‘It’s my next contract forThe Clansman. I’ve got one more season on my existing deal, and then this one is for five years after that.’
Calvin’s eyebrows raised, fighting against a shedload of Botox, as he cast his gaze on it. They rose even further as he scanned the first page and then his eyes reached the important part – the offer. Millions of dollars. The kind of contract that every actor dreams of getting. Life-changing money. A lottery win. But absolutely in keeping with the fact that Ollie was the lead actor on a global hit.
Calvin let out a low whistle. ‘Jesus, I wish I was still on ten per cent of your income. Is it too late for me to come out of retirement and make a pitch to represent you?’
‘I’m afraid so. And I’m not sure that you’d want to do that when you hear my thoughts.’
Calvin eyed him quizzically as Ollie hesitated. Was he really going to do this? Because once he said it out loud, it became real. It became a thing. And he was pretty sure it was going to piss a whole load of people off – something he spent his life avoiding. But if he didn’t…
‘It’s for five years of my life…’ he began.
Calvin nodded. ‘And the sum reflects that. More than reflects it. Rewards it with a whole load of zeroes.’
‘True. It also states that, in that time, I can’t take on any other TV or film work.’
‘That’s fair and pretty standard,’ Calvin countered and Ollie knew he was right. He went with the next point.
‘I’d be shooting on location for six to nine months of the year. Vancouver. Croatia. Los Angeles. Plus a month or two of press prior to every new season.’
‘Yes. Again, fairly standard.’
It was. And it was the kind of life that teenage Ollie had dreamed of. That twenty-something Ollie had loved. But thirty-something Ollie…?
Say it.He’d spent his whole adult life delivering lines with no issue, and yet this one was sticking in his throat. He made a croaking noise as he tried to clear it.
‘The thing is… I think I’m going to reject it.’
Calvin responded with another exhalation and a slight nod of the head as he sat back in his chair. ‘Ballsy. I assume your management team have already negotiated?’
‘Yes. This was our top-line “ask” and they gave it to us without too much resistance.’
Calvin’s eyebrows were on the rise again. ‘And now you want more. Not entirely cool, but I get why you would try. Although, I’d be careful. Gift horse. Mouth. Bloody great big cheque.’
Ollie shook his head as he jumped in to point out that Calvin had completely the wrong end of the contractual stick. ‘No, I don’t want more. I mean, it’s already ridiculous. And amazing. And more than I could ever have hoped for.’
Calvin’s face shifted to obvious confusion.
‘I feel like I’m on one of those shows where some smart bloke is explaining a connection between the digestive system of whales and climate change and I’m supposed to understand it. I don’t get what’s happening here. If the money is acceptable, then what? The shooting schedule? Because that’s the one thing that’s going to be pretty non-negotiable and, let’s face it, that factors into the reasons they’re paying the big bucks.’
‘And that’s the problem. Well, not just that. All of it.’Say it. Say it.‘I just don’t want to do this anymore.’
‘Erm, what was that?’ Calvin strained one ear towards him. ‘I think I misheard. It’s my age. My sexagenarian brain thinks you said something about jacking in the job that has made you rich, famous and respected for your talents.’
Ollie sighed. It was out. Real. And he repeated it so that he could have a second bash at using the words. ‘You heard right. I just don’t want to do it anymore. You know, I was thinking earlier how young me would snatch this up…’
‘There are very few people on this earth that wouldn’t. Hell, if I had the knees for a kilt, I’d have a bash at it myself.’
Ollie overlooked that statement of fact. ‘But I’ve already gone through one marriage, primarily because we lived in different time zones for most of the year…’
‘And because Sienna had a fondness for fondling her muscular co-star…’ Calvin interjected unhelpfully.
Even now, almost two years later, that still made Ollie flinch. He didn’t regret the break up – in hindsight, he’d realised towards the end of their five-year marriage that they’d never been right for each other in the first place. However, when Sienna and her co-star had got caught in a compromising situation, it had caused a relentless riot of scandal, publicity and media intrusion that had lasted for months and had definitely given him the full experience of the downside of fame.
‘Yeah, but would she have done that if our marriage had been working? If we’d lived together? If I’d given her everything she needed?’
Calvin rolled his eyes. ‘I want to say yes, but I realise that’s not the point.’
‘It really isn’t. Look, I want to make it work with Stevie, but she isn’t interested in any of this. She doesn’t care about the fame or the money. She just wants us to be together and live a pretty normal life. She doesn’t want to commit to someone who’s on the other side of the world for most of the year.’
