Johnny Greer’s Blues - Part 3

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Gold smiled at Johnny as the uncomfortable silence hung in the air. “No, I don’t want your soul, Johnny. I’m needing more earthly help,” the agent said, finally breaking the tension.

Johnny felt himself relax for a moment before nervous energy flooded back into his body. “What’s that mean, earthly help?”

“From time to time, I’m going to ask you to take care of some business for me; a favor here and there.”

Johnny frowned.

“Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to hurt yourself physically or to, well, misuse your body. Don’t worry about that.”

“Then what?”

Gold shrugged. “Depends. And, understand, whatever I ask of you, you can refuse to do. Free will is a wonderful thing.”

“What will you do to me if I refuse?”

Gold smirked. “What, like break your legs? I’m not the devil and I’m not a gangster. All I’ll do is end our relationship and release you from your agreement. Nothing more.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. Now, I am hoping you will see that keeping me as your rep. has enormous advantages for you, and that you will see that losing that would not be to your advantage. But, it’s always your call. Always.”

“You won’t ask me to break the law, will you?”

Gold smiled. “You can always say no, Johnny.”

The man looked at his Rolex and stood up. “Well, I have more business to conduct and a plane to catch. Call me at my New York number after you have had someone review the agreement.”

Johnny stood. His head was fuzzy and he felt off-balance. There was an acrid smell in the air, like an electric fire.

“But, let’s agree that if you take the deal in that paper, you also accept the rest of it. Can we do that?” Gold said, extending his right hand to Johnny.

Johnny hesitated as Gold watched him with eyes that made him feel like he was being stared down by a hungry lion.

“Come on, Johnny. It doesn’t mean anything until you sign the contract. But, it’s a formality we need to get out of the way for if you do.”

Johnny slowly raised his hand up to Gold’s and shook. The man’s grip was just as firm as it had been when Johnny first arrived in the room. But this time it had a heat to it that wasn’t there before.

Gold smiled and there was a glimmer in his eyes that Johnny hadn’t noticed before. It was fierce and unsettling. Gold released his grip and said, “Alright, Johnny, you get those papers looked at and I look forward to making us both a lot of money. But for now…” Gold gestured to the hotel room door.

Johnny wandered out of the room and found himself at the bottom of the stairs in the Hotel Tulip Poplar lobby. He did not remember walking from the run and down the carpeted stairway. His brain was moving slow, like its gears were submerged in molasses.

Johnny shook his head and noted the lobby was just as empty as it had been when he arrived. The old clerk stood behind the desk. “I hope you had a fruitful meeting, Mr. Greer. Do come back and see us. We are always ready for you.”

Johnny waived at him absent-mindedly and then crossed the lobby. The air had grown thick and hot. Johnny could swear that if he had a machete he could hack through the air. After a disorienting walk that felt far longer than it had any right to, Johnny reached the hotel door. He looked back, and the clerk was still behind the desk smiling at him with a grin that felt anything but friendly.

Johnny opened the door, and the brisk March air snapped his brain out of the fog it had been enshrouded in. The disorientation was replaced by a dull, throbbing pain, and Johnny sat on the curb, clutching his head.

Johnny looked at the contract in his hand. It didn’t make much senes to him. Lawyers have a way of turning English into a foreign language.

He stood up in a sudden panic and patted his pocket. He was sure that the envelope with the cash would be gone, but it was still there.

Johnny paced on the sidewalk waiting for Pete to pick him up. In the half hour he waited, Johnny didn’t see anyone enter or exit the Hotel Tulip Poplar. For that matter, he didn’t even see anyone walking down the street. The neighborhood had a palpable feeling of emptiness.

By the time Pete’s Continental arrived, Johnny was beyond ready to leave.

“How did it go?” Pete asked as Johnny got in the car.

“Good. I think. I think I’ve got me an agent.”

“That sounds good,” Pete said.

“Yeah. I suppose so,” Johnny responded in a monotone.

“You should be screaming out of joy. Something wrong?”

“Pete, man, I don’t know. This is either the best thing that’s ever happened to me or the worst?”

“Well, that covers a lot.”

Johnny stared out his window. “Yeah. And you know what, man? It could also be both.”

Pete nodded. “That’s the way life is, Johnny. What can I say?”

Johnny didn’t respond, but just watched as they drove through the city.

Part Four will follow in the next installment.

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