"I'm sorry, Jim," she said, glancing down at her cell phone. "But it's Marcus and I've got to take his call. He might be calling to let me know if I got the part."
Her patient husband sighed. Here they were out for a lovely dinner at one of the most exclusive L.A. restaurants, and once again a beautiful evening was going to be ruined. Jim had decided to make tonight's meal something special, hoping to take Erin's mind off of the audition. But this was a cycle that he knew only too well, and he feared that tonight would be like so many others, with his wife in tears over another lost part.
The crazy thing was that Erin West was a stunningly attractive 35-year old, who in any other part of the country and in any other profession would easily outshine every other woman in the room. But in Hollywood she was one of hundreds of actresses who had had a brief taste of success in her late teens but for the last ten years had been unable to land any role beyond some modeling jobs and a few commercials. And even her last screen credits had been for very minor roles in small budget movies that went direct to video. All of this was a far cry from the start of her career more than twenty years earlier. At thirteen, Erin had landed a notable role in a soap opera, and followed that up five years later as a supporting character in a TV sitcom that wasn't quite successful enough to make it to syndication. And after that, essentially nothing.
Still, looking across the table at Erin, Jim couldn't help but feel she was the most desirable woman in the room. She was wearing a clingy, semi-transparent red top that neatly matched her hair color while emphasizing her voluptuous D cups, with the lacy fringes of her red bra just showing above the scoop neck. Smart stylish black pants clung to her waist and butt while flaring out just a little to give a look of elegance suitable for the fancy restaurant. And the 3-inch heels only served to accentuate her 5 foot 9 inch frame and 135-pound hourglass figure. "What other woman," Jim thought to himself, "can have near perfect 36-25-36 measurements and still wake up every morning fretting about her appearance?" But that was Hollywood for you, and he only wished that Erin could be more content with the wonderful life they had together.
Jim's career in real estate provided more than enough income to meet their needs, and his knowledge of the market combined with the growing property values in southern California and some shrewd investments over the last ten years meant that they were set for life. Anything they wanted he could provide - everything except the opportunity for her to once again be a star.
Erin stepped away from the table and out into a small hallway. Jim could see her listening intensely to the phone, and then her shoulders sagging, her hand with the phone dropping to her side, and a quick wipe of her eyes as she returned to the table.
"Bad news," she began as she sat back down at the table. "It went to somebody else."
"Oh baby," Jim responded, sympathetically reaching across the table to take her hand. "I'm so sorry. I know this one meant a lot to you." A year or two ago he would have added, "There will be other chances," but his innate honesty and openness prevented him from saying something he didn't believe.
"I so wanted this part, and it was perfect for me. And the audition and the callback went so well."
"What did Marcus tell you?"
"Only that he thought there might have been some hesitation over the terms."
"The terms, baby? I thought you said money wasn't going to be an issue for you on this one."
"It wasn't that, Jim. It was, well you know, just some of the usual stipulations."
Jim was pretty sure he did know, and inwardly smiled. His wife was one of the most incredibly sexy women he had ever known, and in their intimate moments she could be uninhibited, and playful. And in many of her modeling assignments, she projected an aura of smoldering sensuality even while keeping her clothes on. But that was the issue - in public and in front of a camera, she insisted on keeping covered. A "no nudity" clause was a standard part of the agreement that Marcus had sent over to the producers after her callback, and it was that stipulation that had led to the choice of another actress.
"So you told them you only use body doubles, is that it?" Jim asked sympathetically.
Erin nodded. "You know, honey, it's just never felt right to me. I guess starting off in this business as a child, I had it drilled into me not to show my boobs." She paused, slowly caressing the back of his hand as he reached towards her. "Besides, I wouldn't want to do that to you. I'd feel like I was cheating or something."
Jim jerked his head imperceptibly at this; he had never heard her verbalize that before, and suddenly things clicked into place. How could he not have realized that; she was doing this for him.
"Erin, I wish you had said that sooner. That is so sweet but it's just not how I feel about you. When you're acting or doing a modeling assignment, I'm incredibly proud of you. Why even here in the restaurant, I'm actually flattered when other guys check you out. I don't blame other men for looking at you. In fact, I hope this doesn't sound too creepy, but I actually like it."
He could see a tear welling up in the corner of her eye, so he pulled his hands away and reached for the bottle of wine sitting on the table. "Here, let me refill your glass." Then, raising his glass, he proposed, "A toast, to the most beautiful, sexy woman I know."
As they sipped, Jim carefully steered the conversation onto other topics, hoping that Erin's obvious disappointment would fade. After ten or fifteen minutes, and another glass and a half of wine, Erin abruptly responded to his question about her plans for next week when he was going to be out of town with a complete non sequitur.
"So did you really mean what you said?" she asked with her head tilted down slightly, her eyes peering up through a lock of her hair that had slipped across her brow.
Jim knew what that look meant when they were in the privacy of their home, and he instinctively felt his cock throb in response to her smoldering look. But here in a restaurant, he wasn't sure how to interpret it. In fact, he wasn't even sure what she was talking about.
"Well, you have me there babe. I usually mean everything I say, but just what are you referring to?" he replied with a slightly bemused look on his face.
"Did you mean what you said about liking it when other guys look at me..." She hesitated, then seeing Jim smile and nod in agreement, she continued, "I mean even if I was naked."
Now his cock really did start to respond, pressing more tightly against his pants. He took a deep breath, carefully considering his words. "Especially if you were naked," he responded. He could see that his answer had shocked and surprised her, but he had the good sense to just keep quiet and let her process it in silence.
After a suitable pause, he went on. "Erin, you have to know that I am 100% faithful to you, always have been and always will be. And I hope you'll always feel that way about me." He could see her nodding in agreement. "But I've always known two things about you - you're an incredibly talented actress and you have one helluva body. Why would I ever ask you to hide that from other people?"
She looked straight at him - almost through him, Jim thought - and quietly said, "I had no idea."
He could almost see her inner thoughts, the gears moving and things falling into place. He smiled as an idea sprung to mind. Acting more on instinct than logic, he leaned over and whispered to her.
"I'll prove it to you. Right now." He could see a look of hesitation in Erin's eyes. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do, baby," she answered immediately.
"Good, then here's what I'd like you to do. Go to the ladies room, and while you're there, slip off that sexy bra you're wearing and come back to the table. I'll order dessert and coffee for us while you're there."
It took Erin a few moments to remember the top she had chosen to wear that evening, but as soon as she did, she began to protest. "I can't do that with this top, Jim. It's almost see-thru."
"Is it?" he asked naively. "I hadn't noticed. "In that case, it would be terrible. Our waiter is going to see your breasts and probably some of the other diners as you walk back to the table. Oh, and then when we have to leave the restaurant we'll probably walk by some people. And there's going to be the valet who parks the car. Whatever was I thinking of?"
And he just grinned like a little boy. "Why don't you take another sip of your wine and head off to the powder room?' And with that, he carefully adjusted the napkin on his lap to hide the rather obvious bulge in his pants.
His plan had succeeded; he had struck just the right tone and Erin giggled as she answered, "What a naughty boy! But I guess I have no choice." And with that she gulped half a glass of wine, stood up and walked toward the restrooms.
As soon as she left, he signaled the waiter to order dessert and cappuccinos, and asked if the waiter could convey a request to the maitre de. Knowing that paparazzi sometimes were waiting outside the restaurant to get some candid shots of the many celebrities who frequently dined there, he slipped a fifty dollar bill to the server and suggested that if a photographer could be waiting outside in fifteen or twenty minutes, there would be another $50 waiting for the man at the door.