Jake Addams May 1st, 20XX

“Get closer and hold that position!”

The camera flashed brightly in my eyes and made me lightly wince despite my best efforts not to move. My partner, an established athlete that was hailed as the brand’s poster child and easily within the top ten of most influential athletes turned whatever, leaned forwards towards me as the photographer had demanded and flashed a dry smile at the camera, oozing with easy-going confidence.

I tried my best to smile despite the uncomfortable position I was put in but despite my best effort we still had to retake the same four shots over and over again until the photographer was satisfied.

Another model, a non-athlete, barely restrained a guffaw as I was called out again and again but I chose to ignore it, realizing that I didn’t have nearly enough pull to get enough with punching him in the face.

Just get through this Jake. The sooner you get this over with you get paid and we move on with life, I’ll probably never have to deal with this guy again.

It must have bothered me enough to show on my face because as I handed in the clothes and gear that had been loaned to me and prepared to go home, Aaron Cyrus, the model I had been filming with before, walked up to me and handed me a drink with a comforting expression.

“Listen kid, don't get yourself too down. This guy’s directing is kind of hard to follow but you did alright for a first-timer.”

Despite the comments that could be easily taken as backhanded the genuineness in his voice made it hard to take offense. Even if he had been insulting me, I don’t think even he noticed it.

I accepted the drink gratefully as the studio had been pretty hot that day.

“Thank you, Mr. Cyrus.”

He coughed uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head as he only somewhat aggressively corrected me.

“It’s just Aaron for now kid. I’m not that much older than you… I don’t think.”

Age was a pretty sensitive subject for everyone in the industry whether for sports, dancing, singing or whatever it was.

The only industry that seemed to take age in stride was acting and even then, one would have to keep up with themselves to be able to remain relevant past the age of 40.

For an athlete?

Athletes were considered old news by their thirties and had to rush to find a back-up career if they didn’t already have one lined up. The usual options were modeling or acting or coaching if one was good enough at the sport but not good looking enough to break into other industries.

I immediately apologized for my blunder, not wanting it to look like I was purposefully commenting on his age as some younger talents tended to and found myself inviting him out for a drink.

Non-alcoholic of course as I knew he had an event coming up.

“As nice as that sounds I have somewhere to be right now, but I’ll take you up on it another time.”

He held out his phone to me for me to put in my phone number and quickly sent me a text to give me his.

“Feel free to call me whenever kid, I’m nicer than I look.”

And with that, he was off.

First I tried to call Sparrow, intending on asking if she needed any help with the showcase but after the third call I figured she was busy and stopped calling.

I still had the whole day off since I had taken it off school to go to the modeling gig so I sent a text to my step-mother, thinking I could at least relieve her of the kids for the evening and let her go out with friends.

I hung up the phone and began to head to the car when my phone suddenly lit up with a call from an unfamiliar number.

“Hello? Is this Jake Addams’s cell?”

“Yes.”

It was a female voice on the other line of the phone, slightly breathier than was comfortable to listen to but sheer competence seemed to exude through the phone.

“This is Aleka of Volui. I am the CEO’s head secretary and am calling to ask if you received the meeting date and location that was mailed to you?”

That she gave her name and position without me asking, put me at ease but I wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

“Sorry? I haven’t received anything from Volui?”

Well, that wasn’t completely true. I regularly received emails from Will or Nikolas asking for updates on Finn but they were hardly anything official.

Occasionally Finn would blank as well and send me some schoolwork from his official work email.

It was incredibly difficult to pretend that I didn’t know that such a slob was actually such an important figure in that company but with all the clues around me it would have been hard not to have realized by now. What clinched the deal was the news article that had said I had saved the acting chairman of Volui even though the only one I had actively saved was Finn… and the others inside of him I guess.

She paused at the unexpected response and the sound of aggressive clicking of a mouse pad and ruffling papers streamed through the phone line.

“Ah, sorry about that Addams. Would you be interested in meeting up with a representative of the company? It would probably be more convenient for you to hear it all in person, it won’t take long”

I checked my watch to double-check the time. The kids wouldn’t be out of school until 3 which gave me an hour and a half, I could afford to kill some time before going to get them.

“It should be okay if it's just for an hour-“

I was about to concede when I remembered whose company it was and what had happened the last time, I made plans on the condition that I could be back in time to watch my siblings.

“I really have somewhere to be by three o’clock though so it really can’t take too long. If it's okay with you could we do it another day?”

She sounded reluctant and rushed out her next sentence.

“Sorry to be pushy Mr. Addams but the boss would like to see this contract signed by tomorrow at the latest. If it works for you would you mind meeting with a representative? I can guarantee you’ll be done in half an hour.”

So, I could expect Finn back tomorrow then. From yet another one of his mysterious and unexplained absences.

“If you can promise I can be out by 2:45 at the latest I don’t mind.”

“Of course, Mr. Addams. I'll mail you the contents of the contract now so you can read it over as you head to the location, it's not too far from where you are now, and make your decision when you get there okay?”

She waited for my confirmation and then hung up the phone, leaving only a dial tone in my ear. Seconds later my phone beeped and both a file and a map address with detailed instructions arrived in my email. She must have been preparing it as we spoke.

Following her plan, I read through the contract as I walked over to the coffee shop that was specified in the email.

It was in a rougher part of town as well as one that I was unfamiliar with, so I had to refer to what I originally thought were overly detailed instructions multiple times but finally arrived in front of an old pirate-themed shop.

No matter how I look at it, this is a bar, right?

I shook my head, thinking that if the secretary was anything like Finn then the shop probably did sell coffee, but to call it a coffee shop was a stretch.

A waitress dressed in long black stockings and a short baroque maid outfit greeted me at the door with a warm smile that was much too motherly to suit the place she currently worked.

“Hello! I'm Robyn, I’ll be your server today!”

The familiar name bounced around my mind for a bit before it finally clicked.

“Ah! Weren’t you on the news not too long ago? Volunteer of the year?”

She smiled modestly but still nodded with pride, as one would when being hailed for being an upstanding citizen.

She was pretty as well, in a very soft and calm way. A very ‘older sister’ or ‘motherly’ type of vibe.

“That was me but it was just a fluff piece. It only made the news because there was nothing else to report I'm sure.”

She settled me down in a private room with a cup of water and a menu.

“Will it just be you today sir?”

I shook my head as I looked through the menu.

“I’m waiting for someone else and you can just call me Jake… ma’am. I don’t think I'm old enough to be called sir quite yet.”

Her large eyes crinkled warmly at my probably overly defensive tone and she nodded teasingly, even going as far as to poke me on the forehead. It wasn’t offensive in the least though and even made me chuckle, albeit at my own expense.

“My apologies, Sir Jake.”

I realized that I had brought it onto myself and was about to place an order when a harsh hand laid itself heavily onto my shoulder.

I grunted at the impact and spun around to see who had assaulted me like that only to see the now-familiar figure of Nikolas towering over the waitress.

Well, not towering as they were about the same height, especially with those wicked heels she had on as a part of her uniform but his rage, which rolled off him in visible waves made him seem larger than he was.

“Robyn! didn’t we agree that you didn’t have to work here anymore? And even if you insist on working there is no need for you to have to resort to flirting with the customers, we’re better off now.”

Although he spoke quietly he enunciated every world so clearly that I couldn’t help but overhear it from my position at the table.

I wondered whether I should jump in and calm him down when the kind and soft-looking woman suddenly grabbed him by the ear and stomped on his foot, forcing him to all but kneel over in pain.

“oho! Look who got a fancy job and thinks he can tell me what to do now. Or oh! Are you gonna tell me to go home and start cooking up a fancy dinner for the kids? Or are you going to go hand in my resignation for me and tell me that you’ll look after me for the rest of my life?”

Nikolas, who for the first time since I had met him looked quite helpless suddenly did something, I never thought I would ever have to hear.

He whimpered.

Such a pitiful sound coming from the usually 100% stoic golem that worked with Finn was so out of place that it even made me question reality for a second, but Robyn paid it no heed and even twisted his ear harder until even I could feel it.

“What do we say, Nikkie?”

“ai. AI! I'm sorry okay! I lost my temper! But can you let me go now? That’s a client you’re so merrily humiliating me in front of! ”

She quickly let go of his ear like it was made of hot steel and reverted to the soft and kind visage of before like the stern iron matron had never existed and restored Nikolas to his usually composed appearance in seconds.

“Why didn’t you say anything! I thought that was a friend. Oh-“

She began to half bow to me in apology but was stopped by both myself and Nik.

“No that-“

“You don’t have to lower yourself for this kid-“

She smiled sheepishly but didn’t do anymore and quickly took our orders and dashed out of the room.

Nik finally took a seat across me, frozen persona back on and set the contract in front of me.

“You’ve already read it all I presume so I'm not going to go into that much detail. Volui Is prepared to fully invest in you and make you into the next Aaron Cyrus is we can. The Boss is trying to branch out into the athletics field. the complete opposite from our volui that mainly focuses on Acting and to a lesser extent idol. It might be a bit of pressure and a lot of work but we promise to be conscientious of your schooling and other responsibilities that you would otherwise be spending your time on. Of course, you will be in line to receive the numerous scholarships that Volui will be offering. I don’t know where you are now but I can guarantee you that no matter where you go you’ll never find a deal as good as this.

The boss even scheduled in a contract renegotiation in a year to make sure you are okay with it….. even My contract doesn’t come up for renegotiation for four years.”

I could swear that a somewhat malicious look crossed his eyes just then but I chose not to comment and instead read over it in detail once again.

Regardless of how unfriendly he was, he was speaking the truth. For a kid like myself to be promised the same resources as Aaron Cyrus as well as so many opportunities to renegotiate and even the chance to pick my schedules… it was next to impossible."

That was why it was so painful to push the paper back towards Nikolas.

“ Thanks for all this but… the truth is that I didn’t get this from my own worth but because Fi- Sorry, your boss wanted it for me right? It wouldn’t feel right to take it out of someone else's hands just because I had connections”

Nikolas looked at me blankly, like hot garbage was spewing out of my mouth rather than what I felt were rational words.

“ So what? You want to reject the best deal of your life because you feel like your friend is so biased that he would risk investing all of this money into you because you were a ‘friend’? Sorry to break it to you kid but the boss isn't naive and is nowhere near as kind-hearted as that. Even before you saved his life and all that you were already in consideration.”

He suddenly loosened his tie that was always pulled right up to his adams apple and loosened a button, showing how serious he was.

“ Look, kid. Listen to me, a person who came from a somewhat similar situation as yours. I know that you’re worried about your two step-sibling's future tuition and other expenses, Worried about rent and about how far you can last until your dad's money finally runs out. Your step-mother tries her best but considering that she started saving so late in life and had kids so early on there is only so much she can do. If you want to help them then take the contract. When renegotiations open for the contract you can work hard and make the boss include family care benefits into it. That's what I'm planning to do.”

He pushed the paper at me and got up, fixing himself back up.

“The boss won't be back until tomorrow evening so take the night to think it over. All this nobility and honor is great in its place but it should be left to the heroes, right? To those who can afford it.”

And with that, he swung his blazer over his shoulders and sauntered out.

Heaving a big sigh I did the same, only pausing to shove the contract into my bag. I stopped by the counter to pay only to realize that he had somehow taken care of it even during his quick exit.

I left a rather large tip on the table and sprinted out to my car, cursing as I did so.

“ I knew I couldn’t trust them!”

The kid’s school let out at 3 pm sharp on the other side of town but it was already 2:55.

I was late.