Page 24 of Heavy Shot

"He'll definitely call you before the week is out," Roland added. "Maybe before you get back to your table."

Jill laughed bemusedly and excused herself. "I was just leaving, so he’ll have to turn back time to do that.”

“If I could turn back time, I’d have called you a lot sooner,” Kline said, rising to his feet to give her an actual hug. “A lot sooner.”

August, clearing his throat just feet away drew Kline’s attention up from where he had whispered the words into Jill’s ear.

“Are you coming, Darling?” August asked, the testy voice coming from a placid face. “The valet’s got the car already.”

Roland popped up from his seat like a prairie dog and pounced, offering his hand to August. “Roland Davies! Pleased to meet you. Listen, I was just asking Miss Parker if I could get fifteen minutes of her time. Kline will be glad to drive her home if you have to run.”

Kline looked down at Jill who was wearing an expression of bewilderment that had to match his own, but he recovered quickly and said, “Yeah, I will see Jill home safely if you need to get on your way.” Over August’s shoulder, a tall, wispy young woman was watching with a face that actually matched August’s voice. “Is that your date waiting for you?”

“I’ll be fine, Gus. August.” Jill said.

“I guess you just want me to bring your shopping round to you tomorrow?” His eyes narrowed and Jill sighed.

“No, silly. I’ll come over and pick everything up. You’re my Svengali, not my servant. I, I am your humble servant.” Kline watched as the warmth in her tone and her glittering good humor worked the tension from August’s shoulders until he rolled his eyes and smiled.

“Fine. But call first. I don’t get up before noon.”

“Noon?” Roland was back in action with a stream of words, navigating August toward the front door using the handshake he’d never disengaged as a lever. “Man, that’s a nice life! How do you do that? What’s your line of business?”

“Wow,” Jill said, as Kline pulled out a chair for her to sit. “He’s good. Is that how he negotiates your deals?”

“The studio never sees him coming. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want. I can call you a car?”

“Do you want me to go?” She looked stricken.

“No! Not at all. No. I’m–I meant what I said. I’d have called you a long time ago.”

She relaxed into those words and thanked a waiter who brought her a water and asked for her order. “Just the water, thank you.”

They had a moment of awkward silence before Roland returned. “That was August Hall. He did the costumes on that art piece Susan Sarandon did two years ago. You know him, Kline?”

“Yeah. He, Jilly, and I came up together.”

“And Jill Parker,” Roland turned his toothy smile to her. “Thanks for letting us steal you.”

“I’ve been in LA for three weeks,” she said, “and I haven’t sat down at a table with anyone who wasn’t August, his girlfriend, or my team. How could I resist?”

Kline sat back and watched Roland work his brand of charm. He was brash and rough around the edges, and a couple of times he thought his manager’s words might snag on Jill’s delicate sensibilities, but she just chuckled and leaned forward into Roland’s monologue. Kline realized Roland was pitching her and he groaned. “I’ll be right back,” he said, going for the toilet.

He did his business, washed his hands, washed them again, then ran his damp fingers through his hair, trying to get the front to fall the way he wanted. It was making too much of an m shape and he felt like badly drawn anime, so he flipped it to a messy side part, scrunched up the curl, then headed back to the table.

When he returned, Jill had pulled her chair closer to Roland. She was sitting with her legs crossed, a dangerous-looking shoe dangling from the tip of her toes as she leaned in to see something on Roland’s phone, and when she spoke, Roland looked up surprised. She shrugged and laughed, then scooted her chair back to its place and started talking again, laying her hands palm up on the table.

“I want to retire,” she was saying. “Five years and retirement. Six tops. But that’s where I want to be financially before I retire. I can’t do that in New York. I can’t do that in television. So I’m hoping the deal with Devil’s Party opens the doors I need. I don’t feel like Michael and Royce are on board with that vision.

“It seems like they’re either only willing, or maybe only able to get me into smaller auditions, but I’m not just some ingenue. I have three Tony awards. I open successful shows on Broadway. I have multiplatinum records. It’s just a matter of getting me in front of the right people. I’m bankable.”

Kline sat down as Roland hummed.

"Nice," he said. "You take yourself seriously as a commodity. I like that."

"I know what I’m worth. I’ve got the experience and the drive. and I know how to work press. I can bring box office. I know what I want and I'm not afraid of working to get it. But I need to work smarter, not harder if I want to get out."

"Why do you want to retire so early?" Roland asked, leaning back, cutting into the steak he was eating.

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