The People Pleaser Ch. 01
Keywords: Pleaser, 01, People, The, Ch.,
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He saw the Tall man out of the corner of his eye. The tall man was staring at him intensely. This made Chris very nervous. After all, he wasn't gay. How could he be gay? Granted, he was in this club. A club which normally he would never set foot in, but gay?
"Nah. Not gay,never gay." he told himself to soothe his male ego. He looked away and set his eye on the tv screen in the upper corner of the bar. On the screen, images of pop stars flickered on and off with the beat of the music in the club.
He spent a lot of time online, at home, and found his way to chat. Chris loved chat. It appealed to his nature. He could talk and get to know people yet always keep a distance from them. Chris was not a people person. At work, yes he was a people person. No, that's not quite right, he was a people pleaser. Being in sales, you have to be a people pleaser. You have to be whatever or whoever the situation calls for. It's not about customer service, It's about customer satisfaction. In that same respect, in Chris's opinion, it's not about being someone who likes people. It's about being whatever the person wants you to be so they like you.
This made Chris a Top notch Mortgage broker, but it also jaded him. It was a whore business and when you sell yourself, all day, everyday, it becomes tiring. So over the years, Chris became introverted in his private life outside of work. People and relationships in general, just didn't appeal to him. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He liked people. He liked to be around people and be in the thick of things, so to speak. He just didn't want to get involved with people. So living a life in the cyber world appealed to him greatly. He had communication and friendships without intimacy. He got to be around people and yet keep a safe distance from them. Until he met Hayley that is.
Hayley was different. Hayley was extraordinary. He met her online in a transgender chat room. He wasn't into men or even men who looked like women. He wasn't gay. He was just curious. One day though he found himself surfing the chat rooms and popped in the trans room just for kicks. Quietly he watched the scroll move on, checking out the profiles. He silently laughed at the "girls" who were anything but girls and was in awe of the ones who were pretty convincing as women. Then he came across Hayley's profile and he was floored.
Here was a "girl" who put the majority of real women to shame. Here was a girl who could make men cry when she walked In the room simply because they would desire her yet know they never could have her. She was an angel, the embodiment of human perfection. He watched her in the room for several weeks after that. He watched as the chasers all but drooled over her.( If drooling in the cyber world could even happen ). He was polite in the room. Always friendly but he swore he would never fawn over her as the rest of the men did. He needed that edge. He needed to separate himself from these ignorant wretches and their pathetic come ons. He needed to be above and beyond them. He needed to be special.
It wasn't long before she approached him in the chat room. He was a fairly handsome man and he made sure a photo of himself was on his profile as well as all the "right" information. The right information being he is successful, maybe not rich, but an "up and comer", smart and sensitive. He wooed her online, still unsure of what he was doing. After all, he wasn't gay, but a tranny isn't really a guy. Even though Hayley was pre-op, if things worked out, he would make her post-op. What he really loved the most about Hayley though, was that she was simple. She wasn't super bright. In fact, she seemed almost malleable. He could definitely manipulate and control her. Chris found the perfect women, even if she technically wasn't a woman. He had to meet her.
They both agreed to meet at this gay club. Chris wasn't too keen on the idea. He was a homophobe, tried and true. He admitted it freely and expressed his distaste in meeting at a club full of fags. She was insistent though and he conceded. So here he was waiting on her. He got to the club at 10 p.m., dressed very dapper in a dark blue long sleeve button down shirt, Black sport jacket, jeans and boots to match his jacket. He was dressed for the kill as he said to himself so many times before.
He was approached three times while waiting for Hayley to show up. Once by a 6'4" tranny who looked liked a cross between Bozo the clown and Anna Nicole Smith. The second by a short, plump man with too much acne and not enough hair. He was polite though and very courteous. He smiled and declined both of their offers,explained how he was meeting someone there, and thanked them for the offers.
The one thing Chris learned in the sales industry was tact. Never show people how you really feel, just show them what they wanna see. The golden rule in his book. One of many in Chris's "Golden book of Rules". So he played by the rule and did well for himself. He was whatever people wanted him to be on the outside and on the inside he secretly held most people in contempt.
So here he was sitting and drinking a corona with a lime. He watched the music videos that were in tune with the dance music. He was afraid that if he let his eyes wandered someone might mistake it for flirting and not just the eyes of a people watcher. He never even noticed the Tall man come up next to him.
"You come here often?" The tall man said to Chris, shocking him out of a daze that was self induced.
"Huh?" said Chris momentarily surprised. He quickly recovered. "No, this is my first time here. I'm meeting a friend here."
He got a real good look at the tall man. The tall man easily had 20 years on Chris. The deep lines carved into the man's face and the grey around the temples, blending to salt and pepper then finally to a deep dark brown, made Chris guess the man was in his late 40's. He really was Tall and not only tall, he was Big. Standing at 6'6", he made Chris,at 6 foot even, look very short, not too mention small. Chris always stayed in shape. He worked out, but he never could really develop a lot of mass. He was toned, but slender. This guy though, was a monster. Easily 270 lbs. and not an ounce of fat on him. Besides his obvious Physical presence, the tall man was ruggedly handsome. Chris, telling himself for the 4th time tonight he wasn't gay, admired this man's rugged features. Chris felt intimidated by him.
"A friend? Boy or girl?" the tall man asked raising an eyebrow inquisitively and smiling at Chris in a knowing half smile.
Chris looking up to the man and said, "Girl, errr boy. Err, I mean girl." He hated to sound stupid but he couldn't help it. The tall man laughed and slapped Chris on his shoulder. Chris blushed deeply and felt even more stupid.
"This really is Your first time here isn't it?" The man said chuckling. Chris blushed even deeper, his fade becoming a deep crimson as his confidence diminished further.
"Well, I better go find my friend. She's probably looking for me even as we speak." Chris said in a distant tone. Letting his eyes wander freely now. Anywhere but on this man who had unsettled him and made him feel like a little boy.
"Who's your friend?" The Tall man asked. Then he said, "Maybe I know her?"
"I'm meeting a girl named Hayley." Chris said rather abruptly as if the answer to the question pained him to speak it. Chris thought about lying to get out of this conversation but felt it unwise to lie to this Man. Somehow he knew that he was incapable of deceiving this man.
The Tall man smiled, beamed in fact. "I know Hayley." he said to Chris. "She's a good kid. I look after her." His smile turned to a frown and then said, "Some of these guys don't understand that she is out of their league."
Chris nodded and smiled. "Well, I better go find her. It was nice to have met you." He stood up from his barstool and started away from the bar. As he started to walk away, He felt the tall man's hand rest on his shoulder. Chris turned.
"She isn't here yet. I'll tell you what. I'm here waiting on someone too. Let me keep you company while you wait." The tall man said still smiling.
"Look, I really appreciate that but im not gay, so." Chris said in a no nonsense tone. Trailing off, not finishing the rest of the sentence. As if the Tall man already knew the latter part of his objection.
The tall man then laughed. Once again making Chris feel even dumber than before. He said to Chris, "Trust me kid. You are not my type. Like yourself, I like the girls" He then offered his hand to Chris and said, "My name is Michael. Please, while you're waiting for her, Have a drink with me."
Chris took his hand and shook it, feeling a little more in control of himself and relieved about the Tall man. He still felt intimidated by this man and yes a little scared, but he also saw how he could use this man to promote himself with Hayley. If he really did know Hayley, he didn't want to be seen as rude to one of her friends. What choice did he have in the matter?
"I'm Chris." He said to the man as he sat back down on his barstool. The Tall man smiled and then Chris asked, "What ya drinking?"
They talked for the next 2 hours. Michael did most of the talking. One of the Cardinal rules in Chris's Golden Book of Rules was " know your mark" or in laymen's terms "God gave you two ears and one mouth. So listen twice as much as you talk." Chris asked questions. He listened intently, taking it all in and cataloging in his mind anything he might need in future conversations.
Chris discovered two things in that time talking with Michael. One, that This guy was very arrogant. He exuded confidence and authority. About an hour into the conversation., Chris found Michael controlled the conversation instead of the other way around. This bothered him but he also admired it. The second thing he noticed was that Michael was brilliant.
It turned out that Michael was quite the self made man.
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Keywords: Pleaser, 01, People, The, Ch.,