As much as it went against my core belief that everyone was basically good, I wasn’t going to fight her advice today. It would only upset her, so I promised to have a security person with me later that afternoon.
WE WRAPPED UP THE SHOOT by three. By then Clare had brought in security and I was allowed to sign autographs. Before I was done, I started to get writer’s cramp. I must have signed my name 200 times and had my picture taken almost as many, but I sucked it up and did it with a smile.
To my surprise, Kara, Tracy and Kendal all took off. To my even greater surprise, Clare stayed and babysat me. When I signed the last one, she was leaned up against her car, smiling at me.
“So how does it feel to be a celebrity?” Clare asked.
“It’s a lot of work. Where did the girls go?”
“Kara wanted to take a shower to get her makeup off. Tracy wanted a nap and to talk to her parents and friends. Kendal is meeting her football player. I swear, that girl finds a different guy in every town she’s in,” Clare gossiped.
I just gave her a look.
“Get in the car, I’m hungry,” she said.
We went to an Irish Pub that was open and we ordered a couple of burgers. Clare then told me what was on her mind.
“Aunt Deb sent me out here for two things. The first is she wanted to make sure you didn’t have any issues with the press. Your image is important not only to Range Sports but to our company as well. The second is we want to rework your contract.”
“Didn’t I just sign a five-year deal? Why on earth would I want to change it after only a couple of days?” I asked, letting the irritation show in my voice.
“It’s because you’re going to need more of our services than we originally agreed to. Our deal was shortsighted. We were looking at this as just modeling. Frankly, we think you could do much more, based on your charisma. Deb got a copy of your commercial, and you come across as natural and very likable.”
“That wouldn’t have anything to do with me running around naked, would it?” I joked.
“I admit you’re attractive, but you have to realize I’m around attractive people all day long. We have fifty models we could have filled in with Kara for the shoot you’re doing. But none of them would have caused the stir you have,” she said, holding up her hands to keep me from denying it. “Hang on and let me finish. We saw the footage of the three players hitting on your girls. Every one of our other models would have either gotten into a fistfight or shouting match. You were aware of the cameras and did something creative.”
I thought about it for a moment, and she was right. My first instinct was to punch them.
“We want to add a publicist into the mix. With your involvement with Kara, and this spring, if Adrienne goes to Prom with you, we want to take advantage of that. This will help build your image. We want to make you a household name. You have just enough bad boy and boy-next-door to test out well in our target demographics.”
I took in what she said. My goal had never been to become famous. Make some cash, yes. I’m not stupid, either. Getting name recognition would boost my booking rates dramatically. It would also open doors I would never be able to get past without that recognition. I had talked to Kara about some of the pitfalls of fame. I would have to think about this and get advice from my family and Tracy.
“I need to talk to you about something I’m not sure you’re going want to hear,” Clare said, as she seemed to brace herself for my response. “Just hear me out before you react.”
“I’ll try,” I gave my honest answer.
“We would like to suggest you not have a girlfriend,” Clare said, and she raised her hand to cut off my response to this news. “I’m going to be very blunt. I know you think this is unfair, but you need to think about how your fame will affect Tracy. It takes a very strong and secure person to withstand the pressure of dating a celebrity. You have to ask yourself if it’s fair to her. I know you two love each other; I see that when you’re together. Do you love her enough to not put her through the tabloids and paparazzi?”
She let me digest that. She then launched into her next line of attack.
“As you know from Kara, it’s not uncommon for there to be a need for public boyfriends. Heck, Adrienne even uses them now and again. There are many reasons for having one in this business. For a young celebrity, you’re perfect: you don’t have a bad reputation; you’re an up-and-coming sports star; you also have shown your butt a few times, making you a little dangerous. You’ll appeal to those girls who want to break out of their little-girl image and move towards being more adult.”
“Come on. No celebrity is going to want to date me. I’m only being Kara’s faux boyfriend because she and I are friends. Plus, I have no intention of breaking up with Tracy,” I let my anger through.
“Hey, I’m not trying to piss you off. I’m just letting you know the realities of fame,” she said, trying to soothe my anger. Then she laughed. “I bet by the first of the year we have requests from several young starlets who want to date you.”
I just sighed.
“I’m not saying I’ll go along with this. But if I do, what’s involved?”
I think Clare took it as my acceptance of her plan.
“You’d have to be seen in public with your new ‘girlfriend.’ The dates would have to be convincing, yet wholesome in appearance. You would sign non-disclosure documents preventing you from telling anyone you weren’t really dating. You’d also be required not to be seen with anyone else in public.”
“Okay, I’ll get back to you on the faux girlfriend. My first reaction is to say ‘no,’ but if Deb thinks it’ll help my career, then I need to listen. I’ll not make any promises, though, until I’ve talked it through with Tracy and my friends and family,” I promised. “What’s the publicist going to cost me, if we agree to that?”
“Nothing, we just need to fix the ‘services provided’ section of your contract. I’d suggest you talk to Tom about this. He may suggest you hire an outside publicist. Normally they take a five percent cut.”
“Okay, sounds like a plan,” I said.
“The last thing I need to talk to you about is security,” Clare began, and I rolled my eyes. “You need to take this seriously. All it takes is one deranged person to ruin your day, and possibly your career. As much as possible, we’ll get location shoots to have security in the contract. This one didn’t go through our office and frankly, I’m surprised that Kara didn’t insist on it. I want you to meet a member of our security team after the first of the year to help you recognize possible safety issues.
“I’ll arrange for them to come to your home so they can talk to everyone in your family. You might also think about hiring your own security people down the road. They can help you figure that out.”
With the mention of my family, I was more open to talking to them. Every teenage boy thinks he’s invincible, but when you put my family and friends in the mix, I was more willing to listen.
Clare and I finished our lunch and she gave me a ride back to the hotel. I had some stuff to think about. I needed to talk to Tracy and get her take on what Clare had told me.
WHEN I GOT BACK TO my room, Tracy was nowhere to be found. I tried to call her but it went to voicemail. I checked and she hadn’t left a message. When she went back to the hotel, she said she would meet me there. I called Kara to see if she’d seen her. She didn’t pick up either, so I called Kendal.
“Hey, it’s David. Have you seen Tracy?”
“Nope, last I saw she was in the lobby heading to her room. She might have gone to the spa.”