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Michelle in Yonkers - the Tease Olympics? That's a bit much, don't you think?
Here for your amusement, I present Chapter Four!
Disclaimer: Everything we've portrayed in Jesse Metcalfe in this chapter is completely fictional and is not meant to slander the guy in any way.
Chapter 4
The next day, Liz was doing what she called “the rounds” – driving around to various sets or locations in L.A. to check up on her clients; making sure they were happy with everything, and making sure the people they were working for and with were happy with her. It was the latter that proved to be most difficult at this moment.
“You’ve got to talk to him, Liz,” Will Laurence said in a low but firm voice. He was tall and lean, thirty-five years old, with sandy blonde hair and green eyes. “All he talks about is how his usual fee is more than the film’s entire budget, and why is he wasting his time doing a small film when he could be paid to make out with Eva Longoria. It’s only his second day on set, and he’s affected the attitude of the entire cast. He treats the crew like dirt, and we’re still only doing rehearsals! I mean, don’t get me wrong, Liz, I’m glad that he’s here on time and that the cops haven’t barged in and arrested him on my set, but his behavior is not only atrocious, it’s unprofessional. I want a professional, Liz.”
“You’re right, Will. I’ll talk to him,” and for the first time in a long while, Liz wasn’t just saying this to get Will off her back. Will may not do the biggest movies around, but he cared deeply about what he does and enjoys it in a way that few people did in Hollywood, and he wanted the people on his sets, from the stars to the caterers, to enjoy it, too. He was passionate and meticulous, sometimes harsh, but his love for his profession saturated every film he’d ever made. It was kind of sweet and endearing. Liz tended to fall on the cynical side, but Will was almost enough to make her think there was still some good in the industry.
Almost.
What Liz took more offense to was that not only was Jesse giving himself a poor reputation, but her as well, and her company by extension. After all, she’d been the one to send Jesse to Will in the first place, and he’d accepted the job, willingly by all appearances. Not only that, but Will was a personal friend, and Liz took it personally when her friends were treated so badly. Only she got to do that.
Preparing herself for all the threats and lies she’d probably have to make and tell, she knocked on his dressing room door.
“Yeah,” a voice called out from the other side. Liz turned the knob and walked in. The room was indeed small, much smaller than what she knew Jesse was used to. It was shaped like a shoe-box, with mirrors and lights along one wall and a panel that ran the length of the wall that served as a make-up table, and a small stool to sit at. A black wooden folding screen was at the back of the wall. The room smelled of a gross aftershave, sweat and pancake make-up. A half-consumed water bottle, three cell phones, several open magazines and endless photos lay strewn on top of the make-up table.
On the floor sat Jesse, feet flat on the floor and knees pointed towards the ceiling. A lit cigarette hung from two fingers on his right hand.
“It’s illegal to smoke inside a public building, Jesse.”
“Sue me,” he said, taking a drag and not meeting her gaze.
“What’s going on with you and this movie? I thought you wanted to do it.”
“I didn’t realize it’d be like
this, Liz.” Disgust was dripping from every word.
“Like what? It’s not as though you’re shooting a porno in the back of a minivan.”
“When I did ‘John Tucker’ I had my own trailer.”
“Yeah, and look how great that movie did at the box office.”
“This movie isn’t even going to make it to the box office!” He finally turned his head to look at her.
“Maybe not, but it’ll be seen by people a hell of a lot more serious about film than your average teenybopper. This is a chance for you to prove that you’re more than just a pretty face. So far, all you’ve had to do in your career is stand around, look pretty and deliver your lines on cue. If you want to be known for having even a modicum of talent, let alone class, you’d damned well better get your act together on this set.”
“So what, I should be grateful to be stuck out in Siberia for the next three months?”
If he’d been almost any other client, Liz probably would have asked if he even knew where Siberia was. But she knew he was relatively sharp. He’d gone to college and stayed long enough to get his degree, and even did some acting in student films while he was there. When she’d first met Jesse, he was down-to-earth and driven. Now, though, he was turning into what Liz, Maria and Kayelle called “nouveau Hollywood” – people who had only recently achieved mainstream success and were letting the stardom, money and fame go to their heads until they thought they were better than everyone else and started doing stupid things like ignoring their high school buddies when they ran into them in a bar or restaurant.
Liz didn’t begrudge Jesse his success, he worked hard and there was no denying the man was hot, if you were into actors. Which Liz wasn’t. Her one time walking in on Sean and one of his co-stars was more than enough to turn her off to actors for life. But when he started to treat her friends and (technically) his own boss badly, it was time to step in.
“Please, I’ve seen those student movies you did, you can’t tell me they were like this.”
“Yeah, but that was college. I’m twenty-seven, Liz. I thought I’d be done with this shit by now.”
Liz bit her tongue at the word “shit”, because if he was as smart as he claimed to be he’d realize that Will’s films were anything but. “Jesse, this is a good chance for you to do something besides strut around a set. You could do some real acting in this movie. Remember acting? Pretending to be somebody else and doing it so well that all of America believes it, too?”
Jesse rolled his eyes.
“You need to change your attitude, because no one here is impressed by it. You’re not a teenager anymore, so stop acting like one. Will’s been doing this since you were sneaking onto the playground with little Suzie from down the block, he knows what he’s doing. And he knows he doesn’t want someone on the set who makes everyone else feel like shit.”
“Liz, I’m doing
him the favor here. I’m the one carrying this whole thing.”
Liz tried to keep from laughing. “No, Jesse, you’re being an idiot. Will’s company and staff are a lot more experienced in this business than you are, and if this movie’s done well, it’ll be a big hit. Right now, you’re the one standing in the way of that.”
“Liz, look around! We’re in fucking Ontario! If this guy had any kind of clout, we’d at least be somewhere closer to fucking civilization.”
The words ‘says the boy from Connecticut’ came dangerously close to escaping from Liz’s mouth. Instead, she said, “Jesse, if you really believe that piece of shit you’re feeding yourself, then you’re nowhere near as savvy about this industry as you think.”
Jesse just laughed at that idea. Liz shook her head. As long as Vanilla Films had been around, they’d never put out a movie that hadn’t met with critical success. Liz knew that most of the actors, writers, directors and cinematographers had gotten offers from major studios, and some had accepted them and gone on to have good careers. Others preferred to stay in the independent film market, and those who stayed with Vanilla Films had never lacked for interesting projects or job satisfaction. Will made it his business to make sure the employees of his small company were always doing something they could be as passionate about as he was. He was highly respected in the industry, even if not always widely discussed.
“Okay, Jesse, here’s the deal. You’re the one who wanted to try to do something new. That’s what you told me after you did ‘John Tucker’. And you know what? This movie is it. So right now you need to get your head out of your ass and get your shit together. Your professional reputation is still volatile, and your critical rep is nonexistent. If you do this movie and do it well, you’ll be well on your way to having that box office pull you crave so badly. But I can guarantee you that if you fuck this up, you’ll be doing ‘John Tuckers’ until you’re too old for teenage girls to want to look at you anymore.”
Jesse took another long drag of his cigarette. Smoke wisped out of his mouth as he said, “Okay,” without turning is head to look at her.
“Good. Now put that damn thing out before you set off a fire alarm.” Jesse inhaled once more, then snuffed out the cigarette in a glass burner next to him. Liz stood up to leave and said, “I’ll see you soon.” She go no reaction from Jesse, however, and so she simply turned and walked out, knowing he’d almost certainly light another cigarette as soon as the door was closed. Spoiled nouveau Hollywood brat.
As she started to exit the sound stage, she saw Will’s familiar outline against the bright California sun. “If he gives you any more shit, let me know,” she said.
“Will do,” answered Will. They hugged, exchanged their goodbyes, and Liz continued to her car. As soon as she got in, she turned on the air conditioning. It was hot as hell here in the desert, and she still had to drive back to the city. She looked at the time and groaned – she’d be stuck in traffic on the ten for an eternity. She really, really needed a drink.
~*~*~*~*~
Max’s cell phone started to call out the tune of “Hanging Around” by the Counting Crows. He didn’t recognize the number, but it had a Los Angeles area code.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Max?”
“Yes?”
“This is Maria,” a loud and slightly frazzled-sounding woman’s voice called out from the other end of the line.
“Oh, hi, Maria. I was just about to leave to come and meet you.”
“Yeah, that’s actually why I was calling. My partner’s stuck in traffic out in Ontario and she asked me to check up on a couple of things for her. I’m so sorry to do this to you, but would you mind if we moved the meeting back until four?”
Max couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth at the mention of Maria’s partner – in spite of the fact that he’d seen her with her boyfriend last night. “Yeah, that works for me.”
“Thanks so much. I apologize for the short notice, but I’ve got some casting calls here that I want to start going over with you.”
She had some auditions for him to look at already? That had to be good, right? “That’s great! I’ll see you at four.”
“Thanks again.”
“Bye.”
“Later!” Maria’s cheery voice rang out before Max hung up the phone. Now with an extra few hours of free time, he decided to head over to Hollywood and check out Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the Walk of Fame. He knew it was stupid and touristy, but something about the constant stream of tourists up and down Hollywood Boulevard calmed his nerves.
~*~*~*~*~
Maria cursed under her breath as she made her way onto the Paramount lot, where one of Liz’s lesser known clients had a small role in a movie with Kate Bosworth. She was only going to be on the set probably this one day, since her role consisted of appearing in four scenes and delivering six lines, but it was a big gig for someone trying to break into Hollywood. Liz would be calling any clients who weren’t working today from her cell phone, and would go and see the bigger clients herself over the next few days. It sucked that Liz had to drag her ass all the way to Ontario, because traffic on the ten was a bitch and even on the best days you’d be looking at a ninety-minute commute at least, to drive less than sixty miles. Utterly ridiculous.
~*~*~*~*~
At five minutes till four, Max walked into the Boulevard Café on Wilshire and asked for a table for two. Since it was a beautiful day, he asked to be seated outside.
A couple of minutes later, Maria came swooping in to the gated-off patio of the café. “Max, hi!” she called as she approached. With large, grand gestures, she flung her purse and leather case to one side and shrugged of her jacket, hanging it over the back of the empty chair before sitting down. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
“No, not at all,” Max said politely.
“Thanks for meeting me, I know it’s later than we agreed, but there was some drama with my partner.”
“I thought you said she was stuck in traffic?” Max questioned. He could ask questions about the beautiful brunette with the attitude twice her size all day.
“She was, coming back from Ontario where she was dealing with this …” Maria grimaced as she said the word “client.”
“I get the impression that she doesn’t put up with much of that.”
“You got that right. Liz doesn’t let other people push her around, that’s for sure.” The waiter came and they placed their orders. Then Maria turned back to Max with her business face on. “So, shall we get to work?” She opened her leather case from where it sat and pulled out Max’s file with his headshots and resume, and another file full of casting calls. “Here are some of the auditions coming up for men in your age group with your physical characteristics …”
~*~*~*~*~
Liz had finally made it back to LA, and after checking on a few more of her higher-end clients, was on her way back to the office. Her thoughts were already on the phone calls she’d need to make from the office when she was stopped at a red light on Wilshire Boulevard and La Jolla, only a few blocks away. She was several cars back from the intersection. The Go-Gos were singing “Our Lips Are Sealed” on the radio. The sun was shining, and a cool breeze was coming in from the ocean. It was a perfect California moment.
Liz pushed the automatic buttons to roll the windows down. As the glass descended, she scanned the cars around her and the people in the cafes and stores along Wilshire. A smirk made its way to her face as her musings wandered to the small town she’d grown up in. Jersey couldn’t hold a candle to all this, she thought.
As her eyes focused on the Boulevard Café to her right, she saw Maria sitting at one of the outside tables. Liz could see her going over paperwork, probably casting calls and audition information. A new client, then. The guy she was with didn’t seem to be too shabby either, that is, if his front was anywhere near as delicious as his back was.
Good going, Maria, she thought.
Snapping out of her reverie, she turned her attention in front of her just in time to see the light change to green, and was flying off in an instant.
~*~*~*~*~
Liz could see before she even walked through the doors of Looker Agencies that Tess wasn’t at her desk.
Big fucking surprise there, she thought. What had her a little more worried was the look Kayelle had with the phone pressed against her ear. Whatever was going on in there, it wasn’t good.
Liz walked in, caught Kayelle’s eye, and merely furrowed her eyebrows a little to ask what was wrong. Knowing what it was she was asking, Kayelle lifted her fingers to the phone’s keypad. “Will, I’m gonna put you on hold for just a second,” and in the next instant a red light was flashing from the phone and Kayelle shifted the earpiece down without lowering the phone. “Jesse walked,” she said.
“What?! What do you mean? I just saw him! What the fuck do you mean, he walked?!”
“Apparently he walked out of his dressing room after you left and told he director that he was quitting, and then he walked out. No one’s seen him around the set since.”
“Ooooh, FUCK!” Liz screamed, running agonized fists through her hair. She clenched her jaw, her eyes wide with anger. Oooh, that Jesse wasn’t going to know what hit him when she got through with his mangled carcass ass. She got a hold of herself, though, and, shaking her head, she said curtly, “Transfer him to my line,” before marching into her office.
Before the door could close, Kayelle yelled, “Don’t kick the wall!” Her only response was the “bang” of the door closing with such force, Kayelle could swear the wall shook a little.
She quickly took Will off hold and told him Liz had just walked back into the office. A few seconds later, Liz’s line rang.
“Will, I apologize. I don’t know what that spoiled little brat’s fucking problem is.”
“I know you don’t, Liz, but this is the second guy I’ve gone through in less than two weeks. What’s going on here?” Will was a nice guy, and he’d never experienced a problem like this in his dealings with Liz and Maria before. But this was a tough business, even when you operated on a scale as small as Will did, and he couldn’t afford to waste his time.
“An insufficient client screening process would be my first guess,” answered Liz.
“I can’t go on like this much longer, Liz. The guy was on the set less than two days and he managed to make everyone feel miserable and insignificant. The director told me he made a speech before he left. A fucking speech, Liz! About how he was bigger and better than everyone else in the room put together and he was going to find a project more worthy of his time.”
Liz was livid, to put it mildly. Jesse should have given the film a fucking chance, because he could have been good in it. And if he really didn’t like it, there was a way to go about ending your work on a project, and that sure as hell wasn’t it. Not only that, but he’d blatantly lied to her when he’d agreed to get his head out of his ass and get to work. Maybe it was time to consider severing her company’s ties with Jesse. Looker Agencies was known as a pretty classy agency, and that was definitely not the impression that Jesse was giving out.
“Liz, I’m sorry, but I can’t deal with this shit,” Will said soberly. “If you can find someone else for me by the weekend, I’ll give them a chance for old time’s sake. But if not, … I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to look elsewhere.”
“You’re right, Will,” Liz replied just as grimly. This was the most serious conversation Will and Liz had ever had on a business matter. Usually it was a matter of one of them yelling while the other put up with it in good humor, but it had always maintained a light-hearted air that stemmed from their mutual friendship. Liz had supplied Will with a lot of actors and actresses over the last few years, some more famous than others, but none of them had ever behaved as repulsively as Jesse had today.
“I’ll talk to you later, Liz,” Will was evidently unwilling to continue the conversation.
“I’ll call you soon, Will,” was Liz’s response, with an implied promise of finding a much more suitable replacement soon.
After they hung up, Liz buzzed Kayelle over the intercom. “Kay, I need you to make a copy of our contract with Jesse Metcalfe, and then get me the number of our lawyers to see if there’s any grounds for nullification. Then I want every file we have for male actors ages twenty through twenty-nine. Mine
and Maria’s.”
“You got it,” Kayelle said quickly, understanding implicitly that this was not a time to try to break the tension.
The phone call to Jesse Liz made herself. When she got passed his voice mail message, she started hollering, “Jesse, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?! How dare you fucking avoid my calls after the way you acted today! You haven’t done yourself any favors by blowing Will off like that. Now get on the fucking phone before you find yourself without an agent.” She slammed the phone down without a goodbye.
As Kayelle brought in the photocopy of the contract, Liz’s cell beeped three times, indicating a new message. She reached for it and flipped it open and saw the words, “You have one new picture message from JM”. When she hit the “view” button, a picture of a hand flipping the bird popped up.
Liz just smiled. “Thank you, Jesse,” she said with a grin, “this is all the evidence I need.” She saved the image to her phone to show the lawyers, then flipped through the contract until she found the section she was looking for. She didn’t remember whose idea it had been to put something about appropriate business behavior in the contract, but she was glad it was there. At that moment, Liz found a new appreciation for civil contractual law.
~~~~
See you guys next Saturday!