“You’re pissing me off with this crap. You’ve set it up so that if things don’t turn out, you can point the finger at me. What’s the real reason you didn’t take it? Remember that ‘two-way street’ comment?” I shot back.
“I guess I was scared. I’ve seen what going to Wesleyan had done to us. If I went to the UK, it would be worse.”
“Well, at least you’re able to tell me the real reason. But let me ask you, could it be any worse than this?” I asked.
I heard her take a deep sigh.
“I’m going to do us both a favor. We clearly need some serious time apart. I’m going to accept the fellowship to go study abroad. I’ll be gone for a year. You need to learn to be your own person. I need to be away from you. The only way we can survive this is if we each learn to be our own person. I want you to promise me something,” she told me.
“What’s that?” I asked, sure a deal-breaker was coming.
“You won’t contact me while I’m gone. I have to get over my need to know what’s going on in your life, and you have to free me from your claim on me. If we ever want to be friends, we have to do this. If we don’t, I can’t see us making it. We’ll end up hating each other, and I don’t want that,” she told me.
“So will we be friends when you come back?” I asked.
“David, I have no idea. But we have to set each other free. I suspect I’ll always have a special place in my heart for you, but I don’t have a crystal ball. We can’t promise each other anything, or that defeats the whole purpose of me going away.”
I felt the tears on my cheeks. My worst fear had come true. I felt responsible for this.
“I’m sorry, Tami, I really am.”
“Don’t be. All the signs were there, I just refused to believe them. No one is at fault. Please become the man I know you can be. I’ll be very disappointed if you don’t. I love you with all my heart, and this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But I know it has to be me. I’m breaking up with you,” she said, and then sobbed.
The connection ended, along with my world. There was a huge hollow place in my heart where Tami used to live. It felt like she’d been ripped out of my life. I put my phone down and curled up in a little ball. Even though I saw the logic in this, I wished it hadn’t happened like this. She might not love me when she came back, but I could never imagine not loving her. She was the one true love of my life. I would respect her wishes and work on becoming the best I could be.
THERE WAS A KNOCK ON my door. It was Kat. She took one look at me and just held me.
“Oh, sexy boy. She is just stupid right now. Give her time. She will find out what she loses,” Kat assured me. “Go wash your face. Is time to go see your ... supermodel friend.”
I always felt better when I was with Kat. She was a real nurturer. She would make some guy very lucky when she picked him.
I did as I was told and went downstairs and found that Sasha had hailed a cab. I sat up front because of my long legs and gave the cabbie the address. The doorman recognized me and told me Adrienne expected us.
We met Tyler at the door, and she had lunch already on the table. There were five salads and a steak and salad. Adrienne came in, lighting up the room as she always does. I introduced her to everyone.
“Okay, who’s worked with David?” she asked.
Kat and Sarah said they had. Sasha surprised me.
“He and I are doing a Jade shoot tomorrow.”
“What the hell, David? Isn’t that three in one week?” Tyler asked.
“Yeah.”
“Who’s your agent here in New York?” Adrianne asked.
“I don’t have one,” I told her. “Clare Thomas usually handles my assignments, but I haven’t heard from her since I went to San Francisco.”
“Crap, Clare Thomas is no longer with Ford. She’s going back to school to get her MBA. She started at the University of Chicago in June,” Tyler told me.
“So who’s my agent?” I asked.
“You’re now a ‘pool model.’ It means you’re on your own. But they get the pleasure of collecting 35% of your income when someone calls in and asks for you specifically,” Tyler told me.
“Your contract lets you freelance, correct?” Adrianne asked.
“I only pay them if they find me work,” I told her.
“What do you pay Kendal and Tom? What do they do?” Tyler asked.
“They handle my business, and if I need a contract for a job they review it or write it. I pay them 10% of everything.”
“What if we could make you the face of Jade?” Tyler asked.
“Hang on, let me ask Devin,” I said, and I dialed his number.
“Hey, my mom is looking for you,” I threatened him.
“She better not be. What’s up?”
“Do you and Lou want to spend the afternoon with some models and talk a little business?”
“Of course,” he answered me.
“Tell Lou to take a shower and to not wear jeans. If we go out for dinner, it’ll be somewhere nice and you’ll be buying.”
“Maybe I’ll take one, too,” Devin confessed.
“Okay, I just got you face-to-face with the owner of Range Sports,” I said as I pulled out my tablet. “Here’s my current contract with him.”
I handed it to Tyler.
“He’s also less than thrilled with Ford’s talent. I think you could pick up his one-off stuff today. I’m a free agent at the end of the year. You just have to make it worth my while,” I told Adrienne with tongue firmly in my cheek.
At the end of each year, there was a buyout clause. If either of us wanted out, we could, for a price.
“Are you flexible?” Adrienne asked me.
“Morally or physically?”
“Oh, sexy boy is being bad,” Kat said.
Adrienne just rolled her eyes at me.
WHEN DEVIN ARRIVED, he went with Tyler and Adrienne to her office. They invited me in after a while.
“I’ve looked at what Jade sells, and I’m comfortable with you working with them. I’m a little pissed Ford didn’t clear it with me beforehand. We need to get you an agent, now that Clare is gone, to keep on top of situations like this. Ford could have sent you to Nike, which would have breached our contract,” Devin said, heating up.
“You do know I’d never do that, don’t you?” I asked him.
“Yes, I do know, and believe me I appreciate it,” he told me and then smiled. “I have a little reward for you. Since you’ve gotten us so much free press, I’m calling a special board meeting tomorrow. We’re going to add New York as an official extra shoot.
“The marketing boys want you back in the studio taking pictures for a new campaign. We’re going to combine all your death-defying acts into a commercial. We’ve partnered with an energy drink manufacturer. We have the video, but we need the photos for the print ad campaign.”
That meant I was being paid the same as for my trips to England and San Francisco. This was an unexpected thank you. Devin might actually have been scared my mom would track him down ... so it might be hush money.
SARAH STUCK HER HEAD in my door before I went to bed. She looked a little nervous, so I gave her my best smile.
“What’s up?” I asked her.
“Can I talk to you?”
I motioned her in and Sarah closed the door behind her. She had a pensive look on her face, and I figured I had better help her before she turned around and ran out. I stepped forward and hugged her. At first, she stiffened, and then she relaxed. I let her go and smiled at her.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“You looked like you needed it,” I replied.
She seemed to hesitate and then the words just poured out.
“When I was younger, I was homeschooled. My father was a troubleshooter for an investment firm. It seemed like twice a year he’d be sent to a new branch that was underperforming, to turn it around. We were always moving, so it was just easier for my mom to teach me than it was to change schools all the time.