told him everything. Every little detail. He sat in the chair beside me facing his desk. He got up and then slapped me on my shoulder and said, “Let’s get it all back and then some, yeah?” And from that day on, he was like a brother to me. I even spent holidays at his house with his wife and kids, no questions asked like I’ve always been there.
“Hey, you are right on time,” he says to me. He isn’t giving me his regular smile. No, his look is bleak, and my stomach falls. Fuck, did they cancel the deal?
“Right on time,” I say, looking at him. I’m trying to read his eyes, but I see nothing. When he turns away, I see Ryan sitting at the table in a suit without a tie. The top two buttons are open. He sits at the head of the table with two other suits next to him—I can’t remember their names—and then Sylvia sits beside them. Jeff takes a seat in front of them, and I pull out the chair next to Jeff.
“So,” Jeff starts, looking at the contract in front of him, “there is an adjustment to the contract.” His thumbs tap the table, so I can tell he’s nervous about it.
I put my glasses on the table, trying not to show that I’m irritated or better yet pissed. “Really? Exactly what kind of adjustment?” I ask, leaning back in the chair and putting a hand on the armrest.
I look at Ryan, and he looks back at me. From what I heard, he took a chance and started this production company when he was twenty. The first couple of movies were literally handheld equipment that he filmed himself, and now he’s the richest person in Hollywood. He has his hand in everything that has to do with Hollywood. He is a key player, so bottom line, you want him on your side.
“Let’s cut to the chase. Your last release didn’t kill it like we wanted it to.” I sit up now, and I’m about to say something, but he puts his hand up. “It did great. I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is it could have done better.” I’m about to say something, but Jeff puts his hand up so Ryan can finish speaking. “With that said, we think your reputation is what is stopping you from going from here,” he says with his hand halfway up, “to here.” He raises it higher.
“Reputation?” I ask, confused. “I come to work each day on time, and I do my job. I don’t pull any stunts, nor do I sit in my trailer and pout until I get my way,” I say of another actor that is known to do that. “So I’m confused on why my reputation isn’t getting me here,” I say, putting my hand up to where Ryan just had it.
“It isn’t your reputation on the set,” he says, leaning back in his chair more to one side. “It’s your reputation out there.” He points his thumb at the window. “It’s the partying every night. It’s the girls. That kind of lifestyle really turns people off, which translates into people not wanting to go see your movies.”
“Wait a second.” I’m annoyed now. “I’ve never been drunk or on drugs,” I tell him, and I’m not. When I was nineteen, I blacked out more times than I could count, so I stopped drinking. Period. Cold turkey. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I mean, I do, but so what if I get laid every night or twice a day?
He looks over at Sylvia, who opens her folder and takes out a picture from last night and then another one from the night before and before then and a couple from last week. “This is just in the past couple of weeks.”
“So I like to date,” I tell them. “There isn’t a law against that.”
“You’re right,” Ryan says, “but it pushes a huge chunk of your fan base away—specifically, the female audience—from the movie if they think you’re a douche.” I roll my eyes. “If you want a sampling, we actually did a survey on video, and we asked a hundred women what they thought of you and your movies.”
“This isn’t Family Feud,” I snap back, and now Jeff talks.
“Okay, Ryan, we get it.” He folds his hands on the table. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to Carter, but he’s going to do whatever is necessary to