Mind Over Matter

aside. “I appreciate all the help.”
    “I’m fond of Clarissa.”
    “I know. I appreciate that, too. Now I think you deserve a reward.” She leaned closer and caught her tongue in her teeth. “Anything in mind?”
    He had plenty in mind every time he looked at her. “We can start with that coffee.”
    “Coming right up.” She rose, and out of habit glanced at her watch. “Oh, God.”
    He reached for a cigarette. “Problem?”
    “ Empire ’s on.”
    “A definite problem.”
    “No, I have to watch it.”
    As she dashed over to the television, he shook his head. “All this time, and I had no idea you were an addict. A.J., there are places you can go that can help you deal with these things.”
    “Ssh.” She settled on the sofa, relieved she’d missed no more than the opening credits. “I have a client—”
    “It figures.”
    “She has a lot of potential,” A.J. continued. “But this is the first real break we’ve gotten. She’s only signed for four episodes, but if she does well, they could bring her back through next season.”
    Resigned, he joined her on the sofa. “Aren’t these repeats, anyway?”
    “Not this one. It’s a teaser for a spin-off that’s going to run through the summer.”
    “A spin-off?” He propped his feet on an issue of Variety on the coffee table. “Isn’t there enough sex and misery in one hour a week?”
    “Melodrama. It’s important to the average person to see that the filthy rich have their problems. See him?” Reaching over, she dug into a bowl of candied almonds. “That’s Dereck, the patriarch. He made his money in shipping—and smuggling. He’s determined that his children carry on his business, by his rules. That’s Angelica.”
    “In the hot tub.”
    “Yes, she’s his second wife. She married him for his money and power and enjoys every minute of them. But she hates his kids.”
    “And they hate her right back.”
    “That’s the idea.” Pleased with him, A.J. patted his leg.“Now the setup is that Angelica’s illegitimate daughter from a long-ago relationship is going to show up. That’s my client.”
    “Like mother like daughter?”
    “Oh, yes, she gets to play the perfect bitch. Her name’s Lavender.”
    “Of course it is.”
    “You see, Angelica never told Dereck she had a daughter, so when Lavender shows up, she’s going to cause all sorts of problems. Now Beau—that’s Dereck’s eldest son—”
    “No more names.” With a sigh, he swung his arm over the back of the sofa. “I’ll just watch all the skin and diamonds.”
    “Just because you’d rather watch pelicans migrate— Here she is.”
    A.J. bit her lip. She tensed, agonizing with her client over each line, each move, each expression. And she would, David thought with a smile, fluff him off if he mentioned she had a personal involvement. Just business? Not by a long shot. She was pulling for her ingenue and ten percent didn’t enter into it.
    “Oh, she’s good,” A.J. breathed at the commercial break. “She’s really very good. A season—maybe two—of this, and we’ll be sifting through offers for feature films.”
    “Her timing’s excellent.” He might consider the show itself a glitzy waste of time, but he appreciated talent. “Where did she study?”
    “She didn’t.” Smug, A.J. sat back. “She took a bus from Kansas City and ended up in my reception area with a homemade portfolio and a handful of high school plays to her credit.”
    He gave in and tried the candied almonds himself. “You usually sign on clients that way?”
    “I usually have Abe or one of the more maternal members of my staff give them a lecture and a pat on the head.”
    “Sensible. But?”
    “She was different. When she wouldn’t budge out of the office for the second day running, I decided to see her myself. As soon as I saw her I knew. Not that way,” she answered, understanding his unspoken question. “I make it a policy not to sign a client no matter what feelings might come through. She had looks and a wonderful voice. But more, she had the drive. I don’t know how many auditions I sent her on in the first few weeks. But I figured if she survived that, we were going to roll.” She watched the next glittery set of Empire appear on the screen. “And we’re rolling.”
    “It took guts to camp out in one of the top agencies in Hollywood.”
    “If you don’t have guts in this town, you’ll be flattened in six months.”
    “Is that what keeps you on top,