I watched engrossed as a younger Tori, playing a character named Marie, returned to a small town to bury her mother. Her story, told through a series of flashbacks, showed a difficult relationship with her alcoholic mother. After a hard childhood, she went to college on a scholarship and became a successful businesswoman who only had intermittent contact with her mother. It was only after her mother died that Marie realizedhow much her mother loved her and how much she’d missed by not having a relationship with her, despite her addiction.
By the time the movie was halfway done, I was crying. When Tori saw the tears falling down my cheeks, she put her arm around me and I snuggled into her side, sniffling as I watched the rest of the movie.
“That was…” I turned to face Tori, wanting her to see the truth in my words. “That was your best movie ever.”
She frowned. “You said you never saw any of my movies.”
“I haven’t. But there’s no waySusie Sniperor any of your other films can possibly be that good.”
We were both quiet as the credits rolled, then I asked the question that had been in my head the entire movie.
“If this is the movie you love, why aren’t you making more like this?” I asked.
She’d talked a little about her other films since I met her yesterday, and she hadn’t sounded the least bit excited about any of them. Not the way she was about the movie we’d just watched.
“That movie made very little money,” she said. “I worked for scale.”
At my blank look she added, “It’s like minimum wage for actors. But I did it because I wanted this story to be told. And I knew my name being attached to it would ensure that it got the visibility it deserved.”
“Don’t you have a lot of money?” I asked. “I assume as famous as you say you are, you must command a high salary.”
“I’m a multi-millionaire,” she said, as if it was nothing.
“So you don’t really need to do any more blockbuster movies to survive?”
She shrugged, looking the slightest bit embarrassed now. “I could live comfortably on my investments and residuals for the rest of my life.”
“Then why don’t you do that? Then you can use your time to perform in the movies you like, movies that matter. Like this one.”
Tori
Istared at Hailey, my mind racing. Literally no one in my life, not even Pepper, had ever encouraged me to make less money. To focus on something that brought me joy, instead of something that made me richer. It was like the possibility had never occurred to me, but now that Hailey brought it up, I could feel the rightness of it.
But would I have the courage to give up the life I knew to do something else? What about all the people who relied on me for their own livelihoods? I employed a lot of people who provided me support from security to publicists to stylists. Most of them would be out of a job if I wasn’t an A lister anymore.
Hailey got up, gathering the half empty takeout containers, and I trailed behind her, automatically helping her clean up. I cringed when I thought about the way when I was at my house I’d justleave stuff laying around for the housekeeper to deal with. Here, being domestic, pitching in, came naturally.
“I’ll take the projector back in the morning,” she said. “They won’t need it before then.”
When Hailey turned around, I was right behind her. She inhaled sharply, the movement lifting her generous breasts. Dropping the takeout containers on the counter beside us, I slid my arms around her waist and pulled her close.
“I had a good day with you today,” I whispered, pressing my forehead against hers. “Quite possibly the best day I’ve ever had.”
“You started the day suffering from lactose intolerance,” she reminded me.
“It only got better from there.”
We stared at each other for several breaths before I spoke again. “I have a confession to make.”
“What?” She sounded out of breath.
“I want to fuck you so much I can hardly breathe.”
Her eyes widened slightly, then darkened.
“What if I tell you that I want to fuck you too?” she asked saucily.
“Then I think maybe we have a plan for the rest of the night.”
