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Authors: J. M. Jeffries
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past,” she said, touching the corner of a photo of her and her costars from Maddie’s Mad World. “It’s fun to remember my acting days, but I think the future is much more exciting. Every day is a mystery and a challenge.”
He was dumfounded at her answer. “I don’t know what to say.”
“From what I see, you deal with the worst of celebrities. You wouldn’t have a job if the majority of the people you deal with were financially responsible. Does that change your opinion of me?”
Every moment with her was a surprise. A surprise he found he liked. His own clients were so predictable and Merry was so charmingly unpredictable. Even if she was going to make him walk in the sand at the beach.
Usually he was right on the money with people. He could tell by just looking at them how financially strapped they were. Usually the more expensive their clothes, the more in debt they were.
Merry was so very different from the character she’d played on Maddie’s Mad World. Chloe had been kooky and a bit naive. Merry was so different—more like the savvy girl next door. She was quick and smart, always ready with a comeback. Chloe had been easily led astray. Merry was focused and on task almost all the time. He was starting to like Merry the woman better than the Chloe he’d had a crush on. Chloe had been charming in her way, but Merry was devastatingly delightful.
She led him out onto the back patio to a long, narrow yard filled with a jungle that was taller than he. In the middle of the jungle he saw a pool, the blue water sparkling in the sun.
“You like the garden,” he said.
“Actually, I like to swim. My gardener likes to garden.” She led him down an overgrown path to the pool, which was more a lap pool than for playing in.
Again, he was surprised. She looked at her watch. “We’d better get going. You look like you’re brooding, so let’s go have some beach time.” She turned back to the house.
He opened the door to his Mercedes sedan and she slid into the passenger seat.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“Venice Beach,” she answered.
“What’s in Venice Beach?”
“The world’s best-kept secret.”
He pulled smoothly out onto the street and headed for the freeway. He liked the way she looked in his car with her cheerful dress and her long legs crossed neatly at the ankles. Her ponytail swayed gently as he turned onto the entry ramp. He caught another whiff of her subtle perfume.
“So tell me,” he said as he merged into the freeway traffic, “what was it like being an actress?”
She tilted her head as she thought. “That’s a broad question.”
“Did you like being a child actress?” he said.
“All the time,” she said. “I loved it. I loved the hard work, the energy. By the time you’re six or seven you stop believing in make-believe, but as a child actress, I got to stay inside that make-believe world until I was almost eighteen.”
“It doesn’t seem to have stunted your growth in any way.”
“My parents were very grounded, which was good for me. Because if I’d had crazy parents, I probably would have ended up crazy. One of the best things my mother did was value artistic expression, but she was still practical. She would never have abandoned us and run off to Tahiti to pursue her art. She might have made us all move with her, but she’d never do anything that put her art first. And that’s what I learned. I could be an artist and still live in the real world. What about you? You grew up with an amusement park as your playground.”
Jake found himself smiling. “It was fun. I could ride the carousel for as long as I wanted. But I never knew if my friends wanted to hang out with me because they liked me or because they wanted free tickets.”
“I know exactly what you mean. It was easier to have friends in the business.”
“Was your sister jealous?”
She turned to study him. “What’s with the deep and personal here?”
“Just
He was dumfounded at her answer. “I don’t know what to say.”
“From what I see, you deal with the worst of celebrities. You wouldn’t have a job if the majority of the people you deal with were financially responsible. Does that change your opinion of me?”
Every moment with her was a surprise. A surprise he found he liked. His own clients were so predictable and Merry was so charmingly unpredictable. Even if she was going to make him walk in the sand at the beach.
Usually he was right on the money with people. He could tell by just looking at them how financially strapped they were. Usually the more expensive their clothes, the more in debt they were.
Merry was so very different from the character she’d played on Maddie’s Mad World. Chloe had been kooky and a bit naive. Merry was so different—more like the savvy girl next door. She was quick and smart, always ready with a comeback. Chloe had been easily led astray. Merry was focused and on task almost all the time. He was starting to like Merry the woman better than the Chloe he’d had a crush on. Chloe had been charming in her way, but Merry was devastatingly delightful.
She led him out onto the back patio to a long, narrow yard filled with a jungle that was taller than he. In the middle of the jungle he saw a pool, the blue water sparkling in the sun.
“You like the garden,” he said.
“Actually, I like to swim. My gardener likes to garden.” She led him down an overgrown path to the pool, which was more a lap pool than for playing in.
Again, he was surprised. She looked at her watch. “We’d better get going. You look like you’re brooding, so let’s go have some beach time.” She turned back to the house.
He opened the door to his Mercedes sedan and she slid into the passenger seat.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“Venice Beach,” she answered.
“What’s in Venice Beach?”
“The world’s best-kept secret.”
He pulled smoothly out onto the street and headed for the freeway. He liked the way she looked in his car with her cheerful dress and her long legs crossed neatly at the ankles. Her ponytail swayed gently as he turned onto the entry ramp. He caught another whiff of her subtle perfume.
“So tell me,” he said as he merged into the freeway traffic, “what was it like being an actress?”
She tilted her head as she thought. “That’s a broad question.”
“Did you like being a child actress?” he said.
“All the time,” she said. “I loved it. I loved the hard work, the energy. By the time you’re six or seven you stop believing in make-believe, but as a child actress, I got to stay inside that make-believe world until I was almost eighteen.”
“It doesn’t seem to have stunted your growth in any way.”
“My parents were very grounded, which was good for me. Because if I’d had crazy parents, I probably would have ended up crazy. One of the best things my mother did was value artistic expression, but she was still practical. She would never have abandoned us and run off to Tahiti to pursue her art. She might have made us all move with her, but she’d never do anything that put her art first. And that’s what I learned. I could be an artist and still live in the real world. What about you? You grew up with an amusement park as your playground.”
Jake found himself smiling. “It was fun. I could ride the carousel for as long as I wanted. But I never knew if my friends wanted to hang out with me because they liked me or because they wanted free tickets.”
“I know exactly what you mean. It was easier to have friends in the business.”
“Was your sister jealous?”
She turned to study him. “What’s with the deep and personal here?”
“Just
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