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“I guess. A movie where I can keep my clothes on and not wear tights. Something gritty that challenges me.”
Len links his fingers together on his desk and looks at me. “Look, Xander, you’re an excellent actor, one of the best in the business, but those roles are not for you.”
“I disagree.”
He sighs. “Fine, I’ll have a look and put out some feelers from some scripts that might fit that bill.”
“Thank you.”
I’m pretty sure he’s just playing lip service at this point but it’s a start.
“Now, what happened at that ridiculous auction you got roped into? Do I need to extract you from a social media shitstorm?”
That is unfair, I’ve never caused Len a second of problems and his suggesting I have is irritating. “No, I raised some money and I just need to arrange a suitable date to take the winner on.”
I smile at the thought of a date with Amelia. I want to wow her, to show her how special she is, and I might need some help with that. I make a mental note to call my sister when I leave. I could call Beck but fuck if I’m going to give him a chance to warn me off again. I picture him as he was Saturday night, his hand fisted in my hair as I drank him down, and shift in my seat as my pants become tight around the crotch.
“Who is it? Anyone I should be concerned about? You can never tell these days, Xander. All these girls running around shouting ‘Me Too’ and how they’ve been harassed when it’s just business. I don’t want you getting caught out.”
I sit up abruptly at his words, affronted on so many levels by that statement. “That statement is so disrespectful I don’t know where to start. Women wouldn’t have to go around, as you put it, shouting ‘me too’ if men weren’t such arrogant misogynistic pricks who sexually assaulted and harassed them. Secondly, I would never touch a woman without her express consent and lastly, this is not my first rodeo, Len. I know not to put myself in a position where I have to defend myself against baseless accusations.”
I’m no fool. I know it happens to both male and female actors where they’re accused of things they haven’t done so they can be extorted.
“Fine, whatever but you know what I meant. Now give me a name.”
I don’t know why but I don’t want Len to have Amelia’s name. I don’t want her to be touched by this in any way, but I know he’ll hound me relentlessly until I give it to him or he gets someone to find out. Len is a fucking rottweiler when he wants to be. It’s what makes him a good manager but can also be a pain in the ass. “Amelia Stone.”
I watch him lean forward and speak into his intercom. “Emma, can you get me everything we know about Amelia Stone.”
“She lives in New York?”
I nod once and try not to give away how much I want him to leave her alone. The bigger my reaction, the more he will get involved.
“Lives here in New York.”
“Age?”
I hear Emma’s bored voice on the line and can see her bitchy face trying to look annoyed.
“Around my age, I guess.”
“Fine. Give me ten minutes.”
Emma is not good at much but if you give her a target for a social media deep dive then she’s worse than the father of a teenage daughter on prom night. Nothing gets past her.
“So, what else do you have for me?”
Len passes a list on a sheet of paper toward me. He’s old school, still liking paper. A bit like my brother-in-law, Harrison. “What’s this?”
I lift the paper and see a list of women’s names, most are familiar, a few I’ve ‘dated’, and some I haven’t heard of.
“A list of potential dates to the Adler’s charity ball next month.”
My brow furrows and I push the list away. “I haven’t decided if I’m going but if I do, I can get my own date.”
Len grits his jaw and I can tell he doesn’t like me telling him no, but it’s time I started to take more control of things. He’s had free rein for far too long.
“Fine, but I need to know by next week. The Adlers are huge investors in EGA and we can’t afford to upset them right now.”
