Fic: The Deal (19/?)
Adam paled as he watched TMZ and saw his future crashing down around him. He wanted fame but not like this and he was pretty sure the label would be pissed. Adam became very nervous thinking about Kris’ reaction. Kris was a coward; what if he accused Adam of seducing him and claimed that Adam blackmailed him? Adam started to panic just as Allison came home. She noticed Adam freaking out and questioned him. Adam told her about the TMZ clip.
Allison shrugged, “Good maybe this will give Kris the impetus to come out.”
He gaped at Allison’s nonchalant attitude, “More likely he is going to blame me and I will be crushed like always. I can’t afford to get blacklisted in another industry. You and Kris have the same label and he is a bigger star. They will never let us do the single, I am going to end up as a sales clerk at the GAP and die alone.”
Allison hit him in the back of the head, “Adam, there isn’t enough room in this house for another drama queen. That is my role and you can’t have it. I know Kris is a coward but he wouldn’t lie like that and intentionally hurt you.”
“Really? The guy who let me think I killed a baby with syphilis, the one that let me get fired and be homeless? I am pretty sure he has it in him to hide behind a lie to salvage his million dollar career and story book marriage.”
Allison frowned, “OK maybe it is a possibility he will go with the flow and let people think you are the villain but I still think the label will let us do the single. You think you can keep it up to fuck that lady Carmen from my management?”
Adam shook his head, “I am not going to use sex to try and combat a sex scandal. Even stupid me knows that is a horrible idea. Plus, no, I don’t think I could keep it up bedding her.”
Allison seemed perplexed, “Let’s just hope for the best. Maybe no one will even notice the story.”
They went to the studio the next day and were bombarded by paparazzi asking if Adam slept with Kris Allen. Adam didn’t say anything and just went in the studio. Allison frowned, “Well I guess plan A of ignoring it won’t work. Let’s just finish the single.”
Adam didn’t hear from Kris and his publicity didn’t address the story. The story was picked up by other magazines and Adam decided to just lay low at either Allison’s house or the studio. By the end of the week, Allison’s management and several people from the label showed up. The executives from the label were treating Adam well which was a surprise. In fact, one of the lead guys, Ian, asked to go for a walk with him to a more private area.
Adam agreed but was scared, “You’re not going to hurt me, are you?”
Ian laughed, “Do I look like a good ole’ boy?”
Adam heard something in his tone that made him worry the guy was going to proposition him, “Maybe not but my guess is I may not like this talk.”
Ian shrugged, “Maybe you will.”
They went to a secluded area of the studio, “Adam, did you have an affair with Kris Allen?”
Adam hesitated unsure of what to say, “Er…”
Ian just held up a hand, “Don’t bother I can guess the answer is yes. Look, Kris Allen makes a lot of money for the label and he has this Disney image. To be honest I am not all that surprised because no one in this industry is that squeaky clean. We need to do a bit of damage control for his sake and yours. I think you have the potential to be a big star too. Your gorgeous and can sing better than 99.9% of the successful stars today. We need you to keep quiet about that affair and let it play out. In the meantime, we will do a contract with you for some studio work and let the single you are making with Allison go on the album.”
“What’s the catch?”
“You need to keep Kris on board with the plan. His band mates claim he is considering coming out and we just don’t think the timing is good. All you have to do is convince him to wait a few months. No big deal since it will take a year to finalize his divorce.”
Adam wasn’t sure if he heard correctly, “Kris is getting divorced?”
“He and his wife filed yesterday for irreconcilable differences. Anyway, think about it and if you are willing I will draw up the paperwork for the contract.” The guy winked at him, “You are too beautiful to let these closet cases keep you hidden. Think about yourself for once.”
Adam went home and called Kris hoping he would answer but wasn’t surprised when it went into voicemail. He left a simple message asking Kris to call him. Adam told Allison about Ian and she nodded, “Ian is gay. He is kind of cute-“
“The point, Allison, stick to the point. They want me to convince Kris to stay in the closet which goes against everything I believe in.”
“Whatever, thespian, I think it is a good idea for Kris to lay low. He doesn’t exactly operate well under scrutiny. Plus, I spoke to him and Katy made it a condition that he wait a few months to publicly admit to being gay. I think she is waiting on some kind of role or wants to be in his music video or something. Anyway, problem solved since you are both on the same sheet.”
Adam felt a bit deflated that Kris was staying in the closet but Allison was right that did solve a problem. “I tried to call him and he didn’t even answer.”
“He ditched his cell phone and the paps are totally trying to catch him “in the act”. He asked about you and I told him you were fine. Stick to the plan of taking a break from one another so that maybe someday in the distant future you can have a reasonably healthy relationship. Besides, neither one of you can afford to have the details of your romance become public since last I checked prostitution and sexual harassment is illegal.”
Fair enough but where was this voice of reason way back when this disaster known as Kris Allen, the john, began?
*~*
Kris met with his management team early the morning after his talk with Katy and the airing of the TMZ story. His management team must have assumed his guilt because they never asked if the TMZ story was true. Instead, they focused on explaining the merits of keeping his personal life close hold and to delay any major revelations until after the tour. Kris could see their point but he wanted to see Adam sooner rather than later. As much as he knew that the timing was off, he couldn’t turn off the nonstop fantasies in his head. It was as if all his post-pubescent desires which he suppressed was hitting him full on. If he was going to keep quiet and not screw up he had to avoid Adam.
Katy got caught by the paparazzi on the way to an audition and simply said from her experience TMZ is hardly ever accurate and she had no intention of discussing her marriage with a bunch of reporters. She suggested they ask her about her acting. The paparazzi apparently weren’t too interested when they found out it wasn’t in porn. Kris was still a bit leery of Katy but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Cale on the other hand was really pissing him off. Cale continued to try and lecture Kris about marriage and how admitting to being bisexual would destroy the band. The band was getting ready to do a short promo concert at the pier when Cale started on his latest tirade.
Kris was fed up, “You know, Cale, I am not in a band as much as I am a solo artist with a backup band. Feel free to move on if you don’t like the direction I am heading.”
“I co-wrote some of your songs so you can’t just kick me out.”
“I wasn’t kicking you out. I simply suggested you don’t have to compromise your morals and stick around. By the way, I don’t think you should be preaching to me about marriage. Katy was pretty honest with me about things.”
Kris noticed Cale paled which pretty much confirmed his fears. Kris tried to control his anger by being an asshole, “I hope Katy warned you to go to the doctor. I would hate for you to have to explain to Mary how you got syphilis.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I would have warned you but at the time I had no idea you were fucking my wife but I had syphillis.”
Cale seemed to go from confused to violent and tried to punch Kris, “You fucking bastard you slept with that..that player and infected your wife! I had no idea you were still sleeping with Katy while fucking a man. What if you have AIDS?”
Kris through caution to the wind and punched Cale which resulted in both of them causing a scene, breaking equipment on the stage, ruining the show and publicly humiliating themselves. Not good.
Kris found himself in a meeting with management and the label early the next morning. They informed him that Cale was willing to not press charges if Kris apologized and agreed not to come out as bisexual. Kris laughed, “How can he press charges?”
One of the label executives spoke, “Someone videotaped the fight and you hit him first. Trust me you would lose in a court hearing. I don’t think he is asking for anything that unreasonable.”
Kris knew the guy by name, Ian Crestman, but hadn’t dealt with him personally. He was good looking and confident. Kris wondered if the label wasn’t trying to distract him, “Ian I am not about to apologize to a guy that slept with my wife and then blames me for the repercussions.”
Ian faltered, “He didn’t mention that part. Is there any other scandal we should know about for damage control purposes?”
“I am getting divorced.”
“OK, are you planning on letting the public know your wife cheated or you cheated for that matter?”
Kris immediately realized he screwed up sharing that information, “No! That would hurt Katy and kill my career. We both agreed to keep adultery out of the divorce proceedings.”
“In that case, I think we need to keep Cale under control. I know you probably want to kick him out of the band but if you do he will definitely tell the world you had an affair with a man.”
“Maybe I should just be honest.”
Ian shook his head, “Kris, normally I would say honesty is best but too many people are dirty in this. You might come out ok but Katy and Adam would be destroyed. Stay the course until after the tour. Then your divorce will finalize, you can come out and fire your band. You can survive off your earnings for a year or two, write an awesome coming out album and be back on top as a gay man. What do you say?”
“I think that it won’t play out that well. Are you sure Cale will stay in line?”
“Yes, I will make up some shit to get him to sign another contract with a gag clause. I will tell him the new contract protects him from you doing anything stupid. By the way, I signed your friend Adam on as a studio musician for the label. He and Allison are doing a duet on her album. If it does well I may even get him in to do his own single. He signed a contract agreeing not to out you or be seen in public with you.”
Kris felt crushed, “He signed a contract that said he couldn’t see me?”
Ian shrugged, “Pretty much. Don’t worry it is only for a year. If it is any consolation, he did originally object to that part.”
Kris wasn’t comforted by that and just nodded. Why should he be surprised after all Adam was only with him because he paid him or paid his rent. The one time they were together with no strings he didn’t even know it was him! Kris agreed to Ian’s terms and also signed a contract that he would not admit to being gay in any public forums and he would not intentionally meet with Adam in public or in private. The latter he agreed to reluctantly. It was going to be a long year.
Allison shrugged, “Good maybe this will give Kris the impetus to come out.”
He gaped at Allison’s nonchalant attitude, “More likely he is going to blame me and I will be crushed like always. I can’t afford to get blacklisted in another industry. You and Kris have the same label and he is a bigger star. They will never let us do the single, I am going to end up as a sales clerk at the GAP and die alone.”
Allison hit him in the back of the head, “Adam, there isn’t enough room in this house for another drama queen. That is my role and you can’t have it. I know Kris is a coward but he wouldn’t lie like that and intentionally hurt you.”
“Really? The guy who let me think I killed a baby with syphilis, the one that let me get fired and be homeless? I am pretty sure he has it in him to hide behind a lie to salvage his million dollar career and story book marriage.”
Allison frowned, “OK maybe it is a possibility he will go with the flow and let people think you are the villain but I still think the label will let us do the single. You think you can keep it up to fuck that lady Carmen from my management?”
Adam shook his head, “I am not going to use sex to try and combat a sex scandal. Even stupid me knows that is a horrible idea. Plus, no, I don’t think I could keep it up bedding her.”
Allison seemed perplexed, “Let’s just hope for the best. Maybe no one will even notice the story.”
They went to the studio the next day and were bombarded by paparazzi asking if Adam slept with Kris Allen. Adam didn’t say anything and just went in the studio. Allison frowned, “Well I guess plan A of ignoring it won’t work. Let’s just finish the single.”
Adam didn’t hear from Kris and his publicity didn’t address the story. The story was picked up by other magazines and Adam decided to just lay low at either Allison’s house or the studio. By the end of the week, Allison’s management and several people from the label showed up. The executives from the label were treating Adam well which was a surprise. In fact, one of the lead guys, Ian, asked to go for a walk with him to a more private area.
Adam agreed but was scared, “You’re not going to hurt me, are you?”
Ian laughed, “Do I look like a good ole’ boy?”
Adam heard something in his tone that made him worry the guy was going to proposition him, “Maybe not but my guess is I may not like this talk.”
Ian shrugged, “Maybe you will.”
They went to a secluded area of the studio, “Adam, did you have an affair with Kris Allen?”
Adam hesitated unsure of what to say, “Er…”
Ian just held up a hand, “Don’t bother I can guess the answer is yes. Look, Kris Allen makes a lot of money for the label and he has this Disney image. To be honest I am not all that surprised because no one in this industry is that squeaky clean. We need to do a bit of damage control for his sake and yours. I think you have the potential to be a big star too. Your gorgeous and can sing better than 99.9% of the successful stars today. We need you to keep quiet about that affair and let it play out. In the meantime, we will do a contract with you for some studio work and let the single you are making with Allison go on the album.”
“What’s the catch?”
“You need to keep Kris on board with the plan. His band mates claim he is considering coming out and we just don’t think the timing is good. All you have to do is convince him to wait a few months. No big deal since it will take a year to finalize his divorce.”
Adam wasn’t sure if he heard correctly, “Kris is getting divorced?”
“He and his wife filed yesterday for irreconcilable differences. Anyway, think about it and if you are willing I will draw up the paperwork for the contract.” The guy winked at him, “You are too beautiful to let these closet cases keep you hidden. Think about yourself for once.”
Adam went home and called Kris hoping he would answer but wasn’t surprised when it went into voicemail. He left a simple message asking Kris to call him. Adam told Allison about Ian and she nodded, “Ian is gay. He is kind of cute-“
“The point, Allison, stick to the point. They want me to convince Kris to stay in the closet which goes against everything I believe in.”
“Whatever, thespian, I think it is a good idea for Kris to lay low. He doesn’t exactly operate well under scrutiny. Plus, I spoke to him and Katy made it a condition that he wait a few months to publicly admit to being gay. I think she is waiting on some kind of role or wants to be in his music video or something. Anyway, problem solved since you are both on the same sheet.”
Adam felt a bit deflated that Kris was staying in the closet but Allison was right that did solve a problem. “I tried to call him and he didn’t even answer.”
“He ditched his cell phone and the paps are totally trying to catch him “in the act”. He asked about you and I told him you were fine. Stick to the plan of taking a break from one another so that maybe someday in the distant future you can have a reasonably healthy relationship. Besides, neither one of you can afford to have the details of your romance become public since last I checked prostitution and sexual harassment is illegal.”
Fair enough but where was this voice of reason way back when this disaster known as Kris Allen, the john, began?
*~*
Kris met with his management team early the morning after his talk with Katy and the airing of the TMZ story. His management team must have assumed his guilt because they never asked if the TMZ story was true. Instead, they focused on explaining the merits of keeping his personal life close hold and to delay any major revelations until after the tour. Kris could see their point but he wanted to see Adam sooner rather than later. As much as he knew that the timing was off, he couldn’t turn off the nonstop fantasies in his head. It was as if all his post-pubescent desires which he suppressed was hitting him full on. If he was going to keep quiet and not screw up he had to avoid Adam.
Katy got caught by the paparazzi on the way to an audition and simply said from her experience TMZ is hardly ever accurate and she had no intention of discussing her marriage with a bunch of reporters. She suggested they ask her about her acting. The paparazzi apparently weren’t too interested when they found out it wasn’t in porn. Kris was still a bit leery of Katy but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Cale on the other hand was really pissing him off. Cale continued to try and lecture Kris about marriage and how admitting to being bisexual would destroy the band. The band was getting ready to do a short promo concert at the pier when Cale started on his latest tirade.
Kris was fed up, “You know, Cale, I am not in a band as much as I am a solo artist with a backup band. Feel free to move on if you don’t like the direction I am heading.”
“I co-wrote some of your songs so you can’t just kick me out.”
“I wasn’t kicking you out. I simply suggested you don’t have to compromise your morals and stick around. By the way, I don’t think you should be preaching to me about marriage. Katy was pretty honest with me about things.”
Kris noticed Cale paled which pretty much confirmed his fears. Kris tried to control his anger by being an asshole, “I hope Katy warned you to go to the doctor. I would hate for you to have to explain to Mary how you got syphilis.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I would have warned you but at the time I had no idea you were fucking my wife but I had syphillis.”
Cale seemed to go from confused to violent and tried to punch Kris, “You fucking bastard you slept with that..that player and infected your wife! I had no idea you were still sleeping with Katy while fucking a man. What if you have AIDS?”
Kris through caution to the wind and punched Cale which resulted in both of them causing a scene, breaking equipment on the stage, ruining the show and publicly humiliating themselves. Not good.
Kris found himself in a meeting with management and the label early the next morning. They informed him that Cale was willing to not press charges if Kris apologized and agreed not to come out as bisexual. Kris laughed, “How can he press charges?”
One of the label executives spoke, “Someone videotaped the fight and you hit him first. Trust me you would lose in a court hearing. I don’t think he is asking for anything that unreasonable.”
Kris knew the guy by name, Ian Crestman, but hadn’t dealt with him personally. He was good looking and confident. Kris wondered if the label wasn’t trying to distract him, “Ian I am not about to apologize to a guy that slept with my wife and then blames me for the repercussions.”
Ian faltered, “He didn’t mention that part. Is there any other scandal we should know about for damage control purposes?”
“I am getting divorced.”
“OK, are you planning on letting the public know your wife cheated or you cheated for that matter?”
Kris immediately realized he screwed up sharing that information, “No! That would hurt Katy and kill my career. We both agreed to keep adultery out of the divorce proceedings.”
“In that case, I think we need to keep Cale under control. I know you probably want to kick him out of the band but if you do he will definitely tell the world you had an affair with a man.”
“Maybe I should just be honest.”
Ian shook his head, “Kris, normally I would say honesty is best but too many people are dirty in this. You might come out ok but Katy and Adam would be destroyed. Stay the course until after the tour. Then your divorce will finalize, you can come out and fire your band. You can survive off your earnings for a year or two, write an awesome coming out album and be back on top as a gay man. What do you say?”
“I think that it won’t play out that well. Are you sure Cale will stay in line?”
“Yes, I will make up some shit to get him to sign another contract with a gag clause. I will tell him the new contract protects him from you doing anything stupid. By the way, I signed your friend Adam on as a studio musician for the label. He and Allison are doing a duet on her album. If it does well I may even get him in to do his own single. He signed a contract agreeing not to out you or be seen in public with you.”
Kris felt crushed, “He signed a contract that said he couldn’t see me?”
Ian shrugged, “Pretty much. Don’t worry it is only for a year. If it is any consolation, he did originally object to that part.”
Kris wasn’t comforted by that and just nodded. Why should he be surprised after all Adam was only with him because he paid him or paid his rent. The one time they were together with no strings he didn’t even know it was him! Kris agreed to Ian’s terms and also signed a contract that he would not admit to being gay in any public forums and he would not intentionally meet with Adam in public or in private. The latter he agreed to reluctantly. It was going to be a long year.