I’m not sure why they want to meet me, but I decide to just go with it and follow him to the door.
Two men are there, one young and one old. The old one has white hair and tan, leathery skin and is wearing beige shorts, a polo shirt, and sunglasses. The young one looks to be around thirty with blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a big, toothy smile. He’s more dressed up, wearing a light-colored suit with a tie.
“Rumor, this is my manager, Johnny B,” Brock says, smiling at the old guy. “JB for short.”
“Hi,” I say, standing next to Brock.
Johnny stares at my face, then glances down at my body. “What’s she been in?”
Brock laughs. “Oh, no, she’s not an actor.”
“She should be,” the younger guy says, that toothy smile still on his face. “She’s got the look.” He extends his hand to me. “Gunner Thorne. I’m Brock’s agent.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking his hand. It’s tan like his face. It must be a spray tan because it’s perfectly even, like Brock’s.
Johnny’s tan is even, too, but it’s a shade of dark brown you wouldn’t get from a spray tan. It looks like he lies out in the sun for hours.
“Rumor is Devon’s child,” Brock says to the men. “She’ll be staying here for the school year.”
Gunner looks at Brock. “She’d be perfect for that new teen drama on the CW. We should get her in for a screen test.”
“I don’t want to act,” I say.
“You should consider it,” Gunner says as we walk to the living room. “You’d make a lot of money. You already have an in with Brock, and I’m sure he could give you some acting tips.”
“Gunner, give it a rest,” Brock says, putting his arm around me. “Rumor just got to town. She needs time to adjust to her surroundings. A new school. She doesn’t need to be starting a job as well.”
“Think about it,” Gunner says to me, ignoring Brock’s comment. “We could always start small. There are plenty of side character roles that would let you get a feel for the industry.”
Johnny clears his throat. “Let’s get this meeting started.”
“We’re meeting on the patio,” Brock says. “Ana is finishing setting everything up.”
“She has your eyes,” Gunner says, looking between Brock and me. “And her smile is—”
“Gunner, enough,” Johnny says, sounding annoyed. “We need to start this meeting. I need to be back in LA by noon.”
Gunner eyes me up and down. “You’d really be perfect for the role. Girl from the wrong side of the tracks but with that sweet innocent vibe?”
“Sweet and innocent?” I let out a harsh laugh. “Not even close. I’m a New Yorker. If you weren’t Brock’s friend, I’d kick your ass just for saying that.”
Gunner smiles at Brock. “That slight edginess to her tone? The attitude? She’d be perfect.”
“The answer is no,” Brock says in a harsh tone that almost sounds protective of me. Why would he want to protect me? He barely knows me. Maybe he just doesn’t want someone else in the family being an actor and taking the attention away from him.
Braden comes bounding down the stairs in track pants and a t-shirt, his gym bag over his shoulder.
“Braden,” Brock says. “You’re going to practice this early?”
“The gym,” he says, walking to the door.
“What about your books for school? You were supposed to pick them up this morning.”
“I told Maria to do it,” he says, going out the door.
Brock sighs. “Well, I suppose we should get started. Go ahead and go out to the patio. I’m going to grab something from my office.”
When he’s gone, Gunner says to me, “You two look good together.”
