Just a few blocks North of what I'll call "Burbank General Hospital" was an abandoned medical building that was slated for demolition three weeks hence. The next three days of the "Gun Butt" shoot was to take place in that rundown structure -- its interior doubling as the workplace of Robby's Dr. Kincaid character. Via police permits, Winnebago trailers took up every parking spot within a two-block radius of the cast and crew's new yet temporary home.
By the time Gloria arrived on the set at six-fifteen in the morning, Ciggy had already looked over the new contracts that Norman's people had prepared overnight. She was greeted by Norman, and the forlorn look on his face said it all.
"Ciggy wouldn't go for it," he said sadly.
"Why the hell not?" she said as her dreams seemed to crumble all around her.
"He said everybody gets something out of it but him," Norman explained. "I think he's jealous."
"Let me talk to him," she said.
"It won't do any good," Norman began to answer as Gloria blew by him.
Ciggy was sitting behind the reception desk, which he had turned into a makeshift office because he didn't want to lay out any additional cash for his own trailer.
"I'll pay for other people's egos," he had said. "Paying for mine is a waste of money."
Gloria sat down next to him and made her pitch. She explained that by paying Robby such an impressive salary, the Mammoth Agency would be emotionally invested in the picture. They would help Ciggy sell it at top dollar and give him access to all the top studio presidents. In essence, she said that the agency would represent the film the same way they represent actors or writers, taking ten per cent of the gross revenue.
Gloria thought he seemed impressed, and she held her breath as he mulled it over.
"Sounds good," he finally said. "But you can't make this deal," he said. "You're just a secretary."
"As of today, I am an agent, thank you very much," she said.
"Congratulations," he said. "But you still can't speak on behalf of the agency."
"Then I'll get you someone who can," she said confidently as she flipped open her cell phone, terrified because she really didn't know what Artie's answer would be.
Artie was fast asleep when his phone rang. Through blurry eyes he saw that it was six-something and could only assume the call was from one of his ex-wives who was unable to handle one of his children on her own.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" was how he answered instead of "hello."
Gloria spoke fast and told him everything. She was pretty sure he'd be impressed with the deal she got Robby, but she had no idea if he'd want to represent the film itself.
"You got Robby thirty grand?" he asked sleepily "not quite triple scale, but I think I can make your case for you."
"No," she corrected. "Three HUNDRED grand! All you've got to do is tell Ciggy we'll help him sell it."
"Shit," said Artie as he jumped out of his bed with glee. "Those fucks will never have the balls to question me ever again. Good girl, Gloria! I'm so fuckin' proud of you. What ever you need. Let's close this. Put him on."
Then Ciggy and Artie, who had never met but had distrusted each other for years, got on the phone and told each other exactly what they each wanted to hear. By the time they hung up, everyone was happy beyond belief.
Norman had suddenly quadrupled his ownership of the film without putting in an extra penny. The film only had to do decent business, and he'd be a real player.
Artie could take the deal and shove it up his rival's ass. Next to making money, there was no greater feeling in the world than that.
Ciggy didn't trust Artie to do much work for him, but all he needed was a foot in a studio president's door and he could do the rest on his own. Ten per cent was well worth the access he'd get because the top guys rarely look at indies, and never his. There was no telling how far it could go, and he only wished the script was better.
Savannah Jones would have been irked if she knew Robby was making so much more than he she was, but she was thrilled that she got the villain she wanted.
And Gloria's dream had come true. She was an agent at last. She knew Artie wouldn't screw her on this because he had no reason to. The deal made Artie look good, and rewarding her for it made him look even better. It was done.
So it was time to turn her attention to her next quest. She had made Robby's deal at the end of last night. By the end of this one, she wanted him as a client, and as a lover.
When Robby didn't show by call time, no one was overly concerned. But after twenty minutes, people were starting to get a little anxious. Gloria couldn't imagine a better excuse to do what she was going to do anyway.
"I'll call his house," she said as she dialed him up. "I'll see what's what."
"Hello," answered Trudy.
"Trudy, hi," Gloria began in her friendliest tone. "It's me, Gloria."
"Oh," Trudy responded coldly.
"I'm on the set and Robby's over twenty minutes late. What's going on?"
This was no surprise to Trudy, since she knew his plan, but she was surprised about something else entirely.
"You're on the set?" she asked. "Why you?"
"I'm just working for Artie," she innocently explained. "But I understand how you feel. It was poor judgment on his part to send me of all people to handle this."
"Yes, it was," she said.
"Yes, it was," Gloria repeated. "And I'll tell him so when I get back. But, listen, I just want to say I'm really sorry about yesterday. I said a lot of things that were just plain stupid, and I feel horrible because the whole mess was all my fault."
Trudy had believed Robby when he said nothing had happened between them, and she had always been a sucker for a sincere apology. She knew she was partially to blame for their catfight, and she had liked the girl for a brief moment.
"Well, I was not at my best, either," she offered.
"Nonsense," insisted Gloria. "He's your husband, for crying out loud. I had no right to say the things I did. Look, I've got to go -- be right there -- but I have so much to say to you, so much I want to apologize for. Are you free for lunch today?"
"I'm sorry, Gloria, it does sound lovely," she lied. "But I have so much shopping to do today. I've been putting it off and putting it off and if I don't--"
"Where do you shop?" asked Gloria.
"Um, the Laurel Center," answered a slightly thrown Trudy.
"I'll meet you at Juniper's Grill in the Laurel Center Mall at one," she said quickly. "Bye."
She hung up with no doubt in her mind that Trudy would be there at one. Then she noticed everyone staring at her as they waited for an answer as to Robby's whereabouts. It occurred to her that by so persistently pursuing her agenda with Trudy, she had forgotten to get an answer to the allegedly real reason she had phoned.
"She said he just left," she confidently told them.
Everyone was pissed at Robby for holding them up and costing them money, and they took it out on Gloria for being unable to control her client. Gloria defended the actor even though she was actually starting to worry. Thirty minutes later, Ciggy decided to move on and come back to Robby's scenes when and if he arrived. But how could any of them have known that Robby was at a deli having breakfast with me?
I had bagels, lox and cream cheese, he had scrambled eggs and sausage with plenty of ketchup on both, and it was one of the most amazing breakfasts of my life.
Not because of what he told me -- which was pretty much everything I've told you so far -- because I didn't quite believe him at the time. No way he walked out on Gloria, I thought. No way he so easily forgave his wife for cheating on him, and no way she forgave him for getting into my car with Gloria.
On top of that, his new scheme seemed preposterous and impossible to achieve. It was all about getting his acquittal on the front page just as his accusation had been, so he could be cleared of rape in the public's mind as much as in the court's. But it had to happen BEFORE the D.A. looked at the evidence and dropped the charges, and there was simply too much to do in such a short timeframe.
But what amazed me most about this breakfast was that all this was discussed before our food arrived. For the rest of the meal, we basically made small talk. Here's this guy accused of rape on a national scale, and all he wanted to do was chat about sports and movies. We laughed our asses off, he fought me for the check, and we walked down Ventura Boulevard to our cars.
That was it. He never asked me not to tell anyone, although I assumed he thought I could figure that one out on my own.
And I never did tell anyone till I started this e-novel. And that's only because, after what would eventually happen to Robby, I believe it's for his own good.
Robby arrived at the Van Nuys location two hours late, with gin on his breath. A flashing red light was spinning and whirling outside the abandoned hospital, indicating that shooting was in progress and no one should enter.
So he walked up the little stoop, swung the door open and shouted loudly and drunkenly, "Sorry I'm late, guys!"
"Cut!" yelled an angry Savannah. "Who the fuck said that?!"
Everyone moaned and glared at the man they knew would be the bane of their existence for the next three weeks because the wardrobe girl had informed them of his behavior at his fitting.
"Oh," Robby said, feigning error. "You were shooting. I'm sorry. But it looked like shit anyway."
"Reset!" shouted the assistant director. "We're going again!"
Savannah had always heard that actors are not too bright, so she assumed Robby's mistake to be a dumb yet honest one. She introduced herself to him and explained that they had to move ahead because they didn't know what had happened to him, and that they would come back to his scene later that morning. Robby was nice to her, as well, because he knew he'd have plenty of time to be a prick to her later.
Gloria quickly interrupted and pulled him away, so she could tell him about the great deal she got him and get him to sign the papers before somebody changed their minds.
Robby was impressed and insisted on knowing how she convinced them to give him so much when he had agreed to so little. She couldn't help but brag, and learned a valuable lesson. Never tell a client HOW you did it. Like Artie says, "It's not about YOU."
"But when the D.A. drops the charges," Robby said, concerned. "Norman's going to get screwed."
"Robby, Norman's a big boy," she said as he walked away from her.
"Norman!" he shouted as he approached his lawyer-producer. "Are you sure you're okay with this deal?"
"It's a good deal for you, Robby," he began before Robby interrupted.
"No, I'm talking about for you," he said. "Are you sure it's good for YOU?"
"Your concern is for me?"
This wasn't the first time in his life that Robby had put someone else's best interests before his own, and he always got a kick out of their confused reactions.
"In that case, Robby," Norman said. "It's a very good deal for me. Ultimately, I do the exact same work and end up owning significantly more of the film."
"Only if the case goes to trial," Robby said. "If it doesn't, I won't be paying you any legal fees. I'll keep the money, but you'll still have to invest three hundred thousand dollars of your own money into the movie. It's like I'd be stealing from you.
"Robby, we've been through this," Norman gently told him. "You're a famous actor accused of raping a child. It's going to trial."
"It won't," he said emphatically. "As soon as you guys look at the evidence--"
"I did look at it," he told him. "Last night after I dropped you off, I went to my office and looked at all of it. I had several lawyers I work with look at it, too, and we all came to the same conclusion. There is no way in hell you could have done this."
"And when the D.A. looks at it--"
"So I called her," Norman went on. "She had looked at it, as well, but she insists you had plenty of time to commit the rape because the time of the 911 call was mislogged, and she plans to call several experts to testify that they're often wrong."
"Are they?"
"I've never heard of such a thing," he said. "She'll also argue that the time of the car explosion is indefinite, and the police have already altered their arrival time. Logically, she doesn't have a prayer, but you never know what a jury's going to decide."
"What if you're wrong, Norman?" Robby pleaded, because he couldn't tell the man what he truly had in store. "Please, think this out. It'll be great for me, but it'll fuck you over."
Norman took a deep breath and said as sympathetically as he could, "This is going to trial, Robby, and you've got to start taking it seriously."
Norman expected the sudden slump in Robby's body posture as well as the deep sigh. He had given similar speeches like this before to clients in denial, and the reaction was always the same.
But what surprised him was that, for a brief moment, he could've sworn he saw Robby smile.
Robby might have erased the smile as soon as it appeared, but he still couldn't have been happier. He had all the time in the world to contact Lisa, and there was now nothing in the world that could stop his brilliantly sinister plan from taking place.
*** Up Next: "Lisa Discovered" ***
The main characters in this e-novel are fictional and are not intended to portray or resemble any actual individuals, whether living or dead (except for Jeff Abugov who is a real screenwriter, director and producer.) Although certain real people and companies are mentioned in this e-novel, all of the events are fictional and are not intended to portray or resemble any actual events.
Copyright © 2015 Tinseltrash, Inc.