This is not about money

"Sometimes, you have to take your guns and have a showdown Kyle," Cody said letting out a large puff.

"Unless we show our strength, those bastards will ride over our heads for a long time. I am not changing my mind. We are casting this girl," Cody pointed at the screen.

"Natasha Lyons?"

"Yes, after you recommended her, I had a talk with Kid Z. He didn't have anything bad to say about her. She is from the streets just like me. She even has a black brother named Tony. From what I heard, they might as well be siblings from the same mother. If we don't use a girl who doesn't discriminate against us like her, who the hell are we going to use?" Cody asked passionately.

"Kid Z was the one who recommended her to me," Kyle said scratching his jaw. "He told me that she doesn't talk down to us niggers."

"Exactly, even if I am going to use a white girl in our movie, I want to use someone like her," Cody grunted. "This isn't about money Kyle. This is about ideals. A girl like her wouldn't look down on us if she becomes famous in the future. Having a popular person speak up for us is very important."

"You are thinking of the distant future now?" Kyle asked amused.

"Never discount the future impacts, Kyle. You are a director. Don't be close-minded like these damn niggers. You need to think ahead. What's wrong in supporting someone who likes us?"

"Maybe, in the future, she will give back to us. Maybe she won't. But, I will sleep happily knowing that I didn't help black-hearted bastards who wanted to stab us in the back," Cody said sitting down on the sofa.

"So, you decided to use her," Kyle asked to confirm.

"We will use her as the second female lead. We will promote the film with both black male and female leads. If those bastards aren't happy, then let them be unhappy. If they block our release, I will release it on tape. And then, I will show them my power in this city as well," Cody said with a glint in his eyes.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Kyle tried to console Cody.

"I am sticking to my ideals. Some fights are worth fighting Kyle," Cody said looking into the distance. "You will understand when you grow old."

*****

"Sit down," Marvin growled causing Natasha to sit down in a hurry.

Natasha wasn't clear why Marvin was acting like this to her. Two days back, he had been very friendly to her. But, today he seemed a bit irritated. Did she somehow offend him in those two days?

Just like she told Marvin, Natasha called him within two days and let him know that she wanted to sign under him. She didn't even take so long. She called right at ten o clock, not wanting to waste any more time.

Initially, Natasha expected Marvin to be overjoyed hearing her answer. But, he had been short on the phone. He asked her to come to the CAM office and let them discuss the terms of the contract.

Natasha brushed it off thinking that Marvin might be busy. But, now seeing him a bit irritated, Natasha wasn't so sure. It looked like she had offended him somehow. And what was worse is that Natasha didn't even know how she offended Marvin.

*****

Marvin, on the other hand, was suppressing his anger and exasperation at the girl who was sitting in front of her. When he watched the video of the MV, he was very satisfied with Natasha's performance in that.

So, he had been waiting for her call all day long yesterday. But, as time passed, his mood only became worse. There were no calls from the girl. How can a girl who is new to this city not grab the opportunity presented to herself and strike while the iron is hot? It was simply unfathomable for him.

Normally, this little girl in front of him should have called him as soon as possible and agreed to sign with him. He wasn't just thinking that because it was him. Even if you changed out any decent agent in the city, the result will be the same.

But, this girl didn't call at all.

Marvin was surprised by this and was almost worried that Kid Z's words have come true. Did she find another agent or someone came to her door directly? He was worried he missed out on a potential starlet because of his ego.

By evening, Marvin was also ready to call her himself. But, only then he realized that he didn't have her number at all. That was an embarrassing moment for him. An agent couldn't make silly mistakes like that. It was something rookies did. Not something experienced agents did.

Marvin could only lament to himself about his bad luck. Even his sleep wasn't peaceful. He had been tossing all night long imagining various possibilities he had lost by not signing her.

However, the next day, the little girl called sharply at 10 surprising him. Only when he heard her voice did he remember her saying that she will call within two days.

Mom! Did you need to actually make it two days? Can't you call early? You are the one who needs me more. Why are you acting as if you are doing me a favor? Marvin almost lost his cool at that moment.

So, he asked her to come to the CAM building directly and cut the call short. Till now, he had been trying to rein in his anger and exasperation with this girl. Now, looking at her confused face, Marvin almost felt like facepalming.

"First and foremost, you will never ever try to hide things or deceive me?" Marvin said boring holes into the girl's head with his eyes. "Are we clear?"

*****

"What?" Natasha asked quite confused.

"If we are to work together, you can't keep things from me. You can't deceive me. Are we clear?" Marvin stressed again.

"When did I deceive you?" Natasha asked in confusion.

Natasha could feel Marvin almost explode at that moment. His eyes narrowed and he glared at her hatefully.

"Didn't you make me believe that you were from France during Kid Z's party?" Marvin growled.

"Huh, when did I say that?"

"You didn't say it. But, you acted like that."

"I am only responsible for what I say, I am not responsible for your thoughts, Marvin," Natasha refused immediately.

Who are you kidding? She wouldn't even accept blame if she did something wrong. Want her to apologize for something she didn't even do? Don't joke. That wasn't her style at all.

Natasha watched Marvin's eyes bulge comically. There was a speechless look on his face. He took deep breaths and then spoke slowly.

"Not just me. You let almost everyone present at the party believe that you were a highly literate girl from France."

"I never said I was from France. Not to you or anyone else."

Natasha didn't budge.

"That's not the point. You let them believe it. You can't do that," Marvin said grabbing his hair. "Those are influential people. If they learned that you deceived them, they will be embarrassed. They will cause you problems later."

"Let me get this straight," Natasha asked bewildered. "You and them imagined something about me. You never even confirmed it with me. And when you get to know that you imagined wrongly, you will blame me. Are you out of your mind?"

Natasha watched Marvin take deep breaths before replying.

"Fine, let's skip that topic. From now on, you won't hide anything from me. You will be always truthful to any question I ask. It is essential to have a proper working relationship between us."

"By anything, you mean I have to tell you everything?" Natasha asked furrowing her brows.

"Yes."

"What about personal stuff?"

"Especially those things. I need to know who you are dating, who you are sleeping with, who you broke up with, and all that stuff."

"Huh, will you be sharing your personal stuff with me as well?"

"No, why would I do that?"

"Then, why am I the only one doing it?"

"Because you are the star. I'm the agent. It is you who the public will focus on. It is your scandal that they want to read about. Who you fuck, who you fall in love with, who you broke up with, all this will become public news once you step into this circle."

"That sounds a bit scary," Natasha hedged a bit.

"But, that is the reality. So, I need to know it before newspapers do. That way, I can minimize the impact. That way, I can prepare for it. Do you understand?"

"Ugh, this agent bit seems very troublesome," Natasha groaned.

"Welcome to my life, darling. You shit and I wipe," Marvin beamed.

However, Natasha didn't like that smile at all. It was not as if she didn't know what an agent's job was. Her counterpart's memories had some details on it. But, this kind of stuff didn't happen to her at all. So, she didn't really think about it.

Now that she paused to think, Natasha realized why such things never happened to her counterpart. Her counterpart never truly became famous. That meant she didn't have any big invasion of privacy.

But, she can't operate on that same principle. After all, her face was more beautiful than her counterpart's. That meant the chances of her becoming famous were higher. After all, this world often only saw how pretty a person is.

Operating on that assumption, it looked like she must take this into consideration as well.

"Ugh, fine," Natasha groaned. "What else?"

What followed was a one-hour lecture from Marvin on things to take note of. Natasha felt that being an actress seemed harder than selling stuff on the streets. Even that didn't have this many things to take note of.

Why was she doing this again? She just wanted to be rich and live a comfortable life, didn't she?

*****

A/N: Check out my other stories and let me know your thoughts...

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