“You will hear from them sooner than you think, but until then, let's get busy.”
“Are you sure? Don't get my hopes up, Vee.”
“Trust me. I've been in this business for a while, and I can tell when something is a sure thing.”
Star stared at her, and he didn't hide his confusion. “How long have you been in the entertainment industry?” Vivienne looked the same as in his last life and had just graduated from college before she started working for him, but her words about being around for a while utterly bewildered him.
She hummed deep in her throat. “Roughly fifteen years, give or take the times I worked alongside my dad.”
Star's eyes widened.How? She doesn't look a day over twenty? When did she start work? At birth?Star wanted to ask Vivienne about her age, but he wasn't a fool. He knew the rule; never ask a woman their age.
“Anyway, let's get going. We need to put together a contract. It will be standard...” She kept rambling on, but Star's thoughts were on something completely separate.
Just how much did I change by coming back from the dead?
* * *
“Star,turn your head slightly to the left,” DuShane Hall, the photographer, said.
Star did as asked and smiled, hearing the clicking of the camera. It'd been three and a half weeks since his audition. And a few weeks since he signed his contract with Abandon. Unlike when he sat down to sign with Equi-Noxx, there wasn't anyone pressuring him to sign because they needed his help for a job. And although he wanted to sign the contract right away, Vivienne stopped him with sound words of wisdom.
“I know we rushed things today,” Vivienne said, putting the contract down before him. “But you can take it home and read it over carefully. Hire a lawyer to review the documents and make whatever stipulations you want. I will tell you like I've told all my other actors: cover your ass.”
Star appreciated her words and took her advice, and it was a little weird for him that there was someone looking out for him after meeting him only a few hours previously. So he took some of his savings and searched for a top entertainment lawyer. He didn't have to go too far and came across the law office of Alexander Vale. He hired the services of Terry Mason, who combed through the contract with a fine-tooth comb, even taking the time to explain everything to Star, including the pros and cons. Star was satisfied with everything he heard and signed the five-year contract in the presence of his lawyer and Vivienne.
The very next day, Vivienne had him going to work, and he hadn't stopped since then. It was as if she was really pushing to make him famous in her six-month timeline. So far, it was only modeling, but he couldn't complain since he looked good in the brand-name garments he'd only dreamed of wearing in his last life. Even when he went to the Paris fashion show, nothing he wore could compare to what he was being photographed in now. Star still hadn’t heard anything about the audition, but he wasn't worried; he trusted Vivienne and that she would find him more jobs. He'd considered his interaction with Anubis Ahket and caught glimpses of the man in the entertainment news and blog sites. He'd watched interviews and everything the man directed or acted in. Truthfully, he was becoming obsessed with the man and his work.
Anubis was absolutely charming in front of the camera, as he was intimidating in person. Star recalled how easily he’d slipped into a submissive role, and even though he tried to hide his reaction to the man, he knew Anubis had a keen eye and had probably even been teasing him a bit. Star had felt his face heat with a visible flush when ad-libbing during their scene. His finger still tingled each time he thought about how firm and soft Anubis's lips felt under his touch.
“What are you thinking about?” DuShane whispered in his ear, getting Star's attention. Not only that, he was closer to Star than he’d realized.
“Uh…nothing,” Star said, stepping back.
DuShane licked his lips and looked him up and down with a smirk on his face. “Your face says otherwise.”
“I really wasn't thinking of anything,” Star said.
“If you say so.”
DuShane was handsome, with a chocolate complexion and dark eyes to match. He had a beautiful smile, but it didn't draw Star in as Anubis’s did.
Fuck, why am I comparing other men to Anubis? You had one scene with the guy, Star, don't get attached. Just admire him from afar.
“All right, everyone, let's take a break,” DuShane announced, handing his camera to his assistant. “Star, you can get changed for the next set.”
“Okay,” he said.
“Hey.” DuShane tapped Star on his shoulder, stopping him before he could get too far.
“What's up?”
“Good job so far. Keep it up, and we might get out of here early and...” He paused, and Star got the vibes that DuShane was about to ask him out on a date but changed his mind.
Maybe he realized Star would turn him down. He didn’t plan on dating anyone. His focus was making sure Dent never got sent to prison and making it as an actor.
“Go get changed,” DuShane said.
Star smiled, nodded, and headed toward the dressing room, where his new personal assistant awaited him. It was one of the perks he got when he signed with the Abandon Entertainment Agency. He was also given an apartment and a top-notch management team, and there were workshops he had to attend when he wasn’t off doing a project. He had to pay for some of those perks, but he also had an accountant now that took care of those things. He didn’t want to go back to Los Angeles, so Star sent for the rest of his things, which wasn’t much, and moved out of Tanner's place and into his own. When he told Tanner he was staying in Valleywood and that he'd signed with Abandon Entertainment, with the bonus of who his manager was, his friend almost fell out of the seat he was sitting on.
