A PERFECT RENDEZVOUS

CASTING

Irwin Levine read the blurb on the book jacket, leanedback in his tall suede chair, and sighed. "This looks like heavy drama, Zayn.I'd like to see you do something light hearted for a change." Abruptly, heswung his chair around, picked up a script from the glass table behind hisglass desk, and handed it to Zayn with an eager smile. "Somebody passed methis script under the table. It's already got a buyer, but if you say you'll doit, we could try to negotiate for it. It's a romance. Good stuff. Fun. Nobody'smade a film like this in decades, and I think the public's hungry for it.You're perfect for the lead and you could play the part in your sleep, it's soeasy. Making it will be cheap and quick, but I've got a hunch the picture'sgoing to be a runaway hit."

The script, which Zayn agreed to read that night,turned out to be a fluffy, predictable romance where true love changes the lifeof a cynical tycoon who then lives happily ever after with his beautiful newwife. Zayn hated it, partly because the lead role would require no effort fromhim at all, but mostly because it reminded him of the foolish fantasies aboutlove and marriage he'd quietly cherished as a youth and acted on as an adult.The next morning, he tossed the script for Pretty Woman on Levine's desk andsaid disdainfully, "I'm not a good enough actor or a good enough directorto make this tripe seem believable."

Zayn responded to that sentimental crap by lifting his brows and saying absolutely nothing; Levine loved him like his own bank account, and he was disappointed because Zayn wouldn't agree to do Pretty Woman. Levine didn't try to force the issue, however. The last time he'd done that, Zayn had walked out of his office and made a movie for Paramount and another one for Universal.

"You were never a starry-eyed teenager," he said instead. "You were tough and realistic, but you weren't a total skeptic either. Ever since you married Rachel, you've been changing." He saw the flare of annoyance in Zayn's face and hastily said, "Okay, enough sentimentality. Let's talk business. When do you want to start shooting Destiny, and who do you have in mind for the main roles?"

"I'll play the husband, and I'd like Diana Copeland for the wife if she's available. Rachel would be excellent for the mistress. Emily McDaniel's for the daughter."

Levine's brows shot up. "Rachel's going to have one of her raging tantrums over getting the lesser female role."

"I'll deal with Rachel," Zayn said. Rachel and Levine detested each other, although neither of them ever gave a reason. Zayn suspected they'd had an affair years ago that ended badly.

"If you haven't already made up your mind about the part of the drifter," Levine continued after a hesitant pause, "I have a favor to ask. Would you consider Tony Austin for it?"

"Not a chance," Zayn said flatly. Austin's addictions to booze and drugs were as legendary as his other vices, and he was totally unreliable. His last accidental overdose at the beginning of a picture he was making for Empire had landed him in a rehab center for six months, and another actor had to fill his role.

"Tony wants to go to work and prove himself," Levine continued patiently. "His doctors assure me he's kicked his habits and he's a new man. I'm inclined to believe them this time."

Zayn shrugged. "What's different about this time?"

"Because this time when they rushed him into Cedars-Sinai, he was DOA. They brought him back, but the experience has finally scared the shit out of him and he's ready to grow up and get to work. I'd like to give him that chance, a new start." Levine's voice took on a pious note. "It's the only decent thing to do, Zayn. We're all on this earth together. We have to take care of each other, look out for each other. We have to help Tony get work because he's broke and because—"

"And because he owes you a chunk of money for that picture he never finished," Zayn  speculated flatly.

"Well, yes, he is into us for a sizable amount of money for that picture," Levine reluctantly admitted. "He came to us though and asked to work off his debt so that he could prove himself. Since you seem to be invulnerable to an emotional appeal, consider the practical reasons to use him: Despite all his bad publicity, the public still adores him. He's their bad, misguided, beautiful boy, the man every woman wants to comfort."