“Is he a villain? I think I could do scary,” David said.
“Uh … no.”
“What about school?” Paul said, being the only adult in the room.
David’s face scrunched up. If only …
“Can you put it on the back burner?” David asked.
“You know how they say for every year, a dog ages seven?” Chubby asked. David nodded. “In Hollywood, time acts differently than in the real world. Each year can seem like a decade. If you wait four years to make another movie, you’ll be starting over. It’ll be like 40 years have passed. You’ll be begging Kitty to do a romcom for Hallmark.”
“It might be the best thing they ever put on that channel,” Paul quipped.
“I hate to say it, but Chubby’s right,” Jessup said to weigh in.
“I’m meeting a guy for breakfast tomorrow about being my agent,” David half-joked.
“If you wake up and want to be an even bigger star, call me,” Chubby said.
David could tell he was serious.
◊◊◊
David asked Paul for a moment of his time.
“What’s up?”
“Lexi.”
Paul didn’t look pleased to be talking about his daughter.
“What now?”
“She sent Gwen Larkin to track me down today,” David explained.
“And?”
“Gwen’s off her meds at the very least. I understand that I didn’t handle Lexi sneaking off to do whatever she did with Ben well. She’s an adult and can sleep with whoever she wants. Where I draw the line is when Lexi encouraged a stalker, who has mental issues, to crash my birthday dinner. My children were frightened, for God’s sake!” David said, getting mad.
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“Talk to her. Besides unraveling the mess she made for Ben and his movie, I think she’s teetering on becoming a real problem. You know how this town works.”
“When I talk to her, what do you want?” Paul asked.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I’ll leave Lexi alone if she backs off.”
“I’ll talk to her. Do you plan on getting her fired?”
David shook his head ‘no.’ It had crossed his mind, but she was just vindictive enough to make up something that would put him in a bind similar to what Ben was facing. Frankly, his ex-friend might never work again if he lost his role in the Paris movie.
“I’ll make this go away,” Paul promised.
◊◊◊
David made it back to his table and saw Coby eyeing his cake and ice cream.
“I told him he could have it if you took too much longer,” Phil said.
David cut off some cake and scooped some of his ice cream onto Coby’s plate. He’d forgotten he had four others, plus a niece and two nephews. So, he waved down one of the waiters to have more brought out.
The little ones were going to their own party after this so the adults could play. If they were wound up on sugar, he wouldn’t have to deal with it.
When he finally got a bite of cake, he understood why they wanted more. He would make it a point to steal the recipe.
◊◊◊
Chapter 35
Brook
“Do you think he’s still mad at me?” Halle asked.
Brook closed her eyes and bit her tongue. David had told her that his best friend growing up, Tami, had pounded into him that he should reject the first thing that popped into his mind. Right now, that was good advice.
“I was there. He said he wasn’t,” Brook finally said.
“If I’d known …”
Brook agreed. If she’d known better, she would have handled the move to Cincinnati differently. She’d just assumed that the distance would be too much. That was why Brook had broken up with him. She thought she would just get over David. Then, when he came to visit, she’d made the bonehead mistake of pushing him away.
She’d come to his birthday to tell him that she still loved him. Then she found out he was dating this gorgeous girl. She’d convinced her friends to take Crystal to a day at the spa, so they could ‘get to know’ her. It was really a chance to find out if she and David were serious or not.
The problem was that Brook found her to be delightful. How he attracted so many quality people who gladly came into his orbit sometimes astounded her. It wasn’t just girlfriends, either. It was people in all aspects of his life. People simply wanted to help him.
Just looking around the party, she saw several people who fit the bill, including Tsuyoshi Nomura, who she spotted talking to David’s uncle. She’d met him while David was filming his latest J-drama. David was excited that Mr. Nomura would offer to be his mentor, something big in Japanese culture.
Unlike most people, David sought out mentors. He’d learned early that people with experience could help him find the most straightforward paths along his way to success. It helped him avoid many pitfalls that Brook found herself learning about the hard way.
“Who’s David talking to?” Halle asked to break Brook out of her thoughts.
“Tony and Nancy Giovanni, Tony’s sister Pia, and Tony’s business partner, Kendra Bianco.”
“The Giovannis and Biancos?” Halle asked with concern.
Brook nodded.
“Want to meet them?”
Halle thought about it for a split second.
“Do you think David will mind?”
“Get over it already. You know him as well as I do. What do you think?” Brook said.
Halle blushed.
They had begun to weave their way through tables when they were brought up short by Zak Verwood, who was in The Secret Circle with David. Brook never understood how they were friends because Zak was a notorious playboy, even by Hollywood standards. Some of the stories David had told them confirmed it. He said it wasn’t unusual for Zak to bed two to three different women each day.
The bed-hopping had slowed down when Zak began to date Bec Carson, another actress. Brook didn’t see Bec anywhere.
“Hey, Halle. How much more attractive would I be with you under me?” Zac asked as he grasped his crotch.
That was such a terrible pickup line that Brook wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not. Then again, if Halle shot him down, he could claim just that, that he was kidding. Halle didn’t look amused.
“First of all, don’t come to me fishing for compliments, Zac. I’ve read all about your exploits, and if you need your ego boosted, you should read those gossip rags. The women you bed love to talk about what you’re working with. And for the record, nobody wants it little. It doesn’t matter how hard you work it, a tiny dick is still just a tiny dick,” Halle said as she held her fingers about two inches apart.
Half the party must have heard Halle’s raised voice because they burst out laughing. Bec appeared and slapped him to add to the drama.
Zac mumbled, “Fuck it,” and headed to the bar.
They continued to where David was, with Halle in the lead. When she suddenly stopped, Brook about ran her over.
“What the …” Brook began to complain when she saw what had stopped Halle.
Walking toward David was Fiona Beckham in an outfit you would only see in LA. She wore a white women’s suit jacket and the shortest and tightest black skirt she could get away with and not get arrested. The jacket had a single button at the navel. Without a blouse under it, Fiona’s tanned breasts were all but falling out. Every guy in the place stopped what they were doing and stared at her.
‘I wonder how she keeps them from falling out. Tape?’ Brook guessed.
Crystal must have been psychic because she appeared at David’s side wearing a sexy red cocktail dress. David instinctively put his arm around her waist as she pressed up against him.
He leaned down and whispered something into her ear, and she slightly shook her head no. Brook would bet her imaginary beach house that he’d wanted to know if Crystal was up for a threesome. She was glad Crystal was confident enough to say ‘no.’ Fiona looked like trouble.
The underdressed starlet confirmed Brook’s suspicions when her gaze traveled over David’s face and down his body. Each movement looked like a physical caress. Halle and Brook were standing next to a table of David’s football teammates. To a man, they groaned, confirming her thoughts.