I was positive his mom didn’t buy it, but that was for them to work out. Rather than get into the middle of that, I told him I’d see him Monday in school and left.
◊◊◊
Mom and Dad made me ride with them. This must be some kind of punishment for knocking my half brother down. It also meant that Halle and I would have almost no chance to have any alone time.
I winced when Fritz answered the door; he had a big, bruised knot in the center of his forehead. That looked like it hurt.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Did you do that to him?” Mom asked.
Crud! Me and my big mouth.
“I forgot to duck,” Fritz explained.
I received a look that told me I would be talked to when I got home. It seemed two physical altercations in one week might be two too many, in my mom’s opinion.
We were taken to the solarium, and I could hear a loud male voice and then laughter before we entered. I looked at Fritz, and he rolled his eyes. We walked in and found a good-looking guy with a short haircut who was in his late thirties or early forties. He was obvious as he checked out Rita. When we entered, he looked my mom over and gave her an appraising look. My mom is very good looking, but I’d never seen anyone put eyes on her like that, especially with my dad in the room.
He tore his eyes away from my mom, looked at me, and smiled.
“You’re better looking in person,” he said as he stood up and crossed the room to shake my hand. “I’m Saul Gessler. Rita asked me to fly out and meet with you and introduce you to the Gessler Agency.”
“Saul is one of the top five agents in Hollywood,” Rita said, and listed off who some of his clients were.
Many of his clients were action stars. Rita had mentioned that she would have her agent find someone for me. I didn’t expect he would fly out, but then again, this was for Rita James. Then Halle and Trip came in, and I watched Saul eye Halle. Halle noticed and plastered herself next to me, and when his eyes finally found hers, he flinched. I don’t think he expected anyone would object to him ogling them. Both my mom and Rita noticed, and neither of them appeared happy.
We had dinner with Saul, and he came across as loud, arrogant, and foul-mouthed, but I quickly realized he was very good at what he did. He had taken the time to call Frank Ingram, my PR agent; they had worked together for years. I was sure that was why Frank was also Rita’s PR guy.
Saul had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in the room. He first won over my mom, and then my dad, before he even began to talk to me. I watched Saul in action and took in everything he did. I wasn’t totally sure whether my first impression was correct or not. There were times when I wondered if the arrogant, foul-mouthed agent might just be performing an act that people expected. Then again, Saul could be exactly the way he was acting.
When dinner was over, he stood up and shook my hand again.
“I’ll get with Rita and find out what your shoot schedule will be when you’re in LA. I’ll messenger over a contract to your lawyer on Monday. Good luck with football,” Saul said and was gone.
“That was impressive. He just assumed the sale,” Mom said. “I’ll have to try that sometime.”
“It surprised me when Saul insisted on being David’s agent. I expected he’d hand him off to one of his other agents. Having Saul as David’s agent will open doors for him. It’ll give David a lot of credibility,” Rita told my mom and dad.
I was sold, but my mom and dad wanted to know if he’d be appropriate for someone as new to the business as I was. Mom probably had visions of Saul’s office being in the back of a strip club or something equally sketchy.
Halle and I took a stroll and ended up in the library. It had a big leather couch. We were able to get a good make-out session going before I received a text from Fritz. I wondered if he enjoyed the show, but I appreciated the heads-up, as we barely had time to part before Rita stuck her head in the door.
“Your parents are ready to go,” she announced.
I stood up, and Halle quickly stood up and stepped in front of me. Rita blushed and promptly left the room. Halle broke into fits of giggles as I looked down and spied my problem. In my defense, any straight guy would have the same reaction if Halle thoroughly kissed them.
“You might have to help me with that,” I suggested.
Where do girls come up with those exasperated looks? It wasn’t as if I could magically make my boner go away. I readjusted myself so it wasn’t as obvious, and Halle led me out so I could leave.
On the ride home, Mom and Dad told me they were happy with Saul Gessler as my new agent.
◊◊◊
Chapter 5 – Dr. Love Saturday November 7
When I got up, I realized I didn’t have anything planned for today. I’d thought about another campus visit, but Mom had made it clear that I had to take her and Dad along if I did. Since I had a day to myself, I decided I would be a complete bum and lounge around in my sweats and watch football on TV. I took Duke outside and let him do his routine and have some time to harass Precious.
When I finally called him to go inside, I accidentally let the damned cat in with us. Of course, both Duke and Precious made a beeline for my parents’ bed. I thought I should just turn around, get in my car, and make myself scarce for the day.
“David!” Dad called.
I opened the kitchen drawer and put on oven mitts. While Precious seemed to take to me better now, there was always the chance she’d decide to take my hand off. When I entered my parents’ bedroom, Duke was lying next to Mom as she rubbed his ears. Dad was standing next to the bed with Precious eyeing him as her tail twitched. I reached for her, and she let out a yowl and popped the glove.
“Settle down,” I admonished her as I scooped her up.
She twisted in my grip, and now the claws and teeth were facing me. I did the only sensible thing: I tossed her to Dad. You know how when you drop a cat, it will land on its feet. Well, Precious twisted around and had her claws out as she flew at Dad. I think I discovered where I got my quick reactions, because Dad made this Matrix-like move where Neo dodges the bullets, and somehow Precious missed him. What Precious didn’t miss was the wall. I felt bad when she hit and fell to the floor. It seemed to daze her for a second, which gave me time to snatch her back up. I was not playing ‘find the kitty’ on my day off. This time I wasn’t as gentle since I didn’t want to have to toss her to Dad again. I doubt he would catch her anyway.
When I got to the back door, I figured out I had a problem: both my hands were full.
“Dad! I need someone to open the back door!” I called up the stairs.
“Help him get that damned cat out of my house,” Mom ordered him.
Dad came down and glared at me. I decided I’d better not threaten him with the kitty. When he opened the back door, Precious began to struggle, and I accidentally dropped her. Instead of running, she turned and hissed at us. My dad might actually have peed a little. I introduced the bottom of my shoe to her chest and edged her out the door so I could slam it. Great plan, but she sunk her claw into my ankle as a parting gift.
“For shit’s sake!” I cried as I jerked my foot back.
“Serves you right,” Dad said. He turned to go take his shower, saying, “You’re taking us to Granny’s for breakfast.”
I could do that. I opened the back door and saw Precious sitting in the driveway. She eyed me as I quickly skirted her and made my way to my apartment to take my own shower.
◊◊◊
Granny took care of us as usual. Her special of the day was country grits. I’d been told about this on my recruiting trip to Georgia and was eager to try it. There were spicy sausage pieces in it, and it was topped with two over-easy eggs. You mixed all of that together. It sounded a little sketchy, but it tasted great.