Brett and a possible quid pro quo.

When the documentary ends you look at the clock. Your cell reports it's 1:00 and you're mildly surprised not to have heard from Kat yet. Grabbing a juice from the fridge, you dial her number and she picks up on the first ring.

"'lo!"

"Hey Kat. What's up?"

"I got a line on my deadbeat roomie. She's supposedly nursing a hangover out in Island City. I can't get her to pick up the phone, so I'm heading out there now. I'm not harshing your schedule am I?"

"No, it's cool. I'm still looking into options for an interview. Don't worry, I'm not going to commit you to anything."

"Are you kidding, girl? This is my chance to set my life right. I'd sleep with your creepy ass landlord if I had to! Set it up, so long as it isn't some freaky or painful shit I'm in."

The thought of Jim fucking anyone is unsettling but the idea of him with someone as drop-dead gorgeous as Kat is absurd. She's so far out of his league that it's just unbelievable.

"Define freaky," you ask trying hard not to giggle.

"Just stick to regular sex you pervert! God, Strawberry, I swear you're a real smartass!"

"Just making sure. I don't know what type of casting is available right now. Just figured I'd check in before I do some real digging."

"Dig away, girlfriend. Sex, I'm cool with. If they want to pee on me or something weird like that, I'm out. The light's turning green gotta go!"

Kat hangs up leaving you in silence. Another quick call from the rental company lets you know the guy is there to pick up the car. You hand the keys over when the man knocks at the door and turn back to your dilemma. Nat Geo is now doing one of those veterinarian shows so that's your cue to switch to HGTV. Who wants to watch a vet do surgery or reach up inside a cow to pull a calf out? Yuck! You flip the channel but don't pay attention to what's on, it's just background noise for you. The computer boots up as you head to Brett's website. Best to look up times and places for the castings so you can run it by her later. You hit his profile on the company server and see the link there to his casting schedule.

One glance at his public calendar turns your mood sour. You see dates crossed out for the next month and a note at the bottom stating that due to overwhelming demand, he's heavily booked. It suggests emailing a selfie and waiting for a callback to arrange a meeting. That really puts a crimp in your plans, this is by far the easiest 'in' for Kat, and working Agra or the escort option is a lot more complicated.

You pick up your cell and dial Branich's number. It won't hurt to see if you can arrange something quicker. If worse comes to worst, you'll just have to shift gears to another option. Besides Kat really seems to be chomping at the bit to get started and having good news to discuss would be a real morale lifter. He picks up on the second ring making you wonder what's up. Normally you'd expect to be dumped to voicemail considering you can't imagine being on his contact list.

"Hey, Brett speaking. What's up?"

"Hi! How's the casting business?" you ask trying to sound as warm and friendly as you can.

"Booming, Red. I barely have time to see all the girls contacting me. Appointments are filling my book as far as the eye can see."

"I didn't know you did appointments, I mean I was just a walk-in."

"It's pretty weird the way demand's working. I just went to all appointments on Friday because so many girls called in to inquire. I never knew there were so many wanna-be porn stars in La Grande. You're already in so I doubt you care about my sudden popularity though."

You take a moment to clear your throat, never in a million years did you expect this sort of difficulty getting a friend laid on camera.

"Yeah, about that," you continue, pouring on the charm. "I have a friend that's interested in a tryout. I can tell you're super busy though. Would it be best if I try a talent agent in Seattle or is there a way you can squeeze her in?"

"Hmmmm," he grunts sounding pretty unreadable. "Can you text me a picture? It doesn't need to be anything special, I have a list of criteria the company is really interested in for new models. If she hits enough points I might be able to juggle my schedule."

You hunt through your phone for the last picture you took with her and text it over. She's wearing tight black shorts and a snug-fitting tank top. You figure it displays her assets as well as you could hope without staging one.

"On its way. Should I hang on the line or wait for a callback?"

"I'll get you back. Let me look it over and see who's in the appointment book. I'll just be 1/2 an hour to an hour max, sweetie."

You exchange goodbyes and hang up. Hopefully, Brett will make room for Kat but after your casting with him, you doubt anything involving the man comes without a price. Still, while you can float her the needed cash to fix stuff short term, a long term solution is an important priority right now. You finish your drink and go back to watching TV. He'll call soon enough you figure.

About 20 minutes later the phone rings right as the host begins the reno reveal. Branich has an awful sense of timing. You frown at it, hit mute on the TV, and answer the phone dialing up a cheery voice.

"Stewart speaking!"

"Ok. I don't have any company memos pushing Asians this week but I reserved my earliest appointment for your friend. I'll need a name before my secretary wonders why that slot is restricted in the spreadsheet. It's toward the end of the month. . ."

The end of the month? That's two or three weeks from now, not exactly the time frame you were hoping for. Maybe a little psychology will work here? You clear your throat gently and break in.

"Oh. Well, I was hoping for something a bit sooner. Do you know how bad Seattle is booked up? Maybe I can drive her up there for something sooner?"

He laughs, "I have no idea, to be honest. I don't talk with them hardly ever. Your agent might be able to dig into it. He likely has contacts. If you give me her name, I'll pencil it in just in case you can't get anything sooner."

Damn, he's not biting. Seattle is a big city, so this stuff is probably handled through the escort office. It's over 300 miles one way and it'd eat up a lot of time. Maybe Agra is the next best move? Still thinking, you answer the question.

"Sure, her name is Kat Chiang."

"OK. I'll book her when I get off the phone and have my girl email you the deets. They'll be a short questionnaire attached. You remember it I'm sure? Since I'm doing appointments now, I try to get them filled out before time. If the company sends a new memo looking for her type before then I'll email with a new meeting time offer. Don't forget to pass it on."

"I remember it and I'll make sure she knows, thanks. I'll nose around and see what I can find before then. I really don't want to make her wait that long," you finish up feeling miserable. You'd hoped to have this wrapped up by the time Kat got home.

"You know come to think of it, I have two projects I've been way too busy to properly tend to. If you were willing to lend a hand I might find a way to fit her in sooner. . ."

Aha! Now you get to the actual meat of the issue. Yep, Brett wants a quid pro quo. Time to step carefully. . .

"Projects? I might be able to find an opening depending on what's involved. Every time I check offers are piling through the roof though. I have to be careful here, non-company jobs can get me in some real trouble."

"Oh, I could get you some lucrative non-Firebox jobs if you wanted them. Jake keeps trying to get me to back door a few to you. I like keeping my position though so I tell him no dice. Keep an eye on him, honey. He's got you on his mind something fierce! The two projects I was talking about have official company contracts."

"So they are probably buried in the pile my agent has?"

He laughs, "I doubt he'd mention them to you. The word from my guys at corporate tells me you are a hot name with both video and escort. Whatever your most recent project was, the editing department has been burning the midnight oil on it. It's supposedly going to drop this weekend and they expect it to be a big hit. No one is talking about what it is exactly though."

That's news to you. You just finished the state park gig a couple of days ago, never did it cross your mind the picture would be ready in less than a week for release.

"I just did a small film with Lon Agra a couple of days ago. No way it'll be ready that fast and I really doubt it's all that special. . ."

He quickly interrupts, "Agra films are always huge. He's a top-three director with the company. You're going to be swimming in big offers soon. Maybe I got your ear at just the right time."

You take a second to get your bearings. It's just a 45 minute rushed movie, he's got to be mistaken. Still, it makes you important in his eyes which is an advantage you'll take.

"Maybe. My last choice here I figured was to sweet talk Lon into tagging her with a role. My agent tells me that's an automatic in."

"Yep, it would be. You'd just have to wait for him to have a script ready and god only knows what role he'd demand you take in exchange."

"True. What do you have for me?"

You're getting pretty nervous discussing work without Walker but it's just talk right now.

"I have two issues. One is a film I've been pitching to video. I think I can make it as a film guy but I need something to prove it. The problem is that they always give a dirt budget for something like this. I can use the girls I'm casting to get around most salaries but without a name to draw hits, I likely won't get enough clicks to excite the video guys."

He waits a moment for a reaction.

"Ok and?" you ask not wanting to say anything to encourage him. Best to hear it out first, you figure.

"The second is payback for a big favor I owe someone in Client Comms. They are doing a charity auction this weekend and need some girls to headline it. It requires about a half-hour cam time Saturday night during the event and then after the auction, the winner gets something. I'm not fully up on the details. I can send both to your agent. You'd best inform him first so he doesn't just delete them."

"And then?"

"Well if you don't do either, I'll fit her in on the original date, no harm, no foul. She looks pretty enough, assuming she isn't a prude or something she'll probably pass fine. If you accept the film project, I'll give her a bit part. She'll give a blowjob or two, maybe a fuck depending on the part and she'll be in. Do the auction and I'll move her to the head of the line for a regular casting as soon as it's done. I'll even promise to coach her through it. As long as she's willing to do the scene, it'll go fine."

You take a second to text Kuhn warning him the offers will arrive today. You ask him to look them over and promise a call tomorrow morning to discuss them. You have no idea how he'll take you arranging your own stuff. From what Brett has said so far, you expect he'll be unhappy with the pay but you need him to read through the fine print so nothing weird pops up.

"Ok. Send them to Kuhn, I messaged him to expect them. I'm not making any promises, I need him to go over it all with me because I'm not a contract wiz yet. By the way for the film? Walker is going to suggest I not commit without a script or something like that included. Just an FYI! "

"Thanks, Simone! I'm on it, I won't waste any more of your time."

"Expect word sometime tomorrow, Brett. I do promise I'll consider them. You know he's gonna hate spending time on low paying stuff like this right?"

Brett laughs, "That's what an agent needs to do sometimes, honey. At the end of the day, you're the model and he has to indulge you if he wants his cut."

"I guess so. Bye!"

"Bye, baby!"

He has an unmistakable excitement in his voice as you two end the call. You can't complain though, you dodged committing to anything and can always go in another direction if Kuhn convinces you this is a bad idea. You put the phone away and head to the closet to get the vacuum. May as well clean up for the inspection tonight as you wait for Kat to get back with you.