SLEAZE: A Hollywood Comeback Story (Book #1)

Chapter 24

“What do you know about Marc Corona?” I held my breath while Michael lowered his glass and set it on the bar’s counter, his face twisting into a deep frown.

Despite having woken up on New Year’s Day with a hangover that I swore would be my last, by the Friday after Sophie’s audition I’d decided to take Michael up on his offer to go out for a round of beers. Although he insisted that we were celebrating my good work, we both knew there were bigger things to cheer about when we raised our drinks in a toast to Kelly O’Brien.

From what I’d gathered from Michael, the director had a heart tucked inside his massive chest and Sophie’s read-through had caused it to swell to three times its normal size. A second screen test was on the calendar and while the studio execs were apparently skeptical about casting her, Kelly seemed convinced that Sophie would be the key component in rocketing his film to the top of the box office charts. He refused to promise anything but that hadn’t stopped Michael from bursting into my converted supply closet looking like he’d won the lottery.

It was good news for everyone but even that didn’t help me sleep at night—nothing did. In the week that had passed since taking White Hat’s business card, I’d spent each night tossing and turning, wondering and worrying about what he knew, how he knew it, and what he wanted from me. I was torn between wanting to ask Sophie what his deal was and not wanting to freak her out; maybe Corona was harmless and I was seeing things that didn’t exist, like a paranoid thinking everyone was out to get him. A part of me believed that but another part, a bigger part, told me that I had reason to be concerned. Still, I waited, hoping that my misgivings would fade away like they had before. It wasn’t until my fourth day of stumbling into work on two hours of sleep that I decided it was time to talk to the only other person who might know something.

“Before I answer that, the better question is what do you know about Marc Corona?” Michael asked, running his palms up and down the sides of his glass until all of the mist that had gathered melted away. He wiped the water off on his jeans and looked me directly in the eye.

I hesitated and took a long swallow of the dark Belgian brew I’d ordered, swishing the cool beverage around in my cheeks while I stalled. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. “Nothing, really.”

“Bull,” Michael retorted with a snort.

“He approached me,” I admitted, staring at the circular water stains that had bored into the surface of the wooden counter over the years.

“When?”

“During Sophie’s audition with Kelly.”

“Jesus, and you didn’t bother telling me until now?” Michael chugged what was left in his glass before motioning to the bartender to pour him a refill. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” I said and Michael gave me a scouring look. “Seriously, he came up to me and said some weird stuff about wanting me to tip him off about Sophie. I said no, he gave me his card, and he peaced to go hunt down someone more important.”

“But you said no,” Michael repeated with an urgency in his voice that I rarely heard.

“Of course, dude. Do you really think I’m stupid enough to get mixed up with someone I don’t even know?”

Michael set his mouth in a grim smile and shrugged. “I was.”

“What?”

“This is completely off the record, but like I said last week, I had to figure a lot of stuff out on my own when I was getting started. I didn't have anyone to pull me up so I made deals and worked with a lot of people before I made it to Geller. Nothing serious—well, nothing too illegal, I mean.”