Authors note-Thanks for your patience everyone, new stories and adventures are coming soon for Hollywood Jim
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The beach was so beautiful on this morning. The fog was slowly rolling in and I loved the feel of the sand between my toes as I walked the beach. In the distance I could see a solitary figure casting a huge fishing pole into the surf. He stuck the pole into the sand and sat down on a beach chair and puffed on a cigar. The ocean breeze felt great and the fog slowly lifted somehow and revealed a beautiful, but confusing sight. An elegant white Rolls-Royce with a crisply attired chauffeur at its side was parked on the beach near the fisherman.
"Who parks a Rolls on the beach?" I said to myself
I was somehow drawn to approach the man who puffed on his cigar. As I got closer, the driver tipped his cap to me.
"Heyyyy...Hollywood!" the fisherman said as he saw me approach.
It was Chris, my old friend and business partner.
The partner who'd...oh, no...
"Great morning, huh?" he said looking around at the empty expanse of beach and ocean "I hope the fishing's as good."
I was too stunned to speak, but he seemed to know why I reacted to him the way I did.
"Aw, you don't have to worry...this ain't like the last time I saw you." He said referring to the dream I'd had after the O'Brien shooting "Things have changed, and for the better." He continued as he stood "I told you that things would work out. I knew you'd be okay, in fact, you're better than OK, man." He said with a chuckle.
I was still unable to speak
"You're gonna be fine, Hollywood. You'll always be fine, man." He reassured me as he looked at his gold watch "Whoa, I got places to go."
"You take care of yourself, partner." He said as he shook my hand
He went back to the Rolls and the driver elegantly opened the door for him
"Don't worry about a thing, Jim." He now said "Big things are gonna keep happening for you, my friend. It's your destiny, don't ever doubt it."
The door closed and the Rolls silently proceeded down the beach and disappeared into the mist.
I was alone on the beach.
My eyes popped open and I was now in bed. The sheets were a silky white and I could hear the ocean outside, the breeze billowing softly through the curtains and faint bits of sunlight coming through. I turned over and looked up at the ceiling fan as I ran my fingers through my hair.
"It was a dream...my god, it was a dream." I said in a raspy voice
"What is it baby?" a sleepy woman's voice with a distinct Latin accent said.
Her light brown skin contrasted beautifully with the white of the sheets. And the curve of the sheets showed she was naked beneath them, as was I.
"Um, strange dream...a very strange dream." I replied
"Oh, baby... was it a bad dream?" she said in a soft voice as she held me close to her
"No, just...very strange"
"Awww...go back to sleep baby...shhhh...go back to sleep" she said softly as she held me and stroked my head. "You can tell me all about it later...shhhh...sleep baby."
Her breasts were soft and warm and I could still smell her perfume from the night before.
It almost made me forget I'd just had a dream about a dead man.
But I certainly remembered how I got here...
One thing I never wanted to become was jaded. It always astounded me that people who worked in the entertainment field, even on the fringes, like I did, could become so blasé` about who they saw or met in Hollywood. So I always went to work every day with the attitude that I was part of the greatest business in the world. I considered it to be a privilege to be amongst those on the way up, those at the top or even those perceived as on the way down. And those few that allowed me into their private worlds, all the better. I still had to pinch myself sometimes to be sure that I was really here. That's how I always knew I hadn't become jaded by my work. It was like Mr. Gump's box of chocolates.
It was close to year's end and on this morning as I went into Chuck's office, I found him on the phone speaking Italian. It surprised me to say the least.
"Where'd you learn Italian? You can barely speak English sometimes."
"Like everyone else, Rosetta Stone." He said as he hung up the phone "best twenty bucks I ever spent."
"Twenty bucks, how'd you ever get it that cheap, that usually sells for like 300 hundred."
"Chinese garage sale, you find the most amazing things there."
I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, maybe he got a counterfeit version and he'll insult more Italians than charm them. That might be rather amusing to watch!
"You ever heard of a guy named Pompeo Posar?" he now asked me
"Sounds familiar."
"It oughta be, he's been photographing centerfolds for the better part of thirty years."
"Whoa! And I thought I had a pretty good job."
"Well, my friend, you do" he said with smile "that's why I'm giving this one to you."
Uh-oh. That could mean something bad or...
Just then the double glass doors to his office opened and accompanied by our second in command Jeff Murphy strode a Latina beauty in wearing black jeans and a purple t-shirt topped off with a Nike jacket.
...Or something good!
"Ahhh! Good morning Chuck!" she said in a buoyant tone
"There's our star!" He said as he stood up and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Jim, meet Sofia Vergara."
"Oh! Wonderful! We've met before, hello again, darling." She said as she offered me a well manicured and soft hand and an electric smile.
"You've met before?" Chuck said, surprised
"Yes, I met him on his first day here, he looked so nervous."
Everyone laughed at that.
"So, let me get down to business." He began "We have a big photo shoot we'd like you to do in conjunction with her Pepsi campaign. Pepsi has already done the print ads but they'd like some additional shots for other markets."
"Really? What markets?" I asked
"Mine, where else?" Sofia answered with a laugh
"Exactly, Pepsi really wants to give this a big push in the Latin markets. We'll be filming a TV commercial too. So the photos will be a nice bonus for their website, kind of a behind the scenes setup."
