The Big Time Pt. 06

"What did she say?"

Allen looked at him with a crooked smile on his face. "She hates you."

More second hand information coupled with more uncertainties. Michael closed his eyes again.

***

Cocina Roma restaurant.

Eliza walked up to the front desk. The person manning the podium pointed her to the outdoors area of the dining room. Sarah sat at a small table with a glass top, wearing sunglasses and browsing through a menu. She looked up as Eliza came out of the restaurant. Sarah put the menu down and they hugged each other.

"How are you?" asked Sarah.

"Good. You?" replied Eliza.

"Fine." They sat down and picked up their menus. "So uh, I heard you had a little run in with the police a couple days ago."

Eliza raised her eyebrows. "Really? What did you hear?"

"Not much. Someone said you were talking to the police on Fifth Avenue. Then you took a ride in their squad car," answered Sarah. "You're not stealing clothes again, are you?"

"Hey! It was ONE damn time! And I told you, I FORGOT I was wearing it!"

"Okay, I know." Sarah laughed. "If it wasn't that, what was it about?"

"Some guy decided to mess with me," said Eliza. Sarah was one of her best friends, but she was still ashamed about what she did with Michael. Especially since Kirsten had found out. Or maybe because Kirsten had found out.

"Really? Who?"

"I don't know."

Sarah noticed Eliza's slight hesitation. "You don't know?"

"Well it was probably some whacked out fan," said Eliza.

"You'd think a fan would know better than to mess with Faith," said Sarah. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing," answered Eliza quickly. Sarah looked at her strangely. "I mean, I roughed him up a little after he handcuffed himself to me."

"Handcuffs? You're kidding!"

"Nope," said Eliza. "I told you, one whacked out guy."

"What happened to him? I mean I hope the police put him away," said Sarah.

"I'm not sure," said Eliza. "And as long as he stays out of other people's business, I don't care."

2:02 pm. Suite 9035. Hilton Hotel.

Michael entered his room and went into the bathroom. He filled a cup with tap water and drank it. Then he filled it again and picked up the pharmacy bag. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He put the bag down and answered it.

"Hello?" he said tiredly.

"Hi Mike, this is Katie," said Katie. "Where've you been? I've been trying to reach you for the last couple days."

"Um. I've been around, I guess," said Michael. "The 42^nd precinct police station, Good Samaritan hospital, the usual LA hangouts."

"What?! Oh my god! Are you okay?" asked Katie worriedly.

"Yeah I'm fine Katie, they said it was just a small concussion,"

"A concussion?! Are you sure you're okay?" asked Katie. Before Michael could answer Katie spoke again. "I'm coming over."

"Katie, you don't have to. It's not like I'm in a wheelchair or anything."

"I'll be there as fast as I can, okay?" Katie hung up.

"Yeah, sure that's okay," said Michael sarcastically to the silence emanating from his phone. All he wanted was to sleep, but now he had to stay awake for Katie. Michael pulled a chair over to the window and placed it directly in line with the sunlight. He plopped down and stared out, hoping the light would keep him awake.

***

Shooting Stars Talent Agency.

Eliza walked through the offices of the agency. She did not acknowledge the secretary as she entered Simon's office. Simon looked up and excused himself from the conversation he was having on the telephone.

"What is so important that I have to skip out on lunch with my friend?" asked Eliza.

"Please sit down," said Simon. Eliza slouched down into one of the chairs facing Simon's desk and picked at her nails. "I'm sorry that I had to call you out of a meal but this is the only available time I have."

"Fine," said Eliza. She unwrapped a piece of gum and flicked the foil into the trash. Eliza stared at Simon as she snapped the gum in her mouth.

"I'm not sure if you know about this, but Michael Torbin is one of my newest clients."

Eliza's chewing paused for a moment, but she quickly resumed. "Oh. What does that have to do with me?"

"I'd like to know what happened yesterday afternoon," said Simon. "If you don't mind telling me, of course."

She straightened herself up in the chair. "What did he say happened?" Simon recounted Michael's tale. "He's lying!"

"What did happen then?"

"I'll tell you what I told the police. He appeared out of nowhere, cuffed himself to me, and tried to drag me away. His story is a bunch of bullshit!"

"You should know that Michael was hurt pretty badly."

Eliza chuckled. "What? All I did was punch him in the nose. Oh yeah, and I kicked him too."

"Not from you Eliza," said Simon. "He was assaulted in the holding cell of the police station. They just released him from the hospital a few hours ago."

Eliza's mood changed noticeably. "What?"

"Apparently he got into a fight over his shoes. He said he got one of them pretty good, but the man's friend blindsided him. He ended up with a concussion and deep bruising on his face and stomach. The police said he could've been killed," said Simon.

She ran her hand through her hair. "I didn't mean for that to happen," she said quietly.

"Pardon?" said Simon as he leaned forward and put his forearms on his desk.

"Is he okay?"

"He should be fine. But he'll be out of it for a couple days."

Eliza stood up out of her chair. "I have to talk to him. Where is he staying?"

"Eliza, I don't think he wants to see you."

"So what? Tell me where he is!"

"Look, I think it's better if you two stay away from each other. I'm not sure which story to believe. But I do know that Michael was hurt pretty badly and needs his rest okay? If he wants to see you, I'm sure he'll get in contact with you," said Simon.

"You're my agent Simon! You do what I tell you to do, and I want you to tell me where he is." Simon was silent. "Where is he?!"

"Yes I'm your agent Eliza. But I'm Michael's too, and I have to look out for both of you. I don't think it's a good idea for you two to see each other."

"Fine," said Eliza as she sneered at him. "I'm sure you're not the only one who knows where he is." She turned and stomped out of Simon's office.

2:25 pm.

Someone knocked quickly on the door. Michael pulled himself out of the chair and walked over to the door. He peeked through peephole before opening it. Katie gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh my god Mike!"

"Don't be alarmed Katie, it's not that bad," said Michael.

Katie stepped into the room and shut the door. "You look awful."

"Thanks."

"How do you feel?" asked Katie as she put her purse down.

"Exhausted. Jail house beds aren't particularly comfortable," said Michael as he walked into the bathroom.

"You were in jail?" exclaimed Katie.

Michael picked up the pharmacy bag and the cup of water. "Yeah, it was a, uh, misunderstanding." He sat down at the table and began pulling the bag open.

"Let me get that," said Katie as she took the bag and ripped it open. "What kind of 'misunderstanding' leads to you ending up like this?"

Michael picked up the bottle but Katie snatched it from his hand and opened it for him. "How many am I supposed to take?" asked Michael.

"Take one pill with food every eight hours. *WARNING* May cause drowsiness," read Katie aloud. "A misunderstanding with the police?"

"Gimme three of them. I feel like sleeping for a day or so."

She dumped a few pills into her palm. "Wait, have you eaten yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Oh. Well then you're not taking these until I get you some food." She put the pills back inside and capped the bottle.

Michael groaned. "It's just a suggestion Katie, not a requirement."

"What if something happens? You're in bad enough shape as it is without adding sickness on top of it," said Katie. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Unconsciousness," said Michael as he reached across the table. "Gimme that bottle."

Katie grabbed the bottle and put it in her purse. "No. I'm worried about you Mike, I don't want anything else to happen to you."

Michael relented. He realized how nice it felt to have someone take care of you when you were down. It was not something he was used to. "Okay, it doesn't matter what it is, go to whatever's closest. Here, take my key in case I pass out or something."

"Alright. I think there's a Burger King around the corner, I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?" She stood up and picked up her purse.

"Wait, I have some cash in the bedroom. Let me grab some," said Michael.

"Mike, I'm going to Burger King," said Katie as Michael walked into the bedroom.

"Regardless. You remember what I said when we had dinner," said Michael as he rummaged inside his bag.

"Yeah. Don't you remember what I said?"

Michael found the cash and walked out of the bedroom. "Of course, I-" he stopped in mid-sentence and looked around. Katie had already gone.

2:40 pm.

Katie opened the door to Michael's suite. Michael was standing at the window with his arms crossed. She hung her purse on the back of a chair.

"Got the food," said Katie as she held up a greasy bag of fast food.

"That was fast," said Michael as he turned around.

"Burger and fries okay?" asked Katie as she took the food out of the bag.

"Beautiful." Michael unwrapped his sandwich and took a huge bite out of it.

"Hungry?" said Katie with a laugh.

"Starving!" He ate some fries and then sipped his soda.

"If you can, uh, slow down a little bit, maybe you could tell me what happened?" asked Katie.

Michael took another bite of his sandwich and swallowed it. "Hand me those pills first please?"

Katie got the bottle out of her purse and took one pill out of it. She handed it to Michael. He motioned for one more. "Says just one every eight hours."

"Fine." Michael washed it down with his drink. "Okay. Here's what happened."

Katie listened carefully as Michael recounted the events of the last two days, from the lunch with Eliza on. He of course left out the details of his argument with Eliza. "That fucking bitch."

Michael was surprised at her language. "Simon said he was going to talk to her. Once I have 20/20 vision again I'm going to find her and I'm gonna do more than just talk."

"I'm glad I don't even know this girl. Jesus, how the hell could she do that? You could've been killed!" exclaimed Katie angrily. "What the hell is wrong with her?"

"I don't know, Katie."

"That fucking cunt! You know what we should do? We should get her butt thrown in jail for something! I'd like to see what she looks like after some criminal gets through with her!"

Michael found himself letting out a big yawn in the midst of Katie's angry tirade. "I'm sorry, I think the drugs are kicking in." He rubbed the back of his head. There was little pain. "Yep. Definitely kicking in."

"I hope Simon really lets her have it," said Katie. She stood up. "And if he doesn't maybe I will."

"Really?" asked Michael as he tried to stifle his laugh.

"Yeah! I'll kick her butt!" said Katie. "I wish I took the Buffy role, then I would know some karate or something to use on her!"

"You could've been Buffy the Vampire Slayer?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. It didn't work out though," said Katie distractedly. She was seething with anger, maybe more so than Michael had been when he realized what Eliza was doing to him. He stood up and headed for the bedroom.

"I can barely keep my eyes open anymore Katie," said Michael. "I need some sleep."

She turned back towards him. "Okay. Want me to tuck you in?" She smiled slightly as the anger in her eyes slowly dissipated.

"Nah. I can handle that," said Michael. "Unless you really, really want to." He kicked off his shoes and began getting undressed. Michael climbed into the bed.

Katie came into the bedroom and sat next to Michael on the bed. "I'll be back to check on you tonight okay?"

"You don't have to be so doting over me Katie, I'm fine. In a couple days you won't even be able to tell I was in a fight."

"Still…" She leaned down and kissed him. Even though the rest of his face was dulled his lips were certainly sensitive of what was happening. "I'll see you in a little while."

"Bye," said Michael as Katie left the room and shut the lights off.

12:09 am. Wednesday, June 4.

Michael slowly came around, sleep loosening its grip. He was groggy from his long slumber and he rubbed his head. After sitting up in the bed he turned the lamp on. There was a cup of water and a single pill sitting on his side table. He smiled to himself before taking the pill, shutting the lamp off and putting his head back down on the pillow.

Before he could fall asleep he heard a hard knock on the door to his suite. He slipped out of the bed and walked out of the room without turning the lights on. As he pulled the door open, the bright lights from the hallway blinded him and he turned his head away.

"Did you forget something Katie?" said Michael as he walked back towards the bedroom.

"I didn't forget a thing," said a sultry voice that was not Katie's. The woman shut the door.

Michael stopped and turned around. "Rose?" Shadows blanketed her face and the face of the shorter woman standing behind her.

"You know, Alyssa told me that you weren't gay," said Rose. "In fact, she tells me you went and made a pretty good case for yourself."

"Oh?" said Michael. He could not tell who the other woman was.

"Yeah. That means that the only possible reason for what you did goes out the window," said Rose as she advanced on Michael.

Michael backed away and bumped into the table. He went around to the other side. "Look, I told you why. There's someone else. Someone important to me."

"Actually, I think you said that you thought that you were involved with someone. Sounds to me like that relationship is on the rocks, don't you think Lyssa?" said Rose as she crossed her arms over her ample breasts and stood in the middle of the room.

"Yeah, doesn't sound like it's going anywhere."

"Alyssa?" said Michael, his back to the windows.

"Yep!" said Alyssa. "Hello again Mike. I tried to convince Rose about you but she wouldn't listen. She insisted on seeing for herself."

"Why are you here then?"

"Wherever Rose goes, fun seems to follow," said Alyssa. "I heard about that little tryst you had with her and Rachael. You've piqued my curiosity."

"That's fascinating," said Michael sarcastically.

Alyssa walked slowly towards him, around Rose. She leaned forward and put her hands on the table, giving Michael a delicious view of her cleavage. "You're telling me that that cute face of yours doesn't want to be right here?"

Michael swallowed. "Apparently you can't see my face very well."

"What?" asked Alyssa, puzzled.

"I think you two should leave."

Rose walked over to the light switch and flipped it. "Oh. He's definitely not very cute anymore Alyssa."

"Are you okay?!" asked Alyssa.

Now that he had a clear view of the two women in his room, his resolve began to waver. Alyssa was wearing a low cut tank top and shorts. Rose had on a skin tight t-shirt and jeans. "Yeah I'm fine."

Alyssa turned to Rose. "Maybe we should go."

"What? Oh please," said Rose. "His face isn't what I'm interested in."

"What ARE you interested in?" asked Michael.

"You owe me."

"For what?" exclaimed Michael.

"You left me wet and horny that morning. That was not very nice," said Rose.

"If you're telling me that you have trouble finding someone to take care of something like that-"

"I don't!" snapped Rose. "But YOU are the one who denied me. And I ALWAYS get what I want."

"Listen Rose," said Michael. If she was not going to accept the relationship excuse, then he would try something else. "I'm on some pretty powerful painkillers okay? And I just took one, so in a little while I won't be of much use for anything."

"See what I mean?" said Rose to Alyssa as she motioned at Michael.

"Yeah," said Alyssa. She looked back at Michael. "Mike, you'd rather sleep alone, than with us?"

Michael could see his friends yelling obscenities at him for the monumentally stupid moves he was making. Fuck them he thought. His friends were not hated by Kirsten Dunst. His friends did not have Katie Holmes bringing them burgers and fries when they were hungry. Michael ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the lump on the back of his head. "Yes."

Alyssa's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I told you Alyssa, he's so fucking gay," said Rose. She turned around with her hands on her hips.

"Wait a sec, Rose," said Alyssa. "This is interesting."

"What is?" asked Michael.

Alyssa walked up close to Michael. "I've never met a guy who wasn't interested in getting inside my pants the first chance he got."

"You've never met a homosexual before?" inquired Rose.

"Didn't I already get inside your pants?"

"Yeah, but no one's questioning your sexual orientation now."

"I am!" emphasized Rose.

Alyssa pointed at Michael's crotch. "I think that means he's not gay." Michael looked down and immediately covered his erection with his hands. "I think I want him more than I did before."

"No, uh, I don't think you do," said Michael as he looked around for a way out. He focused his thoughts on Katie and her sweet smile, trying to ignore the vixens in his room. He did not want to hurt her. He did not want an exact repeat of what happened with Kirsten.

"Yes I do Mike," said Alyssa. "Rose is not the only one who always gets what she wants."

"Um, that's great but, uh, you should go," said Michael as he stretched his arm out and pointed his finger at the door.

Alyssa moved towards his arm and took hold of his hand. Her tongue snaked out of her mouth and wrapped around his finger. "What should we do Mike?" asked Rose as she watched Alyssa lick and suck on Michael's finger.

"Uh oh." It was all Michael could think of saying.

Rose walked forward triumphantly and pushed Michael flat against the windows of the suite. "Damn right, 'uh oh.' Whoever your girlfriend is, she's not going to be happy with you tomorrow morning." For a brief moment Michael could see Katie slapping him and running out of the room crying. But Rose's hand rubbing his cock through his boxers and Alyssa's lips around his finger quickly drew him out of that scene.

Alyssa giggled before slinking to her knees and pulling Michael's boxer shorts down his legs. His erection was at full staff, waiting to be used and abused by whichever female was in the vicinity. Fortunately, that female was Alyssa Milano and she took Michael's cock with her small hands and stroked it lightly. She licked her lips in anticipation.

"She's such a slut, isn't she?" said Rose. She rubbed Michael's chest with her hands and tweaked his nipples. "She loves dropping to her knees and sucking guys off, isn't that right Lyssa?"

Alyssa responded by inhaling Michael's cock into her wide open mouth. Her cheeks hollowed out as she sucked it hard before letting it go. She bathed Michael's cock with her tongue, making it slick with her saliva. Then she dove in again, jerking and sucking on his cock in earnest. Michael took a deep breath as Alyssa's lipstick began to smear on the wet skin of his weapon.

Michael was almost afraid to look down at Alyssa. The blowjob he was receiving was so well done that watching her do it might send him over the top. "Look at how fucking hot she is Mike. She's just dying to ride your cock," said Rose. Despite himself he glanced down and found himself hypnotized by Alyssa's sultry brown eyes. He could not keep his jaw shut as Alyssa smiled up at him around his cock.

"Better make sure you're all nice and ready." Rose knelt down and joined Alyssa in pleasuring Michael. She wrapped her lips on the side of his dick and moved her head side to side.