Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“And so we ran back to my apartment, spent the rest of the night putting together a cover letter and beefing up his CV, and I made up some letterhead with the name Exceptional Talent. We liked it because the initials were E.T., a movie that we both loved as kids. And it worked. It got him in the room. The studio called me—ha, I’ll never forget it. Offered him the part and I negotiated a bigger paycheck than he was expecting. All those years of hustling paid off.” He stopped and grinned. “I’m sure by now you’ve figured out the name of my first client.”
“Archer Davenport,” Erin said quietly. “My brother.”
Chapter Eight
While Jay had been talking, Buzzy had sidled up to him and laid his head on his knee. He obviously felt the pure emotion in Jay’s voice. As had Erin. In fact, she’d been completely transported by his sad but ultimately uplifting story of a tough childhood made good with hard work and raw ambition, and—although he’d downplayed it—a talent for Hollywood that was undeniable.
But more than the story itself, his personal revelations had her reeling. How could she not have known this about him? He’d been Arch’s best friend for nearly fifteen years. Sure, she’d heard the story about them working together at the restaurant countless times. But they’d both always presented Jay as an up-and-coming agent who’d taken a chance on her brother.
Neither of them had revealed how big a chance they were taking on one another.
Now that she thought about it, this had to be one of the deep things that bonded the two men together for life. Which made her feel doubly concerned about the strange flip-flop her heart was doing as she stared at Jay’s rugged face as if she were setting eyes on him for the very first time.
Yes, it was a shock to her that Jay had come from such humble and disadvantaged roots and, on the strength of his personality and his hustle alone, had made such an incredible success of himself. But Jay hadn’t even made that point. Not once had he bragged about his huge list of wildly successful clients or the fact that he was a multimillionaire. A billionaire, for all she knew. This was a different Jay.
While he was speaking, she’d decided not to take any notes for fear of breaking the sense of trust they seemed to have between them. She had a feeling that the minute she reached for her notebook and pen and acted like a reporter, he’d remember she was one. Her article for the Sea Shell aside, she was fascinated by his story and wanted to hear all of it, or at least everything he was comfortable sharing. It must have been so hard for him to reveal the truth about his early life. Could it be he was saying these things because he wanted to give her the big scoop about who Jay Malone really was, when up until now his past had been completely shrouded in mystery? Or was something else brewing inside of him? A need for closeness with someone, maybe. Or a need to finally take the burden of the past off his shoulders by sharing it with her.
So she asked him more about those early days, when he’d been a scrappy young agent, with just Arch as his client. She discovered that a major TV star and a bodybuilder turned action hero had also started out in that restaurant. It wasn’t long before Jay left the restaurant business and Exceptional Talent opened its first small office, where he seemed to go from success to success. He talked freely and candidly and with obvious relief that the dark days of his childhood were out of the way.
When there was a natural break in the conversation, she asked, “Do you have any regrets?”
The question seemed to take him by surprise. She didn’t even know why she asked—it wasn’t on her list of questions. It was just that it felt like the right one at the right moment.
He gave her a rueful smile. “Yeah. I regret not finishing high school. I am self-educated in every sense of the word. I’m a big reader. I’ve learned a lot from books.”
She nodded and said in understanding, “So have I. They’re also my friends when I’m lonely and encouragement when I feel blue.”
He leaned forward enthusiastically. “Exactly. Next to movies, books are the greatest.”
She stared at him, feeling the true connection of one book lover to another. And then the stare deepened in intensity. Not only had she not known the real Jay Malone, she was noticing again how dreamy his eyes were. It was like they were suddenly back in the bedroom, talking about sensuous curves. Heat spread through her body.
Get it together, Erin, she chided herself. You’re a professional. Act like it.