All of that combined made it pretty clear Sarita had tried to deceive me. Trust was something I had serious issues with. I knew for an absolute fact that if I didn’t trust a girl, I didn’t want to date her. That, more than anything else, was why I didn’t want to see Sarita again.
I believe that if she had been up-front with me about what she wanted out of me, we might still be going out. I had fun at the various places Sarita took me, and I would admit I enjoyed our time in bed. If I didn’t feel taken advantage of, and it was my decision to pay her for her time, I probably wouldn’t have broken it off. Fritz was right, it would be good for the local economy.
◊◊◊
Fritz and I met Cassidy and Paul at the dojo. Carlos took the time to show us more dirty ways to fight. He went into detail how, in a fight, you needed to be creative, and the most unexpected things could become weapons. He must have been a real troublemaker in his misspent youth.
I had a pleasant surprise when we got back to the hoteclass="underline" Bianca was waiting in the lobby.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I took a chance when I got done early and swung by to see if you’d have dinner with me. My treat.”
“He likes to eat,” Cassidy offered.
I shoved Cassidy into Paul, and she giggled.
“I would very much like you to take me out,” I said to Bianca, and then turned to Cassidy and acted like a girl. “Oh, my God! What should I wear?”
“Ignore him. He’s just a ‘stupid boy.’ Are you sure there isn’t someone else you would rather go out with?” Cassidy asked.
I picked up Cassidy and tossed her over my shoulder so I could smack her butt. Bad plan. With her hanging over my shoulder like that, she could smack my butt in return.
“Hey! Be good,” I told her.
“You both be good,” Fritz said, being responsible.
I put Cassidy down, and Bianca came with me to my room so I could take a shower and change.
◊◊◊
We ended up staying in the hotel. They had one of the better restaurants in the area. The bonus was that Fritz didn’t feel the need to have someone watch us if we didn’t go out.
“This is sort of a ‘thank you’ dinner. Adrienne called, and we had a long talk. She had both good and bad news,” Bianca said.
“Give me the bad first.”
“My sister and Anabella are not model material. I get to go home and tell them.”
“They’re going to be disappointed.”
“They’re young. In fact, they didn’t even know they wanted to be models until they heard about you sending pictures to Adrienne. I’m sure they’ll get over it,” Bianca predicted.
“What’s the good news?” I asked.
“Adrienne says she would like for me to come to New York. She has a place I can stay with other models, and we would try it for six months to see if it will work out. She made the same observations you did about my shortcomings but felt that with my dance experience, she might be able to help me make some money.”
“I predict that you’ll like it, and the place Adrienne has is in her building. She’ll look after you.”
“We talked about you, too,” Bianca said with a little smile.
“Don’t believe a word of whatever she told you.”
“She said that you were discreet and that I could trust you. It sounded like that was a big deal to Adrienne.”
“I have no idea what she’s talking about.”
“Good. That brings me to my next subject of the evening. I was wondering if you would give me another massage. It has really helped me in ways I didn’t even realize I needed help with,” she said demurely.
“It sucks, getting old.”
“You’re a jerk sometimes,” she said with a smirk.
“I can be really nice at others,” I suggested.
“You won’t get that opportunity if you’re too much of a jerk, though.”
“I’ll remember that,” I assured her.
“I do like them young so I can train them,” Bianca teased.
This was going to be fun.
◊◊◊
Bianca ended up going home because she needed to talk to her sister and their friend. We did go up to my room so I could work on her hip that was bothering her. I gave her Caryn’s keycard to my room. I felt good about Bianca. She was older, and what we had was just for now. There were no expectations beyond my stay in Cuba.
Bianca did tell me she’d just gotten out of a long-term relationship with another dancer. They’d come up through the ranks together and had bonded. Dance in Cuba was very competitive. Her ex had injured himself and needed surgery on his ankle. Recently it had become clear that he would never again dance at the highest level. Bianca said that she’d stood by him throughout his injury and rehab, but he’d become resentful and pushed her away when he found out the bad news.
Bianca called me her distraction. In essence, I was her rebound—a guy you used to get over your last boyfriend before you are ready to find Mr. Right.
The breakup had caused her to reevaluate her situation. At 23, Bianca was in the prime of her dancing career, but she’d seen how quickly it all could go away. She’d decided to leave Cuba. While she had a comfortable lifestyle, she was worried about her sister and the rest of her family. Bianca wanted to get them out, eventually. She didn’t like to see her father struggle and have to accept money from her because he was a proud man.
◊◊◊
Chapter 7 – Bang! You’re Dead Thursday June 2
There was still no word on the movie’s status. I was happy when I saw a call come in from Saul.
“Decided to start working for me again?” I asked.
“I’m really sorry. Some issues came up the last several days and I haven’t been as fully involved as I should have been,” Saul said, sounding subdued.
“What’s going on? Are you having problems with your partner?” I asked.
“She forced me out. I no longer run the company that bears my name.”
“Are you still my agent?” I asked.
“I was going to ask you that. They’ll be coming to you to place you with another agent. I’d hoped that you would stick with me.”
“Tell you what: you get this movie back on track and get us paid, and you’re my guy.”
“Thanks, David, I needed that,” Saul said, perking up. “You won’t be sorry, I promise you.”
“I’m already sorry. You can be a jerk sometimes. I bet they would at least take my calls,” I complained.
“Whatever. I have a lot to do, kid. Leave me alone,” he said and hung up on me.
I just grinned and felt sorry for the studio. I’d just unleashed the biggest shark in Hollywood on them.
◊◊◊
The next call wasn’t a shock.
“I just got a new contract from Saul. What’s going on?” Caryn asked.
“They booted him from his agency. He’s gone rogue, so I told him he was still my agent. I’m sure it’s paperwork to transfer us over to him.”
“Isn’t this the perfect time to find someone new?” Caryn asked.
“I sent him after the studio to get this movie restarted. I mentioned us getting paid, and that seemed to do the trick. Let’s see if he can get it done or not before we bail on him,” I suggested.
“I’m just saying we should at least shop around.”
“What happened to ‘you’re the boss’?” I asked.
“Technically, your dad is.”
“Have it your way. You find someone who can get me back to work, and I’ll listen.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Caryn said and hung up on me.
It sounded like Saul needed to stop pissing off women.
◊◊◊
I told Cassidy I wanted to go sightseeing. She suggested we go kayaking in Havana Harbor. One of the crew had gone and said it was fun. We rented a two-seat sea kayak and spent a couple of hours exploring. I’d been canoeing before but found I liked this more.