“While we have a few minutes, I want to talk to you,” Adrienne said, switching to being more businesslike.
I smiled at her and nodded.
“I’ve had Ford send me all your work. I see some potential, but you need coaching. Today was an audition of sorts. I wanted to see if you took direction well. I should have known you would because of your sports background,” Adrienne said and then paused, giving me an intense look.
I was a little off-balance. I hadn’t realized that she was looking at what I’d done. I was also confused by what she meant by ‘audition.’ Then Adrienne started to talk again, which brought me back to the conversation.
“What I’m about to tell you, I need you to keep just between us.”
I glanced at the kitchen door and Adrienne gave me a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, Tyler will keep Kara busy until we’re done,” Adrienne said. “I’m getting to the end of my career. I’ve made plenty of money and could retire today, but I want to stay in the business. My plan is to open my own agency.”
She let that sink in. She could see that I suddenly looked concerned.
“Dang it, I think I may have messed up,” I told her.
Now it was her turn to look confused.
“I just signed a five-year deal with Ford,” I explained.
She gave me a weak smile.
“Deb Thomas is no dummy. Could I take a look at the contract?”
“Sure, do you have something with Internet access?”
She went and got her notebook. I went to my Dropbox account and logged in. I looked up my contract folder and opened my contract with Ford. Adrienne had watched all this with astonishment.
“You’re going to have to teach me how to do all that. I was expecting you’d have to go home and fax me a copy,” she said as she started to scan my contract. “Holy crap! Did you sleep with someone to get this deal?”
I explained to her everything that happened with Range Sports and how Ford had fired me. Then Kendal had told them about the plans Range had for me. We then talked about my arrangement with Rigby, Thompson and Associates. She wanted to see that contract also. This all led to me showing her the contracts with my photo resellers.
“I’m impressed. So you’re getting an override on other models’ work also?”
“Yeah, it all kind of fell into place. They tease me that I need to hurry up and get a little older to help them build their business.”
Tyler stuck her head out of the kitchen and gave Adrienne a look. Adrienne gave her a weak smile.
“Give us a few more minutes.”
Tyler nodded and went back to cooking. It was fun to see that side of Adrienne. I never imagined her as being a married woman.
“The way I read your Ford contract is that they’re not excluding you from working on independent projects. If they were, you wouldn’t be working with Kara this weekend.”
“You know, I hadn’t thought of it that way. I just assumed that I had to work with them or find my own projects to do.”
“Let me give you the two-minute sales pitch before Tyler strings me up. Last night was no mistake. Jun, Abby and Andi are all being considered for when I open my own agency. When I open my doors, I’d like to sign all of you. I’d also be interested in signing Kara, after today. You two have a chemistry that’s hard to fake. To be honest, I would only sign her if you were on board.
“I’ve been doing this for the past eleven years, and I know the kind of crap modeling agencies try to pull. You’ll find that they’re more interested in their bottom line than developing your talent. Like I said earlier, you’re still a raw talent. I’d like to mentor you because I see something special. I think you have that something that sets you apart.”
“I don’t really see a downside to this. When were you thinking of starting?”
“I’m not sure yet. I have some commitments to Ford that I have to honor. I also need to get my company set up. I should be ready to go by the end of summer. In the meantime, I’ve talked to Ford, and we’re in negotiations for a shoot I’ve requested you on. I also know that you’re coming back next weekend. I’d like to come to that shoot also.”
This was a lot to take in, but there was no question: I was going to do it. I’d be crazy to turn down Adrienne as my mentor. Today had given me a glimpse into how much I needed to learn. I gave her a big grin.
“Absolutely. I’m in.”
She smiled at me.
“I look forward to us working together. Now, let’s go eat before Tyler kills me.”
We came in and Adrienne went to Tyler and kissed her. Kara gave me a funny look and I just smiled at her. I was sure she’d give me the third degree later.
We all sat down and ate. Tyler was a good cook. Not on a par with Mary Dole, but very good. The conversation was enjoyable. They talked me into having a glass of wine. Tyler teased me about being a cheap date because I was feeling no pain. It also put me in a playful mood, which had them nervous.
ADRIENNE AND TYLER took us to a hotel in SoHo that had a lounge that overlooked a dance club. The lounge was perfect for people-watching. There were several models and daytime-soap stars mingling with trust-fund babies. Tyler explained that this was where you went if you wanted to be seen in New York.
I was surprised when Doris from About Town was there. She was the reporter who had, in effect, started my modeling career. She did the interview at Jennie Wesleyan’s cousin’s engagement party. That was what brought me to the attention of Ford and Range Sports. I guided Adrienne and Kara over to meet her. She saw me and whom I was with, and her eyes lit up.
“I see the ‘Mystery Man’ has some new friends. Would you three be willing to do an interview?”
I looked at both Kara and Adrienne and they nodded their acceptance. I was mentally kicking myself for not having worn any Range Sports gear. I would just have to work them into the interview.
Doris went to talk to her camera crew and get them set up. The lounge had an area ready for her that wouldn’t disturb the other customers. Adrienne helped us get our talking points together.
Doris went right for dirt when we got started. I had to chuckle; she didn’t mess around.
“David, I see you’re here with two of your harem. Where’s the third, Sunny Skye?”
“I know, right? With just the two of them, it’s all they can do to keep up with me. That’s the problem with dating older women. I’ve been working on getting Hannah Minacci to join Adrienne and me for Prom. I figure the two of them would be able to trade off dancing and not fall asleep on me.”
Adrienne almost burst out laughing. Kara had been around me enough to just take it stride and nod sagely to Doris.
“So where is Sunny?”
“She’s busy working. Speaking of which, Kara and I are doing another ...”
The three of us got in everything we wanted to. I was happy to see that the whole interview was aired on one of the national Sunday-morning shows as a fluff piece.
The bad news was that after the interview, they turned on me.
“Older women?” Adrienne said with her eyebrows raised.
“Hey, I just call ’em as I see ’em.”
That got me smacked. The good news was that Adrienne sent a text to Hannah Minacci. She soon had Hannah on the line and was telling her about my latest antics.
“Hey, Trouble, guess who I have with me tonight?” Adrienne asked.
She listened to Hannah and then laughed.
“Good guess. You won’t believe what he said about us. He just did an interview and said that the two of us couldn’t keep up with him ... It should be on tomorrow ... We should do it just to see if the boy survives ... No, I’m not putting him on the phone, he needs to be punished for that remark ... Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”
“What? She wanted to talk to me,” I pouted.
“Too bad, you need to learn to be nice to me.”
“Oh, don’t even go there,” Kara said.