ROLEPLAY HQ - lucky-and-lonely

Ricky was upbeat and confident as he walked into the Intercontinental hotel that was close to the airport.. Like many others in his agency he had come packed and ready to fly out in the next few hours if they would be selected by one of the biggest musical sensations of the last year.. Her growth was exponential and her billboard was right across the hotel.. And he saw it one last time as he walked in.. whispering to himself, "Come on Ricky you got this mate, Ms. Estella Perez, this is one of the final ones you need to work for and then. You have your own agency.. The American dream, is almost yours!" He would walk into the hotel and he would enquire about which meeting room his agency had booked.. And he would quickly make his way into it. And soon as he got in, he would see the pile of luggage bags to one end of the room where he'd place his as well.. The brief clearly said that Ms. Perez was due in Japan the next day and obviously Japan was already asleep and they needed to make sure they could travel as soon as she would make her decision.. Wanting to not look too formal he had chosen to dress himself in a white shirt, over denims and a small casual turquoise blazer on top.. and as he scanned around the room, everyone else was dressed fully formal and he knew he would stick out like a sore thumb.. But he didn't mind that, even his resume stood out like that. He had handled several artists in this agency, five in five years, never extending the period as his own term.. He didn't share the reason why with anyone else but his boss and the client.. And so he would get comfortable amongst the dozen other men and half a dozen women as he'd wait for his boss to announce her.. She was staying in the hotel already so this meant that this meeting would be very low key and no media would get to know.. He just waited to see her in person.. his eyes frequently looking at the big entry door of the conference room..

2:07 AM

@tragic

stressed. anxious. on the verge of tears? yeah that was estella perez or any typical young adult for that matter. but for her, things were cutting it close. a 12 hour flight to japan that was due to leave at any minute and not an agent in site. her now fired agent decided to disappear out of nowhere. something about how the stress was too much and this life wasn’t for him. clearly a backbone needed to be developed. estella’s team was quick to bring in a manner of eager and willing people who wanted to work and whom could, presumably, handle the pressure of an up and coming star such as herself. a status she didn’t like the flaunt that often. she was rather humble about her raise to fame, not even expecting to get discovered or amass such a following. her rise up the billboards was surprise to her. before she knew it she was getting brand deals, late night tv interviews, the occasional rumour or two, everything. her whole life had changed in a matter of minutes. a life she could have only dreamed of before became a reality. the good had its bad of course, friends came and went, she moved around more than she had like, and in the beginning downtime was hard to come by. especially now that she’s on tour. things were tight. not to mention she had already been throwing around ideas for her next album. her life was busy. that was an undeniable fact and the person who kept her schedule together was nowhere to be seen. “Perfect.” She whispered to herself, looking in the mirror. Her heart was pounding and as much as she tried to suppress it, a relatively panicked look was on her face. she wasn’t in anything fancy, there was no way in hell she was about to sit on a plan in a formal getup. she had one sweats and a hoodie and her hair was thrown up into a bun. as someone from her pr team ushered her out of the room. “we’ve got about 13 people on standby, it’s a quick and easy meeting. you’ve looked over their portfolios. there’s a couple we suggest but ultimately it’s

8:20 AM

up to you.” she paused taking a moment to breathe. “howard cortez, giselle fjord, kevin green, and ricky magnuson. The rest are fairly reliable. they’ve handled some big names. ricky stands out. he’s produced big names in a short amount of time. impressive resume and i’m sure he could continue to uplift your career.” she had gone over everyone’s profiles. she had casted out a few already in her mind. some of them were too old school or were too much of a risk, she wanted someone experienced and with fresh ideas. there were two people whom she eyed carefully, ricky and someone else the pr manager didn’t mention. the two of them were walking at a quickened pace they were soon approaching a conference room. the pr manager urged her to take a deep breath before opening the door. she had made up her mind. the moment she laid eyes on him. “ricky magnuson, welcome to the team.” she spoke. things were hectic after that, people came up and started to plead with her while others took a more professional approach and wished her luck or quietly left accepting their fate. after everything was all sorted out, she was whisked away and shipped off toward the plane. japan here she comes. her team would give ricky all the necessities, everything was laid out to a T; just how she liked it. once everything like contracts and other housekeeping was sorted out everyone was off onto their respective planes. only a few people travelled with the star, the rest of the crew was already waiting in japan.

8:20 AM

@SebXDragon

He would watch her enter the conference room and he would smile but not be able to find her eyes looking at him.. She didn't look dressed for the meeting but it made sense that she looked comfortable for a long flight instead.. But hearing his name made him feel a pump of adrenaline shoot through him and even if he couldn't reach out to shake her hand or anything, everything in the room suddenly turned chaotic and he would find a person from her PR team come and introduce themselves as Maggie.. She would wait for him to gather his luggage and then she would walk him out the back and bring him up to speed as they got into a car downstairs and it seemed like a small motorcade was going along with her. Maggie would explain how not everyone would be traveling, she however was lucky enough to be coming along but she'd be flying commercial right behind them as Ms. Perez would only need him and her private butler on the flight to give them some time to get to know each other. He liked that, it would maximize her time usage and remove any needless special meeting to get to know her.. Maggie herself seemed young and she explained how the PR team would be working on his instructions as well but she did convey to him that Ms. Perez had signed a record label that wasn't giving her enough of her own image rights and that was something he could work on because the PR team was being torn between the record company and Estella wanting to project two different images of who Estella Perez was.. He would gather as much information about the representative from the record label and he would actually call the person immediately.. -

10:00 AM

The initial conversation was simple just introduction and the like but he would already start looking at common links between himself and the executive by searching on the social platforms.. He would smirk as he'd find a very important one.. that executive was dating an old friend of his.. He would use that later as the car would come to a halt outside a private aircraft and he would notice her step out of the car ahead of his and he would notice that they were another woman who came out of the car but didn't enter the aircraft, he knew from his research, that it was her mother and he would smile as he'd wish Maggie a safe trip and take her number to reach out when they were finally in Tokyo.. And with that he would walk towards the aircraft and one of the technicians would take his luggage to place away and he would just walk into the aircraft removing his turquoise jacket since the denims and the shirt felt comfortable enough as he'd meet her eyes for the first time and he would eagerly reach the seat facing in front of hers. A small table would separate them as he'd extend his large grip to say, "Ms. Estella Perez, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Ricky Magnuson.. but feel free to call me your guy now.." An air of confidence and a firm handshake would follow and he wouldn't break the contact he held with her eyes as he'd say, "So, I have a ton to ask about you but is there anything you want to ask about me?" He'd ask just as the captain would announce that they were ready to taxi and the server would make a round offering drinks and he'd smile and just take a juice for himself, not wanting to get back to his drinking problem..

10:01 AM

@tragic

feeling a lot more relaxed, estella let out a needed sigh. last minute changes were normal but usually it didn't involve an important piece of personnel, a part of her was still pissed off at the whole thing and the other part was relieved that it was all sorted out. it was definitely better for the long run, whoever the company had hired before obviously just stuck her with some shoddy manager thinking she wasn't going to get far. well jokes on them. from what she had heard about ricky magnuson was that the man got the job done. a conference room assassin some would say, she hoped the rumours were true. the business side of stardom was something that never really made too much sense to her and in truth, something she never wanted to deal with. estella wished she could do what she wanted with no strings attached. alas, that was not how the world worked and that was a pity. estella's leg frantically bounced up and down, maybe she wasn't totally relaxed. the older woman beside her placed a hand on her shoulder, a motherly look in her eyes, "it'll be alright, mi hija. there's no need to be stressed. it's time for you to go on that plane and have fun." the woman reassured her. estella nodded her head, she was so glad that her mother was with her. "thank you, mom." she spoke, leaning over to give her a hug. "i'll see you soon." the two broke from their embrace and estella exited the vehicle, this time feeling more relaxed about the situation. she was about to go to japan after all, she had never been before and she was eager to visit. while her japanese was the furthest thing from perfect, she did know a few phrases from a course she took in high school. a thank you to mr. tanaka was in order. estella straightened her hoodie before looking back at her mom with a smile, waving one last time before a crew member escorted her toward the plane. reality was setting in and in just a few moments the "moonlight" world tour was about to begin.

12:34 AM

she was excited to finally be able to explore the world, there were many places she had only dreamed of visiting before and now she was going to be able to appreciate them. estella had lost herself in thought before noticing ricky had sat down in front of her, the noticeable difference in his accent is what snapped her out of her thoughts, she shook his hand. he had a firm grip and his eye contact was intense, it was a little overwhelming at first. this man was her new agent, his photo in his portfolio didn't do him justice, he somehow looked better in person... a small blush crept onto her face, that was no way to think of her new agent. she gave him a smile, waving her hand back and forth, "you really don't need to be so formal, seriously, it makes me feel important. i'm just doing what i love; so honestly just call me estella, el, or whatever else comes to mind - i don't mind!" she said. estella didn't mean to put herself down but in all honesty, she really was just pursuing her passion. the fame and fortune was just a nice added bonus and he could honestly call her whatever he liked. estella had gone over his portfolio multiple times, business-wise, she felt like she had nothing to ask him, she knew a fair bit about his successes. hannah single, volt, wyatt lacroix, etc. famous newcomers that rocked the entertainment industry and each of them differed from each other and yet, ricky was able to handle them all. it was impressive. he was covered on that front. plus, she wanted to be able to get to know her agent on less of a business level and more on a personal one. it was a win-win for her because the more he saw of her perhaps that switch up in image she was desperately wanting would happen sooner rather than later.

12:34 AM

there were some internal issues between her and her record label. nothing that would result in a huge blowout but her wishing she had a little bit more control over things. this was her stardom after all she built herself from the ground up and hopefully he could help her with that. if anything a new agent was already a step in the right direction. “hmm… what kind of person do you aspire to be?” she asked a question her father would ask her all the time for the longest time it would stump her not knowing how to describe herself. her father would then tell her she’s indecisive and that wouldn’t get her far in life. it took her a moment to understand what he meant by that. she wondered what ricky’s answer would be. when the waiter came around she ordered herself a club soda. the flight had just begun and she wanted to stay focused on the current conversation. plus she wasn’t really one for alcohol, well not during the day at least.

12:34 AM

@SebXDragon

He would smile as he heard her tell him to address her less formally and he relaxed into the moment, appreciating how she seemed to be so approachable and down to earth.. He didn't reply immediately as she would proceed to ask him a question that would stun him after placing his drink order.. No one had asked that of him before.. not even his boss.. it made him smile but he would reply saying, "You are important.. but I'll make sure to try and be like your friend then.. Beautiful.. I mean, El.." He got a little self conscious, if she would be uncomfortable with him calling her beautiful, but she did have a soft beauty to her.. That almost natural look, the big brown, doe like eyes, that soft curl of her inviting smile.. all of it perfect and he had to stop himself for saying anything more as he would just smile and reply to her question, so that his compliment wouldn't become weird.. "And honestly, no one has ever asked that of me before.. no one's wanted to notice me that way.. I've just been the guy that looks after them.. But I.. honestly, I just want to leave a mark.." The question brought such a wave of emotions for him.. He has never shared with any of the other artists he had managed that he too had come to LA to be an actor or a singer.. He had grown up in a small town and everyone had always complimented his skills as a child and that made him take the step to come here and invest a lot of his savings and a good amount of debt that made him remain in the city.. The memories of rejection that he had washed down with so much liquor came back and he was just able to keep them back as he looked away for a brief moment to ensure he wouldn't break down as he thought about how much his aspirations had changed.. But his eyes came back to hers, he would continue to say, -

11:41 PM

"I mean, you're the first artist that I am saying this to, but I actually wanted to have the life you do. I came to be a star, fuelled by family and their good words, I began to think I could do it.. Then I got rejected and started doing odd jobs at restaurants and such and then met a few people who took a chance on me to become an agent.. And since then I've dedicated my time and hard work to give people I manage the life I thought I deserved and now I can just hope that I make a name for myself doing this.. and maybe leave a mark with it, maybe people will remember me.." He put on the bravest smile he could and was fighting his hardest to fight back the tears as he conveniently avoided talking about the history he had with his alcohol abuse.. He couldn't tell that that yet.. because saying it would mean a complete breakdown and he didn't want her to see him that way on their first meeting.. But the moment would be broken by the server bringing them their drinks as he would smile and try to change the mood and say, "But what about you? What do you aspire to be when you get old?" He would ask while extending his juice out to her club soda, his brave smile now finally turning into a real one hoping to switch the focus to her, for now..

11:41 PM

@tragic

she hummed at his compliment, he certainly wasted no time laying those on. not that she minded, it did help to inflate her ego. something she tried her best to keep in check. for estella, being a diva wasn't the vision she wanted to go for. she wanted a more approachable look to appeal to her fans, her past manager warned her about how that image might create overly obsessive fans. she didn't care, considering all the personnel her staff had accumulated she felt safe anywhere she went. that wasn't to say that there was an off chance that someone got a little too excited and entered her personal boundaries but... overall she wasn't worried about her safety if that situation were to occur she had a pretty good security team. estella picked up her glass, the sizzling sound of her soda water was soothing in a way, she held it in front of her face looking at ricky in a more distorted view. she deemed it as a natural snap chat filter, a childlike action but it was still amusing to her nonetheless. she brought the carbonated drink to her mouth, some of the stray drops splashed to her face due to the fizzy nature of the drink. estella listened to his words. i just want to leave a mark - don't we all. it was clear to her that her question sort of hit home for him. the way his eyes faltered down toward the table and the quiver in his lip, she had struck some sort of chord with him. whether it was bringing back good or bad memories, estella had hit him with some sort of feeling. she supposed it was the part of his job that sucked the most, people don't exactly remember artists' agents, even if they did... the general public probably weren't saying the nicest things. estella knew how the internet could be at times, it was a cruel place to be sometimes. people could hide their identities so easily and say whatever it was they wanted. no matter how much it hurt. eventually she learned how to look past the couple negative comments that she found herself coming across, the goo

9:06 AM

d outweighed the bad. people adored her but for ricky... to most people he was just a man with a name and the title of being someone's agent. hearing how his path deterred from the one he wanted made her feel for him, he certainly had the looks for stardom. something had to have changed the course of his path. the nosy part of her wanted to know why. a question better saved for later, however. "a lot of people wish they were in my shoes. while it is great, it can be really overwhelming at times. plus it has damaged a fair share of friendships for me... not that i am complaining i was blessed with a beautiful opportunity but hearing you talk about your struggles it just really puts things into perspective for me. people like us, we have to be able to push past things. i guess." she rambled. estella didn't mean to become so philosophical about it all nor did she mean to sound like she was rubbing her successes in his face, she was just saying how she felt at the time. they had walked different paths but ended up converging on each other one way or another. how ironic. her thoughts were becoming more and more like a hallmark movie. "as for me... i just want to be someone that people can look up to, as an influencer i realized that i can have impact on the younger generation. i mean, i have people of all ages listening to my music. looking me up on social media. i just want to be a beacon of hope for some people and tell them to never give up on their dreams. well, at least a version of that. it's easier for me now that i got discovered but there's always the little guy out there who needs an extra push to get going." her answer to that question had changed over the years before whenever her father asked, it was always something childlike as she didn't quite understand what impact she wanted to have on the world. now she felt like she sounded so diplomatic but it is something she believed in. she wished more people got to see their dreams come to fruition.

9:06 AM

@SebXDragon

He would relax into the comfortable cushion seat of the private jet having answered her question.. Having not spoken about that past he just spoke about felt nice.. He realised just how far life had taken him and what add he had done as well as the people he had encountered.. But all happened in a flash of moments before his eyes as he would look into her eyes and observed her look at him through the glass which would make him chuckle.. a little nervously to be honest since he had no idea why she was doing it until she brought the rim of her glass to her lips and he would take a sip of his drink as well..* It soothed him as the cold liquid went down his throat and relief would further be found as she would speak about herself.. It did sound philosophical, atleast a little but it was also a great outlook to have as he would bring his finger upto his lip as he would hear her speak.. And once she'd finish he would smile.. His elbow would return to focus back into her eyes as he wanted to find out more about the woman he was going to represent.. "That's really a great outlook to have.. But do you only want to go for that passively? Like just hope it happens or would you prefer to be a bit more active about it and actually find someone who needed that help and got him/ her or them into the industry.." And after he'd ask that, they would both the aircraft start to move as it was pulled out of taxi.. They would have a pretty lengthy flight to find out more about each and he would want to take that opportunity as he'd continue to ask, -

2:05 PM

"And either way, while we're on this tour, would you like for me to find you something apart from singing? Like something that you get to learn the culture as well? You'll be picking up new fans so if you knew something more about Japan, and it's culture or even show the want to learn would highlight you better.. And don't worry about people thinking that it's motivated by money, people are free to think what they want, we, can only put our best foot forward and hope for the best right?" He would ask as the plane came to a halt, and a quick glance outside told him that they were getting ready to take off.. @trxgic.#0

2:06 PM

@tragic

her brown eyes fell toward the table in front of them, he had posed an amazing question. what did she want to do in that regard? sure being an inspiring figure amongst the younger generation was great and all but she really could be so much more than just a voice. "maybe once i'm a bit bigger and have more resources i can be an active part of it but for now... i think i just wish to be able to encourage those who are afraid to pursue their passion. it doesn't even have to be singing, it can be any aspiration really." she explained. estella hummed searching for anything else to add. she felt the had gotten the gist of her point across. it was ambitious, sure, but she truly wanted to see more and more artists become successful the same way she had. “there’s so many unique and cool individuals out there, why deny them the opportunity of growth?” she mused, “still it’s not something i’d be able to alone. thoughts for another time, i guess.” her eyes found their ways back toward his, her lips were slightly curved upward. a small smile but a friendly gesture nonetheless, she found herself getting more comfortable with ricky, there was something about his presence that was calming. the err of professionality he had as well as his more down to earth nature made it easier to connect with him. she figured if she has chosen any other manager, they wouldn’t be enjoying this nice conversation and instead be exploring the more boring and mundane side to stardom. every career had its drawbacks and the business side to hers was never something she was all too interested in. still, she had represent herself and she couldn’t do that by being absent.

2:18 AM

estella watched as the plan began to move, her eyes following the painted lines on the ground, soon they’d be up in the air venturing from the united states to japan. an exciting thing to think about, while she wasn’t too well researched in japanese culture she knew there were some beautiful places to visit. ricky seemed to have mind reading powers as he posed his next question. to which estella nodded, “if there’s time i’d love to be able to visit a shrine or maybe some more notable japanese buildings. i’ve heard it’s such a beautiful place i really am excited to be able to visit japan.” she said, the excitement apparent in her voice. she pulled her glass back to her lips and had a few more sips of her sparkling water. the fizziness had died down a bit but it was still enjoyable. they were about to take off, she felt like a kid again. except this time in her own private jet, a reality she still wasn’t all that used to yet. “i have to ask, did you come all the way from australia to take a shot at managing me or have you been in america for some time?” she asked, simply based off his accent. she liked it, there was something about australian accents that she found irresistible. sure he was older than her and these thoughts would never leave her mind but she did love how her name sounded coming from his mouth.

2:18 AM

@SebXDragon

Hearing her reply would make him smile at the clarity of thought she had.. it was easier to feel bigger than one really was under the guise of recently acquired popularity or even in stardom, but her reply cemented his belief that she truly was a very grounded and real personality.. the smile widened meeting her beautiful brown eyes which accompanied that pretty smile of hers.. He couldn't really add much to an already beautiful response, so with that smile still present he would just say, "That's very smart of you to keep your ambitions very real, Estella.. I hope I can help you get bigger and that it doesn't take me too long to do so.." He'd chuckle slightly as the plane would pick up ground speed to generate the lift needed to get them airborne.. the plane shook a little as did the contents of their glass, but thankfully he had both drank just enough of their beverages to not cause any spillover as they were finally airborne.. Flying never scared or worried him as he has gotten used to taking a lot of flights during his previous tenures of managing other artists, although those assignments had often started in economy class and she was certainly well beyond that already.. But nothing that occured with the the aircraft during take off would interest him as he would hear her response to his other question.. that smile returned instantly as he thought about the various temples, shrine and cultural sites he could take her too since the Japanese culture was something of an interest to him as well.. He was glad that she was interested to visit those sites therefore.. but hearing her question following the remark would make him snicker as the smile widened across his rugged features and his dark chocolate gaze would find hers with the sparkle of excitement still there since he was always fond of talking about his home country as he'd say after recovering from that short laugh, -

3:05 AM

"Oh no Estella, I've actually been here in the USA for a while now.. 6 years almost.. I absolutely miss being back home though, but in terms of a career that I had sought in acting, I needed to come over.." They had already spoken about how he had tried after all, so since he didn't want to repeat that, or talk too much about Australia just yet, since they were headed to Japan, he would try and gauge a bit about her own personal life after all that would be important to him ofcourse.. "But if it's comfortable for you to speak about.. as an agent, it will be my job to ensure to make sure that things around you were perfect, especially your personal life.. is there a boyfriend that I should know of? And what about the family?" He knew the question may even look like it had come out of the blue as he leaned in a little, intently wanting to find out.. but to try and ensure that she'd know why he was asking such a thing, he would clarify so that it wouldn't make her uncomfortable.. "I only ask this because celebrity lifestyle is something everyone wants to read about.. gossip columns around the world will try and persuade your near and dear ones with money and fame to get them to talk about your personal life.. is there anything in particular that I should ensure stays out of the magazines?" He would hope his intentions came across as sincere since this was always one of the things with young stars, their entourage.. he wanted to know who was in her life romantically and if that individual would be someone that he would have to keep a close eye on.. and similarly with her family as well.. he would wait with a soft smile on his face as he'd wait for her reply.. hopefully she'd feel comfortable enough to tell him..

3:05 AM

@tragic