Kuhn puts his foot down and Simone gets angry. . .

You wander out of your bedroom in the morning to find Kat all sprawled out on the couch with a blanket on the floor. So much for the air mattress, you think as you cover her back up. You check your phone and see it's 7:00. You see the email icon blinking and open it up. Inside the box is a message from Brett's secretary with the questionnaire and appointment details. You forward it to Kat with a quick note about returning the form and a promise to try to speed the date up some. Then you order some breakfast from the delivery app.

You spend the next half hour on your computer doing classwork until the food arrives. As you expected, Kat begins to stir as the aroma of breakfast fills the small apartment. She wanders to the kitchen bar area and plops down on a stool. Not a word is exchanged as both of you polish off the meal. You then cock your head to the side and look over at her.

"Nice to see you join the land of the living."

Kat shakes her head and tosses the tray in the trash.

"Yeah. Only nuts get up this early, Strawberry. I'm going back to bed."

"Ok but you're going to have to go back to the guestroom. I'm going to need the computer to talk with my agent."

"Sure. . ." she grumbles as she wanders to the sofa, grabs the blanket, and heads back to her room.

You laugh, wipe down the counter, and head to the bathroom. She's never resembled a morning person even without a hangover. By 8:30 you are out of the shower and at the computer setting up the video software to harass Walker. You take a second to make sure your pink tank top is straight and clean. No need for a stray piece of lint of something to throw you off.

After a quick glance down the hall to make sure Kat's door is shut, you dial up your agent. He answers on the second ring. You see the bald man appear on the screen wearing a blue track top and a Mets ball cap. Sometimes you wonder if he does this just to see your reaction or is always in gym mode.

"Ms. Stewart. A pleasure to speak with you as normal. What can I do for you?"

You look into the camera and start brushing your hair. May as well multi-task while talking you figure.

"Ok. You should have had time to get Brett's emails I figure."

"Yep but you aren't going to like what you hear I imagine."

You narrow your eyes as you stare back at him. The brush gets deposited on the desktop and your arms cross under your breasts. The last thing you need is more bad news. Kuhn laughs as he watches you begin to posture.

"Well, I guess that got your attention, Red."

"Spill it, Walker. I'm really not in the mood for any shit this morning."

"OK. I have his two jobs. They arrived maybe half an hour after you let me know they were coming. Neither is worth your time at this point."

"I'll be the judge of that. Let's go over the proposals."

"Fair. He's offering two jobs. One is horrible and the other might work later. Which do you want to cover first?"

"Let's start with the movie script, that seems the most interesting."

"OK, horrible it is. The script is dismal and will crater a lot of the goodwill your premier this weekend will garner."

"That bad?"

You start playing with your hair, twirling it around a finger absentmindedly. You catch yourself and stop, grabbing the brush again.

"Yep. I'll spell out the plot but the proposal is short on specifics. A rich businessman sends his son to an Ivy League school called Estrogen University. The name is meant to allude to the fact the college is populated by 'girly-men and babes' in the words of freshman, Neville."

You nod, "That sounds kinda cliche to me but is it really outside the corny stuff writers stuff in porn plots?"

He shakes his head.

"Maybe not but it gets worse."

He starts reading the script summarizing as he goes.

"When the girls do something bad and lose their scholarships, the son talks his father into paying their way in exchange for. . . favors. At no point does the script say what got the school money taken away or exactly what deal was made. The rest of the movie is about the three girls working off their debt in various depraved ways."

"Depraved ways?" You ask, not sure you really want an answer.

"The father hands two of the girls off to his son and keeps one for himself. The boy becomes the most popular man on campus. My guess is that has something to do with using the girls. The father, Jackson spends his part of the movie calling the last girl his son's girlfriend and brags to his buddies about 'tapping that ass' with various demonstrations along the way."

You laugh. Sounds like Branich really has something with this movie, something kinda lame but something nonetheless.

"And which is my role?"

"Beats me, he didn't mention the casting. Weird from a CASTING agent isn't it? Elizabeth is the woman pimped by the father so maybe her? The script doesn't even bother to give the other two women names. The entire proposal was a page and a half long, double-spaced."

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. . ." You tap your fingers against the desk thinking. "And other than it being bad, why should I turn it down? It sounds quick. It should be an easy way to take care of Kat's problem."

"It is quick and easy, probably just 3-4 hours max. The problem is everyone will see you accepted a measly $500 to do this as a follow up to Agra's big film this weekend."

He shakes his head, drinks some soda, and continues.

"It'll be interpreted as a 'tell' so we'll see endless job offers worth pennies for fetish work along these lines figuring you have a soft spot for it. It's a bad career move. Since I'm here for your good and not hers, my position is easy to figure out."

You smile, "Seems all we need to do is get the word out it's a favor and then turn down a bunch of bad jobs. They won't waste their time forever right?"

"Wrong. That's just the type of move everyone would expect me to try to drive prices up. Once we give on this one they'll keep trying. Your best bet is not to show weakness to begin with. Let's just leave it in the garbage and move on."

You narrow your eyes again and stare at him through the camera.

"I feel like you're just bullying me here you bastard," you growl at him.

"Take it however you like, Simone. You're still in your probationary period. Thanks to Agra's emergency, you escaped having to do all the amateur stuff we discussed when you joined. That didn't skip you past my guardianship though. I still have to OK everything you accept for a few more weeks. So let's stop wasting time and discuss business."

You make a big show of rolling your eyes.

"And what business would you like to discuss then, Papa?"

He sighs, "Being petulant doesn't become you sweetheart. Let's knock the auction out really quick. At root, they want a half-hour cam Q&A Saturday and then an auction for your company one night at a mutually agreed upon time. The pay is $300 for the cam work and your time is donated as a write-off for the charity auction result."

"Let me guess. This one is a no too?"

"The timing could be better. Your film drops Saturday about an hour after the Q&A. You should still get good enough bids to count as a gold star in your file. The bad news is only the cam folks will care and those jobs are rarely any good."

"So do nothing?" You ask fingers drumming on the desktop again.

"That is my recommendation. Starting Sunday if this goes over as well as expected, you should have very lucrative contracts coming in."

"Not a recommendation since you refuse to let me do anything is it?"

"If you want to look at it that way, sure. You can screw up your career when I'm off the case. Until then, learn to live with me," he offers a wide smile.

"And if I call Brett and offer to do the film for free? That wouldn't involve you at all."

"Normally yes but since he offered contracts on both, I'm pretty sure he'd be smart enough to turn you down. He likes his job."

"Whatever asshole. Don't call me, I'll call you," you growl. "Maybe we'll speak next week sometime."

You immediately reach out and close the connection. Since you've never hung up on him before, you're hoping he gets the idea you aren't happy right now at all.

What a fucking jackass, you mutter as you get up and head back to your room to finish getting dressed. You still have a good deal of time before you have to get to the coffeehouse to babysit the game room. Plenty of time to figure out your next move. . .