{"id":467,"date":"2012-11-23T10:36:04","date_gmt":"2012-11-23T10:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/?page_id=467"},"modified":"2012-11-23T10:36:04","modified_gmt":"2012-11-23T10:36:04","slug":"oops-im-a-hollywood-agent-sample","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/?page_id=467","title":{"rendered":"Oops! I’m A Hollywood Agent Sample"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\nCHAPTER ONE<\/p>\n

Christmas In Hollywood<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m running off to Rio with Carlo.\u2019
\n     Cerys\u2019s phone call from Hollywood woke me up in the middle of the night in London. I blinked, trying to focus on what was so urgent, but running off to Rio would probably qualify.
\n     \u2018Rio?\u2019
\n     \u2018Yes, he says we should fly off this evening and throw caution to the wind. I think he\u2019s planning on proposing to me on a sunset beach. Can you imagine, Ffion?\u2019
\n     I could. Even on a freezing night in London, tucked up in bed with the snow fluttering past the window, I could picture luscious looking Carlo, stripped to the waist on a romantic beach in Rio, asking my best friend Cerys to marry him. At thirty\u2013five she\u2019d been concerned that she\u2019d missed the marriage boat until Carlo came along last December. I remember because the decorations and festive chaos was already up and running. Recently she\u2019d been hoping he\u2019d present her with a ring.
\n     \u2018He\u2019s hinted about getting married, and even asked what type of ring I\u2019d choose if someone were to ask me to marry him. Oh, Ffion, I\u2019m so excited.\u2019
\n     \u2018I\u2019m delighted for you.\u2019
\n     \u2018But there\u2019s only one thing . . .\u2019
\n     My heart sank as I sensed a favour looming. We\u2019d been best friends since school in London, and while I\u2019d stayed in my home city to become a newspaper journalist, Cerys had left long ago to live in Hollywood. She\u2019d become an agent for actors. Quite a successful one. We\u2019d kept in touch and she visited London a few times a year, especially when some of her clients were working on films over here. I\u2019d visited her occasionally, but Hollywood wasn\u2019t particularly my scene. Working as a tabloid reporter in London suited me. I had no ambitions beyond our shores, though I was happy for Cerys. But whenever she asked for a favour, it always involved trouble.
\n     Her real name was Agnes. But Agnes the agent didn\u2019t have the persona she wanted, so she\u2019d changed her name to Cerys the celebrity agent. This was more her style, and I\u2019d become so used to it that I hadn\u2019t called her Agnes in years.
\n     \u2018I need a favour,\u2019 she said. \u2018You told me that you were taking a week off from the newspaper in London?\u2019
\n     \u2018Yes, I want to enjoy Christmas. I need a break. It\u2019s been a hectic year.\u2019
\n     \u2018Yeah,\u2019 she said, sounding more American than a former Londoner. \u2018You didn\u2019t even get a vacation in the summer. So I thought you\u2019d jump at the chance to get some heat in your bones.\u2019
\n     \u2018You want me to fly to Rio?\u2019
\n     She laughed. \u2018No, don\u2019t be silly.\u2019
\n     Her words hung in the air and I sensed this favour was at the top end of the ten scale.
\n     \u2018I want you to fly over to Hollywood. Stay in my house for Christmas. Live it up in the sunshine and glamour.\u2019
\n     \u2018House sit?\u2019 Surely she could lock up her property for a few days while she skipped off to Rio.
\n     \u2018Yes . . .\u2019
\n     There was more.
\n     \u2018I really need you to look after my business. I\u2019m expecting some deals to come through, just paperwork, but they need signed and sorted. I don\u2019t have anyone else I can trust going through my private business. These deals are important. I\u2019ve been working on them for months and they\u2019re due to come through now.\u2019
\n     \u2018I know nothing about being a Hollywood agent. You know that.\u2019
\n     \u2018Yes, but you\u2019re a journalist, you\u2019re media savvy. You\u2019re…you. You know what you\u2019re like, Ffion. You\u2019re a fusspot for details and I know that you could handle this. All you\u2019d have to do is phone and email me when the paperwork comes through. I\u2019ll deal with things from Rio, email them back, and then you can send the paperwork out to the studios in Los Angeles. The actors I\u2019m dealing with are real sweeties. You\u2019ll have no problems with them. You\u2019ve never been star\u2013struck or in awe of Hollywood. You\u2019re a London chick through and through. And besides, this is the silly season. Everyone is too busy with parties and promos. You\u2019ll probably have no contact from them. I just need these deals sorted out. They\u2019re due to arrive at my office in the next few days.\u2019
\n     Hmm . . . Christmas in Hollywood?
\n     \u2018Come on, Ffion. It\u2019s Christmas. Carlo\u2019s going to propose. I\u2019ve worked so hard on these deals. You know that you love my house. You can relax and swim in the pool. Catch some sunshine.\u2019
\n     I\u2019d been hoping for a white Christmas, and judging by the snow in London this was pretty certain.
\n     \u2018Say yes, Ffion. I\u2019ll owe you a hundred favours.\u2019
\n     And so I agreed to fly over to Hollywood and step into Cerys\u2019s shoes while she was away. Christmas in Hollywood? Santa and sleigh bells in the sunshine? It would be different.<\/p>\n

I finished work at the London tabloid at five the following evening, and caught the first flight out to California. I didn\u2019t tell anyone at the paper I was going to Hollywood, not even my editor, Gavan.
\n     He\u2019d taken over as editor earlier in the year when the previous editor left. Luckily, I worked well with him and had no problem when my old editor left. I thought I\u2019d find it difficult working with a younger editor who was only two years older than me but we got on okay. He was tall, slim and attractive with dark brown hair, and initially a few of the women who worked at the paper were rumoured to have a crush on him. They said it was his sexy hazel eyes, and roguish smile that did it. But he hadn\u2019t dated any of them.
\n     Anyway, I\u2019d packed a suitcase, but Cerys said that I should rummage through her wardrobe of designer clothes. We were similar in size, though I was slightly slimmer especially from all the work I\u2019d been doing for the past year without a break. Dress size eight to ten, depending on how hard the tabloid editor worked me, was the only thing Cerys and I had in common. I was three years younger, but as childhood friends I\u2019d never noticed the difference. At five foot six, she was a bit taller, and I hadn\u2019t seen her as a brunette, like me, since she was sixteen. Cerys was a blonde with blue eyes. My eyes were grey. While she worked out at the gym I relied on a harassing work schedule to keep me fit. So far it was working.<\/p>\n

I stepped out of the taxi that dropped me off outside her house in Hollywood. It was a white painted bungalow with a front lawn and a patio and pool out back.
\n     I shaded my eyes against the bright sunlight, and the pleasant heat reminded me of September in London. She\u2019d left the keys under a pot plant round the back of the house, and I let myself in via the rear door that led to the kitchen and dining area. The house was filled with sunshine streaming in through the patio doors. I put my suitcase down on the polished wood floor that had cream coloured rugs scattered here and there and matched the cream and light grey decor. The only vibrant colours came from a couple of large abstract paintings in the open plan lounge\/dining area.
\n     A Christmas tree sat in the corner near the faux log fire. The fire was off, obviously, but I could picture that the room would be cosy when lit up at night.
\n     I went over to the Christmas tree, wondering why a letter was dangling from one of the baubles. It was addressed to me. I tore it open and read the message.
\n     Thanks a bunch for doing this, Ffion. Your presents are under the tree. Merry Christmas sweetie. Love, Cerys.
\n     Four shiny wrapped gifts were lying under the tree and a large box of chocolates. I decided not to open the presents until Christmas but helped myself to a couple of the sweets.
\n     Chewing on a chocolate coated toffee, I wandered through to her office which was situated in one of the rooms at the back of the house. Doors opened from the office on to the patio. It was a lovely house.
\n     A note was pinned to the computer. Have fun!
\n     I planned to relax on a lounger by the pool later, after having a swim of course.
\n     I made myself a cup of tea to refresh my senses after the long haul flight. Then I hung my things up in the wardrobe. They looked drab in comparison to Cerys\u2019s glamorous clothes. My classic grey and black ensembles wouldn\u2019t cut in here. Besides, she\u2019d given me carte blanche to raid her wardrobe.
\n     I flicked through the array of exquisite fashions. Should I have a sleep to catch up from the flight? Or dress up to the nines in clothes that were totally beautiful? She\u2019d always had great taste in clothes, while I was more the practical sort. Yes, I liked fashion, but high street fashion dominated my wardrobe at home. I made a reasonable wage from being a journalist for one of the top tabloids, and being single I had no one except myself to look after, but I never indulged in expensive designer wear, preferring to keep up with the high street trends. It worked for me as a journalist in the city.
\n     After exhausting myself with my own fashion show, I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up prone on the big double bed.
\n     It was almost nine in the evening. Where had the time gone? I stretched, had a shower, washed my hair, put on my comfy black leggings and a white chemise, and padded through to the kitchen to make myself a cuppa and something to eat. I pulled the fridge door open. It was fully stocked with everything I needed.
\n     I rustled up dinner using the fresh vegetables and salad stuff in the fridge and cut myself two slices of bread. I added some cold cuts and sat at the breakfast bar enjoying the first meal I\u2019d had since I\u2019d left London.
\n     I\u2019d just finished my meal when the doorbell rang. Cerys had said that no one would come near the house. No clients at least.
\n     Feeling suspicious of the caller, I kept the lights off in the hall and crept through to peek out to see who it was.
\n     I blinked. No, it couldn\u2019t be. Trae Linden was one of the top heartthrobs in the movie industry. I didn\u2019t know he was one of Cerys\u2019s clients. I\u2019d planned to familiarise myself with her client list later.
\n     He paced up and down the lawn, determined to get in. He\u2019d obviously seen that someone was at home.
\n     I went to answer the door. All I had to do was tell him that Cerys was away on business for a few days. We\u2019d decided this was our mantra if anyone wondered where she was. Running off to Rio with Carlo was not to pass my lips.
\n     All six foot three of him towered over me. It\u2019s one thing to see someone acting on the silver screen and agree that they\u2019re gorgeous, but it\u2019s quite interesting to see them in the flesh. As a journalist I\u2019d met a few celebrities and having worked in the media I definitely wasn\u2019t the sort to be star\u2013struck. No, not at all. It didn\u2019t phase me. And it\u2019s true that some of them aren\u2019t as handsome in real life. Part of the Hollywood persona isn\u2019t there. It\u2019s all part of the dream. However, this man looked even better than on film. And then some. He was the most exquisite creature I\u2019d ever seen. Not my type though, not that this was a possibility. He was out of my league by a zillion miles. Trae belonged to other women like, I don\u2019t know . . . women who were nothing like a London hack like me.
\n     His suit was pale grey and looked very expensive. A white shirt and silvery grey tie enhanced his smooth, golden tanned skin and blond hair. The blue of his eyes defied reality. Maybe he wore contacts, though judging from his other assets the blue was probably genuine.
\n     I\u2019d seen him earlier in the year being interviewed on television, promoting his latest action adventure film in which he played the lead role. Judging by the amount of media coverage, it was a success and popular with his fans. Now here he was standing on my doorstep wanting to get into the house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHAPTER ONE Christmas In Hollywood \u2018I\u2019m running off to Rio with Carlo.\u2019      Cerys\u2019s phone call from Hollywood woke me up in the middle of the night in London. I blinked, trying to focus on what was so urgent, but running off to Rio would probably qualify.      \u2018Rio?\u2019      \u2018Yes, he says we should fly off this … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":473,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-467","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=467"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":476,"href":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/467\/revisions\/476"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.de-annblack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}