Adventures of Hollywood Jim Ch. 93

Jeff Murphy's proposition presented me with a quandary of the highest degree.

Option one was leave The Morrison Group and return to Artists Unlimited, in a much more controlling position than I ever could've imagined. And with Jeff Murphy effectively revive a company that to the outside world, that is the entertainment world, appeared to be dead and buried. But I knew if I told this to Roger Sullivan or Michael Baldwin they'd tell me I was insane. And if Jackie Morrison got wind of this, who knows what "the Jackal" would do? Plus there was no guarantee that AU would be as successful as before.

Option two was tell Jeff thanks, but no thanks, stay where I was and watch from the sidelines as a great firm became a memory.

But was there an option three?

The following morning I made the trek up to Jackie's offices located (naturally) at the top floor of the Century West Towers. I figured if I got there early enough I'd catch her before any meetings she had. Her office and her assistants and everything related took up almost the entire floor. I'd made friends with Debbie Malone who was Jackie's chief assistant and usually the person who accompanied her to all meetings. If anybody knew what she was planning, it was Debbie. She was in the midst of returning a call and idly making notes on her cellphone when I showed up.

"Well, if it isn't Mister Hollywood..."

"Hi Deb, uh, what's the bosses schedule today?"

"Believe it or not, pretty light, just a few conference calls mostly. Why?"

"Well...I wanted to bounce an idea off her."

"What kind of idea?"

"With all due respect, I'd rather tell her."

Debbie put her phone down and leaned in closer to me.

"Lemme give you one bit of advice, Jim. I've worked in the corporate world for 10 years. With someone like Jackie you don't bounce an idea off her. She gets these kinds of propositions every day. She might listen, yes, but I wouldn't count on anything."

My heart sank a little. I knew she was only trying to help. Maybe I was getting my hopes up too high.

"OK, well...uh...maybe an email would be better than an ambush."

"Smart thinking, kid."

I went back to my office and started an email, but found the words just weren't coming to me. Maybe if I didn't obsess over it, the words would come. I moved on to whatever current projects I had going. Later that morning, Tara buzzed my phone;

"Jackie Morrison on line two." She said with a mix of dread and curiosity in her voice.

That snapped me awake.

"What do you think she wants?"

"I guess I'll find out, thanks Tara..."

I clicked on my phone and Jackie immediately started talking.

"James! What's up? Debbie said you were here this morning and had an idea for me?"

"Well, yes, uh, it relates to a project...do you have a few minutes?"

"For you, James, I have more than a few, come on up."

Like I said, Jackie's offices dominated the top floor of Century West. Her office was a vast open area with a full service kitchen, conference area, home theater area in a corner, treadmill, Cross trainer and a Peloton bike, among other things. When I came in she was on the bike working up a sweat while techno music played on the sound system.

"James!" she yelled breathlessly "...hope you don't mind, I've gotten into a real groove here today and I don't want to lose it!"

"Right!" I yelled "Uh, pretty amazing setup you have here!"

"Absolutely...best office I've ever had! You should get one of these...you'll find muscles you never knew you had!"

"Well, with my luck I'd probably find muscle spasms I never had."

"Aww, you put yourself down too much..." she slowed her pedaling down until it was a gentle speed she was at, the music died down too "If you're hungry, Andre over there makes a mean omelet." She gestured to her kitchen where a white suited chef was cooking and smiled at me.

"Oh, uh, sure! Good idea."

Jackie got off her bike and dabbed herself with a towel. She wore a bright yellow outfit that clung to her body thanks to her sweat. "Just gonna get changed I'll be right with you...Andre, two western's, chop-chop!"

Andre immediately went to work while Jackie went into an adjoining room then came out in a robe and went to the kitchen area "OK, what's this idea of yours?" she said as she fed various ingredients into a Ninja blender, clicked it on and a multi-colored concoction began to form in it.

"Well, I remember we first met at Artists Unlimited, you were having a meeting with Chuck..."

"I remember it well."

"As I recall, you were trying to do some kind of merger with him and he turned you down...at least that's what he told me."

Jackie took a mouthful of her omelet and looked thoughtful.

"You're partially right there. This wasn't the first time I'd met with him, we'd had a few private meetings before that. You just happened to be there when he gave me his decision."

"And he said no."

She nodded "Chuck was a lot of things. He knew talent, he could be a great deal-maker, but he could also be a real bastard. On top of that he was a lousy businessman, very arrogant too. He knew the company was in trouble but he turned down a chance to save it."

I saw my opportunity.

"Uh, what if you could get back at him for turning you down?"

Jackie's eyes narrowed slightly "How do you mean?"

"I got a call from Jeff Murphy, he made me an offer to come back to the old company and run it with him."

"What did you say to him?"

"Nothing, I wanted to think it over. Don't get me wrong, I love what you've given me here. I suppose I still have some sentimental ties to Jeff, that's all."

"Then...why are you here?"

"Artists Unlimited is pretty much a shell of itself now; wouldn't you be able to pick up the company for a lot less than before?"

Jackie's eyes narrowed again, like she was deep in thought.

"And you've gotta admit, it would be a nice bit of revenge."

"It's an interesting thought, and you're right...it would be the best revenge. But what does the company have to offer? Most of their clients have already left."

"But wouldn't they be tempted to come back if they knew Jeff was working with you?" I quickly added "Until the firm went south they were the place everyone wanted to be. Wouldn't you want that for your company?"

Jackie rubbed her chin a little and smiled.

"Y'know Jim, you should've been an agent."

I went back to my office and thought about what I'd done and smiled to myself. This was one of those times when I felt like "Mister Hollywood" and other times when I was still the same old geek from Connecticut who got lucky with help from a friend. Yeah, Chris would be proud of me now.

A week later Jackie sent out an email to different people in the firm with changes to her schedule, she'd be in New York for a day, then in Los Angeles for a week, then going back to New York. Usually I gave little notice to these since I didn't deal with her on a daily basis, but I suppose it was nice to be thought of in this way. Then just as I was about to leave for the day I got a text message from Jackie;

"Turn on CNBC."

I clicked on the TV in my office and who was on there but Jackie Morrison, and the breaking news of a merger with Artists Unlimited, under the headline "Hollywood Super Agency formed".

"...It's true this is something of a huge project but I really feel in the long run it's one that will benefit the entertainment industry as a whole..." she said in her confident tone "Yes, I did attempt this some time back, the management at the time wasn't receptive and I knew this was a huge mistake on their part. But there is such a thing as second chances in Hollywood and this is one of them."

I'll be damned! Jeff was interviewed next and his happiness at seeing the agency saved was apparent. Tara Buchannan now joined me to watch the story.

"Wow, she bought the whole shebang?"

"Yep, seems she knows a good thing when she sees it."

"What do you think this'll mean for you?"

Just then my cellphone buzzed, the caller ID showed it was Roger Sullivan calling.

"I think I'm about to find out." I said as I picked up my phone.

"Hey, how do I get in on this deal?" Roger jokingly asked.

"You gotta know the right people, my friend."

"Well, I think she's nuts...but I'm not the deal maker."

A day later, it was formally announced that Artists Unlimited would now be a division of the Morrison Group but would largely operate independently, so Jeff would have the freedom to run the agency as he saw fit. The first order of business, to him at least, was making the formerly empty office space into a hustling, bustling agency worthy of its name. He set to work on new deals and plans to re-sign clients who'd left the agency. In many ways, he was just like his predecessor.

"I'm telling you, Jim...this place is gonna be big again." He told me in between phone calls and incoming text messages when we met for coffee "I don't know how to thank you."

"Hey, just don't make this place the squirrel cage it was when you know who was running it."

"Oh, believe me you don't have to worry about that."

"And don't forget your friends, either."

"Funny you should mention that...I reached out to a mutual friend of ours, Natalie Hayden."

"Oh, really?"

"She's interested in opening a Tokyo division."

"Man, good for her."

"You better clear your calendar, she's coming into town next week to discuss terms."

"So, she's coming to town, why should I do that?"

He gave me a look that implied something other than a casual meeting

"What, you think there's something going on with me and her?"

"Oh, I don't know...things have a way of just...happening." He said with a sly smile.

We stared at one another.

"You know you've got a devious mind." I said.

Jeff just chuckled and took a last sip of his coffee and grabbed his jacket "Think about it Hollywood. I've got work to do."

"Places to go and people to meet?"

"Absolutely, it's how I got where I am to-day!" he said over his shoulder "...see you around."

And so began the revival of Artists Unlimited.

Villa Milano was a pretty simple family restaurant that I passed just about every day. It wasn't all that trendy and I couldn't recall hordes of paparazzi lurking about the place. To me, it was just a good takeout place where minivans mingled with BMW's.

This particular evening I'd just gotten back into town after a series of meetings at corporate headquarters in NYC, and between the plane ride and the meetings, I was exhausted. So a good batch of spaghetti was on my mind, along with an evening at home with my big screen. As I stood at the front desk waiting for my order, I happened to look into the dining room area and to my surprise saw a pretty blonde sitting alone at a table, holding a glass of wine with a sad look of resignation on her face. She looked familiar so I moved a little closer, trying to see her face. To my surprise, I recognized her.

"Hilary?" I asked nervously.

Her head popped up and she looked a little closer, trying to recognize me.

"Jim?"

It was Hilary Duff. She now began to smile widely

"Yes, um, what are you doing here?" I asked as I got closer to her table.

"Well, I'm trying to make up my mind what to do with the rest of my night."

"Why's that?" I said as I sat down across from her.

"My online date stood me up."

"You're on one of those sites?" I was surprised to see someone like her using a dating app. It just seemed so out of place.

"To be honest, it was my sister's idea."

"I take it you haven't had much luck?"

"It's not necessarily that. I don't know, it just doesn't seem right." She said before changing the subject "But never mind me, what're you doing here?"

"Getting dinner, I just got back into town."

"So you've gotta figure out what to do with your night, too?"

"Something like that."

A big smile now came over her face.

"Um, how 'bout this, I get something to go and we can have dinner at my place. I haven't seen you in awhile anyway."

"I think that sounds like a plan."

"Alright." She said as she eagerly grabbed her purse and we went to the takeout counter. She had the same taste (or craving) as me and we soon had two orders of spaghetti ready to go. As we went out to our cars, she handed me a slip of paper.

"Here's my address, I'll see you at my place in awhile." She said as we stood at her white Range Rover HSE.

"You got it."

I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen her, but it had definitely been awhile. And a lot had happened in her life since then. She'd gotten married (and was now divorced) and become a mom. I pulled into the driveway of her home just behind her. With the exception of the black Porsche 911 it looked so, well, suburban. There was just enough daylight remaining to reveal a beautiful home, she'd certainly moved up in the world since I'd last seen her!

"What do you think of the place?"

"This is really great, I think the last place I saw you in, there was a surfboard mounted on the wall."

"Oh, my god! That's right!" she laughed as we went into her kitchen "I think I still have that!"

The bright white kitchen looked like any I'd seen back home, the refrigerator had slips of papers with reminders of school activities, phone numbers etc. In a way it was comforting to be reminded of home. There were also little photos of her son on it too.

"So, where's the little guy?" I said as I looked closer at one photo.

"With his Dad and grandparents." She said as she got silverware out for us.

"You're on your own?"

"Uh-huh, I figured if I was going on a date it was better that way."

"And the guy stood you up, real classy."

"Yeah, well, every date can't be perfect." She said with a shrug as she handed me a glass of wine.

"Maybe this one will be an improvement." I boldly said as we clinked our glasses.

"Awww, you're still a charmer." She said with a flirty smile.

It had been a long time since we'd seen one another and we had plenty to talk about. We laughed at our first meeting in London when she was the guest host of a MTV-style show called Music 360 and I was accompanying Tigress as their (unofficial) tour photographer.

"I remember you took this really pretty photo of me." She said with that classic smile of hers.

"Oh, yes I remember it well. You had on like a leather mini skirt..."

"I can't fit into that one now!" she laughed.

"It does make for an interesting thought. Mom's in leather."

"That sounds like a porno film!"

We both got a good laugh out of that one.

"What about now? What're you working on?" she asked.

"Still doing photos, just with a bigger company now."

"You like it?"

"So far, yes."

Hilary took a long drink from her glass and had a slightly hesitant look on her face.

"Do you, um, remember the photos you took of me in London...in the hotel?"

I knew exactly what she was referring to. The night we first met in London, we went back to her hotel for dinner and an impromptu photo shoot led me to photographing her in various bits of lingerie, then out of the lingerie.

Guess what happened next?

But that wasn't the end of things, months later I ran into her at a gas station and upon learning of the existence of the photos, I graciously gave them to her.

"Yes, I remember that well, too. And I kept my promise."

"C'mon, you didn't show them off to anybody?"

"Nope."

"I wouldn't have minded if you did, y'know." She replied with a naughty smile before adding "You're not the first to do that."

That raised my eyebrows!

She nodded "My husband, well, ex-husband, did that too. Take really, y'know sexy photos of me."

"You naughty girl, you."

She giggled a little "It was fun."

"Ohhhh-kaaaay."

"We were down in Mexico..." her eyes rolled a little "Had a little too much tequila...you know the rest."

"Yeah, I think I also know not to ask too many questions." I snickered as I began to gather up the dishes "Though I gotta admit I'd be curious to see them..." I said before quickly adding "...just to check out his photo technique."

Hilary clearly got the joke.

"You take care of this. I'm gonna put something more comfortable on, I'll be right back." She said, adding a quick kiss on my cheek.

She left me in the kitchen to do my "Mr. Domestic" routine. I didn't mind. Once I'd finished, I carefully wandered into a huge, elegant living room where a fireplace was already glowing and a baby grand piano was nearby with numerous framed photos on top of it. She had some southwest-style paintings on the wall. Georgia O'Keefe copies as it turned out. On another wall was a framed gold record. I could see out into the yard and the requisite swimming pool and barbecue area were there. Behind me I heard Hilary's footsteps as she came down the winding staircase. She'd changed into blue satin pajamas and as she strolled barefoot into the room, I couldn't help but notice the sexy jiggle of her breasts.

"Hey, like the paintings?"

"Yeah, O'Keefe, right?"

"Uh-huh, I just like the colors, they're really pretty. I used to see flowers like that back home."

"I should get something like that for my place." I said as I pointed to a purple flower painting "Might give it some class."

"Oh, and what's on your walls now, naked playmates?"

"Ha-ha. No, I've got a lot of rock 'n roll concert posters, vintage ones."

"That sounds awesome!" she said excitedly.

"Yeah, little obsession of mine, I guess."

Hilary gently turned me to face her and we kissed. Her soft lips were on mine. I opened my eyes slightly and could see hers were closed. And a look of pure love was on her face. Her eyes opened fully and she gave me that beaming smile the world always saw, her brown eyes sparkling.

"C'mon..." she said softly as she took my hand and led me upstairs.

Hilary led me up the stairs, past her sons' bedroom to the master bedroom. It was comfortably luxurious with a huge king-size bed dominating it. Hilary dimmed the lights 'til the room was a soft glow. She slowly walked over to me as I stood by the bed.

"My compliments to your electrician."

Hilary unbuttoned my shirt and slowly drew it off me. I reached for the sides of her pajama top and did the same. Her beautiful C cup breasts were now exposed, just as beautiful as I remembered along with the cute pink nipples, also just as beautiful as I remembered. I gently reached for the string that held her PJ bottoms and it loosened, letting them fall to the floor. I now saw her in only black thong panties, quite a sight to see. I was glad that I'd worn my checkerboard Vans shoes as they slipped off easily but was still a little hesitant as I unbuckled my jeans and Hilary slid them down along with my underwear. She smiled widely at me and softly caressed my dick. She didn't need to say anymore, her smile reassured me. She slowly pushed me onto the bed. As I lay flat on the bed, I felt her warm wet lips around my dick as it went into her mouth repeatedly. She came off it and slowly crept up to me.

"How am I doing?" she asked in a soft, sexy voice as she crept up onto the bed and began to straddle my hips.

"Feels wonderful." I said in the same soft tone.

She held my dick and lowered herself onto it, her eyes closed and head went back slightly, a deeply erotic moan came from her as she felt my manhood enter her fully. She looked down at me and began to rock herself back and forth on my dick, giving me that classic smile the world always saw. She must've known what would turn me on as she erotically ran her fingers through her hair, then caressed her breasts. Her breathing quickly became more rapid the more she rocked on me.

"Ohhhh...ohhhh...ohhh my god...ohhh yesss..." she moaned

My hands went to her waist and pulled her in closer so we could kiss. I gently rolled her over so I was now on top, she responded by wrapping her legs around my hips as I began to thrust into her. I kept kissing her and her moans were intermingling with mine. When our mouths parted, I could hear her fully;