Chapter Nine #3
“Because they wanted me to start at the bottom, doing menial jobs, and they micromanaged me. I felt hamstrung. I stayed with them for almost two years, hoping I’d earn their trust and get promoted.
But one day they pushed me to the limit, and I quit without giving notice, which at the time, nearly twenty years ago, was a professional death sentence.
Everyone I interviewed with after that called my old boss for a reference, and they were told I was headstrong and insubordinate, which I was .
But in all fairness, it was because they were running the company wrong. ”
He laughs. “Of course they were. So, what did you do?”
“I said fuck it and decided to go back to scouting talent myself. But I needed money for rent, and I knew if I took a job outside the industry, I would be miserable and have no time to hustle and make a success of agenting. So I put together a budget and a business plan, outlining how much money I’d need to make ends meet for six months, and presented it to my parents, asking them to basically fund my start-up efforts. ”
“How’d that go? Your parents seem pretty easygoing.”
“They are, and if there’s one thing they believe in, it’s following our dreams. I’m sure they were a little freaked out that I quit my job so abruptly, but they taught us to stand up for ourselves and not to settle for less than we think we deserve.
Most importantly, they believed in me, and that made me want to make them proud.
They agreed to help, but they didn’t think six months was enough time to get started.
They gave me one year to find my footing, and I promised to pay them back every penny.
I started networking and searching for talent the next day. ”
“That’s awesome. How did you do it? Stalk social media?”
“No. I watched bands and actors on YouTube, like everyone else, but this was before videos blew up on social media the way they do now, and doing it that way didn’t work for me.
I needed to feel people’s energy if I was going to try to rep them.
I went to watch musicians at dive bars and checked out street performers, and I talked to everyone .
It was really fun.” As I say it, I realize how much I miss it.
“It was that networking that led to my success. I had buttoned-up professionals referring me to the most outrageous rock bands and other creative types. I was traveling to see bands in underground bars and actors in tiny, little-known theaters, and I was excited by every aspect of it. I was able to support myself after seven months, and a year later I’d paid back every cent I borrowed. ”
“It sounds like you found what you were born to do.”
“I have no doubt about that.” The ache of longing for the life I gave up tugs at me. I struggled with that ache often the first few years after Harvey died, and I had to work hard to tamp it down and focus on my new responsibilities. “I really miss that part of the business.”
“You should be out there doing it. It’s your passion.”
“I wish I had the time, but someone has to run the company.”
“Can you hire someone else to run it?”
“And risk something happening to Harvey’s legacy? No way.”
His brows knit. “Would you mind telling me how you ended up with Harvey? Were you working for him, or…?”
I’m surprised he wants to know, and even more surprised that I want to tell him.
Wells
I know I’m walking a fine line, pushing Victory to open up to me about her late husband, but while I see her struggling to decide whether she’ll share more, I can feel how much she wants to.
I wish I could put my arms around her and tell her it’s safe to open up to me.
That I won’t hurt her or try to be Harvey or one-up him.
I don’t want to undermine what they had.
I just want to know more about her and how she came to be this incredible woman.
“I understand if you’d rather not talk about him.” But I really hope you trust me enough to share. A sea of emotions washes over her face, and I’m sure she’s going to take the out I’ve offered.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind telling you.”
I exhale a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“It’s not a very exciting story,” she says cautiously.
“I’m not looking to be entertained. I want to know more about you, and love stories aren’t often exciting. That’s a myth. They’re complicated. Look at Sutton and Flynn. Didn’t he try to get her fired before they got together?”
“ Yes . But they also survived the Amazon rainforest together, and that’s a kind of excitement I can do without.”
“Me too, so tell me your impossibly dull story.”
That earns another smile. “Fine. I was twenty-six, and I had been working on my own for a few years. I was still working out of my studio apartment, because office space is outrageously expensive in the city, but I had things pretty well figured out by then. I had a solid reputation, and I had found my niche scouting amazing artists who just needed the right help and guidance to shine and get more substantial deals.”
“This is probably a stupid question, but what kind of guidance did you give them?”
“That’s not a stupid question. But the answer depends on the artist. It runs the gamut from figuring out how to better capture an audience’s attention or developing their brand, or getting them professional training to strengthen their weaknesses, to helping them learn how to handle social media or social interactions better. ”
“You do all of that and market them?”
“At the beginning I did. By the time I met Harvey, I farmed out some of that whenever it was financially feasible, because my time was better spent working on deals.”
“And that’s what you were doing when you met Harvey? Crafting a deal?”
“Actually, no. The night we met, I was in the village scouting a band, and Harvey sat down next to me at the bar. I knew of him, of course. He was one of the biggest names in the industry, and Blank Space was one of the agencies I had submitted a résumé to after I quit that first job. But I never even got in the door for an interview.”
“I bet you guys laughed about that after you got together.”
Her smile broadens. “We did.”
“So, I guess you make a habit of meeting your future lovers at bars in the middle of July?”
“No, I do not , and for the record, Harvey and I didn’t get together that night.” The wind blows a lock of hair into her face, and she tucks it behind her ear. “At least not like that.”
“Why not? I googled him. He was a good-looking guy. Older than I imagined, but age is just a number.” I was surprised by how much older he looked than her and how distinguished he appeared to be, but he was a handsome, dark-haired guy with serious eyes and a kind smile.
He probably had his pick of women. The fact that he chose Victory shows he had good taste, because she’s one of a kind.
But what I find more interesting is that she chose him, which tells me a lot about the kind of man he must have been.
“You googled him?” she asks with surprise. “Why?”
“I wanted to see the man who owns a piece of your heart. I didn’t snoop or look for anything about the two of you. I just wanted to see his face. I admit wanting to snoop, but I figured you’d tell me what you wanted me to know, and I don’t need to know the rest.”
Her brows knit. “That wasn’t weird for you?”
“Not at all. It was weird knowing you’d lost someone you loved and not being able to picture him. I’m sorry if I offended you or crossed a line.”
“You didn’t. I’m just surprised. That’s nice …I think.”
“I promise I wasn’t being creepy, and if you don’t want to share the rest of your story, I get it. I can put two and two together. You met, you were attracted to each other, and you hit it off.”
“It didn’t exactly happen that way. He was forty-two when we met, and I admit I was attracted to him, but that alone is not enough to make me want to be with a guy.”
“Good to know.”
She smiles. “To be honest, I thought he was going to be full of hot air. He had this presence that commanded attention. The type of guy who walks into a room, and everyone stands up a little straighter. Kind of like your father.”
“That is just like my father, but I can’t picture you with a guy like that.”
“That’s because you didn’t know Harvey. He was a brilliant businessman, but he never acted better than anyone. If he saw people reacting to him that way, he’d go shake their hands and sit down to get to know them. The truth is, I made a complete ass out of myself that night.”
“I doubt that.”
“I did . Once we started talking and I realized we were both scouting the band, I got competitive and acted like I was a way bigger deal than I really was.” She laughs.
“I think at one point I told him he should stop wasting his time and just leave because there was no way the band would choose him instead of me.”
“You are a trip. What did he say?”
“He egged me on, asking why I thought I’d win them over, and I rattled off everything good about myself that I could think of.
We talked for almost two hours and found out we both worked in the same way and had similar values about helping others and giving back.
It wasn’t about the money for either of us, and that’s rare in our industry. It’s easy to get jaded.”
“It sounds like you hit it off after all.”
“We did. But then he told me that if he talked to the band, it wouldn’t matter how good I was. They’d sign with him because he had the backing, resources, and reputation to take them farther. I said I was up for the challenge, and I’d show him that he was wrong.”
“That does not surprise me.”