Maria seemed nervous. The last thing I would ever want to do is to force anyone into doing something sexual if they really didn’t want to, so I dropped it. She hit the bar, and I explored the party. I did my usual and met most of the people there.
I found there were groups of girls who would hang with someone in the business. It was like Craig and his group of friends who followed him around. I understood why he did it because I found that without some wingmen, it would be difficult to get some alone time with someone.
When I came back, I caught sight of Maria as she led Paul upstairs. She was full of mixed messages. Zak had returned and found me.
“I need your help,” he started.
This had to be interesting.
“I’ve been in love from afar with this girl for ages. She was a senior when I was a freshman,” he said.
I did the math in my head and figured she was in her mid-20s. He pointed across the room, and I recognized Bec Carson. Zak filled me in that she’d started in the business when she was young. She’d been in one of his acting classes when he was ten. She’d started out doing a show on Nickelodeon when they were in high school. Since then, Bec had started to get better and better roles in movies.
“So, what did you want me to do?” I asked.
“Maybe we could go talk to her, and you put in a good word for me,” he said hopefully.
As we walked towards Bec, a stunning example of a California girl joined her. She looked to be much younger. I’d already talked to Bec, so she smiled at me.
“Hey, David. I called my cousin to tell her you were here. She has a crush on you,” Bec said.
The vision’s ears got a tinge of pink. Zak nudged my ribs; the cousin and I must have been staring at each other. I remembered why I was there.
“Uh, this is awkward,” I started. “I came over here to reintroduce you to Zak. He says you took acting classes together when you were kids, and he was in love with you in high school.”
I grabbed his arm because he looked like he was going to run away.
“Then I come over here and find you with your cousin. I’m David, by the way,” I said as I offered the cousin my hand.
“Alyssa.”
“You be nice to my boy Zak while Alyssa and I get to know each other better,” I suggested.
I pulled her onto the dance floor, and we lost ourselves in the music. After a couple of songs, our eyes locked, and she grabbed my hand. She pulled me upstairs, and we found a vacant room. I didn’t even know this girl, and she had Mr. Happy out and had him all but swallowed.
The only thing this girl had said to me was her name, and we found ourselves having wild monkey sex. God, I loved Hollywood.
◊◊◊ Monday December 21
After I’d returned from hitting practice and done a couple of scenes, I returned to my trailer and found Caryn with a smile on her face.
“You look happy,” I said.
“I believe I solved our problem with the farm deal. I finally was able to work my way up the food chain at the bank until I reached someone who knew what everyone was doing. She wasn’t happy when she found out what had happened. It also turns out she knew your grandfather; one of her first loans was to him for farm equipment.
“Anyway, she wants to work with us to make this right. She has a John Deere franchise owner they had to foreclose on. He’d been in business for many years and has an inventory that they plan to liquidate. Your mom, uncle, and grandma are going today to see what’s there. If they can find what’s needed, the bank is willing to work it out so you buy the two farms.”
I looked at Caryn in a new light. She hadn’t quit on the deal once it looked like it wasn’t going to work. I suddenly realized that she was much more valuable to me than Kendal had ever been. Kendal was good at keeping me organized and made sure everything ran smoothly. Caryn had just shown me that I was wasting her business talents to babysit me. Then again, Devin had missed it as well, so I didn’t feel too bad.
Her working on one deal and having success didn’t mean she was everything I foresaw her eventually being. But at the same time, I felt it was enough to give her a chance to prove me right. Before I became too excited, I needed to talk to my parents, uncle, and grandma and get their input. I would need their guidance on how best to utilize Caryn.
“That seems like a sound plan. Have them look to the future needs of all the farms. Maybe we can find some equipment we might want to add on if the price is right.”
“I just told your mom the same thing. Sorry if I overstepped,” Caryn said.
“You know what? I don’t really have a handle on this, so there’s no reason for me to get in the middle of it. Take it and run with it. Just keep my family in the loop. My dad has final say anyway, so if he’s fine with it, I am too.”
“Do you want to know what I’m up to?” she asked.
