Chapter 179: Teaching Him a Lesson

[Chapter 179: Teaching Him a Lesson]

"Not bad, huh?" Lil Wayne smiled brightly at Ryan as he held his four Grammy trophies. He had just finished taking photos in front of the backdrop for the awards show, and now it was Ryan's turn.

Even though he didn't have as many trophies as Lil Wayne, Ryan wasn't doing too badly himself. He held one trophy in each hand as they posed together for a picture.

As they were leaving, Ryan ran into Coldplay.

"Avicii? Never heard of that name," Chris Martin, the lead singer of the band, shook his head.

With eight nominations and four wins, Lil Wayne was on a roll, and Coldplay had seven nominations and three wins, so it was a successful night for them too.

Ryan also spotted Chris Martin's wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, among the crowd. They were married until 2014 when Gwyneth moved on to date a producer from American Horror Story.

...

Ryan nodded politely, exchanged a few pleasantries with her, and then left the photo op area.

As he stepped out, he saw Taylor Swift chatting with a handsome man. Sure, this guy was better looking than Ryan, but never mind that.

When she saw Ryan approaching, Taylor waved him over and introduced him to the man. "Ryan Rivers, my fiance." Taylor wrapped her arm around Ryan's.

"John Mayer," the man said, extending his hand.

Ryan shook his hand for a couple of seconds, but he noticed an immediate change in John's demeanor. After pulling away, John shook off his hand as if it were covered in grime, his expression twisting for a moment.

"I need to go take some photos," John said, nodding as he quickly found an excuse to leave.

As soon as John walked away, Taylor burst into laughter. "He just asked for my number; I didn't think you'd be the jealous type!"

"I'm not as petty as that," Ryan replied casually. "But something about that guy gives me a bad vibe."

"How can you tell? Teach me!" Taylor said, puzzled.

"It's in his eyes," Ryan said, annoyed.

Ryan's instincts weren't wrong. John Mayer had quite the history with women, including Jennifer Love Hewitt, Rhona Mitra, and Jessica Simpson. But his current girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston, was the most familiar name. After her, he would go on to date Kim Kardashian.

In the original timeline, he and Taylor had met at this year's Grammys, captivated her in a whirlwind romance, and inspired her to write the emotive Dear John. It was worth noting that John Mayer was born in '77, making him about ten years older than Taylor.

However, all that was before Ryan came into the picture, and now that he had stepped in, things were bound to change...

At that moment, they noticed a familiar face -- Jennifer Aniston, known for her role in Friends. She approached them to ask where John was.

Taylor pointed to the right, and Jennifer promptly headed in that direction.

"If you weren't mistaken, shouldn't we help her see John's true colors?" Taylor suggested, feeling a bit empathetic.

Ryan watched Jennifer walk away and thought for a moment before saying, "I think we should stay out of it."

"Why shouldn't we get involved? We didn't do anything wrong," Taylor insisted.

"Let me borrow your phone," Ryan said suddenly.

"It's with Erica. I'll get her to bring it to you at the afterparty," Taylor replied.

The Grammys awarded multiple prizes across various music genres, with many awards announced earlier that afternoon. Hundreds of industry professionals typically participated in the event, and multiple parties were hosted around the show -- like the one by Clive Davis. Interscope Records and Sony Music hosted their own parties, featuring big stars like Jay-Z and Beyonce, and Sean Combs was sure to show up.

However, Ryan had no intention of attending any of those parties, especially not letting Taylor go either.

They only planned on going to the official afterparty organized by the Grammy Academy, which would be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

...

The two of them returned to their hotel. In their room, Taylor took a selfie with Ryan's trophies and later posted it on MySpace.

"Tonight, I'm going to cuddle with these two awards," she said affectionately.

"Aren't you worried about what people will say?" Ryan chuckled.

Taylor shook her head. "This is recognition from the industry!"

Industry recognition was one thing, but Ryan sensed the public's reaction would be different. At tonight's Grammy Awards, he stole the limelight and even Taylor benefited a lot.

...

When they changed into formal attire and arrived at the official afterparty venue, Taylor donned a cocktail dress that fell just below her knees -- perfectly balancing formal and casual wear. 

Ryan, however, had opted for something more casual, which raised eyebrows.

"I told you that you were dressed too casually," Taylor laughed when they entered, glancing around. The other men were mostly in smart attire, making Ryan stand out.

"Not necessarily," Ryan said, noticing someone dressed similarly not too far away.

Kanye West, with his hands in his pockets, wore a simple jacket that looked like it might have come from Walmart.

Kanye spotted Ryan and walked over. Taylor called over Jennifer Aniston, who had just passed by, and they drifted into a side conversation as Kanye greeted Ryan. "Yo! Ryan, Best New Artist of the Year! It's an honor to present this award to you. Honestly, artists like Adele only come around once in a while, but you're different. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"Just lucky, I guess," Ryan laughed.

"So, are you going to join the fall fashion weeks? I'm going with some friends, and I've got to check out your show," Kanye asked.

"sTray only participates in Paris and New York Fashion Weeks. If you want to go, you're welcome. Just give me a call," Ryan replied, his West Coast accent shining through.

The Olsen twins had completed their design for a unisex collection, and while Ryan hadn't personally contributed, he was still listed as a collaborator -- meaning he had to show up during fashion week.

Leading up to the fashion weeks, there were also events, like shooting for the cover of VOGUE. Anna Wintour had originally scheduled Ryan for January but he'd postponed it until just before the fashion week began. He also had a promotional shoot for sTray, which required him to appear in a series of marketing photos along with models.

"Okay, see you then," Kanye nodded, casually introducing his new girlfriend, a woman named Amber Rose.

...

After bidding Kanye farewell, Ryan noticed Adele and Katy Perry mingling nearby. At this point, both singers were still early in their careers, yet to burst onto the scene.

"You stole my Best New Artist award. You only get one chance at the Grammy for Best New Artist in life," Adele playfully jabbed at Ryan, her London accent thick as she held a cigarette, puffs of smoke escaping as she spoke.

Though Adele had an amazing voice, she had a serious smoking habit -- she'd mentioned in a recent interview how excited she was to win the Grammy that night, saying she needed to smoke a few more to celebrate.

"There are people online now saying you're the Grammy's 'golden boy'," Katy chimed in.

Better the golden boy than a stepchild.

"But seriously, how did you manage to perform two songs?" Katy asked, puzzled.

You should ask Rihanna and Chris Brown, Ryan thought to himself.

"I got a call asking if I could step in last minute. It was just a coincidence," Ryan explained.

"You're hiding something," Katy shot back with her signature playful tone.

Ryan did have some secrets, such as his deal with Jimmy Iovine.

"Otherwise, the production team would have notified me too!" Katy pointed out.

Could it be that the production team thought your single wasn't performing well? Ryan couldn't help but chuckle.

That was Ryan's biggest advantage -- the production team was short-staffed and had to find him; otherwise, they would have thrown all the stars together for a group performance.

As they were conversing, Ryan caught sight of John Mayer from a distance, engaged with Minka Kelly, Captain America Chris Evans' girlfriend, who was still on her way to fame.

Ryan thought for a moment, then pulled out Taylor's phone...

...

"Hey, I just wanted to grab a drink and chat about music..." John Mayer said as he approached Minka.

"Really? Sorry, but my boyfriend is coming to pick me up," Minka replied, shaking her head.

"Shit!" John cursed under his breath. Just then, his phone buzzed.

No extra details, just a room number from the hotel next door.

But when he noticed the sender, John smirked and made his way to the designated spot, spitting into his palms and slicking his hair back.

When he pushed the door open, however, he was taken aback by the sight in front of him.

...

In the room were three people: Ryan, Taylor, and Jennifer Aniston.

"This is how you discuss music with others?" Jennifer said coldly, having heard a few rumors before this. Now she didn't need to confirm anything further.

"Ryan, help me out here; don't worry about the aftermath," Jennifer said to Ryan.

Perfect. Ryan had wanted to teach John a lesson anyway.

He loosened his collar and slowly approached John Mayer.

"Jennifer, let me explain!" John pleaded desperately.

"You can explain after you get your beating," Jennifer replied with a smile.

John tried to open the door to leave, only to find it had been locked from the outside.

"Fuck!" He cursed again, realizing he was in for it tonight. He swung a punch toward Ryan.

Ryan just raised his hand and easily caught John's fist, slowly applying pressure, causing John's arm to bend painfully while his face grimaced in a mix of pain and surprise.

*****

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