my dad when I arrived in LA and had forgotten with all the excitement.
My brother picked up.
“Hi Will, what’s up? How’s it all going?” Will had started a little business tutoring housewives with mastering the Internet. From learning to do basic stuff for the old folk like sending emails, to learning Photoshop and WordPress for women setting up online businesses, Will was the go-to guy. Or would have been, had his love for video games not gotten in the way. One woman had been taught to play “Call of Duty” when she had asked to learn how to manage her website.
“Dad’s not home,” he replied distracted.
“So what’s up, anyway?” I said.
“What’s down?” He liked to make that joke.
“What’s the weather like back home?”
“You know, mud season. Mud season. Mud season.”
“Yeah, I’d forgotten about that.
“Gotta go, Janie. You take care now, you hear?”
“Bye, Will, tell Dad to call me.”
I knew that this newfound business of Will’s wasn’t going to last long. Too much responsibility. He was twenty-one, but had the mind of a fourteen-year-old. His clients were mostly friends of my dad’s. But because of his autism it was doubtful he’d ever be able to hold down a regular job, and I always worried about how he’d manage financially in the future and wanted to help in any way I could.
Just then my phone buzzed.
It was Daniel.
My heart pounding, I picked up.
“Janie,” he said. My adrenaline went from naught to a hundred.
“Hi, Daniel.”
“We need to talk.” Was this for real?? That’s what he said in my dream—we need to talk. Just showed how well I knew him.
“I have an agent meeting later. I mean I think I do,” I told him.
“You’re being seduced, aren’t you? By them.”
I laughed awkwardly. I wanted to tell him about my dream, how he was the one who’d seduced me. A thousand times, no less. “Seduced?”
“Don’t lose your integrity, Janie Juilliard.”
“I’ll be okay, I have a great mentor, someone who can show me the ropes.”
“Star Davis?” He laughed. “She comes from a different planet than you. She was born into this world. She’s tough; it can’t hurt her the way it can you. You are an actor, not a movie star or wide-eyed starlet. You deserve Broadway, the West End, the National, The Royal Shakespeare Company. You are worth twenty Star Davises. And I won’t be there to protect you.”
The idea that Daniel Glass wanted to protect me made my heart swell. “Why not? What about the movie?”
“I’ve pulled out. Samuel Myers and I do not see eye to eye. Pearl Chevalier seems to be on board with my artistic choices, but Sam Myers is a fat fucking philistine and I don’t trust him an inch. His gig is all about money and nothing else. What started out as an art movie is quickly turning into a high budget sex romance. He’s even talking about BDSM themes, for Christ’s sake. He wants to compete directly with the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, which won’t work as it’s in a league of its own anyway. And he’s adamant that you be his progeny, his star. That stunt you played at the meeting—at my expense—worked.”
It wasn’t a stunt, it was real. “I . . . I . . .” I stammered, “I don’t know what to say. This is a big chance for me, Daniel. And I’m so sorry if I embarrassed you.”
“It’s fine. Water under the bridge. Meet me for a coffee, or lunch. See if I can’t persuade you otherwise.”
“I’ll find out what Star’s plans are and I’ll call you right back,” I said. “Thanks for calling.”
My head was spinning with all this information. I felt elated, excited, yet at the same time deflated. I’d finally come around to the idea of Daniel directing me again. Seeing him every day. Being mentored by him. But now I’d be on my own—well, I had Star to guide me, but it was true what Daniel said; she was used to this, it didn’t faze her. I was just a tiny fish in a giant unpredictable ocean, with ruthless predators keen to gobble me up and spit the remnants of me right back out. Select my tasty bits and discard the rest.
I eyed my wardrobe choices. I picked out a pair of jeans and a little white tank. Some Converse sneakers. I put on my simple outfit and looked in the mirror. My nipples showed slightly through the shirt. No bra. Didn’t need one. That, I decided, would be