Obsession

Chapter 3

James walked into the Beverly hills restaurant, lifting his sunglasses up to see where his manager was sitting.

"Sir, can I help you?" A young redhead  asked behind a podium. Her eyes widened as she recognized him.

"Yeh, I'm looking for someone..." He started to say.

"Oh yes, Mr. McAvoy. They are over here. Sorry I didn't see it was you when you walked in." The redhead said shyly, batting her eyes at James. "Please follow me." She led him to a table in the next room, a bit quieter and away from the prying eyes of the public. Around the table sat Christopher Nolan and his agent, as well as a brunette and someone who looked like Leo DiCaprio. His agent had not arrived yet.

"James! My good man. Glad you could make it." Leo stood up from his chair and held his hand out to James. He shook his hand aggressively and had quite a strong grip. James squeezed back. "Leo, fancy meeting you here. They didn't tell me you were involved with this as well."

"Well, I've just come on and I'm absolutely thrilled you're considering joining too." He led James to the table.

"James, very nice to meet you. I'm Chris Nolan, this is my agent, Sarah and my wife, Lana. Please take a seat."

James looked around the table and met eyes with the brunette. She stared into his eyes quite deeply, it startled him. She quickly glanced away. James sat down and grabbed his glass of water.

"Let's get you something to drink. I hear you like whiskey." Leo said waving down the waiter.

"Oh, that's normally the usual, but I'll just take a beer. Stella is fine." James told the waiter.

As the waiter walked away, James saw his agent walking over. She sat down next to him and they began their meeting. Although informal, these things always felt like pure business. The actors are selling themselves while directors sell the movie and vision. Agents are just selling everything.

"The film is about a man who lost his family to a recent car accident. He finds out that it wasn't an accident. He decides to give up everything and go on a vengeful journey to find his family's killer."

"What do you think, James?" Chris asked eagerly awaiting his response.

"Sounds interesting. Is there a script?" James asked with no particular excitement.

Chris leaned back in his chair. "It's in the works. We've got the guys from Taken and the Mission Impossible movies."

"So this is an action movie? Ok. What's the timeline looking like?" James asked taking a sip from his beer.

"Yes it's an action flick, but we are going to stand out from the norm. Think lockstock with a dash of crouching tiger." Leo said excitedly.

What the.. James thought, a bit confused. "Oh, I see. Intriguing."

"We plan to have the script ready in a few weeks and start rehearsing in a month. We'll be training for 2 months before starting filming." Chris chimed in.

James, Chris and Leo continued to talk as the agents discussed the numbers. They dined on steaks and wine for hours. Negotiations ensued and everyone agreed to the deal.

"Jesus..." James exhaled a puff of smoke. He had stepped out for a smoke and walked down the alley. He leaned against the brick wall and took another puff. "It gets pretty stuffy in there, doesn't it?"

A soft but assertive voice spoke up behind him. It was Chris' wife, Lana.

"Yeh, I guess. Just part of the job, really." James said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Don't sound too excited." She said as she took a drag off her cigarette. "Should be a fun time. Hope I see you around, James." She said seductively, smashing her cigarette into the brick wall. She turned to look at James, the same intense look from earlier. She looked down at his lips and sauntered away.

James was barely phased by this. He was used to girls throwing themselves at him. He continued to smoke and take in the sounds of the night.