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)
Clearing her throat, she said, “Okay, moving on to my next question. You’re famous for repping some of the top young male actors in the profession, like Archer Davenport and Smith Sullivan, and they famously make a lot of action movies. But where are the softer movies for other demographics? How come you never put these clients in romantic comedies, for example?”
A funny look crossed his face, as though not only had no one ever asked him that before, he’d never even thought about it. And now that she had asked the question, she realized she already knew the answer. Jay was a hero in his own right. It took grit and determination to drag yourself up from such beginnings. A lot of people wouldn’t manage it. No wonder so many of the movies he was involved with were about men overcoming great odds.
To her dismay, Jay now looked a little offended. “I put my actors in rom coms if it’s the right movie for them.”
She raised her eyebrows. “I seem to remember that when Archer broke his leg, you threatened him with a rom com if he didn’t heal in time to do Shock Tactics.”
His eyes twinkled and he held up his hands in mock defense. “It’s not easy when one of your top clients has a sister who’s a reporter. Okay, I might have threatened Arch with a rom com, but I think he’d be a great romantic lead.”
Erin wasn’t buying it. “And yet, after he finishes Shock Tactics, he’s going to do the Herschel Greenfield biopic. I’m guessing there’s not much romance for Hersch in space.”
Jay frowned. “Okay. Point taken. I don’t have anything against a good romantic comedy. I’ll keep my eyes open.”
“I’ve also noticed you don’t do any female-led movies.”
Jay’s frown deepened. “Do the readers of the Sea Shell really need to know this?”
“Your reputation is brash bad boy. The shark who always gets the big deal. Most of your clients are young male actors who are killing it. It’s pretty understandable that our readers would want to know why you can’t do this for female leads as well.”
Quickly he shot back, “Any one of my clients could be the next big thing in Hollywood. Including my female clients.”
Erin swallowed. It was obvious that Erin the reporter was overtaking Erin the friend, the listener. The interview was veering off track, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d lose him altogether and Julius—Jay—Malone would clam up, snapping down that hard shell that concealed his softer—and yes, she had to admit it—dangerously attractive self. She wondered how much more he hid under that gruff, pushy exterior, partly as a defense. It couldn’t be an easy life, repping prima donna clients and dealing with studio execs all the time. No doubt he’d been forced to develop a reputation as a hard-ass, even if that wasn’t really him.
As if realizing they both needed a breather, Jay bent down and scooped Buzzy onto his lap. Her dog was more than happy to oblige and offered his belly for strokes, which Jay gave him with a giant grin on his face. It was so cute that she couldn’t help but grin too, and some of the tension melted away. As friendly as Buzzy was, she’d never seen him adore someone he’d just met this much. She felt ashamed for giving Jay a hard time about the romance movies. If her dog could see in five minutes that Jay was a great guy, why had it taken her fifteen years to do the same?
“Why don’t you get a dog? You could get a pet sitter when you’re away for work.”
Jay made a face. “I’d love to, but I travel way too much. I’m here one week, in LA the next, maybe flying to London for a meeting after that. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“I think you could make it work. And dogs obviously like you. I mean, Buzzy and Buster both like you,” she amended, referring to the Davenport family dog.
Before she could say more, the doorbell rang. Buzzy immediately leapt from Jay’s lap and barked, letting everybody know they had a visitor. Because apparently the doorbell wasn’t enough.
Buzzy raced to the front door and Erin said, “That will be the photographer.” Relief flooded her body. A third person was exactly what this interview needed, and who better than her old friend Clark?
* * *
Jay answered the door to a tall, gangly young man. His glasses were slipping down his nose, but he couldn’t do anything about it because his hands were full of camera equipment.
In a serious tone, the man said, “I’m Clark Barnstable from the Sea Shell newspaper. If you let me put all this stuff down, I can show you my press pass.”
Jay could hardly hold back a grin. “It’s okay. I’m expecting you. Erin’s already here.”