Dying Tigers: A Strange Love Story

Meetings - Part 1

"We know they aren't their birth names, but they're the only names they've ever given. We don't know how they got them."

"Huh." I replied, noncommittally.

"Frankly, their names are their least of our concern." He added. His warning tone drew my attention away from the photos.

"So what's the problem with them that they require a personal manager?" I asked.

"Several things. First, hardly anything is known about their past. The president of Z-Company scouted them off the streets because of the promise he saw in their looks. Other than that, they've persistently, and even aggressively, refused to divulge anything about their pasts prior to that."

"Oh." That kind of thing really could be serious trouble. There was almost certainly a reason they refused to say anything about it, and being in a job like modeling, where you were constantly exposed to the media and the public, if skeletons started coming out of the closet, it could ruin not only the talent's career, but the sponsoring company's reputation as well. Personal managers could often anticipate and deal with such problems far better than the talents could on their own. It was why names that made it big often got assigned personal managers. Once they got well-know, scandals, whether perceived or real, were bound to happen and it took a personal manager to run full-time damage control.

"Moreover," Sterts continued. "scheduling projects for them is difficult. They appear to have little issue with some of the more controversial project types, but refuse perfectly normal ones without giving any explanation for why. They went through five agents at Z-Company in less than two months before they were handed over to us. Most of them dropped them because of the problems scheduling them. They said they were beyond difficult, and most labeled them as impossible. One even told me to give up trying to train them at all, that they would never be of use to the company. All of them were unsuccessful in finding any predictability to the projects they will or won't accept. In addition, they only work together. They won't do anything solo."

"Are they a couple?" I asked as the thought occurred to me. Not that the company had any issue with those kinds of things, it generally came with the territory. Some of our best talent were homosexual, but it helped to know these things ahead of time.

"Not that anyone has been able to verify." Sterts answered carefully. "They aren't obviously a pair, and when I met them I didn't get the feel that they were together. They just won't be separated from each other, and again, they won't give any explanation for why."

I nodded. They would be troublesome to deal with, to say the least.

"Finally, -"

"There's more?" I asked, wondering what other problems they could have.

"Yes." He didn't even blink at my surprise. "They're both physically scarred." He continued.

My eyes flicked back to the photos involuntarily. I hadn't noticed any scars, had I just missed them because their overall presence was so stunning?

"They're cleverly hidden in the shots, and they have to be. Neither of them will allow the scars to be shown. They keep them hidden at all times, even around their coworkers and agents." Sterts reached for one of the pictures. He tapped the taller, darker-blond one. "This is Jareka. He's the quieter of the two, and he's got marks along his torso, back and thighs, so any outfit has to fully cover them." And sure enough, as I glanced over the photos again, in every one the one called Jareka was wearing full-cover clothes, even when the other one didn't.

Sterts tapped the smaller one in the picture. "This one's Tareiji. He talks incessantly about nothing it seems. His entire left arm is scarred, though he appears to have suffered no motor damage to it, and is able to use it normally. He keeps it covered in a long sleeve, and it has to be accounted for in the poses." He tapped the photo again, and I noticed that in the picture Tareiji was leaning back on his left hand, so it was hidden behind him. Another glance at the photos strewn across the table showed the same thing in all of them. Every photo had him in a pose where his left arm was out of sight, though it was done so naturally that it wasn't even noticeable unless it was pointed out.

"He doesn't have an issue with it being in the shot," Sterts clarified, "but he won't remove the sleeve, so if it is in the pictures it's covered."

I nodded still trying to process all the information I had been given.

"All that said, if you take the position, you would be responsible for finding and scheduling jobs for them, organizing their daily schedules and escorting them to appointments and shoots."

I glanced up from the pictures. "Like being an agent and a manager?" I asked.

"More or less. You would perform all the jobs an agent would usually do, and in addition, you would act as their driver and personal assistant."

"That sounds like a lot of work." I commented casually, but my mind was already mulling it over and taking a liking to the idea. I had wanted to be an agent to help others gain success, and I took satisfaction in seeing them succeed. But agents could end up being rather distanced from their talent, especially agents in high demand, stuck behind a desk or in meetings while their talent were out on jobs, and ultimately unable to witness the product of their hard work. This sounded like an opportunity to combine the best of both worlds. I'd be able to schedule my talent's jobs, and guide them in their career, while at the same time watching their progress from the nearness of a manager.

And I could never resist a challenge, and these two were presenting an irresistible temptation. Two young men, most likely use to being spoiled out of pity for their injuries and accustomed getting their way. They would need a firm hand to keep them in line.

"The company's willing to give them a year." Sterts added. "After that they'll be re-evaluated to decide if they're worth continuing to sponsor. You'll be paid double your current salary during that time, and if you succeed in straightening them out, the raise will become permanent."

I was silent for a moment. My mind still trying to figure out why the company was even considering taking on such an obviously problematic pair. But what the higher ups said, went, and far be it from us underlings to question their decisions. And the money they were offering as salary was too good to pass up, no matter how strange the circumstances.

"If I meet with them, does that mean I'm required to take them on as clients, or can I meet them and decide afterwards if I want to accept?" I only asked for a meeting for the sake of formality, since I'd already made up my mind.

"I can arrange an introductory meeting and you can make your decision afterwards, if that's what you would like." He answered.

"If you could arrange it, I would appreciate that."

He nodded. "I'll bring you the reports from their previous agents."

"Thanks."

He gathered up the photos and his papers and left.

I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes. My life was about to get a lot more interesting, because unless something drastic happened during our meeting, I would accept the position as their manager.