Chapter Four
2350 Words
Chapter Four
Sleep doesn’t come easily. Even though I am exhausted and in bed at eight o’clock because of the time difference, I end up just lying there. Tomorrow, I have plans to call Jon and see if he would be interested in representing me. A lot hinges on this meeting. If he declines, I have to triple my efforts to find a job. Kathy might be able to pay the bills with her acting alone, but I still need another job on top of looking for auditions.
The fear that I haven’t thought this all the way through is still gnawing at me. Should I have looked for a job first? What if I don’t find any work? In the end, I tell myself to stop overthinking it and focus on my breathing until I calm down and fall asleep.
When I open my eyes in the morning, the first sight is a different ceiling that isn’t one I’m used to seeing. The cheap blinds that came with the room offer almost no protection from the sun. I make a mental note to buy better ones when I can. After yanking out clean clothes from my suitcase and stumbling into the bathroom, I manage to get into the shower.
There is a note on the counter when I get out of the shower from Kathy, saying she is running out to get some items for the apartment and she’ll be back soon. I relax slightly. For some reason it makes me nervous to call Jon when she is around. It sounds silly, but I want to make this call alone.
“Hello, this is Jon,” he says, answering on the first ring.
I clutch my phone tightly. I had thought the number was for his office, not his personal cell phone. For some reason, I feel thrown off. I had planned to put on my formal voice when I spoke to the receptionist but now find myself stumbling.
“Uh ... hi? Hi! This is Jenny,” I stumble through, cringing. “Kathy’s friend,” I add lamely.
“Oh! Hey, there.” Jon’s voice is smooth, as if he deals with idiots like me on a daily basis. “Kathy said you would be calling me soon.”
“Yeah, I got in yesterday. Hope it isn’t too late to discuss anything.”
He is in his car, I can hear his AC blasting in the background. “No, not at all. Kathy was a great client. It was a shame to lose her, but family things just came up. I had to transfer a lot of clients.”
“That sucks.” I hate how boring I sound.
“Anyway, I have an opening today at around three. Last minute cancel. Do you think you could make it?”
I was hoping for tomorrow, honestly, if only to try to prepare myself mentally a bit more. But there is no way to say no to this. If I want to learn how to be a fully functioning human being again, throwing myself into things is going to be the best bet.
“Sounds great.”
“See you then, Jenny.”
We hang up, and I stare at the phone. See you then, Jenny. I like the way my name rolls off his tongue. He could do voice overs. I shake my head and shoot Kathy a text. Now it is time to get ready.
>>
We hit traffic again. When Kathy had wanted to leave almost an hour early to get somewhere twenty minutes away, according to my phone’s GPS, I had thought she was pulling my leg. But no, she is right, as usual. I should learn to stop doubting her when it comes to the traffic in Hollywood.
Kathy peppers me with advice and it makes my head feel crowded. I know she means well, but it is just making my nerves worse. I am grateful for her help with the outfit though. While I don’t look as well dressed as most people in the city, at least I don’t look like I did when I got off the plane yesterday.
“Jon is very direct,” Kathy is saying to me and I try to focus on her as we hit another red light. “Some people can find it off putting, but I found it helpful.”
“Why didn’t you just go back to him when his family emergency was done?”
Something flickers across Kathy’s face – it is so quick that I figure I must have imagined it because in the next second, she is smiling. “I had signed on with this new agent and it was just too much of a hassle to move back.”
I nod, looking outside the window again. I miss my own car. I wish I hadn’t had to sell it. When you have enough money, I promise myself, although I don’t know when that will actually be. I run my fingers over my skirt, trying to recite Kathy’s advice to me. As if sensing my nerves, she falls silent, too.
We pull up into an office building that looks about a hundred years old. It is only four floors. For some reason, I was imagining a skyscraper, housing celebrities and models with maybe even some paparazzi surrounding it.
“You were expecting something else, right?” Kathy says, a smile on her face.
“Honestly, yeah. Something a bit more glamorous.” Where was the glamor in this city anyway?
“Most agents have plain boring offices like this.”
I get out of the car. I wonder what else in Hollywood isn’t going to be how I expected it. I guess a lot. I take a deep breath and follow Kathy into the main floor. We don’t stop at the desk and instead go straight toward the elevator.
“Third floor,” she says to me as I step inside.
“You’re not coming with me?” I blurt nervously.
“Nah, I’ll wait for you though. There’s a coffee shop next door. Good luck!”
I was going to protest and tell her I need the support but before I get the chance, she reaches into the elevator and presses the button. The doors glide shut and the elevator is lifting upward. Is it stupid to wish Kathy had come with me? I guess so. But I still would feel better. Even with all her advice, it would be good to have her with me. I have to do this alone, I tell myself as the elevator doors open to the third floor.
I walk into a modern waiting area. There is a fish tank off to one side and lots of windows. A woman sits at a desk, the sound of her long nails clicking as she types. I walk over to her and clear my throat. She stops typing and smiles. Her teeth are so white, they’re practically blinding, especially in contrast to her California-bronzed complexion. Her nails are a neon pink. She looks as though she could be an actress herself.
“Let me guess,” she trills. “You must be Jenny.”
“Yes,” I clear my throat again, “I am.”
“Have a seat. I’ll let Jon know you are here. It shouldn’t be long.”
I nod and sit down on one of the chairs. I pull out my cellphone and start to fiddle with it. I can’t believe how nervous I feel. I really want this guy to agree to represent me. I want to turn over a new leaf and start a career that no one would expect from me. This is my best shot. I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. My nerves lessen a little. I can’t blow this. I have to be on my A game.
“Jenny?” I look up at the sound of my name. “Jon will see you now.”
I stand up and follow the assistant down a small hallway. She stops at the door at the very end, smiles at me, and opens it. I step inside slowly. The office is as modern as the waiting room. The view is of the parking lot. A man turns around in his desk chair and smiles at me.
“Jenny, welcome,” he says as he stands up and walks over to me.
My throat goes dry. I am knocked over by how handsome Jon is. I have heard that people in Hollywood are more attractive than everyone else. I had brushed that off as due to Botox and any other crazy anti-aging stuff famous people went through. But Jon is gorgeous. His black hair is slightly messy and falls into his eyes a little. His suit is well tailored and clings in all the right spots to make it obvious there are tight muscles underneath. Oh no, he’s hot!
He holds out his hand to shake. His smile is bright and his teeth whiter than I ever thought possible.
I shake his hand. An electric shock goes through me. I hope I don’t look like a deer caught in headlights. All the thoughts have emptied out of my head. His brown eyes remind me of warm coffee as I take a seat across from his desk. I find myself automatically checking for a wedding ring. No ring. Stop it, you want this guy to represent you. You aren’t supposed to find him hot. It figures that the first man I find attractive in ages turns out to be my potential agent.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” I manage to say.
“Same. Kathy has told me a lot about you. Do you want coffee or water to drink?”
I ask for water, and he goes over to a small mini-fridge in the corner of his office.
“Kathy said you’re great. Said you helped her a lot before you had to drop some clients due to a family emergency.” I cut myself off, hoping I haven’t said too much.
Jon has gone still over by the fridge, as if I have caught him off guard. “Right. Luckily the family emergency is all squared away now.”
“Great!” I chirp, my nerves getting the better of me.
Jon hands me a bottle of water and sits back down, opening his own. “Kathy say anything else?”
I take a sip of the water and shake my head. “Just that you are great at what you do.”
Jon smiles and my knees go weak. I’m glad I’m sitting down.
“Well, she mentioned you didn’t have any experience in acting, is that correct?”
I think about mentioning a fourth-grade play where I had been Merlin but decide against it. “That’s right. Is that okay?”
“It will take a little longer to get you rolling but not a big deal. Most people who come by have a head shot and maybe a portfolio.”
“Head shot?” I repeat stupidly.
“Just a picture of you that casting directors can use to see if you’d fit the part.”
“I’m going to guess a selfie from last time I went to the beach wouldn’t count.”
Jon laughs. It sounds like music and I find myself smiling in return, feeling more relaxed.
“No, but we can get you set up with a photographer. You don’t have a portfolio yet either, so we’ll have to start off small. Get some audition demos out there. Do you have any acting training at all?”
“No. But I can thrill casting directors with tales of how I used to be in the restaurant business. I can even tell them how to make a great salad.”
Jon smiles again. Maybe I am imagining it, but it feels as if his eyes rest on me for a few extra seconds before he looks at his computer.
“I think you’ll do great on some test shots and an audition tape. I’ll have to schedule you to come back so we can get everything all set up.”
My heart skips a beat. “Does this mean that...?”
“I’ll represent you. I’ll have my assistant draw up a contract for you to review. Just sign it and bring it back next time we meet up.”
I feel as if my heart is constricting. “Are you sure you want to sign me? I have nothing to offer.” I am about to blow this. I bite my tongue to shut myself up.
“Okay, first lesson – try not to say that to anyone else.” Jon laughs. “I know raw talent when I see it, Jenny.”
Again, I like the way my name sounds from his mouth. I stand up as he does.
“I’m about to head out for the day,” he says. “Why don’t I walk you downstairs?”
I agree and we leave his office together after his assistant gives me a contract to sign. I grip it tightly in my hands, afraid that if I let it go it will fly away. In the elevator, I can smell Jon’s cologne. It is subtle but makes my head swim. I try not to check him out.
“You and Kathy are roommates, right?” he says as the doors slide shut.
I nod. “That’s right. Sort of whirlwind how it all happened but I wanted to get out of where I was living.”
Jon looks at me, and I can feel goose bumps spring up along my skin, “You came to the perfect city to reinvent yourself then.”
The elevator doors open, and we step out together into the lobby.
“Have you lived here long?” I ask Jon, wanting to keep the conversation going.
“Yes, a while now,” he replies. “But I couldn’t imagine going back to where I was before.”
I was going to respond when I see Kathy heading over to me. I give her a wave, but she falters when she sees Jon.
“Hey,” Kathy says as she walks up to us. “I finished grabbing what I needed at the store across the street so I was going to wait for you.”
“I’m all done. Jon is going to represent me,” I reply, beaming.
Kathy smiles, but it looks forced. Jon suddenly looks at his watch and then back at me.
“I have to head out. Have somewhere to be. See you later. Nice seeing you, Kathy.”
Jon leaves us and heads toward his car. I watch him go, frowning. That seems sudden. I don’t quite understand what has happened. I turn to look at Kathy, who is watching him leave. I close my mouth, deciding not to tell her about my meeting. She has a funny look on her face.
As if sensing me watching her, she turns to look back at me and forces a smile. “Want to grab a coffee? Tell me all about it?”
Maybe I just imagined it.
- Writer
