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I didn’t have to be at Late Tonight with Michael Bunting until four, so we had time to kick back and relax. We returned to the St. Regis. Frank had his phone to his ear the whole time. I was hungry, so I ordered room service for lunch. Caryn joined me while Frank dealt with whatever he was working on. He came back as we were finishing eating.

“Here’s what I’m thinking. Like I always say, get in front of a problem. While the 69 Naturals photos are a problem, I want to spin it. I talked to both the studio and Saul, and they’re in agreement. I’ve also talked to 69 Naturals, and they’re on board. Their biggest concern is they want publicity for their website,” Frank said and looked at Caryn and me.

“And …” Caryn prompted.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” he stammered. “Michael Bunting is noted for doing some interviews that are borderline. He did the whole monologue on Bentley Parker’s penis when Bentley was in Italy with Liz Brandon. We think his show is the perfect platform to introduce your pictures with the porn stars.”

“What’s the upside to doing this?” Caryn asked.

“We control when the photos go out. The studio doesn’t want them to be put all over the place the night of the premiere. We control the narrative, which is it was an LA party where you arrived, took a few pictures, and then left,” Frank said, and then gave me a hard look. “That is what happened, right?”

“I did not have sex with those women,” I said in my best Bill Clinton impression.

“Aw, shit,” Frank blurted.

I laughed.

“No, seriously, I only stayed for a few pictures and then left,” I said and switched to my uptight white-boy lawyer voice.

“Now Zak Verwood and Devin Range might have done more, but I have no confirmation of said events.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” Frank said and looked at Caryn like she was supposed to do something.

He left us so he could work on it.

◊◊◊

We arrived early at the studio. Frank had talked to the producer of the show, and she wanted to move us up to be the first guest. We had initially been slotted for third. The studio rep met us there and handed Frank talking points. Caryn and I were sent to my dressing room. They had a waiting room where hangers-on could mingle. The room already had ten people in it. I grinned when Frank told the studio rep that he had to stay out there.

“You have a problem with that guy?” Caryn asked.

“That guy believes because he works at the studio, he knows what he’s doing,” Frank said, tossing all the man’s notes into the trash.

I just shook my head as Frank had his little pissing match. Of course, I would listen to him first, because I paid his fees. But the potential issue was that the studio guy could call and complain about how he was being treated. Frank got a call and left.

“Check those notes,” I told Caryn.

She was reading them when Frank came back.

“These aren’t terrible,” Caryn said.

Frank got a pained expression on his face.

“You’re paying me for a reason,” Frank said.

“And the studio is paying me, and I am paying you,” I said.

Frank sighed.

“Just follow my lead, David. I’ll make sure he’s happy,” Frank said and left.

“You might want to go check on that,” I said to Caryn.

“Yep. The kids don’t seem to be playing well together,” she said and left.

Jade and Dakora had sent over clothes for tonight’s three interviews. Adrienne had been busy making us some extra money. I would be casual on Michael Bunting’s show. For Billy Stein, I would be more dressed-up; and then for my last appearance, with Steve Priest, I would be casual again.

◊◊◊

After they came back from commercial, I was called out.

“Let’s welcome David A. Dawson, star of the upcoming blockbuster, Star Academy.”

I walked out, and Michael shook my hand. I smiled at the audience and sat down.

“In a minute we’ll get started and watch a clip from your upcoming movie. But before we do that, I want to again remind everyone that celebrities don’t lead the same lives as the rest of us,” Michael said.

“Why’s that?” I asked, playing the straight man.

They started to flash pictures of me and porn stars.

“Oh, you’re talking about the party I was at last week. It was a lot of fun,” I said.

“Tell us what this party was,” Michael said.

“Well, ah, how do I say this?” I asked.

“That all these women are adult film stars,” Michael suggested.

“Okay. It was a party where I was asked to attend to take some candid photos of adult film stars and myself. They were having an unveiling of some new adult film stars.”

Michael gave the audience a knowing look at the ‘unveiling’ comment.

“I can just imagine,” he said to big laughs.

“No, really. This is an LA thing. They have parties where they want to introduce new talent,” I said.

Frank had written the lines for me in conjunction with the writing staff on the show. Michael was playing it to the hilt as he sadly shook his head.