By the time he asked that question, however, the waitress arrived, bringing them long black coffee for him and the cappuccino for Stacy. And this caused her to change the subject.
«Rather, tell me about you, James Alliston. Why did you come here to L.A., and what did you do in the last few years?»
«Nothing important.» He merely said. «I decided to start over my life and my new book here.» And in part, as he said it, he felt as if he had not done anything so blatant in the last few quarters of years that he could proudly described.
«Oh, come on, James. I know you wrote a bestseller book, and from this one they got you a movie, which I must admit I've watched at least seven times, and read the double.»
He felt a little embarrassed at that moment, but he didn’t show it. However, when a person like Stacy Smith admitted that he had fallen in love with your novel so much that he had peeled at least ten times, it was a bit like he had put his back to the wall and discovered all his papers.
«As you said, James... » she paused and looked at him with mischievous eyes. «Your fame precedes you.»
There has always been something in Stacy, he suddenly realized that he could to keep him tied to his gaze. As if he had never wanted to detach him from those magnificently blue and magnetic eyes. As if she were the only one, besides Karen, to know how to read them inside.
Suddenly, he felt he wanted to empty the bag and, after a while, he did.
«My wife left me because for some time I had distanced herself from her because of my constant arrogance in always wanting to understand what could not be explained in words. For not giving her the attention she deserved. After that, I let myself go to alcohol and I don’t have the slightest idea of what my new book will be about, although my agent continues to insist that the inspiration sooner or later will come back. The problem is basically that once the contract is signed with a publishing house I will have limited time. Also , the interviews and presentations for Unforgivable, my last book, are scarce. And for this, I can’t find anything fascinating that can make me get the idea for a new novel.» He paused , and concluded. «This is my life, until today.»
She stared looking at him for a while , before speaking.
«Everybody's going through their ups and downs, this shouldn’t be an ease for you to give up and not try again, don’t you think?» Then, after a brief pause, she added, «Anyway, you told the truth. Your life is not exactly the best in recent years.» She said, to get him around.
«Yes, you would not really consider it what you call tempting.» He admitted.
«Come on, I'm just kidding.» Stacy said, smiling at him.
«In any case , we do what we can.» He concluded, then.
«This is the right spirit. After all, life is one, right?» She said, euphoric.
He had to admit that Stacy's company was rather rejuvenating. He found himself pleasantly surprised to appreciate the company on her part.
Suddenly, she looked at the time, and said:«my goodness, it’s very late! I have to go home before come home from school to prepare lunch.» She made the woman nervous, without even specifying who she meant.
He didn’t even have time to reply that Stacy was already leaping out of the cafeteria. But just before she left, she came back and wrote a number on a slip of paper that she pulled out of her bag in a hurry.
«In case you want to remember other anecdotes from the past.» She said, with a beautiful open smile.
Then she strode toward the exit, leaving him there, wondering why he couldn’t take off the pleasurable feelings she had transmitted, without even being able to get that splendid smile out of his head.
About thirty minutes later, he was facing the Waterton Publishing Company as he strode toward his agent at a decidedly calm walk.
«You're late.» He made the latter without pleasantries.
«Don’t worry, the wait likes to women.» He replied, sounding more sure than he felt that morning.
He knew the chief editor of the Waterton Publishing Company , and if there was one thing he could do was deal with women like her, but that was not the only reason he felt so sure of himself.
The two started at the entrance, where a sliding glass door opened as they passed.
«Quite elegant.» He did. «They have been renewed in the last few years.»
«Yes, and that worries me.» He confessed his agent.
«Why?» He asked, looking around.
There were more women than men inside the building. Probably it was a coincidence, but the chief editor was one of those big women all of a piece that could be given more balls of a man in flesh and blood. Not that he wanted to be sexist, but that structure was certainly a form of command that gave women greater power, at least for number. In the end, he preferred to attribute this to a simple coincidence.
Once they arrived at the reception, it was her agent who spoke first, saying that they had an appointment with Arleen Johnson, in other words the chief editor of the facility. The secretary looked at his agent, but after a few moments she took the phone and spoke in a low voice, so that they couldn’t hear. After that, he put it down again and turned to both of them.
«You can go up, now. Third floor on the left. You'll see Arleen's office at the end of the corridor.»
The two started, but he heard the muffled laughs from two other secretaries who spoke something behind them. Probably, once again for the affair of his agent, he thought.
«When will this story end?» He asked, his agent.
«Don’t worry, you'll see that in a couple of weeks they will not even remember who you are.»
«This should make me feel better?»
«No worries, they'll all forget it very soon. After all, it happened a little less than three weeks ago.»
Arrived on the third floor, they followed the directions from the secretary, and as the young woman said, they found themselves in front of Arleen's office. To be honest, there was a little waiting room where another black woman secretary, it should be a lot of it, and just as inviting. It was his agent to make improper comments.
«I remind you that Michela is waiting for you at home.»
«Oh, I wouldn’t be very sure, by this time she'll be working for some rich businessman to restore his home.»
Seeing his uncertain gaze, his agent gave him more explanation.
«Oh, didn’t I tell you? Michela in recent years has taken a degree in art desining, and she’s not bad at all. She has refurbished most of the houses in L.A. and its surroundings.» He made the man, visibly proud.
The secretary, in a jovial tone, told them that they could now enter, giving a quick glance at him and giving him a knowing look. He could have taken it as a compliment, but the experience of his agent had certainly taught him how essential it was to keep the instincts braking toward fiery secretaries.
Once inside Arleen's studio, she motioned for both to sit down while she was busy making a phone call. The two men sat in chairs just in front her.
He had time to examine the woman better, and she was exactly as he remembered it. Sturdy build, loose long brown hair, a pair of green eyes and a paler skin than it should be, having spent half his life there in Los Angeles. Once the phone call ended, she turned to them with a look between the desperate and the skeptical.
«A life of hell.» She said, looking first at him and then looking at his agent. «Awful, I tell you, it's the life of a chief editor. Writers presumptuous rich of pretensions, without wanting to sacrifice even a little, young aspiring writers who believe themselves the new Bukowski of our century but who can’t write a damn thing. All with their latest fashion laptops, convinced that this helps them at least a little to write better, and maybe it was true. Where is the old Royal?» She asked rhetorically, knowing exactly how much they had been a technology that had been well-worn for years now.
«And then, there are writers like you, James.» She did the woman, with an amused grin.
He didn’t know wh
ether to take it as a compliment or not, so he fell silent and forced a smile.
«Give me a blow if I didn’t go into defibrillation when I heard from this guy,» Arleen said, pointing to his agent, «that James Alliston was back in town.»
Andy cleared his throat. «In fact, you were the first one we thought about, Arleen.»
«Oh, for God's sake, Andy. Stop it with this bullshit.» The woman said, and the man fell silent.
He found himself thinking that if they had been in World War II, Arleen would have been a great general.
«We all know how they threw both out at Rare Bird Books.» She continued, Arleen.
At that point, they cleared their throats and coughed in embarrassment.
«Listen, why are you here? If you're going to waste my time, I've had quite a few.»
He spoke up, at that point.
«No, Arleen, listen... » he began to say. «There's been a misunderstanding with Dickens, but we're here for serious matters and we're going to sign a contract for my next book with a serious publishing house.»
Arleen seemed more careful now, and then he went on.
«I ended up with bullshit and everything. I want to get back on track really, Arleen. And really both Andy and I, we think it's a great start to come here to you.»
The woman seemed to think about it, so he tried to press the trust button again.
«Come on, Arleen. You know I would never make fun of you.» He added.
His agent started to speak, but once again Arleen did not allow it.
Evidently she was still angry about the time when Andy had shamelessly rejected her.
Yes, that's right: Arleen had tried indecently with her agent and he had turned her down. How was it possible? Well, surely the woman's size had been a good incentive to make Andy unwilling to go to bed with her, besides the fact that he had been married for eleven years now.
«Very well, and what will the next book be about?» She asked, suddenly.
He took both of them off guard with that question, but in fact, they would have to wait for Arleen to make it to him. After all, he could not blindly trust them.
«Ehm... let's see... » he began to say. «My new book will speak about... » but left the pending phrase for too long, to the point that Arleen understood that he had not the faintest idea what his next book would be about.
The woman sighed, and then said:«Listen, both of you. I trust you, James, and I read your latest book and know your talent. This doesn’t mean that your reputation has made you fall in the rankings.»
«What ranking?» His agent asked, interrupting Arleen.
«Can you shut the fuck up and let me finish?» She said, quietly.
Andy fell silent and she went on.
«Most of L.A. doesn’t want to work with you, not because of the lack of talent on your side, so try not to take it personally. You are one of those few true writers who can be found today. On the other hand, you have a past behind you and a reputation that would not envy many.» He paused and rubbed his temples. «Despite this, I want to trust both of you. But, no bullshit. Have we understood each other?» He concluded, looking at them, who nodded in unison.
Then all three of them got up and she handed Andy the sheets of the contract she was supposed to sign, probably that night at home; Andy never signed before reading any clause or post it.
«Welcome back to Los Angeles, James Alliston.» She did, then, Arleen.
The moment her agent took the contract papers, the woman touched the Andy’s hand and gave him a knowing look. And this was just the beginning, he thought.
Go on…
The Author
Lived in Italy, his country of origin, up to the age of eighteen. At the age of majority he decides to move abroad and travel the world; Australia, New Zealand, England, France. He embarks on an inner journey and at the same time practical, looking for himself. After four years, away from home and family, he returned to Italy and decided to jump into the world of writing. Achieved success already from his first novel "That place where dawn meets the ocean" climbing the charts and reaching the top in the top positions with 100,000 copies sold all over the world. The book has been translated into more than 19 languages and has won a position among the top 10 best-selling books in the top100bestseller of amazon, the third in the ranking in the bestsellers of Youcanprint and the ninth as more profitable. His novels usually relate to stories of love and intertwining that refer to the most classic references in the literary genre after 1945 and in modern literature.
Other California Dreaming series ebooks
- Unbecoming Meetings (#2 of the California Dreaming series)
- Hard Decisions (#3 of the California Dreaming series)
- A New Beginning (#4 of the California Dreaming series)
- Interviews, Sex and Responsibility (#5 of the California Dreaming series)
- Old Knowledge (#6 of the California Dreaming series)
- Shadows of the Past (#7 of the California Dreaming series)
Other books by the same author
- That place where dawn meets the ocean: A Novel
- Chains (Saga):
Blood Ties (#1 chapter of the saga)
The Awakening (#2 chapter of the saga)
- The aphorisms of the twenty-first century (how to find one's inner light)
Arrival in Los Angeles (#1 of California Dreaming)--A Los Angeles Series Page 4