Passion Over Presley: Based on a True Story
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loved finding talent and exploiting it for the big boys to rumble with, so his next business plan is to create his own production company and already was well on his way to succeeding. Sometimes he couldn’t see the dead drop at the end of the road…so he just kept walking looking up instead of down.
Presley
Presley glanced down at the watch as the meeting with his subordinates concluded and closed the briefcase. Michelle said six pm, and Presley didn’t want to be late. He was more than happy to meet up again after seeing her at the funeral. Michelle was beautiful, as she usually is but there was something else there.
Maybe her life had not gone the way she planned the day she left for Memphis, promising him a letter or two as she started college. He never saw a letter, not even a phone call for the past two years and wondered how she got the news about his father.
Presley charged down the stairs with a little pep in his step heading out of the office and to his car. What would she wear? Does she have a clue where he was taking her tonight? His intention was to make a good impression, and the first step was to have the car nicely washed, and the restaurant already reserved with the best seat in the house. Michelle always enjoyed Pasta, so he booked a spot at the Chef’s table in the top Italian Restaurant in the city. He called her before pulling out of work and headed to her place to pick her up.
The moment he arrived at her house he knew she had changed. There was a cigarette in her mouth, something he had never seen her or any of her family members ever do before. She wore a short red dress with a rip at the bottom and her shoes were open toe and her hair was tossed to one side because of the wind.
When Michelle hopped into his car she smelled of booze and Stride Gum. He raised an eyebrow at her slightly wondering what happened to the girl he saw earlier. It was the same Michelle, but he was mesmerized by good memories that it completely clouded him from the truth of her appearance. She tossed the cigarette out of the window and coughed rubbing her hands together. Presley couldn’t take her anywhere like that without Michelle feeling completely embarrassed.
“You want to just eat at my place? I can make lasagna.” He smiled at her with a gulp and she nodded.
“Don’t matter. You don’t have a wife yet?” He looked over at her. He pulled out of her driveway and headed back to the Hills.
“No, I’m not married Michelle.” He put both hands on the steering wheel feeling a bit uncomfortable.
“Well you don’t have any kids?” She rolled down the automatic window and lit another cigarette.
He shook his head, as if she could hear his answer and turned on some music. She still liked Jazz, and also remembered all the stations pretty well. He was impressed that she had not entirely changed. She was the same Michelle. They chatted in the car on the way to his house, and he learned a few more interesting things about her.
After leaving for college she became mixed up into school and work that she had little time to herself. She was so determined to get her degree in nursing that she allowed her physical health decline to stretch a few more hours of studying in. Michelle was always the overachiever and their piers always admired her for it when they were younger.
After a year of overhauling in college Michelle dropped out and worked triple the hours to pay back her loans and keep her credit straight. Eventually the stress got to her and she had a nervous breakdown and ended up in the hospital for a month. The bills were enough to kill her poor mother with worry so Michelle was confronted by her father. He forced her back home to straighten out her life and despite his personal guidance she decided to leave on the first plain back to Memphis and her life of personal torture.
“I have nowhere else to go, and I refuse to move back in with my parents.” She smacked her lips angrily over the cigarette and rested her head on the window.
An offer rolled rom Presley’s tongue faster than his brain allowed him to think it through. “Stay with me.” She giggled at Presley’s comment and he repeated it looking from the road to her then back at the road. “I mean it Michelle. You can stay in the guest house. It’s big enough to fit five of you.”
Michelle chuckled enjoying the exaggerating remark, then sucked in the last puff of the cancer stick tossing it out of the window.
“Stop joking Presley. I have no business living with you because I am not the same person I used to be. I can’t afford rent and all of that other stuff.” She swallowed big and rubbed her exposed arms with her palms. How could Presley convince her with his words? He might as well show her since they were almost to his house by now anyway.
“Michelle I don’t need any rent. I would prefer you live free, that way you have as much time and space as you need to get back on your feet and finish a valuable education. This is the prime of your life and the best place for you to be is with someone who can help you get your life back together. I can do that, and you know I appreciate helping my best friend.” Presley looked over at her solemnly and continued driving.
They pulled up to the house and he parked underneath the elevated condo close to the stairs. The house was custom built and appeared to be floating in midair because the columns it was built on top of were hidden by shrubs and trees. He led Michelle under the house to the center where the staircase opened up to the front door in the center of the house. She was totally surprised by its size and held her mouth with one hand and examined the house in a quick turnaround of her shoes.
“Presley, this place is beautiful! How on earth can you afford this?” She walked ahead of him through all of the rooms and tapped the furniture as if making sure it was real. She galloped into the kitchen and swept her hands over the counter tops.
The smooth linoleum made her hands cold and she rubbed them together happily observing all the wonders the kitchen had in store. She opened the fridge and began to raid it savagely, and then found ice cream in the freezer. “Screw dinner. When can I move in?” She asked and he laughed at her.
You can move in right now if it pleases you. He wanted to open up the heavens for Michelle. Did she have any idea how much she was greatly missed in his life? How much he cared about her wellbeing? Presley wanted to give her everything her heart desired, and two years before when she desired to leave him for college he had to let go of the one person who had his heart since the death of his mother.
Michelle was more than a best friend. Presley had wonderful gifts in store and wanted her to enjoy every piece of life the Good Lord had to offer. He was tired of spending these spoils alone, and Michelle was the cure to his loneliness.
“We can arrange to have your stuff moved if that’s what you need. I am sure you have to go back to Memphis for your things, and I can get the movers to help you out.” Presley loosened his tie and text his agent to scratch the dinner reservations.
“My stuff can wait,” Michelle replied. “Actually I don’t need any of that stuff anyway since it could stay with my roommate. I have a few things at my parents’ house.” She laughed a little and stuck a spoon into the ice cream and ate out of the carton. He smiled.
“Fine with me, Michelle.” Presley said and looked her up and down. He smiled to himself realizing that she was really here. There is no longer miles away from them, instead she stood only a foot away from him. The world became a little more kind now that she was back into his life, nothing else could make him prouder.
“Maybe we should hang out tomorrow. I can take the day off and show you around the hotpots and go shopping.” He snapped his fingers at the idea and looked into her face. She nodded and picked up the ice cream carton exploring more of the house.
They decided to eat a little and watch a movie before heading back to her parent’s house to get her stuff. Back at her place, her parents were eager to share with him all the latest news. They were both college professors and enjoyed conversing with him from time to time about the joys of American business success. He catered to their every whim, sharing all he could about his business and his future plans for the company.
Mr. and Mrs. Fontaine enjoyed Presley’s company, ever since he was a kid walking Michelle to and from school every single day. He felt more their son, and they would agree he was more their child than Michelle was with all her wayward decisions that pulled her further and further from their approval.
After Michelle packed and they all said their goodbyes, she convinced him to stop at the closest market for some cheap tequila to celebrate whatever. She also bought three cartons of cigarettes and a large bottle of the cheapest vodka. She used her father’s money for the purchase. If only he had seen the signs…
Presley
It had been two weeks since Michelle had moved into his guest home, and even though it was right behind his house, it became harder every day to see her face or hear her voice. Their shopping date went well, and he had not seen her since. After filling her closet with all the name brand fashions he tried his best to make her happy and didn’t care how much it cost.
Presley had no children to save for, and no one special to share his spoils with so he was happy that Michelle indulged herself. He caught a glimpse of her after the shopping date, and she was nothing like the girl he had met at his father’s funeral.
Michelle was eating more and talking less; she gained