The Trials of Being Loved

Part 30 - Arrogant Orca

Tay held his breath as the phone rang, waiting for New to answer. Half of him couldn't believe that the number written on a plain piece of a paper, with nothing else was actually the only way he had to contact New. Still, he had to have faith. 

"Hello?" His breath escaped in one loud rush when New answered! Relief flooded his body! 

"New!" He metaphorically hit his head on the wall. How dumb was that? Why did he always say the stupidest things with him? "Are you... okay?"

"Did you have a reason to call, or was it just for chit-chat?" More head banging! New wasn't giving anything away, nothing, with his voice.

Tay took another deep breath, calming himself and tried again. "I know you didn't leave here on the best of terms, and that's my fault. I realized something that scared me, and instead of telling you, I..."

New interrupted. "We do need to talk but I don't want to do it over the phone, Tay. Let's just decide on the script. Do you still want to work with me?"

"Fuck, yes! Can't you tell that it was written for us? They modified that story for us, New. I want to do it." Tay couldn't prevent the enthusiasm from showing. "You read it?"

"Mmm. But as I mentioned, we have to renegotiate a new contract, one that keeps us safe or I won't do it. I have the right to refuse work, and I will." His voice was bland, showing nothing. 

"This is about the stalker, isn't it?" There was a sound that Tay couldn't identify, but when New started talking again, his voice hadn't changed. 

"Wrong question, Tay. I've dealt with stalkers and rabid fans for years. No, this has to do with unfair contracts and crappy management. Maybe you've always been handed a fair deal with G-TV, but I haven't." Now there was a deeper tone, almost husky. "Ms. Tam said you were willing to renegotiate, but this whole conversation isn't giving me that impression."

Fuck! He was loosing him for good! What did he say that was so wrong? What was the right words to use? Tell him the truth, you asshole! Tay took a deep breath and blurted out, "I don't understand anything, New. If I did, I'd do it in a heartbeat. That lawyer said you had to be the one to explain the why."

~~~~~~~~~~

New almost dropped the phone as Tay almost screamed the last sentence. Ms. Tam threw him under the bus, so to speak. Who wants to admit that they were so ignorant, so blind, they were sweet talked into signing a slave contract at nineteen? 

How was he to know that for the first four years, his manager was taking all but 10% of his earnings, at a time when HE needed it the most? It wasn't the ten year contract that hurt, it was that the man G-TV assigned to look after him, was a thief. 

"New? Talk to me, please?" Tay's voice cut through his memories like a knife.  

Even though Tay couldn't see him, New was shaking his head. "I don't want to. It hurt, Tay. I don't want to remember."

"How do I make this decision if you don't tell me about your experiences? Gun won't, you won't. All I hear is don't do this, or that. We signed on at the same time, New. What did I miss?" Tay's voice rose, but he never yelled, like he did when they were together. "New, please, talk to me."

New broke, again. "Never trust a manager, Tay. Never. They lie, cheat and steal. They only take care of you for money. Most actors can't even live because of managers exploiting the contracts, not the companies. Actors don't know shit about contracts, so they expect the manager to be their friend, companion to explain it, guide them." 

Drawing in a deep breath, New steadied his voice. "I signed the standard contract, but MY manager forged a few clauses so he could siphon off almost all my earnings, and prevented me for the first two years in talking with G-TV. It wasn't until I took my contract to a lawyer behind his back that we got to the bottom. G-TV then did an internal investigation and found out that he actually had done this to about 10 actors."