Chapter 214 - 17 Compromises Of Adult Life

No, no, no, Andrzej definitely shook his head. The solution that came to mind was totally impossible. Not when dealing with Marek Marczak.

"Your eyes sparkled so beautifully, as if you had come up with an idea. Well, Nowicki, share with me what have you come up with?"

"Nothing with arms and legs."

"Are you sure?"

No, at this point, Andrzej wasn't sure of anything anymore. If Marczak really loved Dominik and wanted to defend him...

"If Dominik gave the information to the police or the press himself, it would seem like he didn't know anything, and when he found out, he began supporting the fight against his immoral ex-agent, who was completely different from what he thought. Which is true anyway..."

Marczak did not stop Andrzej or the course of his words. The glances of the men met and Nowicki felt his heart beat faster.

It wasn't an excitement, though. It was anxiety.

"So you want Dominik to be a whistleblower?" Andrzej asked grimly, trying to fully grasp the significance of this situation.

"Only in this way will he get out of this swamp safe," explained Marczak seriously.

"And you?" slipped out of Nowicki's mouth. It's not that he was worried about Marczak, that this guy would go to jail or go bankrupt, but it seemed that he was sacrificing himself for Dominik.

"You're worried about me?"

This time there was no provocation in Marczak's voice and Andrzej realized that despite all the excesses he had been making, Marek Marczak had not really had anyone except Dominik in his life for seven years. In this world where people are sold like things, where alliances are made only for a while and where blackmail and betrayal lurk everywhere, could Marczak have a real friend?

And now, in order to save his former lover, Marczak is ready to accept Dominik tell the police about all his bad deeds, about which, perhaps having no one else to trust, Marczak was whispering in his lover's ear.

"I'm worried," admitted Nowicki. "I don't like you, I don't trust you, and I think you should pay for your crimes, but I'm worried."

"Thank you, I appreciate your feelings, but you don't have to. I'm not going to jail. My contacts won't allow it."

"What? And I thought that when the ministers changed..."

"I can't stop the investigation," explained Marczak. "I am also unable to stop every newspaper. I will try, of course, to do this, but some scandal is more than likely. I am not even a target. Unfortunately, if the CBA has already involved Dominik, the media will attack him. You know how it is."

Of course he knew. Not only did he once work for a crap newspaper like this, he also had the opportunity to see for himself when the media gossiped about him and Dominik how immoral the media can be.

"But if you try to silence everything, shouldn't Dominik keep quiet?" Andrzej asked. "Why should he blow it all up?"

"Nobody says he should go to the newspapers with everything. CBA is enough. 'He volunteered to testify voluntarily to aid the investigation' sounds better than 'he was called in to testify'."

"Even if it were to incriminate you?"

Marczak smiled with his typical arrogant smile.

"Nowicki, do you really think that my little… that is, your little tiger can have something that will actually hurt me? Even if he remembers absolutely everything I whispered in his ear, or what he ever saw at one of my parties, it would still only be his words."

Andrzej totally did not understand what Marczak was planning in relation to this matter and Dominik. The man was a mystery to him that he never seemed to have solved.

***

"Nowicki, what's the matter with you?" Mrs. Janina Pasek's voice was harsh, but Andrzej could clearly hear her motherly concern.

"Sorry, Mrs. Janka. Something popped up, but it's okay now."

Is it? Fuck, of course not. Nowicki left Marczak's house not so angry, but still very nervous. He was afraid for Dominik and for the development of the whole situation. He was afraid of a scandal, but above all that the young and sensitive actor would have too hard to bear the whole situation.

That year, Dominik's heart was shattered so much that Andrzej was afraid it would ever be possible to put it back together. It took many months and remarkable self-discipline on the part of Dominik not to get swallowed by the darkness, but it worked! Dominik survived and was now calm and happy. But his peace was disturbed again and his happiness was threatened.

"As hell" announced Mrs. Janka, as always more direct than tactful.

"Mrs. Janka, have you ever worked with someone you hated? With someone you would prefer never to see with your eyes again, but you did because you had obligations?"

"Nowicki, are you a kid? I thought you were a grown man. Shouldn't you rather ask if I have ever been lucky enough to work with someone I like?"

Mrs. Pasek snorted and curled her lips in a strange smile. Due to her age and exaggerated makeup, she looked a bit like a baba yaga at this point. The only thing missing was the big nipple on her nose.

"Nowicki, work is work, nothing more and nothing less," she announced. "We are working to survive. We must eat, we must have a roof over our heads and clothes on our necks. Some even need the luxury of going on vacation. Most people do not have the luxury of choosing who they want to work with. Many are glad to have a job at all, although in fact they hate it. Don't you remember what it's like?"

After graduation, Andrzej had a student loan to pay off and he could not be picky about looking for a job and he wanted to work by taking photos. He was lucky that the editor-in-chief of one of the newspapers liked his work, although the quality of the newspaper was very poor. The magazine relied almost exclusively on gossip from the world of stars and demanded unofficial photos with their participation. Andrzej gritted his teeth and worked as paparazzi trying to maintain his dignity and the dignity of the people he followed.

Nowicki did not like his job very much. He also disliked his colleagues who considered themselves journalists, although they were only hyenas, like him. Unfortunately, he was in no position to be picky. Were it not for Mrs. Janka, who gave him a chance, who knows, Andrzej would not have had to return to the paparazzi profession so disliked by him?

Yes, in adulthood, hardly anyone was lucky enough to work with what they liked. Nowicki could thank God for Mrs. Janka, who was the best boss in the world.

But when accepting the order from the client, neither the company of Mrs. Janka, nor Andrzej himself, as a contractor, had the right to be too demanding. After all, it was the client who demanded, not them. They existed to fulfill his wishes. Even if they didn't like something, even if they hated someone from the client's side, they had to grit their teeth and work. It was called professionalism.

Because in business you have to be professional. Andrzej knew about it. If he doesn't like something, he can quit his job, try his luck elsewhere, but as long as he takes money for something, as long as he's bound by a contract, as long as no one is breaking the law, he has to do his job.

Actually, Dominik was in exactly the same situation.

Andrzej sighed. It won't be easy for him to talk to Dominik today.

"Focus, Nowicki!" Mrs. Janina admonished him. "I am not paying you to fantasize or contemplate existential nature. We have already set the date of the photo session for the anniversary collection. The client also chose models. We are just waiting for the acceptance of the decorations. The photos are to be taken the day after tomorrow."

"Day after tomorrow…"

"Don't say you don't like it," Janina Pasek furrowed her eyebrows. "If you didn't disappear from the company so suddenly, you could take part in the discussion."

"No, no, Mrs. Janka, everything is fine. I don't have any plans for the day after tomorrow ", Nowicki assured, but he knew perfectly well that in the current situation it was difficult for him to have any plans. He wasn't the master of the situation, after all.