the fringes of Hollywood. He knew because he’d had her checked out. His accountant was a computer whiz and he’d had Norman run a little info on her. Rhett had stopped by to pick it up after he saw Carreen this afternoon.
Cassie Carroll was one of a thousand girls who’d made her way to Hollywood in search of bigger dreams. Fame. Stardom. All she’d accumulated was heartbreak. What Norman could piece together was pretty dismal. No luck at auditions. A series of dead-end jobs, especially with that creep Manny she was working for only yesterday. Her place was a dump in a barely passable neighborhood, where her rent was late half the time.
That could be the roommate, though. After Cassie’s crack about Jolene’s pottymouth come rent time, Rhett wondered how much Cassie had carried Jolene. The life of a comic was nomadic and sporadic, as far as paying bills went. He should know after floating so-called loans to Zak Mercury for years now.
What struck him most was Cassie’s zest for life. She had an energy about her which made Rhett zoom in. He wasn’t the only one. He saw how she charmed his friends. They sure wouldn’t have asked Randal James to stay for poker. All night, they’d practically fought for her attention, while Cassie was totally at ease in the company of several famous men. She’d joked with them, listened to them, and fed them.
A guy couldn’t ask for much more.
Rhett longed to run his fingers through her long, copper hair. Touch the fair skin of her face. Kiss that unbelievable pair of lips.
That led to his current problem. He needed to dump Randi ASAP but he couldn’t make a move on Cassie. Rhett didn’t want her to think he hadn’t been honest or real with her regarding the job. He knew a few guys who would’ve offered her a job and then tried to jump her bones. Rhett wasn’t like that. Cassie was smart, decent, and deserved better.
For now, she had to stay hands off.
He wouldn’t bother thinking of Trouble Number Three. Carreen’s cancer diagnosis had kept him up nights. When pounding the pavement or lifting weights, he’d taken his anger out at the unfairness of it. Rhett provided his sister with the best doctors available. Her prognosis was hopeful. At this point, it was out of his hands so he’d put that problem on the back burner.
He then thought of the gnawing Trouble Number Four. His career. Anyone else in Hollywood would’ve been happy with the kind of money he banked from his action movies. His Q rating was in the top five in the industry. Rhett did endorsements in both Japan and Europe. He had material possessions galore.
Yet the thrill was gone. Or at least fading fast. He’d almost sleepwalked through the first portion of his last production, feeling he’d become a cartoon character. A GI Joe come to life, with all the wooden appeal of a stilted action figure. Rhett could turn it on and off without even thinking.
Fortunately, Mac Landry recognized that two days into the shoot, their second together. The director called a meeting with Rhett in the middle of a scene and had scurried off to Rhett’s trailer. Rhett followed, curious at what the old man might have up his sleeve this time.
“I don’t know what to say to you, kid.” Landry stared at Rhett from behind Milton Berle glasses. “You’re giving me everything I want. You know your lines. You move with a jungle cat’s grace. You’re handsome, self-assured, and just slightly cocky. So, why don’t I feel like I’m getting all you have?
“Because I’m bored.”
Rhett’s frankness hadn’t surprised the Hollywood legend. The director had immediately asked Rhett for some input, which Rhett spouted off the top of his head. He threw out ideas about the script that he didn’t even know had circled inside his head.
Immediately, Mac called for a re-write, incorporating many of Rhett’s ideas into a more intricate, circular plot. They shot some of the action sequences while it was being done. In the end, both star and director were pleased with their efforts. Rhett’s contributions sent the movie into another orbit. The acting seemed rewarding. He was actually looking forward to the premiere and how audiences would react.
Unfortunately, it whetted his appetite for more. He wanted to stretch. Make films—not action movies. Oh, he didn’t want or need to go totally indie art house but he did want to move more into the mainstream. It didn’t have