Chapter 169 - Little Devil In Him

He was expecting a call from Mrs. Janka and a report on his business dinner. What was he to say to a woman who valued him as her own son? The whole situation and this unfortunate incident were bloody annoying.

"Fiorelli on the line," he heard suddenly, and looked up from the laptop he had launched a while ago, but nothing else."

"What does he want?"

"Meet and chat."

He called the company, so he reports through the business channel. If Andrzej said that he wanted nothing to do with him, it would raise more questions than it answers.

"Tell him, please, that I have time until eleven. He may appear early enough."

Actually Nowicki had a lot more time, but in this whole situation he was the victim, not the Italian. If Fiorelli thought that he was allowed to do anything because of his position in a well-known company, he was wrong, and very much so.

Mrs. Janka did not ask him for an interview. Only Tomaszek came up with a quick question if Andrzej had already made a decision.

"I'll be talking to Fiorelli again," he replied. It seemed that this state of affairs suited Mrs. Pasek, because there were no more questions or comments.

Giorgio Fiorelli appeared forty minutes later. The tall, slender Italian with wavy black hair was quite handsome, which Nowicki objectively stated. Subjectively, however, he was disgusted with him. A slight smile left his lips immediately when Sylwia closed the door as she left.

"I've been waiting for the police all weekend," Giorgio Fiorelli said apologetically.

"And I thought you left for Milan that night."

"Believe me, I really didn't want to ..."

"What? Fuck me?"

"It's not a sin to covet someone beautiful."

"And make him do something against his will?"

"I did not know that this aphrodisiac..."

"I know" Andrzej interrupted him. "This justifies the strength of the drug, not the mere administration. Do you have something for your defense here?"

"Only that I am really fascinated by your beauty. You're insanely alluring and ..."

"This is supposed to be an excuse? If so, you are a degenerate."

"So be it. But I'm not alone in this. Do you know how many times I have been in a similar situation? Models, regardless of age and gender, are attracted to this world and are able to give up everything for the smallest contract ..."

"What are you here for?" Nowicki broke in on his word, because he didn't like the Italian's tirade. The longer he listened to it, the more he hated it.

"I'd like you to rethink your contract with us after all."

"Are you kidding me? Agree and then be careful with everything I eat and drink so I don't end up in some pervert's bed?"

"You're too strict ..."

"You are in danger of a criminal charges. Better be careful what you say to me."

Giorgio Fiorelli gritted his teeth.

"I will give up this project," he announced. "I'll pass it on to someone who has no interest in men."

"I have difficulty believing that someone like that exists in your world."

"Please. I chose you from thousands of faces, but my coworkers didn't need to be convinced. If this satisfies you, I can resign from the company. Just agree to be the face of our campaign."

He was begging, he was really begging. How desperate. He was pathetic, but agreed to abandon everything so as not to spoil the project. Or not to go to a prison cell. The bastard was pathetic and Andrzej decided that he wouldn't let him sneak out so easily.

***

"And what?" Mrs. Pasek asked curiously. Andrzej was just returning from the toilet and did not expect this "accidental" meeting.

"We're negotiating."

"Really? I thought you made decisions faster."

"Usually yes, but there are several different factors involved."

"But you don't force yourself to do it, do you?"

"On the contrary, I feel more and more tempted to do so." Andrzej was not lying. Fiorelli's desperation set a little devil in Nowicki. He will now be fork stabbing an Italian for his crime. "However, before I sign a contract, all white spots must be filled in and each sentence in small print precisely explained."

"Our lawyers ..."

"Thank you. I hope there will be no such need."

"You look tired," Mrs. Pasek looked at him sympathetically. She probably thought he had spent too much time pondering the proposal. "Dominik is back today?"

"Tonight."

"Go home, get some sleep or prepare something delicious for him. If Dominik sees you like this, he won't want to leave again. How about the trial shots?"

"Looks like he was liked."

"It is obvious. Rather, I am asking if he liked the plan?"

Andrzej's eyes widened. That he had not thought about it himself! Śliwiński was against acting in this film. He wanted to quit acting at all. He agreed only under pressure from others. From his side. How was it different from the pressures Marczak had previously applied on him?

"I'll talk to him about it after his return. Face to face."

Mrs. Pasek pointed out an important thing to him. Only now, when Nowicki faced a similar choice, could he better understand Śliwiński's reluctance to take on new roles. Andrzej refused to acknowledge that the entire world of show business was demoralized, but he had to admit that some in it felt with impunity. Probably if he got close to the world of politics, sports or anything else, he would find more dirt than he expects, secret deals, gray eminences, people who feel impunity because of their position and wealth. Nowicki was fed up with all of this before he set foot there, but Dominik had been in this dirty world for seven years. It wasn't fair to him that his purgatory was extended by one more movie.

Purgatory or maybe Hell?

Andrzej promised to support and protect him, while he was the first to persuade him to play in a Hollywood production. Why? Because he believed that the role was perfect for Dominik and that something beautiful would come out of it. But was this "beauty" not to come at the expense of the man he was to take care of? Mrs. Janka told Andrzej not to force himself to anything, so why did he force Dominik?

After all, he wanted to believe that was not the case. He wanted to think that he had convinced the actor rationally and that Śliwiński hated his decision. What if it is different? If, because of him, Dominik pretends that everything is fine, in the meantime he has to deal with various unpleasantness just to make him, Andrzej, enjoyable? If so, Nowicki was a really low creature.

Would Dominik tell him if it was bad? Andrzej wanted to believe that, because they were friends, but they were something more, and just as he himself could not tell him about the adventure with Fiorelli, Śliwiński could hide other facts from him. Not because he wanted to hide something from him, it was just too hard to reveal the truth and the other person might have to worry unnecessarily.

But, then, will they not fall into some spiral of lies and suddenly find out that they are not really telling themselves anything? They move away from each other, they become complete strangers because it becomes harder and harder to talk when lies pile up. And yet Andrzej promised that he would always be honest with Dominik.

So he will have to tell his adventure and do it in such a way that it turns into a joke.

A joke, good to yourself. Nowicki could not imagine anything funny in this situation. On the contrary, if something like this happened to Dominik, he would be afraid to let him go anywhere alone and the Italian would say goodbye to his pretty face permanently.

By using the high-speed train, Andrzej would have a simple connection to his home. He used it when he was in a hurry, that is almost always when Dominik was waiting for him. But the house was empty and sad.

Home without Dominik, meals without him, spent nights alone ... All life lost its taste and meaning when he was not around.

If he were a woman, I would propose to him, Andrzej smiled to himself and suddenly blushed. The only time he'd ever thought about getting married was when Paulina got pregnant and her man turned out to be the last shit. Nowicki did not want her to raise the child herself and the child to be brought up without a father. It would be a marriage of love, but purely platonic, friendly, devoid of romance and passion. He would survive, and they would probably both be happy in it, although neither would feel fulfilled. Paulina found it out to him and refused. He didn't feel hurt or rejected, but neither was there any relief. He was ready for this marriage because he did not want someone he respected and liked to suffer the stigma of a single mother. However, she had enough strength not to worry about anything and raise a wonderful daughter.

Andrzej did not think about marrying someone else because he did not know love.