A new contract [with BCAD]

[Silvery_Lady]

It was almost noon when the black Cherokee jeep parked in front of the big building, under a palm tree.
The woman who jumped off from the vehicle was wearing a tight pair of dark leather pants and a white shirt, along with high heeled boots and her unfailing sunglasses.
She marched toward the door and, after searching for the key in her little purse, she opened it.

Jessica cursed out loud when she opened the main door of Ethan's mansion, pushing her shades over her blonde hair, like a hairband.
The place was a total mess.

There were empty bottles of beer and champagne all around, some of the chairs were flipped and one was, for some reason, on the coffee table.
The curtains were hanging from just a couple of hooks, half ripped, and the TV was turned on on a music channel.
The huge persian rug was gone, the living room was smelling like if a minibar had exploded in there, someone had puked in the fireplace and, just to complete the scene, there was a naked brunette sleeping on the leather couch.

With an annoyed huff, the woman walked in, slamming the door, and she reached the sleeping beauty, picking up an half empty bottle of wine from the floor and, once there, pouring it on the girl's back.
-Get up and clear off, nice ass!- she growled at the younger woman, when she yelped, jumping up -The party is over. Take your clothes and go or i'll kick you out.- she added...and apparently she was convincing enough, since the girl grabbed her dress from the armchair and she ran toward the door, dressing herself in the meantime.

Once the "guest" was gone, the Manager went to the stairs and she stepped up to the first floor, reaching the boy's bedroom and knocking harshly a couple of time, just to warn you that she was there, then she entered, expecting to find him snoozing on his bed or something like that.

-Ethan, this time i'll kick your ass so hard that even your ancestors will feel it!- she told loudly, walking in -You were supposed to have the interview with that damn magazine this morning, kid! I can't come to pick you up every fucking day like a child going to school!- Jessica added, clearly pissed off.

[BCAD]

It had been a wild night for Ethan Blaze. Drink, drugs, girls and loud music. The kind of party that you read about with scandalous photographs plastered all over the cover of gossip magazines. Now, he was being rewarded for it with a splitting headache and a sudden, angry awakening by his straight laced manager who pounded on her door with her fist before inviting herself into his bedroom.

"Nnhhh... God, Jess... Not so loud..." The strawberry blond youth complained, his face still pressed into his pillow and the bedsheets wrapped snugly around his sluggish, half asleep body. He had fallen asleep in his clothes, he hadn't even managed to take off his shoes and some eyeliner that he had been wearing had smudged down one of his cheeks. It was obvious that Ethan Blaze was not in any shape to go rushing to the magazine interview and apologise for his lateness. Unless Jessica physically dragged him out of bed, the young man was content to lie there all day to recover from the activities of the night before.

Ethan had had wild parties before, but this one was by far the most off the hook. When something went well for him, of course he wanted to celebrate, and being young and impulsive, this often meant celebrating a bit too much. This time, he had been celebrating the release of his newest album, as well as his recent nineteenth birthday. Two parties in one, he'd joked. But it had ended up feeling a bit like that.

Jessica hadn't been invited.

While he knew that he owed a lot to her, she wasn't the kind of person he could have at an event like last night. If she'd known about it in advance, he had a feeling that she would have personally called all the guests and warned them not to come, and also given him a long, stern lecture about responsibility and putting out a good image. If he hadn't overslept, she might never have known. Unfortunately for Ethan though, the rockstar had passed out before setting his alarm last night.

"Get me a glass of water or something now you're here, would you?" He whined, knowing that he was pushing his luck, but Ethan had a habit of that. It was a symptom of his charm and mischievous nature, even with a killer hangover and an enraged manager, he couldn't resist being a little cheeky.

[Silvery_Lady]

Jessica stood in the doorway, now with her hands on her hips in the most classic scolding pose, looking at her "pupil" just like a cat could look at a little mouse with his belly too full to run away, laying on his back; she was ready to eat him alive.

It wasn't something new, between them.
The woman had kind of "adopted" him after discovering him on YouTube a few years before and, being him so young, she had always felt a bit of parental instinct toward him.

-Look at you...you're still wearing shoes.- was he first answer at his request to speak lower -And you look like a panda.- she added with an annoyed huff, once she noticed how his black makeup was now smeared all over his face -What the hell is all this, uhm? You're supposed to grow up with time, not to act every day more like a stupid teen!- she yelled at him again, now finally walking in.

And when the boy asked her for some water, his manager rolled her eyes at the ceiling, but then she moved toward the little minibar that he had in his bedroom, to check inside it, searching for something cool that he could drink.
She was mad at him, but also a bit worried and she wanted him to feel better.

Sadly for him, once she reached the minibar and she bent over to open it, all her attention suddenly focused on what was on top of that same minibar...and her shoulders sank, like if someone had hit her with a baseball bat right in the middle of her back.

Jessica widened her eyes, forcing herself to accept that the white powder on that surface was not talc or something like that.
But she had seen cocaine before, in her life, so she tried not to fool herself.
Her mind struggled to let in that information; Ethan was using that kind of shit?
It was so hard for the woman to believe that.

-....give me one reason for not calling the cops.- was all she could manage to tell him, after a moment, without even turning to look at him, with more than a hint of pure disappointment in her voice -You stupid child.-

[BCAD]

Ethan smiled a little to himself. Despite still taking on that motherly tone with him, Jessica still went to the minibar to get him a drink. As much as he teased her and rolled his eyes at her strict professionalism, he did appreciate all she did for him. Albeit, he maybe didn't tell her as much as he should.

However, that smile quickly faded when he saw her stop and stare at the top of the minibar. He might have a splitting headache and be more than a little groggy, but he immediately knew what she had seen.

"Shit!"

The young rockstar stood up quickly, making his way clumsily over towards her where he quickly tried to explain himself. Not that that would be easy, Jessica wasn't one to let anyone pull the wool over her eyes, and the disappointment and horror in her voice made it clear that she had already worked out what the white powder was.

"Jess... Please." He raised his hands up in a placating motion, his eyes pleading. He looked very young like this, like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. However, this was much more serious than sneaking snacks between meals. "Before you go mad on me... It was just this one time, at the party... Some guy was into doing it. That's all. Please don't call the cops. You know me, you know I wouldn't be stupid enough to get involved with something like that."

Jessica did know him. But that wouldn't help his case. She knew him well enough to know that he was exactly stupid enough to get involved with drugs if his friends were doing it.

Ethan was charismatic and charming, but he was also immature and easily led. If it was to impress his friends, he would probably jump off a cliff. He cared a little too much about his image. Being a bad boy, party animal rockstar. It was only a matter of time before he took things a little too far.

[Silvery_Lady]

The very moment that the youngster reached her, trying to excuse himself for her discover, Jessica felt a rush of rage and she reacted instinctively, turning toward him and lifting her hand to deliver a sharp slap on his cheek, wanting him to feel all her disappointment through that single gesture.

She was used to give him a lot of light smacks on his neck, along with dozens of reprimands, for being sassy or for talking back, but despite everything she had never went beyond that...until that moment.
This time, the woman was decided to make him feel her palm on his face for good.

-SHUT UP!- she yelled at him, with her most angry voice -Do you think that i'm a idiot? You would rip your eyes out, to please your friends! And most of your friends are a bunch of assholes. I can't believe that you have been so foolish to let this shit enter in your house!- she went on, taking a step closer, more pissed off than ever -Do you know how long could you spend in jail for this, kid?-

His manager gave him a stern gaze, her lips now pushed one against each other in a furious grimace, her eyebrows lowered over her eyes.
-I didn't brought you until here to watch you throw it all away like this, are you listening to me? How can you risk to destroy your carreer so stupidly?- Jess continued, before forcing herself to take a deep breath, fighting the urge to smack him again; she needed to calm down and to think about this.
She needed to figure out what to do.

So, a moment later, the adult opened her mouth once more.
-I want to know if this was the first time or if you have been using this stuff before, Ethan. And don't you dare to lie to me or i'll kick you out and to the nearer Police station. I'd rather see you in jail than knowing that you're filling your body with this crap!- she concluded -And i want to know if there is more of this around the house.-

[BCAD]

The youth let out a surprised cry as he felt her hand sharply smack him across the face. He put a hand to his cheek, the pale skin quickly turning a soft pink colour, and stared at her in disbelief. It seemed to have snapped him out his half-asleep state.

He opened his mouth to defend himself, to express his disbelief at being hit, but before he could she started to scold him with a new ferocity. Against his will, he had no had no choice but to listen to her furious words.

Ethan knew that it was serious. Even when he had been drunk last night, he had known that the drugs were going a bit too far, that it could actually get him thrown in jail and ruin his career. Jessica was perfectly entitled to call the police and cut off all ties with him, but he doubted that she would do that. She was fuming, but she wouldn't do that.

Would she?

A twinge of uncertainty began to surface in him as the young man began to panic. When she asked him questions about whether he'd taken the stuff before or if there was anymore in the house he vigorously shook his head.

"I, I don't think so! Unless one of the guests last night left some, but, I guess that's unlikely. Since it's so pricey and all." He regretted sounding so knowledgeable about it with his last remark as soon as the words left his mouth and quickly tried to clarify. "I really haven't taken it before though! I just... I know a lot of people who do! Jess, you won't call the cops. Will you?"

[Silvery_Lady]

She gave him the most stern look in the world when he stated about the price of that stuff and the rest, like if the simple idea of him being familiar with those details was too much to bear; she had met him when he was nothing more than a child and now she was staring to a young man.

Jessica had seen him growing up and she had helped him to become the worldwide known superstar that he was today, dealing with the problems of his young age and the fact that he had a shitty family, and she was now really fond of him.
That was why the idea of Ethan snorting that crap had made her snap like that.

Anyway, after the first moment of pure rage, when he asked her not to report him once more, she slowly started to calm down, at least enough to decide what to do right after.
-Then you'll will cut off those people from your life, Ethan.- she told him a second later and she was quite determined -And i mean, completely. I don't give a fuck if they are your best mates, you won't go around with junkies, is that clear?- Jessica added and it was sounding like an order, more than like a "kind suggestion".

Said that, the older woman took a step back, turning her head to look at the minibar again, shaking her head and huffing in annoyance.
-How could you do this...- she muttered bitterly, before speaking again -Alright, i won't call the cops...for the moment.- Jessica went on -Now i have to drive to town to convince those people that you've skipped the interview for some socially acceptable reason and that could take me a while.-

His manager gazed at him with the kind of expression that a pissed off parent could use with a really unruly child.
-In the meantime you will clean up this mess, are you listening to me? And when i say you, i mean YOU, with your own hands. No maids or anyhting like that, no one has to see this. Take a shower, swallow a couple of aspirins and then move your lazy ass.- the blonde woman poked his chest with her index finger a couple of times, to force him to focus -I'll be back in a few hours and i want to find this shit gone forever, got it? As for the living room, i want it spotless; right now it looks like a strip club after a bombing.-

Finally, she snorted toward him like an angry animal, starting to walk toward the door, to reach the stairs.
-If you've not obeyed when i come back, we're done.- was her conclusion.

And so, with that ultimatum, Jessica left the house, slamming the main door quite strongly.

[BCAD]

The door slammed shut and Jessica had left, leaving Ethan alone in his oversized home. Her words played over in his head and he let out a groan of disbelief that he'd screwed up so badly. Even if she agreed to keep him on, she was going to hold this against him for a long time, and Jessica wasn't good company when she was mad.

"Fuck..." He didn't much like the sound of cleaning by himself either.

There was a reason he employed maids to do that for him. The young rockstar was used to having others pick up after him by now, so the thought of having to make the mansion presentable again by himself (especially when hungover) made him want to just crawl back into bed again and sleep. But he knew he couldn't do that. As foolish as he could be sometimes, he wasn't stupid enough to directly disobey his manager now. He had a feeling that she had meant it when she said that if she came back and the mess was still there, their partnership was over.

Jessica was a hard ass, but Ethan knew that she knew the music business better than anyone. He couldn't afford to lose her.

So, with much groaning and grumbling to himself, Ethan began to tidy up his home. He threw away the white powder first, which was easy and rather cathartic, since he was kind of mad at its existence since it had gotten him into trouble. The next part was less easy. The living room was just as Jessica had described it and worse than Ethan remembered it being.

It took him more than an hour to even get it looking somewhat presentable, and even then, by the time Jessica returned, it was far from 'spotless'... But Ethan had tried.

Part of him had planned to get the maids to do it for him and just pretend to Jessica, but he knew her well enough to not underestimate her. If she was suspicious that had been the case, she would have grilled the maids until they talked and he'd just be in even deeper shit with her.

[Silvery_Lady]

Jessica came back almost four hours later.

When she walked inside, it was clear that, even if she was still mad at him, she had had enough time to let the disappointment fade away a little, so now she was looking more calm and less willing to chop his head off.
She took off her shades entering the living room and she looked around, checking on the situation.
The curtains were still ripped and the persian rug was still missing, but the smell was almost gone, since the young man had opened the windows.
The dozens of empty glasses and bottles were now inside a couple of big, black garbage bags and the cushions were back on the couch.

The room was still a bit messy and the floor needed a good wash, but she could tell that the kid had at least tried to do what he had been told, so she decided not to scold him anymore about the matter.
Or, at least, not too much.

The woman reached the kitchen to have a glass of water, while calling out for her client.
-Ethan! Come over here!- she said loud, before drinking quickly and then going back to the living room, waiting for the youngster to appear; only when he finally joined her, she gave him one serious look, pointing out the sofa with a finger, in a demanding way.
-Sit down, kiddo.- she ordered, calling him like she used to do when he was younger -First of all, for the world you're officially sick, at the moment, so you won't leave this house for a couple of days, no matter what...understood? They accepted to postpone the interview to the next week.- she informed him.

Jessica stood there, arms folded, in front of the sofa, wanting to tower over him during the unavoidable upcoming scolding; she knew that she could be pretty intimidating and in that occasion she was doing her best to show him how pissed off she was.

Only when Ethan had sat where she wanted him to be, his Manager seemed ready to start her reprimand and, when she started to speak, the woman used her most stern voice to make him understand that she was meaning business, this time.
It wasn't her usual mild rebuke.

-I hope that you understand how stupid was to let that kind of person do that in your house, Ethan.- she began -You can be smarter than that, i know it. But lately you've started to act in a way that i don't like, not at all. You're always tired, always late and always behaving like an irresponsible child.- she made him notice -And even if i know that you're very young, even if i care about you, i can't be your baby sitter all the time.-

The adult let out a deep sigh.
-You're more than a simple client, after all this time and all we have been through, you're almost like a baby brother to me. I'm worried about you, not just about your career and my paycheck.- she added, now with a softer voice -I won't sit back to watch you while you ruin your life doing this kind of things. So, if you don't start to come back on the right path, doing what i say, i'm afraid that i have no other option than to interrupt our professional relationship...-

[BCAD]

Ethan was exhausted by the time Jessica came back, but he had taken her advice and had a few aspirin, and his headache was gone at least. He looked up when he heard her open the front door, hoping that she had calmed down a bit. Thankfully, she seemed to have. He got up when she called him, only to be ordered to park his ass back into another seat. The young rockstar looked up at her, his manager's intimidation tactics worked and Ethan did his best to look suitably contrite.

He nodded along to her words, although he cringed at the almost parental way she told him off. It made him feel like he was a little kid again, something he didn't exactly enjoy to say the least.

Being young and successful meant that it was easy for Ethan to think of himself as more of a grown up than he actually was. While he was nineteen and therefore not a child, he was still young and had a lot to learn about the world.

"Sorry. It won't happen again," he said quietly, an expression that wasn't too far away from a pout on his face. He'd washed the smudged eyeliner off his face and changed into a fresh set of clothes, but his hair was still in an untidy mop that left strands of strawberry blond hair across his eyes, making him look all the more young and childish. Especially when coupled with that expression.

He had his arms folded across his chest and although he knew better than to argue with her, it was clear that the youth was finding it hard to keep up his sweet 'I'm really very sorry' face for long.

It was true that he genuinely felt stupid for the drugs, and he didn't want to worry Jessica, but he was proud and being told off rubbed him the wrong way.