Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 13:06:29 -0400
From: Jonathan Davis <jondavis31@hotmail.com>
Subject: Life's Little Entanglements, Chapters 1 & 2

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Life's Little Entanglements
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by Jonathan Davis <jondavis31@hotmail.com>

This is my first attempt at a story. Please send me your comments,
questions, concerns, etc.

This story contains homosexual activities including, but not limited to,
romance, lust, love, sex, etc. If you are offended by any of these ideals
or materials, please leave now. By continuing down this page, you also
agree that you are of legal age in your locality to read this story. If
you are not, it is sincerely advised that you leave now.

This story is completely fantasy, and is not to reflect upon the real
lifestyles of any persons mentioned, realistic or fictional, in any way,
shape or form. (How sad!) The author does not claim any knowledge of the
sexuality of the characters in this story.

Recopying, redistribution, archiving, etc. of this story is freely
permitted as long as original credit to the author is maintained and the
body of the story is not changed in any way, shape, or form.

Thanks...and now, the story!

Chapter 1: The Working Life

     My life hasn't been too bad, thus far. I've been emancipated from my
parents, gotten my G.E.D., gone to college, and I am only 20. I left
school a year early and got my G.E.D. the same year, so I guess I'm what
some call lucky. I work as an associate manager for a recording label
office in Orlando, Florida. The company I work for is small, but it
provides a steady income that gives me a somewhat expanded lifestyle, but
I am far from being rich. Work keeps me busy, but it has its definite
advantages.

     As one might expect, working for a recording company, you get some
pretty interesting (and sometimes famous) people coming in your door.
While the Orlando branch office of Magellan Records, Inc. is one of the
larger operations of that company, we have more of the up-and-comers
rather than the famous ones. It works out alright, though, because most
of the managers at the office get invited to parties and we happen to
meet someone famous, but it is a rare occasion.

     It's not unusual to find myself right here, where I am now. Sitting
on the phone, conversing with one of the field recruiters. They said they
found someone incredible, that I just *have* to listen to. I told him to
set up an appointment with my secretary and hung up the phone. Some of
these recruiters were older, and needed replacement. They were too hung
up on old-style music to be able to find something to attract todays
younger crowd, which was why I had to sort through three hundred
different recruits before I found one I wanted.

     "Mr. Davis, incoming call from Mr. Andrews regarding the new artist
we just signed," came the voice of my secretary over her intercom.

     "Great, my boss," I muttered as I tapped the keys on my telephone
and connected with the director of my office. "Hello, Mark...what can I
do for you?" I asked, trying not to sound too intimidated.

     "Jonathan, we've got a very big problem here...your new
one-hit-wonder girl isn't hitting it. I want her dropped from the label,"
came the booming voice of my boss, Mark Andrews. He wasn't a nice
guy...in fact, one of the meanest in the business. That's why I think
this company is doing so poorly, because he never gives anyone a chance!

     "Sir, we've already entered into her contract. It can't be violated
for at least six months. You knew about this!" I said, trying not to
scream in anger. He always had the perfect ways of pissing me off: always
doubting my work.

     "Dammit!" he screamed, causing my desk to vibrate slightly. "Listen
here, brat boy...I've got to go out of town for a few weeks. You had
better find some way to get her up and running, or I'll violate her
contract anyway!" he screamed, hanging up on me. I was really pissed, but
I proceeded to call my secretary into my office. She always could help me
out in these situations.

     She entered the office slowly, having heard the argument I had with
Mark. "What can I do for you, Mr. Davis?" she asked politely, hoping she
wasn't going to get screamed at.

     "Sit down, Savannah. I need your advice," I said. She promptly sat
down and smiled at me, knowing that her and I were the best of friends.
We'd been through a lot. We went through high school together, through
college together...and even dated once. It didn't work out though,
because I had "discovered" I was gay...but we have stayed good friends
ever since.

     "What's up, boss?" she asked, starting to get a little cocky now
that we were talking as friends, not as coworkers. Her change in mood,
depending on the situation, always amazed me. She knew exactly how to act
in every place, every time.

     "Our new artist, Deborah, just isn't working. We need some way to
boost her on the charts, or she'll get dropped when Mark comes back into
town," I said, looking into her sweet blue eyes. She was a very pretty
woman, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a smile that could kill from
three miles, if given half a chance.

     "Well, there are three simple ways to solve the problem, Jon. You
can either drop her and risking losing millions in a lawsuit, keep her
and hire better songwriters, or use her as an add-on," she said, smiling
back.

     "Well, obviously, dropping her is not an option. Not unless we get
desperate. What songwriters do we have available under our influence?" I
asked, not being able to pull many of the names off the top of my head.
She, however, knew every single one of them.

     "Deborah's using the best ones we've got right now, and we don't
have any pending contracts or any recruiters going after songwriters. Too
much money," she said, frowning. She looked through her notebook for a
few moments and then looked up. "What about using her as an
add-on...having her open for another, more well-known, performer?"

     "We don't have anyone on the label that is willing to work with her.
They say she is more for teenage boys' jerk-off fantasies than for
music," I said, laughing and thinking there was no hope of saving this
girl's career and making some money in the mean time.

     "What about going off the label?" she said. The idea hadn't occurred
to me before, and I knew it would be expensive, but like they always say,
'It takes money to make money.'

     "Alright, but who?" I asked.

     "Well, there are some popular bands out there that would integrate
well with her. The options are limitless. 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys, 98
Degrees, 5ive. They would all work," she said. Now I realized why she
wasn't in the accounting department.

     "You must be crazy! Names like those, we'll never afford it!" I
said. I wasn't trying to be mean, but I assumed she wasn't finished. She
knows her stuff, as far as music management goes.

     "I know that, you idiot!" she smiled, punching me lightly in the
arm. I loved kidding around with her. She was fun to be with, and could
make me happy if my day at work was going bad. "But, I've got a few
friends over at the management department for at least two of those
bands," she said, grinning that irrepresible
"thought-I-couldn't-do-it,-huh?" grin she had.

     "What did you do, sleep with them?" I asked, knowing she would get
irritated. I was just hoping she wouldn't smack me and walk out. She took
the joke and just laughed.

     "No, but I did date them," she smiled. "Would you like me to try and
contact them?" she asked. I nodded, thinking maybe we weren't going to
lose this one. She stood and walked towards my office door before I spoke
up, and she turned around to look at me.

     "By the way, which band or bands is it that you have friends with?"
I asked, wanting to know just how nervous I'll have to be when I meet
with that group's management.

     "Well, I got really involved with one of 'N Sync's managers," she
said. It was silent for a few moments, and then she spoke again. "And I
also dated one of the Backstreet Boys' managers, and also..." she said,
and I silenced her quickly.

     "I don't want to hear an entire synopsis of your love life,
dear....we could be here for another sixty years," I said, smiling at
her. She laughed, threw her pen at me, and walked out the door. All I
could do was wait and see what she could bring me in the way of a band
for my artist, Deborah, to open for.

Chapter 2: Meeting with Management

     Well, Savannah did better than I had expected. She had pulled me
into meetings with three different management teams from three different
groups. She always impressed me with her sociability and, unfortunately,
I didn't have time for a social life. Not with work. All I could do was
have meetings and such, which was starting to get tiring, even though I
had only started the job just within the past year.

     "Mr. Davis, I presume?" came a voice from behind me as I waited for
a table at the restaurant where I was supposed to be meeting with some
executives from 'N Sync. I turned to see a young man, about my age,
standing behind me. He had blonde hair, green eyes, and I was definitely
impressed. It took me a few moments before I realized that it was Lance
of 'N Sync. I wondered what the hell he was doing here.

     "Yes, that's me. What can I do for you?" I asked. He had been one of
my fantasies for the longest time, but it didn't seem to faze me any
more. I guess work had been taking away from my potential romantic
involvements as well.

     "Well, we decided we were going to meet you here instead of our
managers. We like to know who we might be working with," he said in a
deep voice. It was incredible, but I kept my ground. I didn't know what
to say. I hadn't expected to have met with the group until after a deal
was esatablished, but what could I do? I followed him to a table where
the four others were sitting, munching on some appetizers.

     I sat down and placed my briefcase beside me on the floor. I looked
up to the glares of five very good-looking gentlemen, but had to keep my
mind on what I was there for. "Well, gentlemen. I am sorry if I am a
little confused, but I didn't expect to meet with any of you until I
reached an agreement with your managers," I said.

     "Dude, that's alright," came Justin's voice. I turned my head
towards him and he flashed me a smile. It was cute, but was closing my
mind to anything sexual at that moment. "We usually meet with managers of
the up and comers all the time. It's no biggie," he said. I smiled back
and turned back to the entire group. I inhaled deeply and breathed out,
ready to begin my spiel to try and convince them to sign my girl as an
opener for a *significant* discount.

     "The girl's name is Deborah. She's a new version of Spears, with a
very different style. She writes some of her own music, but our
songwriters have been doing a lot of her stuff recently. Her biggest
single has been "Without You", which reached number twenty-two on the
popular charts. We need some major marketing for this girl, and you guys
are so reputable and well-known, we figured it would be the best way to
go," I said.

     "What's the catch?" asked Lance. I looked towards him, and saw him
glaring deep into me. Apparently, he had every bit of business sense that
I had heard he did. He knew that me, coming from a small recording label,
had something that I wasn't going to offer in comparison to a bigger
label. He was incredibly intelligent, and had gotten all of the guys to
stop eating while they glared at me.

     "Well, we can't exactly afford to fit the one and a half million
dollar bill for you to sign her as an opener and still be able to pay for
her equipment, costumes, hall rental, etc. and...," I said, but was cut
off when JC spoke up.

     "Just what can you afford?" asked JC, who I knew only as Josh, as he
glared deep into me. I got a very odd feeling in the pit of my stomach
and couldn't tell what it was. I knew I was attracted to these guys, but
I couldn't let that get in the way of my negotiations for a contract for
Deborah. I was representing her, not myself.

     "We can only fit about one-sixth of that...two hundred and fifty
thousand," I said, knowing it was going to be far below what they
expected. I had intentionally dropped the price significantly below what
we could really afford so that, if they did decide to accept the offer, I
had saved the company large amounts of money in the long run.

     "You must be crazy...that is too low. Nothing less than one
million," said Lance. It was a major drop in price, but was realistically
out of the range of the company.

     "Hey now, we were struggling at first too, and thought we weren't
going to make it. Shouldn't we help out and give this girl an opportunity
to prove her stuff to us and everyone else?" asked Joey, defending me. I
appreciated the gesture, but hadn't intended on starting a fight. It was
silent for a few moments, and then I spoke up again.

     "We can do a half million," I said, looking into Lance's eyes.
Direct eye contact was the best way to get your point across, but I could
barely tolerate looking into those eyes and not break down and ask him
for a date!

     "We hear her music. If we like it, we'll go at one half million.
Acceptable?" asked Lance. I smiled at him and he returned it. I felt a
spark, or at least I thought I did, fly between us as I sat contemplating
the offer for a second. Suddenly, my cellular phone rang and I excused
myself from the conversation as I pressed a few buttons and began
speaking.

     "Jonathan Davis here. What's up?" I asked, giving a very immature
welcome. I knew exactly who it was, so I knew I could be friendly with
her.

     "Jon, it's me, Savannah. I wanted to know how the meeting with 'N
Sync's managers went!" she asked, very excited. I think she was more
excited at seeing her ex-boyfriend than she was at hearing how the
meeting went. If I went traveling for a contract, she always came with me
and, if luck preceeds itself, and Deborah were to get signed, I would
travel with the groups for the first three months of tour to see that
things were working out.

     "One problem, dear...I didn't meet with them," I said. A brief
silence was present before she asked the next logical question.

     "Who, then?" came her voice over the phone. Thankfully, we were in
downtown Orlando, otherwise my cellular phone would have been on the
verge of dying from lack of signal.

     "The boys themselves. They decided they wanted the meeting with me
instead of their managers," I said. I could hear her laughing and
screaming at the same time. She would always be a teenaged girl at heart.

     "So, what's going on!?!?!?!?!?!?" she pleaded, wanting to know more
details than I was willing to give over the telephone.

     "They want to hear Deborah. Give her a call and have her meet us at
the recording center in one hour, understood?" I asked her. The guys were
all looking at me, seeing that I had initiative and wanted to get things
done quickly, but done well at the same time.

     "Aye, Captain!" said Savannah as she hung up the telephone. I put
mine back in my pocket and turned back towards the guys. "Well, shall we
get going, then?" I asked. They all nodded and rose from their seats. We
began walking towards the doors together when I was pulled back by Joey.

     "You're gay, aren't you?" I looked kind of shocked. I had never been
asked the question, but people in general knew. They were alright with
it, at least my coworkers were. It didn't bother me telling anyone,
either. I was of the opinion that if someone doesn't want to work with me
because of it that is their problem, not mine.

     "Umm...yeah, why?" I asked softly.

     "Because, I saw the way you were glaring at some of the guys, and it
is unmistakeable," he said. I hadn't realized I had been staring at
all...but now that I go over the conversation in my mind, I realize that
I had been staring nearly the entire time.

     "Oh, that...well...," I said, fading off. Just because I was open
about my sexuality didn't mean I was very comfortable talking to a
potential contract about it.

     "Don't worry...you're not the only one," said Joey as he walked off
beyond me and towards the vehicle the group had come in. I was dazed and
confused...what was that supposed to mean? Was is a pass? Other group
members? Oh God....I cleared my mind of all these thoughts running
through my head and headed out to my Buick and headed for the recording
center. The guys already knew where it was.

To Be Continued...