I closed my eyes as soon as he dropped that little bomb on me.

“Oh my god,” I whispered. “Oh my god…”

I gripped my head in this theatrical gesture of absolute horror (must’ve been an Oscar performance me thinks) as this news sank in. I was actually going to work for the two people on this planet that Ross would probably hate more than anything, not to mention Sofia, whose reaction was pretty understandable now. I looked up at Ross, and saw the muscles in his jaw nervously working as his eyes sought mine.
I sighed deeply and then did the only thing I could think of; I hit his arm as hard as I could. It wasn’t meant to actually hurt him, and I doubt it did, but more to release the frustration.

“Jesus Ross, were you ever going to tell me this? Or were you actually just going to let me work there and find out by myself in some weird way? You jackass!”
I stepped away from him and started to pace while Ross followed me closely, trying to get me to look at him and stand still.

“I know, I know… I’m sorry… I tried to talk to you about it but you came on so strong about it being ‘your choice’, that I had to ‘butt out’ of it and that you didn’t care about the business stuff. I didn’t wanna risk a big fight over it, then. The last time we had a big fight, Antarctica was looking pretty comfortable compared to you freezing me out for what was it… a week? I figured I’d tell you this weekend, so that you’d know what you were getting in to.”

“You’re an oaf, you know that?” I said, shaking my head and pulling him into a hug. “An absolute oaf.”
He returned the hug by squeezing the life out of me and I groaned softly, and he let go. He sent me an apologetic smile.

“Forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive except maybe your timing; I wish you would have told me sooner. No wonder Sofia almost had a heart attack; she pretty much wants to drink Kyle’s blood.”

“And Warner’s,” Ross added, “to this day, he’s somewhat of a social pariah in this town. Don’t ever cross Sofia Forester.”

“Yeah, I already understood that much. Ross… what am I going to do now? Obviously I can’t go to work for them.”

“You have no choice. You signed the contract. That’s why I let it go; there’s no way for you to get out of it. I wouldn’t let you, if I were them. And you were right when you said it wasn’t about business itself. Well, in a way it is; if their game sells, and with your music it should fly off the shelves, it’ll be a success I’d rather not see them having.”

“Neither do I,” I answered, “well, I could always compose a piece of crap for them.”

“Your reputation would be ruined and I know you’re too proud of your work to deliver a piece of crap, even if it’s for your worst enemy.”

“True, that,” I conceded.
Damn principals.
“So what do I do? And what the hell am I going to tell your mother? There’s no excuse in her eyes, I’m afraid.”
Ross pulled me against him and brushed his lips over mine.

“We’ll deal with it tonight, okay? She was just shocked because you dropped that bomb on her like… well, like I did a few minutes ago, basically.”

“Yeah, and if you ever do that again, you’re going to be walking funny. Permanently.”
He grinned and gave me a proper kiss.
“She’ll be calmer tonight, I’m sure. For now, though, we have to get back downstairs. There’s still a party going on, in your honor.”

CHAPTER *28*

Sofia was a lot calmer, thanks to mom who had taken her home from the party, shortly after Ross and I had gone upstairs. Knowing mom, she’d also given her a shot (or several, because…well, it was mom) of something strong, so by the time we arrived at the house, which was around 9pm, I feared that Sofia would either be all liquored up by now or sleeping it off. Surprisingly enough, she was in her salon, waiting for us. My mom was still there but she got up as soon as we came in, wishing us good night and good luck.
Well, that last was whispered to me alone.
I watched her go with regret because I could really use her in this situation; over the past few months, it seemed she and Sofia got along remarkably well. They visited each other, or actually mom came to the house, on weekly bases and they had regular lunch-appointments at the diner. That Ross’s mother would even set foot in a diner had been as much a surprise to me as it had been to her son or even Sofia herself I imagine, but she seemed to enjoy it.

“Well, this was quite some day, wasn’t it?” I said, trying to sound cheerful.

“The days of our lives are a lot like the weather,” Sofia replied, more than a little peeved, “if you look long enough and hard enough, eventually you’ll find an absolutely miserable day on the horizon.”

“Right,” I said, slowly. “And on that note; I’ll take the strongest in from the cabinet, there yonder.”
Ross hid a smile and shook his head. He had warned me not to be glib but that was like telling someone on a rope wire not to look down. They always look down, right? Right.

“What were you thinking, Mark? At least tell me that,” Sofia started.

“He didn’t know, mother,” Ross said, before I could reply. “All he knew was that it was another paying job. Some people actually work for a living, you know.”

“I can answer for myself, Ross,” I said, eying Sofia. I thought for a moment and then sighed, jerking my thumb to where her son roughly was, behind her pouring drinks. “What he said.”

“This is not funny, Mark,” she said.

“I know that. And I sure didn’t do it on purpose, alright? Had I known everything, I wouldn’t have signed the contract.”
Sofia sighed and accepted a glass and a small bottle of Evian that Ross offered her.

“Good. Well then, that’s settled.”
I frowned at her, and accepted my drink as Ross sat beside me.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Obviously you can’t do it,” she said. “I’ll call our lawyers and have them deal with the situation.”

“We can’t, mother,” Ross said, shaking his head. ”The contract is signed, and he can’t get out of it."
I nodded.

“Yep, it’s as tight as an ant’s sphincter,” I said, taking a sip.
Beside me, Ross hiccupped but I didn’t look.

“How… colorful,” Sofia said, putting down her drink. “But you’re sure? Did you see the contract? There’s nothing we can do? I don’t think it would hurt to have our lawyers take a look at it.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t but it’s a waste of time. They didn’t lure me in under false pretences or something like that. It’s a deal as I always make them. I was given several samples of the project before I accepted. I have only one standard and that is that the project should be something that I’d want to play or see. I had a few conversations with the people I would work with, toss some ideas around. The same as I did with FG’s game. Had I know the conniving cheat would be heading the department, I wouldn’t have accepted.”

At the words ‘conniving cheat’, Sofia smirked and nodded a silent toast to me, which I replied. Ross only frowned and then finally got it. What can I say; he’s thick at times.

“Then maybe it is time you review your way of deal making, wouldn’t you say?” Sofia said.

“Why? I always work from what I feel. If it feels right, it feels right. I don’t need a pack of lawyers to tell me what to do. Nor do I ever want to. It’s my freedom.”

“Mark, it’s not just you who is at risk here anymore. We all are.”
I frowned.

“How so?” I asked. “I fail to see what this has anything to do with you guys. It’s my work, my reputation… isn’t it?”

“Actually… no,” Ross said. What mother is trying to tell you is that now that we are together, a couple, people will see you differently. That’s just the way it is. People will now see us as a whole, not just you as an individual. They will think you can be their way into this family, to our connections, to money and power. What you do now, reflects on us as well.”
Sofia mimicked my earlier thumb- movement and nodded at her son.

“What he said.”
I couldn’t help but grin but then I grew curious.

“You’re kidding me, right? Come on, it can’t be that bad… can it?”

“Welcome to the world of the rich and famous,” Sofia answered, sarcastically. “What did you think that would happen? You and my son get together and live long, happy and carefree for the rest of your lives? I hope you will have the first two, I really do, but the latter you’ll never have.”

“That’s a bit of a bitter outlook, isn’t it?” I asked, to no one in particular.

“Maybe so,“ Ross answered, “but true, believe me. You already experienced some of it; the public scrutiny. But that’s just a little part of it. Suddenly, you’re news. Suddenly you’ll have friends contacting you from way back, claiming to be your best mates, even if they treated you bad in the past. Suddenly, people want something from you. And some think you have something that they think they should have. You may not have it but that won’t stop them from trying.”

“Okay, now you’re freaking me out. Stop it, okay?”

“I know and I’m sorry,” he said, taking my hand. “I should have warned you right from the start. But it’s not all bad, okay? It’s just a way of life you’ll get used to pretty fast.”
I frowned at him.
“Come on,” Ross said, winking at me. “I know how it all sounds, but it’s piled up now, because of this ‘problem’. Whenever you pile up the small stuff, it always seems undoable. It doesn’t happen all at once, but you now know what to look for if strange things start to happen, like old friends calling, or people you don’t know suddenly treat you as your best friend. You’ll learn pretty quickly, you’ll see.”

“Right… so me working at Warner Gaming…” I asked, looking from Sofia to Ross and back.

“…is news, yes,” Ross nodded, “It’ll probably be in the paper soon. I’m actually surprised it already hasn’t.”

“I called Jeff and he’s running a small article tomorrow,” Sofia said, “Nothing big, just an announcement that Mark’s next project is to score Warner’s latest. I tipped him before Warner tried to gloat about it.”

“Wow,” I said, “Is this a regular thing?”
Ross nodded again.

“Pretty much. It’s like a chess game; your move, their move. Try to beat the other. What, you thought all we do is drive expensive cars, wear designer clothes and party all day?”
He laughed.

“Well, no, of course not,” I said, blushing.
Because truthfully? That was pretty much what I had actually thought about rich people; folks who didn’t have to lift a finger.
“I didn’t think it would be this… political. Sounds like a lot of work.”

“Being rich isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be,” Ross said sourly, but he winked. “The cars, houses, jewelry, clothes… people focus on that because it’s flashy and out of reach. But to maintain it, it’s a business all in itself. But don’t get me wrong; I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Neither do I,” I replied. “I mean, I don’t want to do all that. I just want to do what I always do.”

“You still can,” he said, squeezing my hand. ”You just have to be careful in what you do and say because one way or another, it’ll be a public thing before you know it.”

“Great. That’s just great,” I sighed.