I met the wardrobe gal first to be fitted. That was when the first snag hit. I was taller than the original model, and they didn’t have a suit that would fit me. The director wasn’t happy.
“What the hell do you mean you don’t have anything that’ll fit? Go get something, and I mean right now. I have a schedule to keep.”
Kendal came in when she heard the commotion.
“Sir, what do you need in the way of clothes?”
He looked like he was going to yell at her also, but he seemed to get himself under control and answered her question.
“I need him in a suit for the office scene. For the gym, we need workout clothes, and then for the bedroom, he’ll be in silk boxers.”
Kendal pulled out her laptop and put in a CD of some of my pictures from previous shoots. She showed him the suit Jennie had gotten me. He was nodding.
“That would be perfect.”
She then showed him some of the workout clothes I had worn in ads for Mr. Hill. He picked one of the outfits. Kendal then turned to me.
“Strip.”
I looked at her for a moment then realized she wanted him to see the boxers I was wearing. I stripped down and he grabbed the wardrobe girl.
“Get these ironed and we’ll start with the bedroom scene.”
Everyone looked at me and I smirked.
“Kendal, nice try. Let me get a robe and I’ll give up the underwear.”
As I lost my shorts, Kendal called the house, and someone would bring the clothes that were needed.
I went to makeup and found the model I was working with. She was a tall, leggy blond with nice breasts. She looked to be in her mid-20s. She had classic sharp features and ice-blue eyes. I came in and sat down next to her in my robe.
“Hi, I’m David,” I said.
She ignored me and the makeup girl continued to work on her. I shrugged and thought, ‘Just be a bitch, see if I care.’ Another makeup girl came in and started working on me. She had me drop the robe so she could work on my chest. She smiled at me.
“Most of the time we have to draw in a six-pack.”
Wardrobe came in and gave me my boxers, so I just stood up and put them on. It seemed to get the other model’s attention when she got an eyeful.
She pulled out her earbuds, which I hadn’t noticed before.
“Hey, Good-looking, I’m Kasey.”
“David.”
She smiled and then looked concerned.
“You seem young. How old are you?”
“Old enough,” I said, a little peeved.
She blushed when she realized how rude that sounded. She would have been pissed if I asked her how old she was. We were off to a rocky start.
The director had us come out to the bedroom set and run us through what we were to do. It was basically a PG-rated sex scene. Red Cologne was supposed to be the next Axe or Tag. Women were supposed to go wild for any guy who wore the stuff. Tracy hated the smell, so I never wore it. Personally, I liked it.
“Okay, people, quiet on the set. Action,” the director called.
There were no lines, so we just play-acted with Kasey stalking and then kissing me. Unfortunately, it was as awkward as we felt.
“Cut, cut. This isn’t working. I need more heat, more passion.”
We tried three more takes and not one of them was any good. Kasey was stiff, and I was hesitant. The director was ready to yell at us when I stopped him.
“Sir, I think we just need to get to know each other a little bit. Give us fifteen minutes and I think we can do better.”
He just stomped off the set. Kasey came up to me with her hands on her hips.
“Okay, dumbass. What’s your bright idea? Because this is about to turn bad, and I need this job.”
I just kissed her. She stiffened up, and I thought she was going to fight me, so I scooped her up and threw her on the bed. Her eyes got big as I stalked her, and she squealed when I grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the edge of the bed. I knelt down and grasped the back of her neck. I guided her lips to mine and we kissed. She was soon running her hands through my hair.
“Cut!”
We looked around, dazed, as everyone was smiling at us. We didn’t know they had left the cameras running.
“Let’s see it on playback,” the director said.
The reps from Red and the director watched it on the monitor.
“I want to do it again, but with a couple of extra camera angles.”
We waited thirty minutes for them to get two more cameras ready. The next take was a disaster. When I tossed Kasey on the bed, she bounced right off the other side. I crawled up on the bed laughing, and she sprang on top of me, pinning me to the bed and giving me a kiss that rivaled one of Tracy’s mind-erasers. The director at least thought it was funny.
“Shall we try it again? But this time let’s not kill her, David.”
We did it ten more times until he was satisfied. What was funny was that when the commercial aired, it was the one of her bouncing off the bed that they used. By the time we were done, Mom and Uncle John were there with my other clothes. Since they had risked life and limb on the slick roads, they decided to hang around as we shot the other two parts of the commercial.
During each section of the commercial, there was also a still photographer taking pictures for the print ads. Once the filming was done, we had to do several more poses for him.
I was surprised when Clare Thomas showed up. She found me in wardrobe getting ready for the office scene.
“Hey Clare, what brings you here?”
“As soon as Ford was part of the deal, I was called. You do know you can use us at any time; why didn’t you call me?”
I didn’t need any attitude today.
“Clare, I did call you first. So don’t get all huffy.”
She took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face. At least she was going to act as if she would play nice. Kendal came back to save me.
“David, we have the contract worked out. Can you and Clare come and look at it before I send it to Tom to get it signed?”
She went through it with us.
“The contract has two options. One is a straight $40,000 payday. The second option is $10,000 today and $100 each time they play it. They will guarantee at least 200 plays in the next six months. Their last ad is still on the air, and it’s had nearly 600 plays in the last year and a half.”
“What do you guys think?” I asked.
“I would take the money up front. If the ad’s a flop, you’ll make less money,” Clare advised.
Mr. Hill walked up and gave his advice.
“Red is running tight on a budget for marketing. You’d be doing them a huge favor by doing the pay-over-time option.”
“Mr. Hill, I don’t want to be disrespectful, but Kasey’s too old for Red’s target audience. You need someone my age, and lose the office scene. You need something that young people would be doing.”
“I can’t afford another model or the studio time,” Mr. Hill nervously said.
“How much are we talking to put a second ad together, excluding the model?”
Mr. Hill thought for a moment.
“I would do it at cost: $4,000.”
“Let me make a phone call,” I said, and Kendal handed me her phone. I dialed Tracy, “I have a quick question: do you want to do a commercial? You’d have to be here in about 45 minutes.”
“No, I don’t think I would. Mom and I are shopping anyways. But I’ll do it if you absolutely need me.”
“Okay, is it alright if I call Missy Stone and see if she wants to?”
There was a pause as Tracy thought about her answer.
“I’m fine. If it goes further, call me and let me know where to meet you,” Tracy said.
“Okay, I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I called Missy.
“Hey, it’s David.”
“You finally come to your senses and are asking me out?”
“No, but I think I have something you might like to do. Would you like to do a commercial with me where we get to make out?”
From the sound of it, she was excited.