Up to now my only contact with the hierarchy at Artists Unlimited had been confined to my boss Jeff Murphy and his boss Chuck Tyler. The last few days Chuck had been in meetings with the legal department over the pending lawsuit filed by his former partner Marty O'Brien. As a result, Jeff was taking on more than his usual workload. And I was about to find out a little more about the history of AU in a most unexpected way.
I was delivering some new photo sheets to Jeff's office. His secretary Natalie noticed me as I came off the elevator.
"Hey, gorgeous." She said with that classic smile "Coming to see the big boss?"
"Oh, Natalie, are you talking about yourself again?" I said without looking up from my photos before acknowledging her smile with my eyes and my sly smile.
"Go on in." she said
To my surprise, Jeff had company. A rather gregarious and animated man was talking a mile a minute as Jeff watched, barely getting in a word. Seated was a silent brunette haired girl I only saw from the back of her head.
"So like I said!" he continued "this one can't miss, she's got all the right moves, all the curves, big plans for this one Jeff!"
"Right, I agree, big plans." He said before noticing me at the door. "Jim! Great to see you!" he said as he jumped up from his desk "As usual, it's been an adventure with you, keep in touch." He said hurriedly to the man, like he was glad to see me and end this meeting.
The gentleman escorted the lady who was seated to the door.
"How ya doin'? Gary Mackas, great to meet you" he said with a generous handshake.
I now got a better look at his companion, whoa!
She was fairly short and petite, but had a body that screamed centerfold in her low cut black t-shirt and matching jeans. I couldn't help but get a glimpse at a generous chest that filled out the shirt incredibly well.
"Hi, there darlin'!" she said with a sweet accent as she was led out by Gary.
"Yes...hi to you too." I said as she walked out and gave me a sweet look back at me over her shoulder.
I watched her as she headed for the elevators before turning back to Jeff, who leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh as he looked at the ceiling.
"Who...was...that?" I said to Jeff
Jeff finally leaned forward in his chair.
"Shut the door, Jim." He said with a sigh
I did and took a seat.
"OK, you just saw a part of the company we don't talk about."
"What side is that?"
"Long ago when the agency opened, one of their first clients was a company called VCX, they used a different name back then but you can probably guess what they do. Anyway, as my dad tells it, they kept us going for awhile until we picked up some real clients. Gary's dad was close friends with mine and he always promised to keep them on, it's a little more important now because his dad is, well..." his voice trailed off.
"His dad is what?"
Jeff spun his hand slightly around his head like he was trying to say something as his eyes looked upward.
"Not well?" I said
"Yes, that sounds a lot better than what I was about to say, thank you."
"OK, that answers who the guy was, but who was the lady with him?"
"All I know is her name is Laura, she's from Texas, very Italian and she's their new up and coming starlet. But that's probably all we'll ever know."
"Why's that?"
"Gary Mackas only comes in here once a year, thank god, to re-sign his paperwork with us since he runs VCX now. Like I said, it's a part of the agency we don't talk about freely. And I'd appreciate it if you did the same."
"OK, you got a deal."
"Thanks, between us getting sued by Chuck's old partner, and all my other work, I really didn't need that clown showing up. Even if the girl with him was, well..."
Again, his voice trailed off and he spun his hand again, like he was waiting for me to provide the right words.
This time I just started at him.
"Let me know when you find the words." I said as I left his office with him still trying to find the right words.
As I got on the elevator, my cellphone buzzed with an incoming text message;
"Meet me at the Polo Lounge tonight, would love to see you again." A pair of hearts and kissing lips emphasized the sender, "Mimi Sheraton" whom I knew as Paris Hilton. She was right; it had been awhile since I'd seen her. I never knew what she had in store when she contacted me. The Polo Lounge though was different. I'd heard of it but never been there. Perhaps she was looking for a real date. We'd never had one in all the time we'd known one another.
I pulled into the Beverly Hills Hotel's underground garage and found a space for my Mercedes SLK convertible next to a gleaming Corvette Stingray of 1970's vintage with a license plate that said "CIAO BELLA".
"What a sweet ride." I said to myself as I looked it over before heading inside to the famous Polo Lounge.
"Good evening sir, are you meeting someone?" a crisp doorman said at the entrance.
Now I was stuck! If I said her name I'd be out of there fast. Maybe her alias would work.
"Uh, yes...Mimi Sheraton." I said
"Ah, yes." He said "Have a seat at the bar, she'll be down momentarily."
This was not the place to order a Corona!
"Uh, yes...vodka martini, extra dry." I said
"Any particular Vodka, sir?" the bartender asked
"Oh, uh...whatever's popular should be fine."
I had never ordered a martini in my life. That was strictly my dad's drink of choice. I took a sip like I would any other drink and the concoction hit me immediately.
How he ever drank these every night I'll never know! He must've had a steel plated liver implanted during the war.
My phone buzzed again with a message from "Mimi".
"Can't make it tonight, flight from NYC delayed indefinitely, gonna stay overnight here, so sorry!" with some sad faces added.
"OK, tonight I'm just another well-dressed patron at the Polo Lounge" I thought.
What do I do now?
I happened to look at the huge mirror behind the bar and noticed a woman entering. She had on a short, low cut dress somehow held up by sparkling straps. She said a few words to the doorman and made a slow path to the bar where she sat a few seats down from me.
"Hi, Jack." She said with an easy southern drawl "just a ginger ale for now, honey."
I tried not to look but I suddenly realized it was the girl from this morning. If this is the girl Gary said had "all the right moves, and all the curves", man, was he right!
Just then she turned in my direction and caught me looking at her.
"Hi there! I saw you this morning." She said
"Yes, evening."
She walked over to my stool and sat down, oh my god what a body!
"I'm Laura, I never did get your name."
"Jim." I said as we shook hands
"Are you waiting for someone?"
"Well, I was" I said "I just got a text message from her cancelling our date tonight."
"Aw, too bad." She replied as she sipped her drink "I got stood up too, my man is back in New York. I was supposed to spend the whole weekend with him here."
"Man, that would've been cool." I replied
"Still is, he told me to enjoy myself and charge everything to his company." She said as she jangled her room key.
