Unleash Me, Vol. 1 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) (27 page)

And I was protective of his feelings.

“
Anyway,
”
I
said when the waltz ended.
 
“
That was lovely.
 
I haven
’
t danced in years.
 
Thank you.
”

“
But
you haven
’
t
answered my question.
”

We walked off the dance floor and
into the crowd.
 
“
That
’
s because I don
’
t intend to.
”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

After Marco had another martini, he
decided it was time to meet Julian West, who was talking with a small group of
people on the other side of the room.
 

“
I
’
ve got this,
”
Boss
said when he dipped his head toward my ear.
 
“
Just say hello to him, be charming, and let me lead the
conversation.
”

“
What
are we
—
back
in the Victorian era?
 
Or
worse?
 
Back before women had the
right to vote and speak their own minds?
”

“
That
’
s not what I meant.
”

“
I
have to wonder.
”

“
I
have experience at this,
”
he
said.
 
“
We want a movie
deal.
 
I
’
m simply asking you to
let me lead the conversation so that we get what we want.
 
That
’
s all.
 
I meant
no offense, Lisa.
”

I lifted my chin at him.
 
“
Are you nervous about meeting him?
”

“
I
’
ve met him
before.
 
Why would I be nervous?
”

“
Because
of the sheer amount of liquid courage you
’
ve consumed.
”

“
What
do you mean?
”

“
You
’
ve had three martinis
in the last forty-five minutes.
 
That
’
s
like, nine shots of vodka.
 
I know
you
’
re
preternaturally huge and everything, and can probably soak up more booze than
most.
 
But I want to make sure that
you
’
re
able to make some sort of sense when you
‘
lead the conversation.
’”

“
I
can assure you that I
’
m
fine.
”

“
I
hope that you are.
 
But don
’
t expect me to play
the wallflower, Marco.
 
It
’
s not my scene.
 
I wrote the book.
 
I may have sold world publication rights
to Wenn, but I was smart enough to retain my movie rights.
 
If Mr. West wants to ask me anything
about my book, I plan to answer him because I have the right to.
 
You should know that.
”

“
Then
can I ask you to keep your answers as general as possible?
”

“
How
can I do that if he asks me something specific?
”
 
I
screwed up my face at him.
 
“
And why would you ask
me to do that?
 
What are you up
to?
 
Why should I keep things
‘
general
’
?
 
My book has specific details he might
want to discuss with me.
”

He didn
’
t respond.
 
Instead, he looked up and said,
“
West just nodded at us.
 
Allow me to make the introductions.
”

“
You
’
re up to something,
”
I
said.

“
Sorry.
 
I
’
m not.
”

At that point, I had no choice but to
let it go and shake off the distrust I felt toward Marco as we moved
forward.
 
I needed to be less
concerned about Boss and more concerned about just being myself.
 
My career depended on it.
 

When we approached West, I had to
admire him.
 
He was a fit,
good-looking man somewhere in his late forties with a head of thick, unruly
dark hair that was a tangle of curls.
 
He had intense blue eyes framed by rectangular glasses, and while he
wasn
’
t
as tall as Marco, he was only a few inches shy.
 

Standing next to them, I felt like a
dwarf.

“
Julian,
”
Marco
said, extending his hand to shake West
’
s.
 
“
Good to see you.
”

“
And
you, Marco,
”
West
said.
 
“
It
’
s been what?
 
A year?
”

“
Something
like that.
”

He looked at me with raised
eyebrows.
 
“
He gets taller every
time I see him, but I
’
m
older than he is.
 
Maybe I
’
m at that point in my
life when I
’
m
starting to shrink.
”

I laughed at that.

He smiled at me.
 
Coupled with his dimples, it was a
disarming smile.
 

“
I
presume you
’
re
Lisa Ward?
”

“
Guilty,
”
I
said.

“
Then
it
’
s
an honor.
”

“
I
have to say the same.
 
And happy
birthday.
”

“
Thank
you.
”

“
OK,
so I
’
m
going to go all fangirl on you now.
”

“
Please
do.
”

“
I
love your movies.
”

“
I
appreciate that.
 
And now I have to
ask
—
what
’
s your favorite?
”

“
Easy.
 
Your remake of
‘
Dawn of the Dead.
’
 
It was brilliant
—
a
total reinvention of a classic, only charged to the nines.
 
That movie was pure adrenaline.
”

“
I
also liked how that movie turned out
—
probably because I was allowed more
control over the final edit at that point in my career.
 
So, now
—
the hard part.
 
The real challenge.
 
If I
’
m going to ask you what your favorite movie of mine is,
then I need a dose of humility.
 
Which movie do you consider my worst?
”

“
Oh,
come on.
 
That
’
s so not fair.
”

“
No,
no.
 
It is fair.
 
Which is the worst?
 
Let
’
s see if we agree.
 
I don
’
t
like them all, you know?
 
In my
early career, it was the studios that had the final cut and the finished
product was out of my hands, which just about killed me.
 
Which one didn
’
t you like?
”

“
Ugh
—
I
don
’
t
want to say.
”

“
Just
say it.
”

“
Fine.
 
I didn
’
t like
‘
World
Unbound.
’”

“
Why?
”

“
It
was choppy.
 
Your later work is so
smooth and ridiculously energetic.
 
I saw
‘
Unbound
’
years
after I saw your newer movies.
 
After seeing them, I went back to your older stuff.
 
But I didn
’
t see much of a connection to what you
’
re doing now.
 
That especially goes for
‘
Unbound
’
.
”
 
I winced when I said that.
 
“
Sorry
…
.
”

“
Don
’
t be
—
I
agree.
 
I was thirty-one when I made
that movie.
 
I had zero control over
it.
 
The studio fucking ruined
it.
 
One day, I
’
ll show you my cut of
it.
 
It
’
s completely
different.
”

“
I
’
d love to see it.
”

“
And
I appreciate your honesty
—
not
many people take me up on
that
little challenge.
 
I try it on everyone, but most decline
—
Hollywood
is nothing if not a groundswell of faux positivity, which I hate because you
never know who
’
s
bullshitting you in case they need you later in their career.
 
But you told me the truth.
 
So, now I know that I can expect that of
you.
 
Nice.
”

“
All
right,
”
I
said.
 
“
Quid pro quo.
 
What did you think of my book?
 
Gloves off.
 
Have at it.
 
I can take it.
”

 
“
Actually, I loved it,
”
he
said.
 
“
That
’
s why I asked to meet
you tonight.
 
I
’
ve been telling
everyone about it for the past three weeks.
 
In fact, several producers and actors
here tonight will have read it by week
’
s end.
 
They
know you
’
re
here.
 
Have any come up to you?
”

“
Not
yet.
”

“
They
will.
 
I
’
m already shopping you
around for my own good.
 
It
’
s a fabulous book.
”

I couldn
’
t believe he was
saying this to me.
 
“
Thank you.
”

“
No,
thank you.
 
And by the way, good
going on the ad in today
’
s
Times
and the placement in Times Square.
 
Diamonds on your lips
—
I
haven
’
t
seen anyone pull off that before.
 
And you did pull it off.
 
Better yet, it will get people talking about you, which is key.
 
But that
’
s exactly what you wanted, wasn
’
t it?
 
Has anyone recognized you tonight?
”