Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
The following day, Ben returned to his office to have a short meeting with his boss and partner about their plans. Mr. Kong took a sip of his black coffee as he looked at his two favorite talent scouts “So Ben, how’s the progress?”
He nodded almost hesitantly “It’s going good. I think it could be better.”
“There’s always room for improvement.” Mr. Kong said. He turned to the normally outspoken girl who was now quiet as can be “What’s the matter?”
She looked up at her boss with a slow smile “I think it’s wrong to hide the truth from Ivy. She would be furious if she found out the truth.”
Ben rolled his eyes “How would you know? I personally think she would be thrilled to find out that she was recruited by the top Talent Agencies in the Entertainment business.”
“I think it’s a mistake. Ivy is not some simple minded person you can manipulate. I think Tyler has a bigger chance for cooperation. Trust me, it took me a whole month just to gain her trust, this would blow her over the top and she would never trust me or you again.” The young girl was wiser beyond her years.
“Vicki-” Ben began only to be stopped by Mr. Kong’s hand.
“Ben, she does have a good point. We need someone that should be cooperative. I know you like challenges and this is definitely your biggest challenge, but I can’t help but agree with Vicki, this girl sounds like she’s not a forgiving person. Not only will the plans be ruined, but you might even lose a good friend.” Mr. Kong said logically.
Vicki nodded in agreement “I think so too. She’s become one of my closer friends. I don’t want to ruin this relationship because you failed to tell her who you really are.”
“Well, how about you? She doesn’t know about you. And don’t get me started on Tyler…” Vicki squirmed uncomfortably as she sat straight up while Ben scrutinized her “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do. Tyler is your backup just in case Ivy goes wrong. But let me tell you this, she will be great!” He had too much confidence in her.
Vicki shook her head “I’m just thinking for the both of us. We’re partners, it has to be teamwork. If your plan fails, mine will work.”
“You told Tyler?” Ben sounded a bit shock.
She smiled at her partner “No…but I’m planning to.”
Ben let out a sigh of relief “Thank God. You can’t tell Tyler. You how close he is with his sister, I can guarantee that he will tell Ivy. Nothing can go wrong with this plan.”
Vicki turned her head away “It’s already too late. If I know Ivy, she will take this as an insult. She admires loyalty in friends and as much as you want to stay in your little perfect bubble, Ben. No one will live happily ever after in this fairytale.”
Mr. Kong once again raised his hand to pause the arguing, “You both have good points. But I do want to see how this girl does before we make any hasty judgments. Ben, you say she has a special charm? What other abilities does she possess?”
“She’s very funny…in a sarcastic kind of way.” Ben began as a smile formed on his face “Ivy is the kind of person you want to be friends with. She’ll protect you from everything and everyone. She makes me laugh like a kid at times. The contour of her face is so perfect, it’s a shame she’s not a model and her smile…dazzling.” He nodded firmly.
Vicki lips pursed upward “Oh my God…you’re in love with her.”
Ben’s smile dropped in a second “What? That’s absolutely absurd!”
She saw it in his eyes, he was dodging her look “You are so smitten by her. Look at you… describing every personality trait that you find adoring. Why didn’t you mention the fact that she’s rude and brutally straightforward. Not to mention the fact that she acts like a tomboy and picks her armpit like a gorilla?”
“She is not as bad as you make her sound.” Ben said in Ivy’s defense.
Vicki turned to Mr. Kong “Isn’t there a rule against falling in love with a talent that you discovered?”
Mr. Kong smiled in return “Ben, I think Vicki’s got a point.”
“I am NOT in love with her!” he cried suddenly. His normal calm stature was suddenly replaced by impatience “How many times do I have to say it? She’s definitely not in my league…”
“Ben, calm down.” Mr. Kong advised patiently “What time is it? Maybe you two should get back to where you should be. But before you two leave, I have a last request. You have to tell this girl the truth.” He saw Ben widened his eyes and Mr. Kong shook his head “No, I don’t mean now. But you must tell her before the New Talent Ball. I don’t want her to make a scene in the middle of the party. There will be a lot of producers and directors present…not to mention the stars will be swarming. She cannot lose her cool.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Kong…I won’t let you down.” Ben said with much confidence.
Vicki on the other hand was more cautious “It depends on if she will agree to come.” She ignored the dirty look Ben threw her as she turned to their boss “Is it okay if I have a Plan B?”
Mr. Kong nodded “A prepared scout always has a Plan B.” Vicki beamed at his answer “Okay you two. Back to work. I have a meeting with Mr. Fong today. So I won’t be back at all, have fun and Ben…be careful. The heart is not something you mess with.” Vicki stifled a laugh as they walked out together.
Vicki returned home to stay out of the picture since she knew Ben was taking Ivy up to the office. Instead of picking her up though, he called her and gave her directions to the office. She wasn’t excited about the news but she was willing to cooperate. Ben was working on some paperwork in his window office when his secretary knocked on the door “Come in.” he called.
“Mr. Lam, there is a Miss Ivy outside waiting for you.” She said with a timid smile.
“Can you take her to the conference room? I’ll be there in a minute.” Ben smiled as she walked out. He said a silent prayer, hoping she didn’t figure out that the company was a Talent Agency. It was a chance he was willing to take if he wanted to break her open. The test he was about to put on her would be the mother of all tricks.
Ivy was sitting on one of the many leather chairs with her leg propped up on the table when Ben walked in. She was wearing her skirt/top ensemble, the one that he found for her. He cleared his throat when she didn’t notice he was there. Ivy turned her head around the side of the chair “Hi.” She said grumpily.
Ben’s smile faded “What’s wrong?” he figured his prayer wasn’t heard.
She moved her chair in a circle but her legs were still propped up. She saw Ben turn away suddenly and she laughed “I have shorts under.” She pulled up her skirt to show him.
He frowned “Why would you wear a pair of shorts underneath a skirt?”
Ivy rolled her eyes “So I can do this!” She pointed to her legs dangling on the table.
“So what happened?” he pulled out a seat next to her.
Ivy dropped her legs as she leaned on her thighs with the palm of her hands “Some jerk downstairs ran into me…I was gonna punch him out but I remembered that I had a skirt on and blood would be hell to wash out.” Ben smiled with a nod while she continued “Well, he was lucky cause he said sorry.”
“So? It doesn’t sound too bad.” Ben said casually. He wasn’t sure where her story was getting at.
“He…” Ivy took a deep breath “He called me…” she looked around eventhough there was only the two of them in the room “The ‘B’ word.”
Ben widened his eyes in horror “No…who was that? I’ll go down right now and give him a piece of my mind!”
She pulled him down the seat when he began to get up “Hold on, speedy…If I wanted to beat him up, I would have done it myself. I’m going to let that slide though.”
He looked at her with pure admiration “Wow…that’s very big of you.” He shook his head with a laugh “If someone called me a bitch, I think I’d pu—”
“He didn’t call me a bitch.” Ivy said, “If he did, I would have thanked him. He called me… beautiful.” She whispered the word. Ivy’s face wrinkled with disgust “I mean, talk about insult!!”
Ben let out an exasperated sigh “Sweetie, that’s called a compliment.”
Ivy arched her left brow upwards “No, it’s an insult. Call me ‘sweetie’ again and I’ll make sure you lose a tooth.” She pointed at him.
He laughed despite her serious tone “I was being ‘sarcastic’. Are you familiar with that word?” Ivy’s lips curled up into a smile “You should do that more often, you look very cu—” he had to stop himself “cool…” he finished.
Ivy nodded while her eyes narrowed “Yeah, you better say cool.” She got up and walked towards the windows, she had the perfect view of the bay “Wow…I’ve never seen the city like this.” She pointed down the street as her face pressed against the window “Look, it’s Yeung Bak in the cart!” she turned to Ben “I would die for a fried fish stick right now.”
“No!” He said sternly “That is bad for you. No more fried food, only steamed or boiled vegetables.”
She snickered “You’re not the boss of me. I can eat whatever I damn well please!”
Ben smiled “I was kidding.”
“Hey…” she walked over to him “I was meaning to ask you. What kind of company is this? I saw all these movie star posters on the walls down the hallway. I thought it was an image consulting company, but the sign said Talent Agency?”
He waved his hand nonchalantly “Oh that…it’s because we’re two companies in one. I work on the consulting side.”
Ivy nodded, taking his explanation “Hey…do you ever see stars in here?” she asked with sudden interest.
“Always.” He smiled “Is someone a little star struck?”
“Hell no!” Ivy shook her head but a sly smile was plastered on her face.
“Really?” he asked with special interest. He glanced at his watch and looked up earnestly “I forgot I had a phone meeting with one of my clients at 11:30. It shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back in about 30 minutes. Why don’t you watch some TV?”
Ivy looked around the fancy conference room “You guys have a TV in here?”
Ben chuckled at her shocked face “Yes. Here…” he got up and reached for the control in one of the drawers by the corner of the room “Just relax in here.” He pressed a button and the flat screen appeared from a box on the top left corner of the room. She didn’t even notice it was sitting there.
“This is so freaking cool!!” she was already lost in her own little TV land and didn’t notice that he was gone.