Roll With The Punches, Don't Make A Scene (Completed)

Chapter 2 - He's a cowboy kid

"Miss Monroe?"

She watched him make his way across the beach. She didn't think it was over-paranoid to step closer to the sound of the waves crashing against the sandy shore, especially considering the huge, slathering hound by his side.

She'd found it easy to discover who Cas was dating - so many open secrets in Hollywood and plenty of people owed her - but looking into him had led to confusion. Why was a magna-cum-laude graduate of Harvard Business School working as a junior production runner?

He strode over to her easily, strong legs unfazed by the shifting sand. She had to admit Cas could pick 'em. The guy was gorgeous. Charming smile and straight white teeth, and utterly insincere as he held his hand out to shake.

"Thank you for meeting me," she said, taking it briefly.

"Didn't really have a choice, did I?"

She ignored his tone, and the sub-vocal growl from the dog, crossing her arms.

"So why here?" he asked, glancing around the pristine beach with only a few dog walkers and surfers. "Oh, deniability I suppose?"

He was clearly a quick thinker, but she was quicker. She decided she may as well be honest. "That, and you can't get a good recording with the sounds of the ocean."

The look of slight disgust on his face was interesting. So, no recording then, despite her worries. Perhaps not as smart as she'd thought.

"You expected to be recorded? Are you planning on threatening Cas some more?"

"I don't threaten Caspian. I've dedicated a large part of my career to his, and he means a lot to me. That's why I know what's best for him."

"You think preventing him from having any kind of personal life is good for him? Or is it good for you? Keeps him reliant."

She sighed. Love was a thing for pointless, small, people with pointless, small obsessions.

"And you act like you have his best interests in mind. That's rich. I'm sure you'd be the first out the door if the money dried up. If the parts stopped coming."

"You know nothing about me."

"I know Caspian can be a lot more than some gay icon. Getting token parts. He has talent."

She thought that would set him off - he was clenching his jaw and his fist, and she took another step back. It didn't, though, surprisingly. His hand relaxed and he narrowed his eyes.

"He has talent, huh? Is that why you're keeping him firmly in the young adult tier? Refusing to send him scripts for meatier stuff, despite him asking for it?"

The man just didn't get it. Though the uncertainty she'd had before came back, because there were clearly some things he did notice, and she wondered if Caspian had realized too.

"He needs to learn his craft. Sharpen his teeth. He isn't ready to go up against the big boys yet, you must be able to see that. He's still immature, emotional. Surely that's what you like about him?"

He bared his teeth. "You've had almost total control over his life for over six years. He doesn't have friends you haven't vetted, he barely sees his own mother. And you wonder why he's still immature."

He turned away, his deep voice whipped towards her by the rising wind. "But you don't care about that, do you? All you're interested in is the money you make while he's bankable in the way you want, because it's you who isn't talented enough to help him bridge genres."