The Fame Game

Chapter Three

Willow

Ash is sitting at the sidewalk café with two cups in front of her. I drape my bag over the back of the chair and take a seat across from Ash.

She slides a latte across the table in front of me with a warm smile. “Two Splenda, extra foam, just the way you like it.”

I beam with delight. “Thanks, babe. I need this after that long plane ride home.”

“Yeah, so how did that go?”

“I hit it off with Carrie Le Blanc. She hasn’t signed with us yet, but I think she will after another meeting.” I sip from my cup and let out a soft moan from the goodness exploding on my tongue. “It went so well Burke is letting me work directly with clients.”

She cups the latte between both hands and gives me a grim look. “That’s awesome, girl. Maybe one day you’ll be my agent.”

“Finish a screenplay and we’ll talk.”

Ash flashes a smile that slips after a few seconds. “I feel bad for Vinnie. He asked me to cancel his afternoon and slammed his door. I can’t remember the last time he was this upset over a client.”

“Why did he let Nico go? Spill it, woman.”

“Same as before. No studio will work with him. He’s been partying a lot. And you’ve seen all the drama online and his bouts of public drunkenness. He’s not the same. After his role in Twelve Steps, he fell apart.”

“If I approach him, what am I getting myself into?”

“It will be a challenge to repair his relationships with the studios.”

“Yeah, but what did he do to cause these issues?”

“Showing up late, drunk, or hungover, or just having to do too many reshoots. There was an issue where he got injured—”

“I remember reading about that,” I interject. “Nico cut his thigh while filming a car chase for Off-road.”

“Yeah, that was the movie. The studio made Nico take a drug test. He swore he wasn’t on anything... and the results came back negative.”

“The director threatened to quit. It was a real fiasco. Vinnie had to smooth it over.”

“What do you think? Is Nico worth my time?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “Flashbang has horrible reviews. Variety ripped it apart today. They said it’s the worst movie of the year. It has an eighteen percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.”

“If I could help Nico, this could get me a promotion. I could become an actual agent. I could have a client list instead of following Burke around everywhere.”

“Yeah, but you’d be taking a big chance on Nico. He could also ruin your career.”

I stare out at the street as I drink from my latte. People are bustling past us, the city crowded and humming with life. I moved to Los Angeles for college and never wanted to return to the East Coast after soaking up the California sun.

“I can approach Nico and see what he’s like.”

“I wouldn’t rule him out completely. Nico used to pull in fifteen million dollars per movie. Not so much anymore.”

“What did he make on Flashbang?”

“Because the studio considered him a high risk, they were only willing to pay two million.”

“That’s a huge pay cut.”

She nods.

“So, what have you been up to?” I ask her to change the subject.

“You know Vinnie,” she groans. “He keeps me busy. We have a fashion model who wants to act. She’s a real diva. She calls every day to talk to Vinnie.”

“Oh, yeah? Which model?”

“Bianca Sanders.”

“The new Victoria’s Secret model?”

She nods. “She’s a royal pain in my ass. Bianca thinks Vinnie can throw her into any movie because she’s pretty. But she can’t act worth a damn.”

I laugh. “We have a few clients like that.”

Ash fixes her eyes on me. “We haven’t talked in weeks. Anyone new in your life?”

“Yeah, right? Like I have the time. Burke keeps me at the office sometimes until ten o’clock at night. Most days, I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at my desk. Between the office and travel, I’m hardly ever home.”

“You love Tinder. You should find yourself a man for the night.”

I laugh at her comment. “I don’t love Tinder. I’ve yet to find a single match on there.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“I get too many unsolicited dick pics from Tinder dudes. No, thanks. I’ll pass. Not like I have room for men in my life. All of my time and energy go into work.”

“I know what you mean. I’ll be Vin’s secretary forever.”

“No, you won’t. Talk to him. Get him to move you around.”

“No way! Vinnie relies on me too much. He won’t let me go unless I quit, and I don’t want to do that.”

“You don’t want to be a personal assistant forever,” I point out.

“No,” she counters. “But I’m hoping at some point I can use Vinnie’s connections.” Ash glances down at her phone. “I hate to cut our coffee date short, but Dylan is picking me up.”