If It's You Then...

Publishing Deals and Elegant Clients

Henry Anderson's office was huge and elegant. It had a great view of London, and the Thames in particular.

It was the first thing majority of his clients noticed when you got in. New clients usually got bewitched by the view and Henry usually used that to his advantage.

On the right wall was a huge shelf that housed all the projects taken on by his various clients. Books, movies and records. Everything.

The left side had all the awards that he had won over the course of his over 30 year career as an agent.

The man himself was bigger than the legends.

He was an imposing figure, standing at 6'4" tall. He was a huge man, with broad shoulders and a wide chest that only made him look even bigger.

His face was well kept over the years, making him look younger than he actually was.

He had blue eyes, a long pointed nose, and thin lips, completed with a well groomed beard.

He was somebody who represented perfection, and Ahmad Shahid was perfection.

Today, Henry invited Ahmad over after he had told him that he had plans to drop something this year.

He had called to discuss the publishing and promotion.

The grey three piece was definitely new, thought Ahmad, as he came in and sat opposite him.

He virtually knew his entirely wardrobe as they had been together for over 15 years.

It was their first meeting of the year, and it was going well, as expected.

As usual, all the publishers called were interested, and it was up to the highest bidder to take it home.

Negotiating the deal only took about three hours. The project hadn't even been completed and it had already been sold and the deal had been sealed for 10 million pounds, not that the price mattered to him. It was just the art that he liked.

They were discussing the latest trends in their business and the middle of their conversation, Ahmad felt a sudden change in the atmosphere, and when he looked up, he saw a royal looking figure, light skinned, tall, elegant, graceful in her heels, and super attractive.

There was strange feeling running through his body as the figure approached that he was so used to suppressing. It was the one that signalled he catching feelings.

Ahmad got a little confused at this, since it usually took longer than a single look for him to catch feelings, but always being the one to be the perfect one, he composed himself and sat in his best gentleman pose.

'Am I trying to impress her,' he thought to himself as he redid his buttons. Ahmad pushed the thoughts out and did what he always did. Look nice, always.

'Ahmad, this is Faiza. She is one of my newer clients, and she is really good. Just like you when you were younger. She has the same flair and addiction to perfection that you had when we first met. Back then, I thought you couldn't get worse, and I ended with this version of you.' Henry said with a chuckle.

'She is a poet though, so your paths won't really cross.' He remarked with a big grin.

Ahmad looked at Faiza and from her outfit, he concluded that she definitely had flair.

'Faiza, this is Ahmad. He is one my favourite clients....' Ahmad never thought he would say this, but Henry was really rambling.

Rambling like a little kid. What was he doing? And come to think of it, he had never been this excited to introduce anyone to him before.

Weird thoughts kept plaguing him as time kept going. He was not sure, but he thought he saw a look of disgust flash across her face, though he was not sure if it was aimed at him or at Henry.

At this point, even he felt a little disgust at the way Henry was talking.

He tried to catch her eyes, and when he did after much difficulty, she had the most deadpan expression you could ever see. One that not even him could pull off.

To save himself from even further embarrassment, Ahmad excused himself and wandered to the office balcony.

He tried to think, but the only thing that flickered around his mind was that expression on her face and the fact that for the first time in years, he met a lady who hadn't taken the slightest interest in him.

Yeah sure, she was attractive and all, but wasn't he. He thought about all the influential ladies, models, actresses, and songstresses and many more who had made passes at him that he had graciously rejected.

He wondered why this young, attractive, upcoming poet had not taken an interest in him. He kept thinking about it, and in his middle of his thoughts, he wandered back to the past.