makes sense grammatically, but not logically. She hasn't been hurting me. I've hurt her. I've caused her mental pain. But, she has been totally loyal and has worked hard to help me get my business going. Besides, I haven't experienced any pain since we started this venture...Until today! - The same day that Bibi decides to leave. Before I get served legal papers.
Today's pain came from Bird & Morello and Bibi used to work for Bird & Morello. No.... Surely that's not it. She and I were a team. Darcy never showed anything other than polite indifference towards her. She definitely never bonded with Staci either; no one did. Why would she turn against me and side with B&M? It didn't make sense.
But I still preferred this meaning to the suicide one.
I walked back to my house and entered, walking straight into a live take. I stood near Marcus and watched and listened, but my mind was elsewhere. I was going over the list of things I needed to tell them all when I heard Marcus say, 'That was pretty good. Sasha just before the second chorus how about you give an audible count in... One - two - three, then go into it. We can alter the counting in post; digitally make it sound like it is someone else's voice...'
'I'm sorry to interrupt,' I called loudly as I walked into the middle of the lounge and stood near Cindi and her keyboards, 'but, I need you all to stop doing this... right now, and join me in the dining room for an urgent meeting.'
'But Mark... we are so close.' Marcus said, with more than a hint of irritation in his voice.
'Right now!' I said, stridently, as I headed towards the dining room. 'Every one of you.' I added.
Nick was the last to arrive, having to extract himself from his drum-kit and come from the sun room.
The only people who weren't there were Bibi and Ange, who was spending the day at Albie Drake's factory. When they had all gathered around I began. 'First up. Bibi has gone. And by gone I presume she means she has ceased working with us. She left me a note that could also mean she has driven her car off a cliff.' I was greeted with concerned looks.
'Have you called the cops?' Sasha asked, her eyes burning accusingly into me. 'Is it because of something you did to her?'
'No. To both questions. It's too soon for a missing person call,' I shook my head. 'I don't suppose any of you have talked to her this morning?'
'I was talking to her last night when she got a call,' Ali said, after no one else volunteered anything. 'She seemed really evasive when she realized who had called. She excused herself and went to another room to talk. She never came back.' She shook her head. 'I thought it was little weird, but not anything serious.'
'When we finish here, would the two of you,' I pointed to both Ali and Sasha, 'try calling her? I've had no luck. But that could be because Bibi might, somehow, be part of a lawsuit that my former employer is bringing against me. They also employed Bibi, and the timing of her disappearance is suspicious.'
'Was that the stuff that guy delivered to you earlier?' Marcus asked, a concerned look had crept onto his face.
'Yes. Somehow Bird & Morello have not only worked out that I am managing Sasha, they believe she should be their client, based on the fact that I discovered her when I was their employee.'
Sasha's face visibly reddened. 'I would never want them as my manager. What does this mean? Why does it matter when you discovered me?'
'They would claim that they paid me to find new talent and as such any and all, I found while I was employed by them were to fulfill my contract and therefore theirs to sign.' I could see Sasha was quite agitated by what she was hearing.
'Don't I get some fucking say in the matter?' she almost yelled.
Caz moved over beside her and put her arm around her and gave her a squeeze. 'Of course you do, sweetie. It's your career.'
'She's right,' I said. 'This is not your problem, Sasha. It's mine. You just happen to be the ground that the battle is to be fought over.'
Sasha looked at me with a look that managed to combine concern and anger. There was something else there as well, but I couldn't put my finger on it. 'What can I do to help?'
'I'll need a sworn statement from you about the first time I came up to you after you were busking. It will need to state the date and the time of night. I'll help you draft it.'
'Is that all?'
'I'll also need a statement to the effect that you came to the office to get some career advice - only. Things like the type of material you should concentrate on performing.'
'But that's not true.'
'It certainly is - for the record. I never once offered to represent you during that meeting. Did I?'
'No, you didn't.' A sly smile crept over her face. 'But I knew you wanted to. I watched your facial expressions when I sang my song to you.'
I gave her a half-smile in return, and said, 'a facial expression doesn't count as an offer. And, there is no need to mention anything like that in the statement.'
'Of course I won’t. I'm not an idiot. Why is all this bullshit happening when I won't be signing with them under any circumstances?'
'Mainly to hurt me. I signed a non-compete clause in my termination settlement with them and they are suing me for Breach of that Contract for $4,000,000.
Every face I looked at when I scanned the room had its jaw dropped and mouth wide open.
'Don't want to be rude, man. But can you cover that?' Marcus asked.
'If I sell everything, including this house, sell a kidney and sperm, daily, for the next ten years. Then... No.' I shrugged my shoulders, 'because I have already committed over a million on you lot, and the videos and a hundred other things. I would come up short by a good amount.'
'You could assign Sasha to me. We could claim you were only ever acting as an agent for me. I'd pay you a good finder’s fee, Mark, and the $4 million lawsuit goes away.'
'Marcus, I'm a bloody lawyer. Don't try and pull layman bullshit over me.' I looked at him and his face seemed to be registering hurt, so I added, 'But, assuming your intention was to actually help me, and not screw me - thank you.'
I gave them all a moment to consider the implications of this news to their careers. I was about to add something when Ali spoke. 'I'm really sorry that all of this has happened, Mark. I hope you find a way to beat those people. To change the mood in the room we need to give some thought to the great work we have all done and how it is just starting to bear fruit,' she smiled, and for a moment I had a flashback, and it was Kira smiling at me. That lovely genuine smile that made life feel good. 'Today, Sasha just accepted her 450th "friend" on Facebook.'
'Bullshit - I don't even know 450 people, and I only have about six friends.' Sasha complained, adamantly.
Ali laughed. 'Trust me Sasha, it's a good thing. You've only been on Facebook for less than a week and 450 is a good start. Some stars have well over a million. You might need another week, possibly two, to get to that level.' She gave Sasha a grin.
'I've never even seen the page. Why are people becoming my friend?'
'Because you let them into your life and share your special thoughts with them. They like it when you tell them what you are about to do.'
I had told Ali to start up Sasha's Facebook account a while back, along with a Twitter account, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and anything else that she thought would be a good idea. I hadn't followed up on it, but it seemed Ali was doing a great job. With Bibi apparently gone from my life I would need to move Ali into that role, at least until I could find a suitable replacement. I guess that meant even more work for Carla. But she is young and social media doesn't count as work, I'm led to believe.
'I need to see what I'm saying to these people, Ali.' Sasha said, 'I've got a hard-ass, fuck you, image to maintain.' She laughed when she said it.
'Also, a sweet, funny one.' Ali countered. 'Anyway, it is all coming along nicely, but the best news of all is you have managed to grow your daily sales of Bulletproof Dreams every day so far. Yesterday was special; in those 24 hours we had over 2,000 downloads. YouTube views are steadily building. We had over 8,000 yesterday.'
'Make sure you start bragging about the Snakes tour on all those sites and give Doug a call and see if you can get him to cross-promote Sasha on their social media outlets.'
'Both Vanya and Corey have been mentioning Sasha a lot on their sites,' Ali said. 'I think the two of them are the biggest reason we have picked up so many followers, so quickly. Vanya has over 500,000 followers.'
And two lovers. I made a mental note to call her soon. I have a feeling I was going to need some of what she had, over the next few weeks.
***
After the meeting, the mood reached the point where Marcus suggested everybody take a complete break and get away from the house for the rest of the day. The music they were creating was sounding mechanical and, quite simply wasn't happening. It was decided they would all drive to the beach and spend the day unwinding - a game of beach volley-ball was to be included, along with a B.B.Q. Caz and Sasha decided they didn't want to deal with the sand and opted to remain at the house and use the pool.
Sasha was troubled. Mark was in deep-shit and she had a strong suspicion it was her fault. It was stupid to go and see Staci Bird about the contract Mark had prepared for her. What was she thinking? She knew, of course - she was being a rebellious smart-ass. Pretending to be a rock-star when all she was, was a busker. She understood that everything that had happened to her over the past months was because of Mark. He had proven himself to her on so many occasions, he had spent an absolute fortune on giving her a shot at the big-time and her childish act had come back to bite him. To probably end his career... And maybe, hers.
'A penny for your thoughts?' Caz said, as they lay side-by-side on lounges, a few feet from the sparkling pool.
Sasha turned to her and she had a tear in her eye. 'I've fucked-up, Caz. I'm responsible for all this shit that's happened to Mark.'
Caz frowned, 'How so, Baby?'
'I went back to Bird & Morello a second time and had a meeting with Staci Bird. I showed her the contract Mark wanted me to sign. I even wrote Top Bitch, in her office that day. She's a fucking business-woman and a total bitch. I'll bet she's even gunna find a way to claim that's her song. It sucks. I've ruined everybody's careers.'
'Mark doesn't know about this?'
'No. I never thought it would come up. Once I signed with him I figured it was a done deal.'
Caz rolled off her lounge and sat beside Sasha. 'You were just looking out for your interests. You're not a lawyer, Baby. How could you know what would come of it?' She put her hand on Sasha's thigh and gently rubbed it. 'You need to tell him. He'll know how to handle it. But right now you need to stop kicking yourself over something you had no understanding about. It will only bring you down and won't achieve a damn thing. Now, give me a smile.'
Sasha remained stone-faced.
'I said... give me a smile.' Caz's hand began rubbing her thigh in longer and longer strokes, her fingers spread wide to tantalize as much flesh as possible.
Sasha's mouth began to curl ever so slightly in the corners.
Caz's finger-tips touched the fabric of Sasha's bikini bottom on the next up stroke and Sasha smiled a little more.
'That's more like it,' Caz said soothingly, as she leaned in to lie beside Sasha. 'But you can do better.' Her hand continued to rub and Sasha moved her body back slightly to make room for her. The fabric was no longer an issue because Caz's hand was now completely inside it, finding places that absolutely produced a smile. But the smile was soon hidden - completely covered as Caz's mouth closed over it and gently gave her a long, probing kiss.
Twenty feet away on the winding path that led from the house, Ange stood, completely immobilized by what he was seeing.
***
Friday, 28th. 1:15 P.M.
The courtroom is a more daunting place when it is your balls that are potentially for the chop, as opposed to the paid lawyer advocating that said balls be allowed to live another day. Too melodramatic? Well, you change places with me and see.
The hearing was to decide if I could continue managing Sasha, or if their Cease and Desist order would become enacted. Kyle had done a fine job pleading my case, so far. Our opponents seemed poorly prepared and had presented hardly any documentation supporting their claim of contractual ownership of Sasha. We hadn't expected them to treat it so casually, in fact, neither of my ex-bosses had even bothered to turn up. Our opposition today was Albert Jones of Crombie, Jones, Richie and Dart, and one supporting junior counsel. He had a name but I forgot it.
Jones is a dour little man desperately in need of a personality. As far as him being a charismatic courtroom performer, he's not, he's a dud. Kyle on the other hand exudes charm and intelligence, but manages to present himself deferentially to the judge and it is no surprise when I hear Judge McKenzie finish his short summary of the case with the words, 'This Petition is denied.' - and hammers down his gavel with a sharp "thump" that reverberates around the wood-paneled room..
I shake Kyle's hand and thank him.
'We need to find out what they really want,' he says to me, as we prepare to leave our bench.
'Are you going to bring it up?'
'Let's see who folds first. Judging from how Jones handled these proceedings I believe he had no interest in stopping you do your work with Sasha. The better you do your job, the more it will cost you to keep her.'
'So, if we feign disinterest,' I offered, 'they might think we have some aces in our hand that they don't know about?'
'Exactly.'
Kyle and I had gone through my options the day before. We had seriously considered selling my contract with Sasha to a third party, (not Marcus) but still retaining control over it. We decided against that as it would definitely invite deep investigation that would ultimately expose it as a sham and result in further lawsuits. I was trapped, and I begrudgingly congratulated Staci and Darcy for the way they had played me.
As poker players go Albert Jones sucked. We had just reached the steps at the entrance to the courthouse when his junior counsel reached us, having been dispatched, at a run, by old poker-face, who couldn't and wouldn't do that himself.
'Gentlemen, wait, please,' he panted, breathlessly, to us as we made our way down the steps about twenty-feet in front of him. 'Mr. Jones would like a final word with you before you leave.'
Kyle and I exchanged a smirk.
'We would be happy to wait and hear what Mr. Jones has to say,' Kyle replied. 'But we don't have all day, son. Maybe you could go back and carry him out to us?' The disparaging remarks were not by accident, and neither was the requirement that Jones come to us.
'No need,' Junior answered, 'he's right behind me.'
Within a few seconds Jones had joined us. Clutching his hurriedly re-filled briefcase against his chest and looking slightly disheveled as the sun's rays bounced, blindingly off his sweating bald head.
'Thank you for waiting, gentlemen,' he said, between puffs. Congratulations on the result.' he added without enthusiasm, as he stopped two steps above us. Albert wasn't a tall man and this perspective gave him some psychological assistance.
'You are too kind, Albert,' Kyle said.
'Of course we fully intended for that to happen,' Albert continued as if Kyle hadn't spoken. 'The main game is when we will be unleashing our real case. Our client is resolute about getting compensated for Mr. Caron's wrongdoing.'
'Albert. Your case is weak and you know it.'
'That is your opinion, Mr. Shepherd. Perhaps you don't have all the facts available. My client has deep pockets regarding this matter and an intimate knowledge of your client.' He smiled, ingratiatingly at me when he mentioned me, as if I wasn't standing there. Within punching distance.
