Sinning In The City

Chapter 26 - Right of Way

Roxbury woke up the next morning with the same uneasiness that accompanied him when he went to sleep. The girl he saw on the screen of Madelyn's phone was not only stunning, she was the copycat of his one and only true love years ago.

How can two girls from different generations look so similar? He asked himself as he sat on the edge of his bed. He knew, for having worked with so many girls, that it wasn't uncommon to see the same facial features in women from the same region or ethnicity, but reason also told him that more often than not, genes were the most logical answer. But there was no chance for genes to play any role in this case.

Right?

Roxbury shook his head, realizing he was doing himself no favor by overthinking so early in the morning. He showered and dressed and went downstairs for his morning coffee. He wondered if Layla would be there to serve him still, but knew she was probably just taking it one day at a time at home or wandering about the city, waiting for the confirmation that Talents R Us would seal the deal with her.

Roxbury had to admit he missed having Layla greet him every morning at the coffee shop. He grabbed his cup and settled at his usual spot at the outside table behind the waist-high iron fence. He opened his folder and started going through the contract they had signed almost a week ago now.

According to the documents, Layla would receive a one-time payment of $100,000.00 for the rights to her photos, as well as a weekly income of $1,000.00 for as long as the campaign ran in any of the East Coast states. Roxbury would get 15% of all disbursements made. Not bad for hanging out at coffee shops looking for cute girls.

But he had to do his work as an agent and make sure the deal would happen. He suspected Natalia was on his side and would not press the drug issue with her client if she could have some kind of guarantees that Layla had left that lifestyle behind her. Yet she hadn't contacted him since their last encounter at her office, so Roxbury felt he had to make a subtle move.

He grabbed his smartphone and used both thumbs to write an email to Natalia. Sure he could have just called her, and maybe he will later, but he wanted to put in some distance between them as this was strictly a business matter. He also felt an email would not show any emotion and it wouldn't be as easy for Natalia to call his bluff. He basically started the message assuring her that he had addressed the issue with his client and that he felt extremely confident that the future looked bright. He ended the email hinting at the fact that he was receiving requests from other agencies to present them with models but that his loyalty was to her for now.

He felt this was the best way to ask for a quick answer as to whether or not Layla was still their choice for the upcoming marketing campaign.

He was about to put his phone back in his pocket but instead decided to send another quick message. There was something bothering him but he wasn't sure quite yet about the best approach to the problem. He went through his contact list and selected Madelyn Swan.

Madelyn,

I hope your flight back home went as smooth as possible. It was a pleasure meeting you and I will mail you a copy of your photos very soon. I will promote your shots through my contacts and will let you know of any potential work.

PS: You may want to send your friend a thank you note for that photo at sunset.

Roxbury Porter.

Although Roxbury was sincere in his email and truly enjoyed the photo session he had with Madelyn, he couldn't help admit to himself than he was intrigued by the girl he saw on that video call Madelyn had made. She looked so much like his one and only love that he couldn't resist investigating a little more, to at least know if his eyes failed him or if it was just a random coincidence. That email to Madelyn was maybe his try at finding out more if she took the bait.