Chapter 119 - Come On, Little Tiger, You Have Something To Fight For!

"I'm here" Dominik ran down after literally two minutes, but there was no trace of any of them.

"I took the opportunity to make my coffee," said Marek's voice. "No, correction, your Nowicki allowed me."

'Your Nowicki'? What is that term?

"I see that you are not jumping to your eyes anymore" Dominik remarked as he entered the kitchen. Marczak stood by the stove waiting for the kettle to boil.

"I don't know how much Nowicki told you about what happened when you were abducted ... I'm sorry, I didn't want to evoke bad memories."

"No problem. We haven't talked much about it. And what happened?" Dominik tried to hide the suspicion and anxiety he felt behind his mask of plain, polite interest.

The kettle whistled and Marczak turned to turn it off and pour the coffee. Śliwiński felt his heart pounding with uncertainty. What will he hear in a moment?

"We spent a lot of time together looking for you. He… is a really decent guy."

"You wanted to pick him up? My boyfriend?"

"I wanted to loosen him, distract his thoughts from the search. He was acting like he was going to go crazy in a moment, so I teased him a bit."

"And he didn't break your nose? He hated you."

"You know," Marczak smiled sweetly, "he tried."

Dominik blinked his eyes. He didn't understand anything. He tried to put the information in his head, but it didn't make much sense. It seemed that while he was being held by Werner, Marek was getting to Andrzej, who tried (tried!) to chase him away by force. Now, in the company of Marczak, he behaved completely differently than before Dominik disappeared. It's as if he doesn't know how to behave. But Marek probably did not ...?

"What did you do to him?" He growled. Rage filled him. If Marczak hurt Andrzej ...

Marek looked down at him with a sneaky, feline smile.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Talk! Now!"

Marczak's lips did not stop smiling ambiguously, but no sound came out of them. The blackest, most terrible thoughts began to run through Śliwiński's head. He imagined Andrzej, overwhelmed, crushed by the weight of Marek's body, and the manager himself brutally stabbing the photographer's body with his… It was so frightening, so horrible that Dominik felt a rage seize him. If he doesn't get a reply within seconds, he'll tear his ex-lover to shreds.

"Nothing," Marczak's face softened. He seemed to be laughing in a moment.

Śliwiński did not take his watchful, combat-ready eyes off him.

"Really nothing. Your boyfriend accused me of kidnapping you, so I made it clear to him how wrong he was. I teased him, it's true, but I didn't even touch him. I admit, I like him, so I do not rule out that I will try to get him from you, but even I have a bit of decency. We spent a lot of time together looking for you and Nowicki got used to me. I won't say he likes me, but I don't give up hope."

"And so recently you said you were crazy about me," Dominik shook his head. The sense of relief was so great that he felt as if he had just now inhaled a breath.

"I'm crazy. I want both of you."

"You're totally perverted!"

"I know. And I like be that."

The actor was unable to say whether his ex-agent was serious or joking. There was a serious risk that his mind really had fantasies about both of them, after all, Śliwiński remembered his tastes and appetites well. Marczak has organized more than one event for prominent people of this world, whose sexual debauchery could resemble the orgies of the ancient world, and he knew that he himself did not avoid similar adventures. Dominik never wanted to take part in them, and Marczak offered him a similar game only once, but it did not change the fact that they took place without Śliwiński. Andrzej would never agree to this type of fun. Marek can only dream about it.

No, better not even dream about his Andrzej.

"Keep your hands off Andrzej," he said harshly.

"What, are you afraid he'll betray you?"

"I just don't want to expose him to the unpleasantness of being with you."

"Dominik, I don't recognize you! What a tiger is made of you now!"

Śliwiński blushed up to his ears.

"Leave Andrzej," he repeated.

"And you? You haven't mentioned anything about yourself."

"It was already fixed, so... Forget about both of us. I'm serious. Understand?"

"Coming back to the matter" Marczak neatly changed the subject "I got a very interesting offer for you. A few weeks ago I was contacted by a director from the United States asking for some information about you. Of course, I mean information about your acting skills and potential. Yesterday he sent me the script asking me to present it to you."

"Have you forgotten to tell him I'm not your actor anymore?"

"No, but you don't have a new manager and for the public we're on the best relations, forgot? Anyway, I brought you this script."

"I quit acting."

"Yes, I know from Nowicki, but it does not change the fact that if you had received an interesting offer, you would have played. And this proposal is interesting."

Dominik sighed and held out his hand for the script. The red marker was the name of one of the characters marked with an ellipse, the one who was intended for him - Capt. Christopher Shuba. It was the second name on the list right after Lisa Crain."

"The main role?" He asked incredulously.

"That's right, the main male role. National affiliation undefined. The action takes place during the First World War and just before it. A beautiful singer, invited to the salons, conducts an intelligence campaign. She meets a handsome British officer who, when the girl gets into trouble, tries to save her. It's just a spy adventure movie, but you'll find some scenes that could go down in the history of the cinema."

"No thanks."

"Dominik ..."

"Foreign production, shooting God knows where and for how long. I do not want to leave. Not now."

"Andrzej? He will understand."

"I know, but ... I've been through a lot lately. I really just want to be with him for a while."

"Is it because of Werner?"

"What?"

"You didn't say it out loud, but you won't be in his movie. Looks like no one will play. Is it because of him you don't want to appear in front of the camera? You are afraid?"

"Me? Afraid?" he laughed nervously. "Of what?"

"That something similar will happen to you again. You're afraid to be in the movie, aren't you?"

"No, I…"

"It would not have happened to me if I had not been so popular, so crazy sexy. You're thinking so, aren't you? All because of how the media create me. They're making me a male sex bomb. They're selling my sex appeal. Any moment and they will start offering me stripped-down photo sessions. And then some madman shows up and wants me to himself. No, not me, this image created in the movies. And now again, a silly tale with pretty faces. Adventure commerce. Read the script, then say no. Be honest with yourself and the people making this movie. Dominik, I ... What happened to you was my fault, because I made you this way. You are not just a cute face and a pretty body. You are not defenseless. You have the courage and heart to fight, only by cutting you off from the world I showed you that you don't have to do it, that you have no reason to. But now you have. You have Andrzej."

"What are you ..."

"When you sensed that you might lose him, you started to fight."

"Yes but…"

"You care about him very much. He cares about you too. When you were gone, he was losing his mind because he couldn't protect you. Show him he doesn't need to be afraid for you. That you can fight for yourself."

"With a movie?"

"Yes, with a movie," affirmed Marczak. "Show him you don't bury your head in the sand. Prove to yourself, to him and to the whole world how strong you are."

"With a movie?" Dominik repeated with a crooked smile. Marek was pretty crazy if he thought that something like a movie could have such a power of communication.

"Read the script. I'll wait for the phone call" he said calmly and headed for the door. "See you."

"See you," Dominik replied.

He had no intention of reading the text that the manager had left behind. Who the hell is he to give him any orders? Once, only six months ago, his word would be the final order for Dominik, but now Marczak had no power over him. None. The only thing he could do to Śliwiński is to irritate him.

And he did it well.

Dominik Śliwiński was not a violent man, on the contrary, but this time he wanted to strangle Marczak.

Because, in a way, Mark was right.

Dominik sat down heavily on the couch and cursed as ugly as ever.