I didn’t mind.
“Until next time, deputy.”
I stepped out of the car, and Marco pulled away. I watched them go, then walked the dock to theAvventura. Catalina certainly was an interesting woman.
I boarded the boat and found Jack on the sky deck with the guys in the band playing an acoustic set for a few groupies.
Jack’s face wrinkled when he saw me. After the song ended, he said, “What are you doing back so early?”
“The date ended.”
“You piss her off?”
“No.”
“Crash and burn, huh?”
“No. We’re getting to know each other. She’s a respectable woman.”
He rolled his eyes. “I think you crashed and burned.”
I laughed, then went to the bar and mixed a drink. I joined the party for a bit before heading off to sleep to dream about the vixen.
In the morning, I got up with the sunrise, went through my morning routine, then headed down to the galley to grill up breakfast. I made pancakes, toast, hash browns, and bacon.
JD stumbled out of bed, looking bleary-eyed with tousled hair. He made a beeline for the coffee pot. The party hadn’t gotten too out of hand last night, but it did rage on until the wee hours of the morning.
We dished up plates and chowed down on the sky deck. Jack enjoyed his last meal before his dental procedure.
I called Joel, my Hollywood agent. He was a power player in Tinseltown and knew everyone. My accidental Hollywood career, if you could call it that, began after a weekend with astarlet gone wrong. Everyone wanted my version of the story of that fateful adventure. It culminated in a major motion picture and plenty of offers. Since then, Joel had been handling everything. One of the few good players in La La Land.
“I need a favor,” I said.
“Great, and I need you out here in LA taking meetings.”
“Well, if people would stop killing each other…”
“Make some time.”
“I will.”
He didn’t buy it. “What do you need?”
I told him.
He laughed. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“You want me to arrange this just so you can impress a date?”
“Yes,” I said dryly.
“She must be special.”
“She’s… interesting. Do you think you can make it happen?”
“I can make anything happen. But this is a long shot.”
