I could tell Paul liked the idea of his daughter following in his footsteps.
“I’ll let my wife know. We’ll sit her down once you go back home and she moves back in with us. My wife says she talks nonstop about how much she enjoys working and living with you and your family and friends. It’s been good for her to have some independence.”
“I’m sure you didn’t want to get me alone just to talk about Lexi,” I said, getting back to business.
“You’re right. I need you to hold off Saul for me. I know that your situation has changed since we signed the contract. Your most recent movie was some of your best work, and I heard the James Bond movie is moving forward. That’s why we’re probably going to shift you to the lead of the next two
“The problem I have is the budget is already set. If I make any changes right now, it might delay filming,” Paul shared.
“I only have a small window to get this done as it is. I couldn’t do it if filming goes past the first of the year,” I explained.
“Trust me to take care of you. I have a feeling you’ll be around for a long time, and we want you to make movies with us. If I know Saul, he’ll advise you to get paid now, but I hope you’ll work with me.”
I hadn’t come here today to try to squeeze more money out of him. To be honest, I thought they had paid me too much when I signed.
“I’ll tell Saul, but don’t be surprised if he calls again. The man is a bulldog.”
“As long as I know that we’re in agreement, I can handle Saul,” Paul said.
He shared with me some of the new CGI stuff they’d recently gotten. If the demo looked as good on film as it did on his PC, they had something I knew would blow audiences away.
We ended up talking for nearly an hour until Wolf and Tim came back with smiles on their faces. It looked like we were all going to New Zealand in the fall.
On the way out, I explained to Saul what Paul had shared about the budget. He didn’t buy it, but I never expected he would. Maybe I was too trusting.
◊◊◊
The tip of my pencil pressed into my drawing pad so hard while I was shading the pony’s mane that the lead broke again. I’d received a picture of Kyle and Mac riding and thought it would look nice as a drawing. While reaching for the pencil sharpener on the coffee table, I scraped away the jagged pieces left behind.
I’d opted for some alone time while everyone else either went off to do their own thing or was out by the pool. Cassidy came in and sat down next to me with a tablet.
“Brook put me in charge of ordering more food from the grocery store. I thought I’d better ask before I finish the order,” she said.
I distinctly remembered telling Brook not to share the login for that. Then again, maybe she hadn’t. I checked what Cassidy had in the checkout basket.
“You plan on cooking?” I asked.
“Brook said you would.”
I bet she did. I showed Cassidy the deli and bakery sections of the website and strongly suggested premade food. She gave me a smile and scampered off. Should I worry?
I began to draw again, and Sarah came in. It looked like my ‘alone’ time was going to be anything but.
“You got a minute?” she asked.
“Sure,” I said, putting down my pencil.
“That’s not bad,” she said, pointing at my drawing.
“It’s something I should probably do more often.”
“Adrienne called me last week and wants me to go full-time modeling,” she said.
“Will the opportunities still be there in May?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Sarah admitted.
“Well, I considered doing it … but then I decided against growing up completely. You only get one senior year in high school.”
“I hadn’t really thought about that. I’ve just been looking at the dollar signs, not what leaving early would mean.”
“My uncle warned me about growing up too fast. You have the rest of your life to be an adult and pay bills.”
“So, you wouldn’t do it?” she asked.
“Me? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Have you talked to your parents?”
“They want me to stay in school.”
I could tell that didn’t hold as much sway as it would have if mine had given me the same advice. Sarah didn’t have the same sort of relationship with her parents as I did with mine, so I tried another tack.
“Have a heart-to-heart with Adrienne and see if what she’s wanting can wait or not. You can’t really decide until you do,” I advised.
I trusted Adrienne to give her good advice if Sarah asked. While Adrienne was a good businesswoman, she would do what was best for Sarah. I was sure she had been presented with an opportunity to book Sarah and offered it to her. She would leave it up to Sarah to figure out what was best for Sarah.
We spent the remainder of my free time talking about my friends at Wesleyan. She encouraged me to come and visit. I would just add that to my to-do list. Maybe I would have some free time when I got home. Then again …
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