Authors: Vivienne Harris-Scott
"I
didn't say anything to him except she didn't want him in her life. This is what
she told me when I found her..." I explain, my voice steady, my eyes
returning his stare.
"Her
phone number James." he demands, coolly.
I
’
m in a predicament.
See,
I can't really lie to Marcus. He and I have a relationship going close to 5
years now. He is a personal friend of my boss, and up to now; we've always been
straight up with each other. Not to mention he has sent a lot of business my
way...
"I
can't give it to you." I reply cautiously.
"You
can't give it to me? Oh? And why is that James?" he chuckles.
"I
need to speak with her first." I sigh, and add with a serious edge on my
voice,
"Marcus,
what will you do with it?" the question is puzzling him, if the look he is
giving me is any indication.
"I'll
call her, and see for myself where this shit is at! Because James, right now,
I'm wondering, how this woman managed to get him to unravel so fast. Something
is up here
…
and the sooner I figure out what it is, the better for all of our
sakes..." he answers, in a tired voice.
I
am silent, thinking about all the possible options. I don't want to betray Vi.
I wouldn't. Yet, I also know, if I don't give Marcus what he wants, not only he
will get it by other means probably creating even more problems for
her unbeknownst to him, but also my ass will be on the street, as my boss
won't take too kindly my refusing giving information the client already paid
handsomely for.
And
then, there is the recording. Evidently Marcus doesn't know about it...yet.
Julian hasn't told him, and I do understand the man. I kind of feel sorry for
him. If that piece of information is to come to light before I speak to Vi
myself, all kinds of hell will break loose, so I say:
"Marcus,
I will give you the number, so you can talk to her, but two things: first you
have to let me ask her if she
’
s
ok with it, and second, once you've spoken to her, you have to let it go. Give
me your word you will not go to Julian with this. This woman is guarded with
reasons. I am asking you to, please, respect this regardless of how Julian
might feel. Trust me when I tell you this is truly for the best."
Marcus
looks at me as if he can't believe what he is hearing, but he must have seen
something on my face that shows him how serious I am about it, because after a
few minutes of silence, he finally says:
"Make the call."
Ari
Fucking actors!
"Look
Bruce, there is nothing, NOTHING, I can do about it! You have no
fucking idea...NO, you know what? Go to hell!" I yell, before
slamming the receiver down.
I'm
Ari fucking Strauss, who the hell does he think he is? Some D list director,
that's who!
Fuck!
It
started out as a good week, but since that damn phone call, it's gone to the
crapper...
Damn
Frances Fucking Palmers!
The
woman is one of my top 3 earners, so I have to tread delicately with her, but
she is such a bitch! I knew she was crazy before, but the stunt she pulled
yesterday makes me want to kill her!
I'm
Ari Strauss, I don't kill people...Well, not in real life anyway, only in
my head, but that bitch....
I
can't believe her!
I've
got to call Marcus!
((~~!~~))
"Ari baby... I hope it's not too
late? How are you? I have a favor to ask..." her cajoling voice set off
alarms bells in my brain
…
Too
late to heed them now!
That
was Monday night. 3 days ago. She calls me and asks me if I know a Mr
James Marshall, hired by Julian McCarty.
I
never heard the name and I tell her so. You know what she says? "Find out
who he is Ari, and why Julian hired him..."
I
ask her if she's joking. I mean when did Ari Strauss, agent of the
stars, suddenly turn into Ari Strauss Private eye?
She
says, "Find out or else, Ari..." and she hangs up on me!
And
no one in their right mind does that. No one. I'm Ari fucking Strauss, who the
hell does she think she is?
She
calls the next day, in the morning, and ask if I found anything. I tell
her to focus on her filming, - she is in the Big Apple shooting for the next
Bruce Kemp blockbuster -, and we will discuss whoever this James Marshall is
next week when the filming is done and she returns to LA.
She
says she wants answers; I say I want the movie done.
I'm
getting annoyed, but I'm a busy man so I entirely forget about Frances
shenanigans until 5:00 p.m. that day when Martin Cullen, form Universal, calls
me and asks if I know where my client is. "Which one?" I ask
derisively, "Julian McCarty!" he furiously retorts.
That's
when my week started to go to shit....
Julian
has gone AWOL without telling me! That is a first! I mean last week, when I had
to smooth things over with the studios on account of his sudden illness, at
least he gave me the heads up and we were both covered on all fronts, but this?
I am PISSED!
I've
tried to call him, my assistant has tried to call him, I've left a message with
Marcus asking to return, and suddenly, my brain is reminding me about Frances.
I'm certain she has something to do with this, so I ring her. She's out having
supper with another actress, and when I ask her if she knows where Julian is,
she replies
‘
no
’
with a sweet voice and asks about James
Marshall again. This time, I'm the one who hangs up.
Thursday
morning comes, and by 11:00 a.m., I have about 30 messages asking me where
Julian is. I call Marcus because he always knows where Julian is. His secretary
tells me he's in a meeting, but I tell her, I've tried his blackberry and it's
a matter of life and death, if I don't speak with him immediately, consequences
will be dear. She relents.
Marcus
tells me, as far as he knows Julian is at home. If I want to see him, I just
need to drive up to The Hills, and he reminds me to never interrupt his
meetings again, or he'll have my head.
I
drive up The Hills, spend half an hour at the front gate and don't get any
closer to Julian. Now, I am officially worried. Something is wrong. Julian
doesn't disappear without warning or a fucking good reason.
It
only happened once in the 10 years I've been representing him. What the people
in the know refer to: The Belinda episode...Shit, it can't be...
I
call Marcus again and tell him he needs to go to the house himself. I have a
bad feeling about this. I remind him of the last time...He caves and says he'll
call me when he knows what's up.
I
think of Frances as I'm driving back downtown, and call her in NYC, asking once
again if she knows what's up with Julian. She retorts she doesn't have a clue,
and in a cool tone says, "Ari, this is the last time I'm asking you
…
what did you find about James
Marshall?" I hang up. I don
’
t
have the time or the desire to attend her nonsense.
I
spend the rest of the day trying to work, dodging calls about Julian. After
all, this is what assistants get paid for.
By
7:00 p.m., just as I'm about to leave the office, both my desk phone and my cell
ring at the same time, and that's when the other shoe drops: Frances Fucking
Palmers has walked out of shooting and is apparently on her way back to LA!
Fuck!
Can
my week get any worse?
I
sit at my chair, inhale and call Marcus. Again.
I
am blunt and without preamble ask him if he knows a James Marshall. He
asks why. I can hear the caution in his tone and that raises my suspicion about
who the hell this guy is. I tell him Frances has been harassing me about him,
and now is on her way back to the city of Angels, and Julian is missing, and my
head is about to explode if I don't figure out what the fuck is going
on here....
Marcus
says calmly he will take care of it, and ring me back.
That
was last night.
((~~!~~))
Fuck Bruce Kemp! Calling ME! To threaten
me of a lawsuit
…
!
At 8:07 a.m.?! Fuck!
As I
press the speed dial on my phone, I yell at my assistant that I do not wish to
be disturbed by anyone but the pope within the next hour.
"Yes?"
is Marcus
’
usual, collected, greeting.
"Marcus."
I say smiling, more to relax myself than anything.
"Ari,"
always curt.
"So,
what's up with our boy?" I ask cheerily.
"Ari,
look, I haven't been to the house yet, I'm going later today..." He
starts, and I can hear some shuffling on his end.
"Marcus,
”
I interrupt bluntly
“
Listen, it's been 3 full days he's pulled
this disappearing act, the studio isn't impressed to put it mildly, they are
talking clauses...and since the National Enquirer hasn't reported him dead,
they are right..."
"I'll
take care of it Ari!" he says impatiently.
"Just
get it done, and do let me know. I'll call Marie and have her issue some
sort of press release if he's planning to be off work for some time..." I
say gruffly.
"I'll
let you know." he replies.
"Ok.
By the way, that thing with Frances and James Marshall..." I start,
letting him know this is not just my problem.
"What
of it, Ari?" he asks innocently, but I can tell, I picked his interest.
"Well,
who is this guy? She says he was hired by Julian, I've never heard of him,
and..." I admit, curious.
"Ari,
Frances is your problem. Who Julian hires or doesn't isn't her concern, ok?
I'll call you later." Marcus replies cool in a tone, telling me this
subject is closed.
I'm
looking at my phone thinking, things can only get better from now. Marcus will
go to the house, shake Julian up, and things will return to normal. Another
week in Hollywood.
Just
as I'm about to call my assistant, my office door opens and strolls in, no less
than La Fucking Frances!
She
sits on the sofa, crosses her legs and says wither signature Cheshire cat grin,
plastered all over her face, "Aren't you going to offer me a
drink, Ari?"
It
takes every ounce of self-control and a quick prayer to the Hollywood deities
for me not walk up to her and choke her throat out.
Have no fear
…
I
’
m
here
…
Vi
and James
"James!" she says warmly.
"Hey...You
got my message..." he replies, drowsy with sleep.
"I
did. What's up?" she asks, direct.
He
stays silent. She caught him in the middle of the night, half asleep. This is
not how
je
wanted to deliver this news...
"James,
are you there? What
’
s
wrong?
”
she asks cautiously.
"Sorry
Vi, you woke me up, I just needed a few seconds..." he says, shaking himself
awake.
He
hears her exhale.
"Vi,
I've got news..." I start.
"What
sort of news? What do you mean?" she asks lightly, curious.
"About
Julian." he reply softly, barely emerging from his quiescent state.
She
feels her heart beat faster, and whispers,
"What
about him? Did something happen?" sudden panic transpiring in her voice.
"Actually,
it's not really about Julian but more about Marcus Brent..." he says
reassuringly.
"James,
what are you talking about?" she retorts, calmer.
"Well,
here's the deal. Marcus, Julian
’
s
business manager, is the one who pays my bills. He hired me to do this job, -
finding you -, for Julian. Now, it seems since I've seen Julian a few days
ago, he's been in some sort of funk he won't come out of
…
and Marcus is really worried about
him, so, he wants to speak with you to...
”
he tries to explain, words cascading
quickly as if it
’
d
be less painful if expedited.
"What?"
she shouts in the receiver.
I
knew she would be pissed....
"He
wants to speak with you." he says as calmly as he can.
"Why?"
she blurts. He can tell she is disturbed by this turn of events.
"To
tell you the truth, I'm not 100 % sure..." he answers. He doesn
’
t like this situation
anymore
than she does.
"James,
you have to tell me why. Why would he want to speak to me? I don't get it!
There's nothing between Julian and I!" her voice is rising.
"Well,
from what I gathered, that might be the problem." he pursue gently,
bracing himself for her reaction.
"What?!!!"
she seethes into the phone.
"Apparently
the man is miserable." he asserts.
She
is silent.
"Vi?"
"Hmm..."
she mumbles.
"Can
I give him your number?" he asks, encouraged, she hasn
’
t reacted as badly as he thought she
would.
"No
James, I need to think about this. You don't expect me to say yes, when I don't
even know if Julian and Ethan are still in touch! I'm sorry but...." she
declares in an agitated tone.
"Vi,
Marcus promised me he would not speak to Julian about you, he just wants to get
some answers from you..." he interrupts, trying to somewhat dispel her
fear.
"Answers?
What the hell are you telling me? I don't owe him any answers! Look James, none
of this makes sense!" she now screams, undeniably furious.
It
is his turn to be silent.
I
have to come clean.
'Vi...I..."
he hesitantly resume.
"What!"
she spouts, still irritated.
He
shuts up.
She
is evidently very upset.
I'll
have to tell Marcus this was a bad idea.
"Vi,
I'm sorry. Look, I'll speak to him. I'll get him to understand that he
can't have any contact with you..." he retreats.
"How
bad is he?" she says softly.
He clears his throat. He can feel her
worry over Julian
’
s
state.
I
have to come clean.
Instead,
he replies,
“
Not
good from what Marcus told me. Actually, I know for a fact he's pretty bad.
When I left him Monday night, I thought he would have a seizure..."
"How
can this be? Just because you told him I wasn't interested?" she
questions, clearly puzzled by the news.
"No,"
he replies, clearing his throat again. He
’
s uncomfortable.
"What
do you mean,
‘
no
’
? James, what did you tell him?" her
voice is showing upset, once again.
"I
didn't tell him anything. You did." he reply steadily, knowing she will be
confused.
"What?"
she exhales, "What do you mean I did? I...."
There
is a knock on her door. It
’
s
loud. He heard it, and he
’
s
wondering who
’
s
interrupting them.
"James,
hold on a sec, someone's at the door..." he hears her fumbling.
She
opens the door, almost dropping the phone when she see who is standing there,
but instead utters slowly:
"James,
I'm gonna call you right back."
The
call is disconnected before he can even react.
((~~!~~))
Vi
and Lily
"
Holà
mami
!
[2]
" She says, smiling.
"
Holà
chica
! OMG! I can't believe
you're here! And look at you! All kinds of sexy..." I reply, my breath catching
with the sight in front of me.
"Well,
you know me..." she waives her hand.
"Lil,
I am so happy to see you I could burst!" I say, smiling ear to ear.
"Well,
if you do, please do it far away from my Italian silk blouse!" she steps
back, grinning widely.
"Bitch!"
I retort, not quite believing she is here.
"That's
my girl! So, what's up? Are we going to the bar for Mai
Tais
,
or what?" she asks as she is walking into my room.
"Lil!
It's 1:00 p.m.! Besides, I can't. I have a situation...A phone call to make..."
I say, contrite.
"A
situation?" she repeats, eyebrows raised.
"Yes,"
I relent, and spent the next twenty minutes explaining to Lily who James is and
the predicament I am now in. Lily tells me to call him back, and put
it on speaker without telling him, so she can assess what can be done.
God,
I am so glad she is here!
"Hey,
me again!" I say to the phone, but giving her a glance.
"Hey,
I..." he replies.
"So,
you were saying, I said something to Julian...What did you mean? I wasn't there
James, you were..." I cut him, my eyebrows arched as I question him and
stare at the phone intensely.
"Vi?
Promise me you won't be too angry..." he starts in a low voice.
I
shoot a look at Lily; her eyebrows are raised too.
"Angry?
James, just tell me what you told him!" I say impatiently.
"I
didn't tell him anything. I used your voice to tell him you weren't
interested..." he slowly announces.
"You
used my voice? But how?" I ask, not quite understanding what he is saying.
Lily
suddenly exclaims, "Son of a bitch!
”
while I clear my throat loudly to
mask her voice.
James
says worriedly, "Is someone with you?"
I
reply, "No, it's the TV, but James, how did you get my voice? What do you
mean you used it?" My brain is starting to understand what he has said,
and I can feel anger rise in me. I am just waiting for him to confirm.
Lily
has pulled her cigarette case, and is making hand signs indicating how furious
she is.
"I...I
recorded you" he admits in a whisper.
I
am silent, waiting.
"I
recorded you and then, I edited it and made it sound like you wanted nothing to
do with him for various reasons. I only did it so he would back off. I knew
this would pretty much destroy him, and he would leave you alone! Vi, I
promise you, I only did..." he rushes.
"Stop." I
feel cold rage brewing inside me, and I deeply inhale. I don
’
t want to completely lose it.
There
is a long and tense silence. Lily whispers a few words to my ear. I nod,
and directing my voice at the phone, I proceed with:
"So
you made Julian listen to my voice, and he's been in this funk you mentioned
before
…
and
now Marcus wants to speak to me. Do I have this right?" I summarize
with a coolness I don
’
t
truly feel.
"Yes,"
he ascents, and I know from his tone, he is sad.
"Ok.
James. What did you tell Marcus about me?" I ask, trying to remove any
harshness from my voice. I like James, consider him as a friend even, I can
’
t let my anger at what he
’
s done overwhelm me.
"Nothing
at all, he doesn't even know your full name," he replies, honestly.
"So,
he just wants a friendly chat so he can help out his friend, is that it?"
I ask, a smile creeping in my voice as I observe Lily
’
s face, and it seems we have the same
idea.
"I
think so...But..." James starts, hesitation in his tone.
"It's
fine. Give him my number, and tell him to call tomorrow." I say calmly,
holding Lily
’
s
hand tightly.
"Oh?...Ok.
Are you sure?" James
’
s
tone undoubtedly denotes he is confused by my turnaround.
"Yes.
Give it to him." I repeat strongly.
"Vi?"
James says tentatively, his discomfort still palpable.
"Yes?"
I ask, feeling totally relaxed.
"I
haven't said anything to him or anyone, and he promised me, whatever you tell
him, he won't tell Julian..." he adds reassuringly.
"It's
fine...I can handle Marcus Brent" I reply, carefree, while I return Lily's
smile.
"You
seem awfully cool about this...I know you are angry..." he states in a
dubious tone.
"James,
don't worry, I'm cool, you on the other end..." I respond with an edge.
"I'm
sorry, I'll make it up to you." he promises.