“Oh, yeah? About what?”
“You know fucking what.”
“I’m sure he’s just heard I’m working on the TWA merger and it’s just a pleasant opportunity to network.” I try to act like this isn’t a big deal by sitting back down and pretending to look at something important on my computer.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, Wyatt. Just call his office and set something up. Sooner rather than later.”
“Thanks, man.”
Jake and I spend the lunch hour together, but I can’t seem to concentrate once I’m back in the office.
I can’t stop thinking about Blair. More specifically, I can’t stop thinking about how much she believed in me and how her support made me feel invincible. I hate how I feel so resigned to my career, as opposed to the hope I once felt when I was with her. It wouldn’t surprise her that Ryan Cole wanted to meet with me. Why am I so surprised by it?
My father made a convincing argument that I was being led by lust and I couldn’t trust an eighteen-year-old girl to guide my decisions around my future.
His logic made sense, and I took his advice to take a break from spending time with her so I could get my thoughts in order. In hindsight, it was foolish to think I could take a pause while I figured things out and she would just be ok with no contact and wait for me. She ended up going to prom with her neighbor, Justin. They’d been friends forever, but I know he always hoped there would be more. I ended up going with Holly, but just as friends.
I stopped by her house after graduation, but she was out with her friends. I never got the nerve to talk to her again before I left for college. I wanted to. It’s probably the only time I was close to being in love with someone, not that I even know what that feels like. But I can tell you I’ve never felt that way about anotherwoman since her. When I saw the tabloids of her with that reality star, I knew that I’d missed my chance.
I open my laptop and type her name in the search bar. I wonder why she kept the name Bennett. Does she still love him? The search pulls up images of her with Billy. I would be jealous, but he looks like a total douche, and in almost every photo, she looks fake. She’s smiling, but she doesn’t look like she’s in love. I don’t know what’s wrong with me that I’m thrilled at the idea she may have been unhappy with him.
I see a few more articles about deals she signed. She really is single-handedly paving the way for more women to have bigger roles in Hollywood. Her last three films centered on female leads, writers, and directors. All had top box-office numbers for their premiere weekend. She’s placed more female directors on projects than any other agency.
One journalist is following her work and has a story about how much revenue Blair’s brought into TWA by focusing on women. She’s speculating that in the next two years, the agency could earn most of its money from women-centered projects. It’s quite impressive.
I’m about to click out of this rabbit hole before I reach stalker level when I see a news link promoting her at the Paley Center tomorrow night.
Paley Center presents A Conversation with Blair Bennett, The Wynn Agency, and Jess Lexington, Editor-In-Chief – On the Red Carpet. Join Blair and Jess as they discuss whether there are enough complex roles for women and when we might reach that invisible tipping point.
I click into the event and purchase a ticket. Now that I’ve seen her again, I’ll do anything to spend more time with or around her.
Maybe Jake is right about second chances.
seventeen
. . .
BLAIR
“The ideathere aren’t enough roles for complex women is ridiculous. On average, the Writers Guild receives about fifty thousand scripts a year, but we’re only making anywhere from a hundred to a hundred and fifty. We need a better process for finding those scripts.”
The conversation with Jess is going well. I don’t mind speaking in public. I’m passionate about this topic, and it’s great publicity for the agency. I know I’ve proven myself, but it’s a cutthroat world, so it never hurts to stay top of mind.
“Do we have enough women working in Hollywood to make this change?” Jess asks me.
“We have enough to make a difference, but we could always use more. I always loved what the late great Ruth Bader Ginsburg used to say: ‘We’ll have enough women on the Supreme Court when there are nine.’” I glance out into the cheering audience, and that’s when I see him.
What is he doing here?
I turn back to Jess to refocus.
“Women write just over thirty percent of all scripts and make only a quarter of all movies and TV,” I say. “Changing thosepercentages is simple. We just need to choose scripts written by women. Find female cinematographers and editors. Find females to exec produce and direct.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Jess says, trying to lighten the conversation, and the crowd chuckles. She’s setting me up so I can bring it home.
I smile along because this is the part that drives me crazy.
“Honestly, Jess, it is. You just have to pick through the stack of submissions and find the stories. They are out there. We’ve made significant progress in hiring practices at many agencies. Women make up almost forty percent of agents in town. We can make this happen if we want to.”
