“Is there a reason I should be home?” I ventured.
“Yeah, this Simon guy’s a jerk. I need you to come home and explain that to Tami. She won’t listen to me.”
Alan must have been frustrated if he needed me to help him convince Tami of something. He knew I had about zero chance of changing Tami’s mind if she decided something. Of course, she would patronize me, and listen to my arguments, and then call me a ‘stupid boy’ and explain why I was wrong. I wondered if she’d smacked Alan upside his head for old times’ sake.
“Alan, why would she listen to me?” I asked.
“Well, she has to listen to someone. This Simon guy thinks he’s some sort of royalty, and we should all kiss his butt. It’s sickening to watch Tami doing just that. I never thought I’d see her act like such a ... a ... girl!” Alan stammered.
“You do realize Tami is a girl,” I said gently.
“I know, but Tami never acted like one. David, do me a favor and call her.”
“Alright, but this is your Christmas present from me,” I told him.
I’d gotten him the latest Call of Duty game, and Jeff was getting the same thing. This way we could all play the multiplayer version together. Alan did know I wouldn’t look forward to talking to Tami about something like this.
I went and made a pot of hot water so I could make a cup of hot tea. I sat down on the couch in the living room and looked out over the valley as I tried to get my nerve up to call Tami. I decided to just go for it.
“Morning, Sunshine,” I said as a greeting.
“Dear lord, David. Why are you so chipper this morning?” Tami asked.
“I got a call from Alan. Apparently, he needs me to talk some sense into you,” I said, chuckling.
“Little Alan is going to get himself hurt,” Tami told me. “For some reason, he doesn’t like Simon.”
“Alan says you’re acting like a girl.”
That got a laugh out of her.
“What am I supposed to say to that?” she asked.
“I don’t know, I’m just relaying the message. When you see Alan, tell him you’ve been properly chastised. I don’t want him calling every other day complaining you’re a girl.”
“Okay, but I’m only doing it for you. Did he say why he doesn’t like Simon?”
“I think he said he was a jerk. From Alan, it could mean anything. He also said Simon acted like everyone should kiss his butt. Then he hit me with you acting like, God forbid, a girl,” I said in mock horror.
“I think I know what happened. We all went to Monical’s last night, and Simon commented on the quality of the pizza. I’ll make nice with Alan. Now you have some explaining to do. I thought I was going to see you over Christmas break,” Tami chastised me.
If Simon didn’t like Monical’s pizza, I could see why Alan wouldn’t like him. It was unquestionably a black mark against him. Who could account for the Brits’ bad taste in food? I mean, they served me a pig’s head, for heaven’s sake. How could anyone thumb their nose at good quality pizza at a reasonable price? I think it was in their ad, so it had to be true.
“I never said I was going to be home. I thought you knew I was going to be in Utah, and then LA.”
“I did, but I thought you’d be home at least a couple of days. One of the reasons I came home was to see you,” Tami explained.
“You told me you wanted to see your mom. If I’d known the only reason was to see me, I would’ve gotten you a ticket to Utah.”
“I do want to see my mom, but I wanted to see my best friend, too,” she said. “Hang on ... it looks like Simon’s trying to call in ... I’ll call him back.”
“If you need to go ...”
“No, I’m supposed to pick him up from the hotel. He just wants to know what time.”
“Why isn’t he staying with you?” I blurted out, then thought better of it. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”
“Mom wouldn’t let Simon stay with us,” Tami explained.
I was sure there was more there than Tami was telling me. I would ask my mom when she got here later today.
“I need to get going,” I said, and we ended the call.
TODAY WAS GOING TO be a busy day. Kara, Adrienne and Tyler were flying out this afternoon, and my family was flying in. I had another day of modeling to do, so Tiffany and Kendal were staying. Kendal was going to go home when I was done with the job so she could celebrate Christmas with her family. She would then meet me in LA for the start of the movie.
Devin planned to take Nancy horseback riding today. I knew she’d love it. The views were spectacular once you got above the tree line and were able to look down on the valley. I couldn’t wait to share it with my family.
Since I was walking around naked in the living room, I went to go find Kara. I thought a naked wake-up would be a fun last-day activity. She wasn’t in her room, so I went to Adrienne and Tyler’s room. Sure enough, there the traitor was, spooning Tyler. I slipped into bed behind Adrienne. I was okay until Mr. Happy tried to wake her up.
You would think my lesbian friends had never seen a dick before. Nancy found me with the three women tickling me and saying I was never getting that near them. Nancy was amused and they made her take me back to our room. Nancy was the beneficiary of me seeing Adrienne naked again.
BEV HAD US BACK IN the studio. The marketing department loved the photos that Kara, Adrienne and I did in biking gear. They wanted us to do covers for their catalog for the different seasons. For spring they had me in a basketball uniform, Kara in a track outfit, and Adrienne in hiking gear. Summer found me in a baseball uniform, Kara in a tennis outfit, and Adrienne in a swimsuit. Fall had me in a football uniform, Kara in hunting gear, and Adrienne in golf clothes.
Bev, Kendal and Tyler went to finish the photo reviews and do all the paperwork. Adrienne took Kara and me to a little sandwich shop for lunch.
“I talked to Devin, and he’s very happy with your work this week. He said the marketing team saw a noticeable improvement in the end product. You two have a nice chemistry that’s coming across on film. I wanted to let you know Tyler’s been sending some of the photos from the last few days to some potential customers.
“Kara, I have you booked full-time for the next few months in New York. We’ve been debating about getting a talent apartment in our building, a place where out-of-town models can stay. I told Tyler to sign the lease when we get back,” Adrienne told Kara.
“It’ll be nice to not have to travel every week to a new shoot,” Kara confessed.
“I know; when I first started out I was sent all over the place. It was fun for a while, but it gets old fast.”
“I’ll have to visit,” I said.
“Speaking of you, Dakora wants you to be one of two models showcasing their new winter line of suits and evening wear.”
“I’ve never heard of them,” I said.
“They’re a new, hip line of men’s suits. They’re huge in Europe and starting to be big in New York. This could be a big deal for you,” Kara gushed.
“That sounds good. When do they want to do this?” I asked.
“This spring. I told them we had to fit it into your movie schedule,” Adrienne said.
“Do they know I’ll be bald then?”
“Yes, I told them. They’re working with the producers of Star Academy to see if they can get a tie-in, with you possibly wearing your tattoos from the movie. Your movie is scheduled to open Thanksgiving week, just in time for them to introduce their new line. They’re also working to get some product placement in the movie.”
“I wondered why you wanted Janice Utley’s number.”
Janice was the producer of the movie. She would know who Adrienne would need to call. Leave it to Adrienne to figure out how to make money with her fashion contacts and the movie I was doing. I was hoping she was going to make a lot of money because I’d be credited with a percentage for a finder’s fee. Product placement deals could be big dollars since it helped fund the production of the movie.