“Shut up. And, yes, on occasion, I have.”
Knox holds up his hand. “Wait, I'm confused. You aren't banging her, but you're letting her drive it? You won't let me drive it! And I’m your friend!”
“You're a bad driver. You totaled your DB9.”
“Yeah, well that wasn't my fault.”
“Light post jumped out at him,” Dallas quips.
“Whatever,” Knox says, waving at Dallas. “Although, thanks for getting the ticket taken care of.”
“No problem,” Dallas replies.
Knox turns back to me and says, “So where is she driving it? Are you taking her out to the middle of nowhere where she can’t hurt anything?”
“She wanted us to road trip to my parents’ place in the Hamptons . . .”
“You can’t put that many miles on it!” Knox exclaims.
“I know. I know. Calm down. I figure we’ll go up north, maybe Sonoma. Hit a couple wineries or something.”
“Come to Aiden’s,” Dallas says. “I’ll be up there this weekend with the kids.”
“We’ll see.” I don’t want to commit to anything just yet. Hopefully, we’ll be busy banging somewhere.”
“I’m just saying,” Knox says. “If you haven’t banged her, she’s fair game. Wait until I put the old Knox charm on her.”
“Old, is right,” I say, teasing him.
“Oh, low fucking blow,” he says, picking up his coffee and looking across the hall to Keatyn’s office. “I’m making my move.”
Captive Films - Santa Monica
KEATYN
“Are you sure this is right for you?” I ask Jennifer. I’ve told her about the project, the time it will entail, and how it’s risky. And the fact that we want to pay her based on the gross of project rather than a standard upfront fee.
“You’re excited about it and so is Riley,” she states. “Tell me this, if the tables were turned, would you do it?”
“Well, yeah, but I’m . . .”
“A risk taker?” she says, finishing my sentence.
“In some ways. Doing the Trinity series hasn’t exactly been risky. And that’s paid for . . .” I stop. “I get what you’re saying. You made more than enough money to live off of from doing the Sector. You followed it up with two box office hits and an Academy Award. You can do whatever the hell you’d like.”
“Exactly! And I want to.”
“Awesome. I’ll have Dallas go over the contract with you. I know you are excited and so are we, but I want you to have your people read over the contract. Make sure they’re good with it.”
“I already told you I’m good with it and I trust you. Don’t make me regret it,” she says boldly.
“I don’t think you will.”
“Good!” She gets more comfortable on the couch, pulling her legs up and crossing them like a pretzel. “Now, we can gossip.”
“What do you want to gossip about?”
“Who do you picture playing Nathan, the guy my dad sets me up with? And what about the town bad boy, Jackson?”
“We have someone who’s really interested in the project.” I glance toward Knox sitting across the hall in Riley’s office. They’re having an animated discussion. More than likely it’s about sex, not work.
Jennifer follows my eyes and turns around. Then she starts bouncing on the couch. “Holy fucking shit, dude! Knox Daniels? Are you fucking kidding me? Please, please, let him play Nathan. Wait, which one do I sleep with?”
“You sleep with pretty much everyone.”
“Shit, that’s right. I’ll be emailing you my fantasy cast later today. I’m gonna have to sit on the deck, have a few beers, and dream a little. This is like the best role ever. I mean, I know sex scenes are awkward and shit, but still.”
I can’t help but laugh at her. She’s hilarious. “Knox is very interested in playing Nathan.”
“No shit?! That’s fucking nuts!” She uses her hands to muss up her hair. “Riley and I literally rolled off the couch, I brushed my teeth, and came here. So unprofessional of me. I shoulda got all done up. Am I going to meet him? Now? Today? Is that why he’s here?”
“When he heard you were interested, he told me he wanted in. He hasn’t even read the script yet. My first thought was that he’s too old, but then I realized it would be easy to change the script to accommodate his age. And he can play younger.”
Jennifer sits up straight, crosses her legs, and puts her hands in her lap, getting into the Angel character. “I think my daddy would be impressed by an older man that could provide for me, as long as he’s a churchgoing man.”
I laugh. “That’s exactly my thought. And I think people are going to love the bad boy, Jackson. It will make for an interesting love triangle.”
“Because I fall for the guy my daddy chose even though I think I want to marry the bad boy?”
“Exactly, and when the audience finds out that Nathan isn’t all that good—”