Illuminati

Illuminati 5

Chapter

"They'lll see you now."

I walk into the management meeting. The first person I see is Augustin Mahn. Mahn is eating this shit up. It's clear I'm in trouble. I don't know how bad but I can look at the face on the Appletons and know that it has to be bad. The only one that even gives me the slightest smile when I walk into the room is Princess Matthews.

It's clear that I am in big shit.

"Let me get this straight," Mrs. Appleton looks at me with the hardest looking eyes, "You have been having an affair with your client for the past year. Your other client left. I want to know why Quest left."

I have to be honest at this point.

"Personal reasons."

"Personal reasons?"

"He doesn't want me marrying Joaquin," I state.

The Appletons both raise their eyes in concern.

It's Mr. Appleton who asks, "Is there something to that?"

"No. He's just been a friend of mine for a while and he's just upset that I didn't tell him about Joaquin and I?" I state.

"Do you realize how unprofessional this is?" Mrs. Appleton asks.

"Yes."

Quest left Miami and I haven't been able to contact him. We had another tour date in California and he just refused to show up.

Almost immediately Mahn is jumping in to add his two cents, "This is really a mess. There is a gossip site who just put up rumors that Joaquin and Quest had a big falling out in Miami. Once someone gets a hold of why..."

"No one will find out why," I state, "It was a private event."

"Yet here you are," Mrs. Appleton states.

Her husband is staying silent but Mrs. Appleton was a bitch with claws. I knew she would be the one mainly coming at me this meeting. Mahn seems more than happy to add fluid to the fire that is growing.

"I'll talk to Quest. I'll get him back on the tour," I state.

I just needed to somehow find him. I needed to be able to know where he was located. He has been dodging me. He hadn't answered any of my calls since he left Miami. Joaquin's dad had called the Appletons complaining about me. He wasn't a fan of his son being "taken advantage of" by ICM.

"And what about Joaquin? His father is threatening to sue us," Mrs. Appleton states, "Do you know that?"

"On what grounds?" Princess Matthews jumps in, "His grown son is sleeping with another grown man. I don't understand the basis of a lawsuit here."

I'm not surprised Princess is jumping to my aid. We have never had a personal conversation but I knew she was related to the same secret group that I was. I also knew that Princess Matthews was having an affair with Mr. Appleton. I look over at Mr. Appleton and how he reacts when Princess talks. He seems stuck between his bulldog of a wife and his mistress.

I wonder how this is going to turn out.

Mrs. Appleton is relentless. Her face wrinkles up at this point. She is almost hurling spit.

"It doesn't matter!" She goes off on Princess, "The fact that this man is talking will cause us issues. The fact that we have to cancel these tour dates because Memphis Hill can't keep his dick in his pants may cause us millions. Give us one reason we shouldn't fire you now."

She's talking about me as though I'm not here. At this point she is standing up screaming at the top of her lungs. I've seen this before when I was an intern. This is definitely nothing new. Her husband just nods his head in agreement usually. Usually everyone shuts up and takes it when Mrs. Appleton starts her screaming fests.

This is different though. For some reason today Princess Matthews seems to have a backbone and I'm actually really loving it.

"Fire me?" I ask.

My heart is racing. I can't believe this. I can't believe it's come to this. This was my dream job. For the first time in my life I was happy!

"I can take over," Mahn states.

The opportunist has never gotten over the fact that I got Joaquin right from him. He is here now not even waiting to throw his name in the ring. I am so shocked. I knew I was going to get chewed up but Mrs. Appleton was threatening to spit me out now.

"With all due respect," Princess Matthews states, "Memphis Hill is the reason that PJQ has gotten the success that they have. This is a hiccup. I'm sure he can fix it."

Mrs. Appleton gives her a hard stare, "Who asked you?"

That's when I see it. I see the way Princess Matthews looks at Mr. Appleton. It's the look of someone who has finally maintained a certain level of pull.

Just at that moment. Mr. Appleton grabs his wife hand in an attempt to calm her down.

"Maybe she has a point," Mr. Appleton states, "Besides. With personal feelings involved there is no telling if Joaquin might walk if Memphis isn't on the account."

"He's under contract," Mrs. Appleton states.

"That isn't stopping Quest is it?" Mr. Appleton asks, "Do you really want to tempt the passion of a pop artist?"

Mrs. Appleton finally seems to be calming down. She sits down. The idea that Joaquin might walk luckily seems to be getting to her.

"This marriage can't happen. Joaquin is a sex symbol. He can't be a gay sex symbol," Mrs. Appleton states, "And if Quest doesn't like it for whatever reason we have to make sure the group stays strong."

"I can fix this," I state, "I'll stop the wedding with Joaquin and I'll get Quest to come back."

"You better," Mrs. Appleton states.

I leave the room knowing damn well that Mrs. Appleton would have no issues getting rid of me if the time came.

I'm in the hallway when I see Mahn brush right past me.

"You shouldn't have thought you could play with the big boys," Mahn adds with a sinister looking glare.

If it wasn't bad enough that I was losing control of things with my group, I was also getting shitted on by Mahn. My heart is racing.

At that moment I'm in this hallway and I feel like I'm literally about to break down. I'm surprised when Princess of all people walks over to me. She leans in slightly to the wall so no one can hear what we are saying even though the hallway is now empty.

"You need to fix this, before they do?" she warns me.

I give her a hard look. It's a random thing to say all of a sudden.

"What are you talking about?"

"You won't like the way they fix this," she tells me, "Trust me I know first hand."

"You know first hand about what?"

Princess looks around. There is no one around. Who is she looking for?

She whispers as though we are in a crowded room, "You don't want to get in over my head. Not like me..."

"What are you talking about? I saw you getting Mr. Appleton eating out of your hands."

"At what cost?" she asks.

"Princess...we're blessed. Shouldn't you be happy?" she asks me.

She hesitates.

Just at that moment I see Prairie. He walks over. I'm not sure why he's even in the hallway but he walks over with a smile on his face.

"What are we talking about?" Prairie asks.

"We?" I ask in return.

I'm still pissed off with him. He went out of his way to play me in Miami. He was the reason all this shit happened. I don't know what he's playing at but he seems to really be happy with this. He gives me a sneaky little smile as he interrupts us.

Princess looks so...uncomfortable.

She's almost terrified.

"We," she tells us, "Us. Our business isn't our own anymore."

She says it with a slight fierceness to her. I'm sure Prairie knows. He looks her up and down but he doesn't say anything. I can feel this tension though. What was up with Princess? Why was she acting so weird?

"I just need help finding Quest to fix the issue that YOU caused."

"We caused what happened in Miami. Not me. And I have someone who can replace Quest if he doesn't want to return."

"He wants to return."

"You sure about that?" Prairie asks me.

He smiles wickedly.

"He wants to return," I repeat, "I just have to find him."

Prairie crosses his arms, "Suit yourself."

"I'll help you," Princess surprises me, "I'll contact the informer for you."

"Informer of what."

"Everything. He knows everything. I can contact him for you and find out where Quest is."

There is something very antsy about the way she says it. I can tell she is almost scared of something.

I don't know what though. Still she gives me her number and walks away.

~

It's late that evening and I still haven't gotten a reply from the informer. I get to my condo. It's a nice condo. I live in the same building as Joaquin. He said it would make it easier for us to be together if we did. We wouldn't have to explain sneaking around to the paparazzi and TMZ who constantly follow him everywhere he goes.

I arrive inside. The condo cost me a couple hundred thousand. It was the only big purchase I've made really but it's worth it when I get home. I turn on the lights to my beautiful city view apartment.

And he's there.

Not Quest. Joaquin.

"Took you long enough," he tells me.

Joaquin has a robe on. He's sitting on my couch. When I walk in he opens his robe and I can see that he is completely naked underneath. His dick swings from side to side. His small waist frames contrasts to his bulky chest and shoulders. He looks at me with this seductive look, grabs his cock, gives it a hard smack on his hand.

"You're here," I state.

"Of course. I'm always waiting for you at home, remember? You gave me your key."

He walks over to me. He wastes no time. Joaquin is horny. He's kissing me over and over on my lips, on my neck and grabbing my butt. He gives it a tight squeeze. I exhale deeply. Within a matter of seconds I'm precuming in my pants. It takes every part of me to push him off a little bit.

"I can't right now man. I got a lot on my mind."

"I know. We got to start planning for this wedding."

"That's the problem," I tell him, "Joaquin...we might have to postpone the wedding."

Joaquin's face is visibly shocked and stunned. I can see the look on his face as he swings his body around in the most moody way. It reminds me immediately of what they said in the manager's meeting. There was nothing like the passion of a pop star.

Joaquin was pissed!

"You don't want to marry me?"

"I never said that."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying Quest is pissed and this is fucking up the dynamic. I need to talk to him and I'll need time to fix things with him."

Joaquin laughs.

"Great. Your hating-ass friend wants to quit the group if I marry you?"

"I don't know what he wants to do. I can't find him. He disappeared."

Joaquin goes to the window. He stares outside of it. I'll give it to him that he's been very patient. The fact that now he is hurt makes complete sense.

"He's in love with you," Joaquin states.

He says it out of no where. It shocks me. The shocker is that it's the truth. The shocker is that I don't know how to handle this and honestly I don't know if I should.

All this time I loved Quest and now I was learning that he loved me back.

What do you do in that situation?

"No he's not," I lie to Joaquin.

I'm panicking. I'm not sure how else to say it besides lie. It's the only goddam thing that makes sense at this moment. I have to lie. I have to make up anything for Joaquin not to be pissed right now and for me not to lose him forever.

"He loves you," Joaquin states, "The question I have is do you love him?"

"He's my best friend."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Joaquin barks at me.

I think about telling Joaquin the truth. The problem with the truth is that there was business involved. I had to manage this very carefully or this whole thing could just blow up in my fucking face.

"I don't feel that way about him. This isn't some crazy romance drama. He's just mad I didn't tell him. I just have to explain to him why I kept it a secret and he'll come around."

"Fuck him."

"Don't say that."

"No fuck him. We'll find a replacement," Joaquin states.

"This group just started. Can you imagine the PR nightmare if we get rid of a member now? Besides Quest has a lot to offer," I explain, "I just need to get in contact with him."

"I'm not going to ruin my life to beg this dramatic ass boy to stay in a group."

"You don't have to. Just a pause...that's all I'm asking."

"I knew he'd get in between us."

Joaquin is saying that Quest was dramatic but he was just as bad. That's the thing about artists. They lived in their emotions. They carried that baggage with them no matter where they went. There love was passionate and like a flame but those flames were dangerous. They could grow and be out of control.

That was where I came in.

I was level headed. I was precise. I was a manager. That's what I was good at. I had to walk this situation like a tight rope.

"This isn't all about him either," I explain, "This is about the proposal."

"It wasn't my idea to announce it," Joaquin states.

It was Prairie's. Clearly.

"What about your Dad? Clearly he isn't a fan of me."

Switching the topic works.

"Babe...I'm sorry about that. I'll talk to him about the whole law suit."

"Listen. I'm not on your back about it. I understand. I get it. So listen. How about we do this? You handle that and I'll handle Quest."

He nods and just at that moment I get a text.

It's Princess.

The message reads : OUTSIDE.

"I got to go."

"Can I wait for you?" he asks me.

I nod at that moment. I know he realizes I'm leaving to find Quest. I can tell by the look on his face. He is upset but at the same time he doesn't say anything. Me throwing in his father definitely helped even out his anger.

I leave Joaquin and find Princess outside of the building. She has a red Lamborghini. I wouldn't expect anything less from her. When I get in the car she stares at me with covered glasses.

As I get in the car she doesn't say anything.

"You OK?"

She doesn't answer. She just starts driving, "I found him."

"Thank God. I need to get Mrs. Appleton off my back."

"She won't be a problem much longer..."

"Why do you say that?"

"Mr. Appleton let me know he's leaving her for me."

"Oh my god! That's a good thing right?"

I can't believe it. If Princess was in the position that Mrs. Appleton was in then I wouldn't have to worry about losing my job.

I expect her to be happy. Or at least excited.

She isn't.

She just smiles, weakly, "It's great news."

She turns at that moment away from me as though she smells something awful. She keeps driving silently and stops me at a local bar. I'm surprised when she pulls up to the place. It's a hole in the wall. She looks at the bar.

"Quest is in there," she explains.

"Thank you Princess. You have no idea what this means."

She nods.

"Just remember what I said earlier OK," she smiles, "Fix this before we do. Fix this before they do."

Her correction is noted. I wanted to ask her about it but she unlocks the door. I swear I see tears in her eyes. It's so weird. Princess was fucking crying. I open my mouth to say something to her but she gets nervous and almost quickly coughs a little bit., She signals me to the door as though letting me know she doesn't want to talk about it.

I leave.

I head out to the bar and the moment I am out of her car she zooms off. I look at her wondering what is going on with her. It's definitely weird.

I can't pay attention to that too long though. I need to find Quest. I walk into the bar and find him in the corner of the room. He's sitting there drinking. There are a couple of bottles there with him. I can tell he's drunk before I even get close. When he lifts his head up and sees me I see him immediately start adjusting himself, struggling to fix his image even though he doesn't look that bad.

"Memphis..."

He seems horrified that I'm here.

"You been off the grid," I state, "May I sit?"

"Memphis, this isn't a good time," he tells me.

"Quest. It's me," I reply.

Memphis hesitates. He gives in and nods. I sit across from him. I can see the look of disaster on his face. He's really been going through it. The fact that he was drinking was new. Quest wasn't really a drinker. Not as far as I knew anyway.

"This is why you haven't been picking up my calls? Drinking?"

"How'd you find me? Did Alexi..."

"No...just luck."

"I never been to this bar before. How did you just so happen to get Lucky?" he asks.

"You're pretty famous now if you don't realize it," I explain even though it is a lie.

He throws a shot of Hennessy back, "Well you found me. Here I am. Like what you see?"

"Why did you leave Miami the way you did?" I ask.

"You know why."

"You didn't even wait to see if I said yes," he tells me.

"You think I want to see that?" he asks.

There is a pause. I can feel the pain even though he is slurring his words.

"I get it," I can explain, "It's how I felt when I saw you and Ashley so many times."

"So I wasn't imagining it all?" he asks, "You did feel the same way about me."

It's hard. He's looking at me with all this hope. He's looking so concerned as though I'm breaking through.

"No it's not your imagination," I explain to him, "I've always felt that way. I just wasn't sure if you did."

"At first it was just friends. Then there were times I'd realize you'd make me smile a little more than other people did. I'd break up with girls because I'd compare them to your personality. That's how it started out at first. Just personality. Just emotional. Then the physical came. I'd notice your lips. I'd notice your smile. Like how you're smiling now. I'd notice your dimple. I'd want to touch them...like this."

He reaches over. He strokes my face. I let him.

"C`mon man," I state.

He doesn't give in. He strokes my face again and again, "Then it became more sexual. These feelings. I'd notice your butt. I'd notice your arms. I'd notice how you'd stare at me as though I'm the only one in the world that mattered."

"For the longest time you were the only one that mattered."

"Not anymore. Joaquin is here now huh?"

"You waited too long, Quest."

"I'm not alone with this. You never told me how you felt either," Quest tells me, "I was in the dark."

"You're right. I should have."

"Now I know though. So maybe..."

"Quest."

Quest has his hands on top of mine. He doesn't care who walks by or who sees. He leaves it there. He massages my fingers.

"What?"

"Quest we have to figure things out in time," I explain to him, "You have to come back. This isn't personal at this point. It's business."

"I don't give a fuck about business."

"Clearly. Who walks out of a million dollar tour. I had to postpone it. Your fans..."

He shuffles in his seat. I can tell this is making him uncomfortable. I didn't come here to do that. I just wanted to put things into perspective for him. This wasn't just about me and him. This was about us.

"As long as you and that boy are together I can't be in the group. Period."

"Quest...some things are beyond us. Out of our control. Me and Joaquin just happened..."

I want to tell him about the Illuminati. I want to tell him that Joaquin is their gift to me. They won't be happy with Quest fucking with their grand plan.

"Nothings beyond our control. If everything golden goes then I'll leave. You choose him and you don't have to worry about me again. That's how it's got to be. So I'm giving you that choice. Do you choose him?"

I pause.

"I postponed the wedding."

Quest squints at me. His eyes light up but he doesn't seem to want to show if there is any excitement there.

"For me?"

"For the group."

"You love me?"

"Yes."

"Not like a friend man. I mean are you in love with me."

The words are powerful. Strong. They are blunt. It's just like when Joaquin asked.

Then I admit to Quest what I've always been wanting to admit to him.

"Yes...but I need time. I can't do this if..."

"You got it," he tells me.

"What?"

"As long as I know you are in love with me I'll stick around. I have a shot. And I won't give up," Quest tells me.

Thank God...or thank someone. I'm not sure what caused this change of heart but he drops the bottle all of a sudden and comes to a realization. It's clear that Quest isn't going anywhere. I just don't know what kind of drama this will bring in the future.

"Thank you Quest...thank you..."

"You don't have to thank me. I know you're going to make the right decision. I know you're going to choose me. That's what hope is..."

"Quest listen...there are people I don't think want us to be together..."

"Hold on," Quest says.

I'm not sure where I was going with that but I'm glad that Quest stops me. I just remember Prairies warning. I remember Princess's warning. Quest was going against the will of US. He was going against what WE wanted. That wasn't a good thing.

Just at that moment Quest gets an email.

It interrupts our conversation.

"Holy shit...did you check your emails?" Quest asks.

"What?"

"Mrs. Appleton. She was found dead..." he tells me.

To read the next chapter in advance go to www.crushedcrown.com