Authors: Andrew Hess
“No, I want it.”
“Good. Now head up to your room and get cleaned up.”
All three rooms were on the same floor, only a few doors separated them which meant they had easy access to drag him out to the bars, and he knew they would.
He entered the room to find a king sized bed waiting for him. His window had an amazing view of the city streets, figuring it would only look better once the night settled in. It reminded him of his room in Vegas, not with all the glitz and glamour, but with how something so simple could make him feel like a million bucks.
There wasn’t much Evan could do. He didn’t pack any clothes or anything to get cleaned up with. He felt foolish to think he would just show up in Albany, walk right into the meeting, sign a deal, and head back home.
A simple knock on the door changed that. A messenger stood in the hall holding a garment bag. “Excuse me. Are you Mr. Taylor?”
“Uh yeah.” Evan was more confused than he had when Audrey handed him the room key. “Can I help you?”
“This is for you.” He handed Evan the garment bag and held a tablet. “I just need you to sign here with your finger.” Evan did as instructed, still wondering who sent him the bag. “Perfect, have a good day.”
Evan closed the door and turned to the bags. Inside were two suits, one was navy blue with a gold tie with the tag meeting. The other was a black suit with a red tie marked dinner. Figuring this was a gift or something setup by Waters, Evan decided it was best to jump in the shower to clean up.
An hour later, Evan was dressed to the nine’s in a navy blue Armani suit. Filled with more confidence than he ever had, Evan decided to leave for the meeting. Opening the door, he found Audrey approaching in thigh length skirt, four inch Louboutin shoes, and blazer that still allowed her to show off some cleavage.
“Well, don’t you look handsome.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Evan replied.
“Are you ready for the meeting?”
Evan glanced down at himself, straightened his tie and buttoned the coat. “Now I’m ready.”
They traveled down to the lobby and found the room Mr. Davidson specified in the directions he left at the front desk for Audrey. Entering the room, Evan saw three men sitting at a table. By process of elimination, he believed the man in the middle was the producer. The other two had to be security or a lawyer or someone that worked for him.
“Ms. Stone,” the man in the middle said. His eyes lit up with delight. “It feels like forever since I saw you.” They kissed on both cheeks as they greeted each other.
Audrey stepped aside and waved Evan forward. “This is my latest success and the author I was telling you about.” She placed a hand behind Evan’s back. “Mr. Davidson, I’d like to introduce you to Evan Taylor.”
Evan stepped closer to the man standing in front of him. Davidson was taller than he expected, six foot two or three if he estimated right.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Evan said as he extended his hand.
“Likewise.” He gestured to the cluster of chairs at the table and smiled. “Please, have a seat and let’s begin.” Once everyone was seated, Davidson took a drink of water before leaning forward in his chair. “Evan, I want to cut to the chase. Ms. Stone speaks very highly of you. She told me all about you and this book of yours. She said it was the best thing she’s read in a long time. Told me I’d be an idiot if I didn’t check it out.” He pulled out a copy from his briefcase and plopped it on the table. “I must say, I think her assessment was pretty accurate. Which is what I told her when she called me last week to schedule this meeting. Her powers of persuasion managed to get me to agree to the meeting.” Every word this man spoke, Evan listened to as if one missed syllable would cost him everything. “Now I know what Ms. Stone thinks of you, but I’d like to hear from you. Tell me your story. Who is Evan Taylor?”
This was it, his chance to wow the movie producer. He just didn’t know how to do it. Did he present himself as if he were doing a sales pitch, or did he speak from the heart? Did he want Evan’s full story, or a brief synopsis of the last couple of years?
“When I was in college, I had a choice to make. I could study hard and be what everyone else wanted me to be, or I could take the thing I loved the most and pursue it to its fullest extent. For a while, I thought I would be just like every other college kid and do everything I was supposed to do. Then I ran into an author whose books I was obsessed with. He told me how hard life as writer would be, but also how rewarding it could potentially be. But at the end of the day, you either wrote for the love of writing or you did it for the money. I chose to be passionate about my writing. It’s brought me this far, and I feel it translates through my characters and stories.”
He could feel every eye in the room staring at him. They hung on every word he spoke. Some may have found his speech admirable. He knew Audrey and Mr. Waters probably wanted to strangle him. The twinkle in Mr. Davidson’s eye told a different story.
“Do you know why I decided to be a movie producer, Evan?”
“No sir.”
“When I was in high school, I used to borrow my dad’s video camera and shoot everything. It didn’t matter if it was my friends doing something stupid, or a video of birds flying. I loved making videos and wanted to incorporate that throughout my life. I was part of the A.V. club at school, and went to college for it all while making my own independent films.”
Evan understood what Mr. Davidson was saying. They were two men cut from the same cloth. They had dreams of carrying out their lives by doing what they loved whether it made them money or not. It was the same lesson P.J. Anderson tried to teach him years ago when he met him at the school library.
One of the men to Davidson’s side leaned in close and whispered something in his ear. “I apologize, but I do have some business to attend to.”
That was it? I traveled all the way from the city to Albany to tell this guy my story, hear his and be dismissed?
“Are you sure,” Audrey interrupted.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I have a conference call in a few minutes, and another meeting at four.” He looked at Audrey, then to Evan. “What are you doing for dinner tonight?”
Business formal was not the way Evan liked doing business. Sitting in the chair, he felt like everything he did was under intense scrutiny. “I don’t know. My schedule is booked pretty solid,” Evan joked. “I mean, there’s room service, and a mini bar, and a big screen T.V.” He saw the horrified looks on Mr. Waters and Audrey’s faces, but that was nothing compared to the smirk on Mr. Davidson’s. “I’m kidding, sir. It would be an honor to have dinner with you.”
“Perfect. I’ll have Jonathan text Audrey the details.” Davidson stood up and shook Evan’s hand sternly. In that moment, Evan knew dinner was just a mere formality.
Sara waited until seven, with a fleeting hope Evan would arrive just in time to pick her up for the party. “Ten more minutes,” she kept telling herself. By a quarter after seven, she decided it was time to face her friends without Evan. Dressed in a short cranberry colored dress and black knee high boots, Sara grabbed her red and white Santa hat and walked out to her car.
The drive took an hour and a half. She would have made it in less time if she hadn’t let brief moments of tears ruin her makeup. Cars lined the block, letting Sara know all of her friends had arrived.
Taking a deep breath, Sara walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Every moment that passed felt like an agonizing stress over the barrage of questions her friends would ask. Part of her regretted getting in the car and driving there, but Julie would never forgive her for ditching their friends because Evan decided not to come.
Julie opened the door, posing in a green sweater and short black skirt. “Well it’s about time you showed up. What the hell took you so long?”
“I got stuck in traffic,” she lied while trying to hide the lingering red marks of her tears.
“Bullshit, you were waiting for him to get home.” Julie glanced behind Sara to see if anyone else was walking up from the street. “I’m guessing he no showed?”
“I haven’t heard from him in hours.”
“Screw him. All the girls are here. Let’s drink and have some fun.” The sound of a few male voices let Sara know some of the girls brought their boyfriends. “Don’t worry; if we go out, the guys can drive us home.”
Entering the house, Sara found two of her girlfriends curled up on the couch with their men. Yeah, they weren’t going out to any bars. One girl was dressed in a grey sweater that hung loose on her body. The other one wore black yoga pants and an oversized ice blue sweatshirt. They jumped to their feet when they saw Sara enter the living room.
“Oh my god, she is alive,” Tracie, the girl in the grey, said. She adjusted the black rimmed glasses and cleaned them. She walked up to Sara and poked her in the arm. “Damn and she’s real too.”
Brie, the girl in the blue, rushed over to hug Sara. “It’s been a long time girl. Where the hell you been hiding?”
“You know I moved to New York a while back.”
“Oh so you were serious about that,” Tracie said mockingly.
“Yeah, I met a guy that I was head over heels about.”
“And where is he tonight,” Brie asked.
“He’s at a business meeting in Albany,” Julie interrupted as she entered the living room with another girl name Mel who wore tight black pants, a white tank top and dark purple open button down shirt.
The girls turned on their heels and strode back to the couch to rejoin their men. “Our guys would never do something like that,” Tracie said as she curled up on her boyfriend’s lap.
“That’s because your men don’t have it in them to get a meeting with a movie producer.”
The girls stopped dead in their tracks and stared at Sara, waiting for her to confirm Julie’s statement. “He left this morning with his agent and publicist to work out some sort of deal with some producer. Evan’s hoping to get it signed tonight.”
“So does that mean you’re heading out to Hollywood,” Brie said with genuine interest.
“I honestly don’t know. I’m guessing it’s something that we’ll discuss when he gets back.”
Sara looked back at Julie and smiled, knowing her comment was instrumental in turning the whole night around for her. Instead of fielding questions about her relationship and why Evan wasn’t there, they were more interested in learning about her husband, what kind of writer he was, and what it was like to join him on tour. The pressure was off, allowing Sara to relax and be herself again.
The men grew tired of hearing about some guy they didn’t know or care about, and suggested hitting up the bar for a bit.
“Fine, but you guys are driving.”
“I don’t wanna go out looking like this,” Tracie pouted.
“Oh stop whining,” Brie said as she rolled off the couch. “At least you don’t look like you just walked off the set of Frozen.”
“So we’ll hit the old bar two miles from here instead of hitting the club tonight,” Mel said. “Although, I’d like to find me a holiday hottie that can fill my stockings with care.”
Julie wiggled her eyebrows at the idea. “I think that’s the best way to spread holiday cheer.”
Sara shook her head. If she knew the night was going to turn into another night at a bar or club, she would’ve stayed home and waited for Evan to return. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy her time with her friends. Sara just wanted to spend more time with Evan.
*******************************************************
Evan
Mr. Davidson and his entourage of men in business suits, stood closely at his side as they entered the restaurant. Evan turned in time to see them hovering near the entrance. He wondered if he should go in knowing Waters and Audrey had not arrived. If he went in without them, he would have a chance to make a bigger impression on Davidson, and maybe sign the deal without Waters dirtying the water of the negotiation process. On the other hand, going in without them could cost him the deal.
He waited until Davidson and his entourage were seated before moving closer to the entrance. His eyes nervously swept from side to side as his hand reached for the door.
“You weren’t thinking of going in there alone, were you?” It was Mr. Waters. The smell of his expensive cologne gave him away before he uttered a single word.
“No sir. I was making sure you weren’t already inside.”
Mr. Waters studied Evan’s face. Based on his smirk, Evan was sure liar had been tattooed across his forehead. “Good boy.”
What am I a dog? Do I sit, stay and beg on command?
Waters peeked through the glass doors and found Mr. Davidson sitting in the back facing the front of the restaurant. “I think I should go in first.” Waters grabbed the handle and walked in, but Evan refused to let Waters speak on his behalf without his attendance.
Evan slipped in behind Waters and followed him to the back table. Davidson stood to greet them both, but extended his hand to Evan first. “Gentlemen, it’s good to see you again.” Waters accepted Mr. Davidson’s greeting, but glared back at Evan. “It seems like we’re missing someone.”
“Ms. Stone will be down shortly,” Waters replied.
“Well then, I hope you all don’t mind, but I took the liberty of ordering some wine for the table.”
“No, not at all.” This time liar should’ve been written on Mr. Waters’ face. Evan knew how much Mr. Waters loved to order the wine. He was a connoisseur, and loved to show off how much he knew. Not having the chance to study the menu, he wouldn’t have time to prepare himself.
“So Evan,” Mr. Davidson said. “Where do you want to see yourself in the next five years?”
“I would like to put out a few more books, hit the best seller lists, and hopefully make a few movies.” It was a standard answer that most authors would give if they were asked that question by a movie producer.
“And if you turned one of your books into a movie, how much control and say would you want?”
This was what Davidson wanted to know. This was the tipping point in the balance of power. Ask for too much, and the offer is taken off the table. Ask for too little, and the producer, the production company and everyone else will step all over him. Evan thought about his potential answer, not knowing what would be considered too much or too little. Before he could answer, Mr. Waters decided to intervene.
“Mr. Taylor and I feel that…”
Davidson waved him off. “I’m not interested in what you have to say Mr. Waters. I would like to hear from the man I am interested in doing business with.”
It took everything within Evan not to give the biggest smile at Mr. Davidson’s remarks. Instead he took a sip of wine, cleared his throat and looked Mr. Davidson in the eyes.
“Sir, my book is my baby. I have worked on it for years, doing everything I can to perfect it. I would like to be a part of it becoming a movie.”
He leaned forward with interest. “What kind of role did you have in mind, Mr. Taylor?”
“I would like to be kept on as the screenplay writer, and that any script changes must be run by me.”
“That’s a pretty big role you wish to have, Mr. Taylor.”
“I understand that sir. I know Hollywood has hundreds of script writers and probably even more aspiring screenplay writers. However, I feel I know the story better than anyone. It was my vision, passion, and writing that has captured the reader’s attention. I would very much like to maintain that role in translating the words to the big screen.”
“Uh huh, and tell me how much do you expect to be paid for being such a role?”
Waters leaned forward as if he were about to interject himself into the conversation again. Davidson’s side glance warned him of the anger rising. His interference would be what caused the deal to fall through.
“I am only seeking what is fair. I am willing to be paid what a normal screenplay writer would be paid while they are working on a movie, as well as maintain the rights and royalties of my book.”
Davidson leaned back in his chair as his two cronies huddled around him. “You made some bold statements and are asking for quite a lot for your first time meeting with a movie producer.” He quirked an eyebrow while his fingers swirled his wine glass. “But I think we can work something out.” He stood up to shake Evan’s hand. “I will have my people send you and Ms. Stone the necessary paperwork to look over after the holiday. But for now, let’s celebrate.”
Davidson picked up his glass to toast their deal, but stopped as he stared at the ravishing dark haired woman strutting towards the table. Evan turned to see Audrey swaying her hips in her tight red cocktail dress. Every eye in the restaurant was locked on her toned, tanned legs that walked with purpose in her Jimmy Choo shoes. The dress hugged her curvaceous body, ensuring every man was focused on her assets.
Davidson hurried around the table to greet her. “Ms. Stone, we were just talking about you.”
“Good things I hope.”
“Only the best.” He held out a hand and twirled her around. “I must say you look absolutely breathtaking tonight.”
“I wanted to look my best for you.”
“Well, you are just in time to help us celebrate.”
“Oh, and what are we celebrating?”
“Evan and I have agreed to move forward with our negotiations and will be sending paperwork for him to sign on to do the movie.”
Audrey turned towards Evan. Her smile was seductive more than filled with joy. She leaned in, pulling him into a tight embrace. “I knew you could do it.,” she whispered.
“Come, let us sit and eat. Then we will celebrate even more.”
The rest of the night seemed to pass by in a blur. He knew dinner tasted amazing, and that the waiters kept bringing bottles of wine to the table. For the life of him, Evan couldn’t remember how many bottles they finished. Mr. Waters had turned in early. Evan figured it was because he was the odd man out in the deal. It felt like Mr. Davidson didn’t like Waters for some odd reason. It’s not like there was a shortage of reasons.
Mr. Davidson’s men urged him to leave as well, telling him they had a flight to catch in the morning. He tried to ignore them, but was finally convinced they needed to go. It left Evan and Audrey sitting alone at the bar.
“You want another drink,” she asked.
Remembering what happened the last time he refused to say no to a night of drinking, Evan decided it would be best to end the night. “Thanks, but I think I should be going too. I want to get back before Sara wakes up and realizes I’m not home yet.”
“Okay, wait for me. You can walk me back to my room.”
They entered the elevator and took it to their floor. Both drifted to the side as they walked, but Audrey curled her arms around Evan’s. They stopped at Audrey’s room as she searched her bag.
“You okay here,” Evan asked.
“No, I can’t find my room key.”
“Are you sure you took it with you?
“I thought I put it in my bag before I left.”