Slate: The Salacious Story of a Hollywood Casting Director

by Rowe, Brian

  ---

  Brandon rolled into the office around 10:45, and he didn’t greet or make eye contact with Vivien for nearly an hour.

  “Is Alyson coming in today?” she asked, finally saying something.

  “No. She said she has to start looking for a paid job, so she’s only committing to Mondays and Tuesdays now.”

  “Are you serious? Does that mean we need another intern?”

  “I believe it does.”

  “OK,” she said. “Put that on my schedule for next week.”

  “Next week?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  Brandon finally made eye contact with her. “Well, what are you doing this week?”

  Vivien clicked her pen and started writing some names down on a yellow pad. “We have a session. On Friday.”

  “For what?”

  She smiled. “For The Men, silly. We have one more to do. For the forty-year-old.”

  Vivien walked over to his desk. She tossed the pad down and pointed to names she had written. “This is a start. I want you to set up the actors I have circled on this list, and bring them in first. Then I want you to set up the actors I picked on Breakdown and set them up after that. OK?”

  He threw the pad on the ground and turned back to his laptop. “No.”

  She didn’t think that word was in Brandon’s vocabulary. “What did you just say to me?”

  Brandon folded his hands together and looked like he was going to start lecturing his own boss. “Do you even realize what you put me through yesterday?”

  “That I put you through?” Vivien started laughing. “I’m sorry, Brandon, I’m confused. I just had one of the worst days of my life yesterday. What problems did I inflict on you? I’m curious.”

  “V, this is a business. And even though what we’re doing is wrong, and probably illegal, I like to think that this project that I wrote, that I’m helping you cast, that you paid me a lot of money for, means something to you.”

  “It does! Why would you think differently?”

  He put his left hand up. “Let me finish.”

  She crossed her arms and tried to keep listening.

  “Alyson and I spent nearly twelve hours on Monday setting up yesterday’s session. Now I don’t know what happened to you yesterday. I’m sure it was something awful. Probably involving your husband, right?”

  She glanced away and started chewing on her tongue.

  “I spent the entire day yesterday turning away one actor after another,” Brandon continued. “I got spit on, screamed at. Actors were spending hours trying to find our office, only to discover when they got here that the session had been canceled. After I had confirmed and re-confirmed and re-confirmed. Just for you.”

  Vivien shook her head. “Brandon, my not showing up, it was nothing personal. I promise it won’t happen again. I mean, I’m sorry, but I needed time to myself yesterday.”

  “You made me look like a fool,” he continued. “You made our office look like a fucking joke. I need you to take some time and think about what you’re really trying to do here. Because I can’t do this anymore.”

  He seemed to be finished. She did her best to look him back in the eye. “So, what? What does that mean? You’re not going to help me set up Friday’s session? I have to finish this. I have to finish what I started.”

  “I don’t care.”

  Vivien put her hands on her face and shifted the tone of her voice. “I’m sorry, OK? I know I fucked up.”

  He stared at her, still angrily.

  “Patrick wants a divorce,” she said, trying to control her tears. “He came to see me yesterday. He said a lot of horrible things. I need this session on Friday, Brandon. I need it to survive. If I don’t find what I’m looking for, then I will put this project behind us, and we will move on. OK? I promise.”

  “Seriously?”

  “I don’t ask this of you much,” she said, taking a step forward, “but I really need you to hug me right now.”

  And with that, Vivien slumped down to the floor.

  Brandon leaned down and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m here,” he said. “I’m here, Vivien.”

  “I’m so sorry, Brandon. I’m sorry about everything. I want the best for this office, I do. And I want the best for you.”

  “I know you do,” he said, rubbing her back. “Shhh. It’s OK.”

  He let her cry on his shoulder as two consecutive phone calls went straight to voice-mail.

  “I need you to promise me, V,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Friday is the last one. The absolute last one.”

  “I promise.”

  He looked into her bloodshot eyes and nodded. “OK. Let me get to work.”

  ---

  By the end of Thursday, Brandon had reached superstar associate status by confirming over 120 actors, all between the ages of thirty-six and forty-two, to audition for the role of Charles in The Men. Brandon had been conscious of the fact that the role required a British accent, but Vivien, of course, tried to get him to downplay that quality.

  “We’ve got 126 confirmed, and I’m still waiting to hear on twenty more,” he said.

  “Great. Fantastic.”

  Vivien stuffed her laptop in her bag and grabbed her car keys as she started to make her way out of the office. “Is Alyson gonna be here to help tomorrow?”

  “No, she’s only doing Mondays and Tuesdays now, remember?”

  “Oh, right.” She started putting her hair up in a ponytail. “Tuesday? Why Tuesday?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, she could at least do Mondays and Fridays. Nothing ever happens on Tuesdays.”

  “Well, I beg to differ,” Brandon said. “I think we could use an intern every day in this office.”

  “So you have less work to do?”

  “Exactly,” he said with a proud grin.

  “All right, well, set up some interns for me to meet next week.”

  “OK, I will.”

  She looked through her bag to make sure she had everything. “I’m gonna go run some errands, and I will see you tomorrow. Thank you, Brandon. Thank you for everything.”

  “You’re welcome, boss.”

  “Don’t call me boss,” she said. “We’re partners.”

  Brandon nodded awkwardly. “OK, partner.”

  “Bye.”

  She stepped out of the office into the unusually cold and cloudy afternoon weather.

  ---

  When Vivien parked the car in Lila’s driveway, her eyes were tearing up again. What Patrick had said still stung deep within her soul. She couldn’t get those vicious words out of her head.

  He’s right, she thought. It’s over. No one’s ever gonna want me.

  She opened her car door and stepped outside, a car across the yard catching her attention almost immediately.

  Vivien held her breath, and her eyes widened. She had seen this car before.

  This wasn’t Patrick’s lame Toyota Subaru.

  This was a 4Runner.

  -37-

  Vivien’s fingertips caressed the metallic bumper of the car as she walked into the street. As she got closer to the driver’s seat, she started to doubt herself.

  Could this really be him?

  “Hello?”

  She knocked on the driver’s side. There was no answer. She bent over and looked inside. The car was empty.

  “Vivien?” she heard from behind her.

  Vivien almost screamed. “Oh, Jesus, Nathan. Hi. You scared me.”

  He stood tall and confident, an infectious grin plastered on his face. “Look, I’m really sorry about the other night.”

  “That’s… that’s OK.” Vivien crossed her arms and tried to smile. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to see you.” He took a step closer to her. She let him. “Did you get my card?”

  Vivien could hardly breathe. “That was from you?”

  He didn’t hesitate. He took Vivien’s
hands and leaned in. Before she could even process what was happening, his lips were locked with hers. She didn’t kiss him back for the first few seconds, but when he didn’t pull away, she closed her eyes and fell into the moment. She wrapped her arms around him as he started to kiss her neck.

  “I’ve missed you,” he said. “I’m sorry I freaked out before. I was scared… and I can get… you know… really emotional…”

  “I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry if I pressured you in any way. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

  “Don’t worry, you’re not.” He smiled so adorably she wanted to ravish him right there on the street.

  “You wanna go inside?” she asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  ---

  Nathan was already unbuttoning his belt as he passed the kitchen, and his pants were off by the time he reached the bedroom door. Vivien turned around to see him coming toward her, his erect penis poking through his tight boxers like Woody Woodpecker. She still had her purse in her hand when she got down on her knees and started stroking it.

  “Oh my God,” he said, closing his eyes and starting to moan.

  She started bringing the penis close to her mouth when she saw that her bedroom door was still open. She kept stroking his dick with her left hand while she leaned over and tried to kick the door shut with her right foot. She reached as far as she could but couldn’t close it.

  Then she started to hear footsteps coming down the hallway. She needed to close the door fast, but she thought, in her insecure little brain, if she let go of this guy’s monstrous cock, he might run away forever.

  She kept her left index finger and thumb secured on the shaft like handcuffs and scooted herself closer to the door. She looked into the hallway to see Walter pouring himself a glass of water in the kitchen. As Nathan moaned again, his loudest one yet, Walter put the glass down and turned toward her bedroom. Her mouth opened wide. She finally kicked the door shut.

  Vivien pulled Nathan close to her and stuck her tongue down his throat. She marveled at his six-pack of wonders, so sexually inviting that she wanted to cut a knife through his body and crawl her way inside.

  Nathan, with his eyes still half closed, managed with ease to zip Vivien out of her dress, revealing both a tight black bra and black underwear. He pulled his boxers to the ground revealing his giant penis, a shaved pubic region, and an ass so toned she could fry bacon on it.

  She grabbed his tank top and ripped through it like King Kong. She crumpled it up and tossed it to the side. Nathan stepped back and smiled at her. Vivien inspected him from head to toe. She had never seen something so beautiful in her life.

  “OK,” she said.

  “OK,” he replied.

  Vivien took five slow steps forward and started kissing him again, this time with more passion than before. Nathan grabbed the back of her hair and tossed her onto the bed. She giggled as he brought his mouth to her neck. He started to kiss her all over, moving his way down one body part at a time. Vivien started shivering, in shock at what was happening.

  She had even forgotten about his scar.

  “You want me to go down on you?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She didn’t need to say another word.

  He kissed the area on her chest between her breasts and brought his tongue down past her belly button. He pulled off her underwear like a pro.

  Nathan went in for the kill. She didn’t notice until now just how long his tongue was. And it wasn’t until he entered her with it that she realized how powerful a tongue could be.

  Vivien leaned back against the bed, trying not to scream with pleasure, reaching for bars at the end of the bed that weren’t there.

  “Oh my God!”

  A spasm in her foot caused her to almost kick him in the stomach, but she successfully managed to just kick at the air. She wrapped her legs around his shoulders and drew him in deeper like a plunger.

  “You like that?” he asked.

  “Yes!”

  “You want more?”

  “Oh yes! Don’t stop!”

  He didn’t. Out of nowhere he started massaging her clit.

  “Oh my God!” She started pounding her fists against the bed and tossing her head from side to side. “Fuck! Oh, fuck!”

  She started thrusting up and down, every muscle in her body contracting.

  The explosion that followed was more earth shattering than any special effect in a Hollywood movie. She fell to her side as all the tension in her body drained away.

  “Oh my God… oh…”

  She started breathing heavily, and she reached for the glass of water on her nightstand. She downed it fast and sat up on the bed.

  Vivien smiled at the boy. “You’re pretty good at that.”

  “Thanks.” He stood up, his penis even more erect than before.

  “I hope that’s just the appetizer,” Vivien said, her hand grabbing onto the hard rock of infinite pleasures.

  He hesitated.

  Then he smiled.

  “Do you have any condoms?”

  “No.” She couldn’t remember the last time she had even seen one.

  He stared into her eyes, now with the look of a man who would stop at nothing to complete his mission.

  “It’s OK,” Vivien said. “You’re clean, right?”

  “Of course.”

  He brought his attention back to her chest. He took his right hand and unhooked her bra with a single magical movement.

  Vivien’s breasts were revealed. While there was some cellulite on her ass and thighs, and some sad lines and wrinkles gathering on her face, her breasts were near perfect. They weren’t big, but they were round and succulent. He brought his mouth to her nipples and started licking them with his tongue, bringing forth a new set of moans from Vivien.

  Nathan brought her down to the ground. She didn’t know what he was aiming for next. She and Patrick had only done it missionary style. Vivien got down on her knees and felt his legs grind up against hers. She blinked a few times.

  Then she felt him enter her.

  Nathan’s six-pack pushed up against her buttocks, and his penis started tickling at her G-spot.

  “Oh, what the! Whoa!”

  Vivien didn’t think this sexual encounter could have gotten any more exciting or innovative, but this was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

  He started thrusting faster and faster. She grabbed the end of her bed with her left hand and rested her right palm on the hardwood floor. Her sweat, which before had been spotty, was now dripping off her face like running water. Her heartbeat intensified to the point that she thought she might suffer a heart attack.

  If I were to have one, now would be the perfect time.

  Her G-spot had been dormant for the better part of a decade, and it’s reemergence in this inspired moment started tipping her over the edge.

  “I’m gonna cum,” he said.

  “Oh my God, do it.”

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes!” she shouted.

  “Are you ready!”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

  “Oh God!”

  “Oh yeah! Oh yeah!”

  “Oh my God!”

  Nathan screamed a final noise that didn’t sound human. He collapsed on the hardwood floor seconds later.

  Vivien rested her head against the back of her hands and stared up at the ceiling, her heartbeat finally slowing down, her eyelids becoming unbearably heavy.

  Nathan got up, dressed, and stepped near the bedroom door.

  “Have a nice rest of your day,” he said.

  “You too, handsome.”

  “I’ll see you at the callbacks?”

  “Of course,” Vivien said with a smile. “Consider yourself the frontrunner.”

  -38-

  Vivien floated into her casting session on Friday morning with the confidence of a cheerleader who had nailed every member of the football team. The actors who arrived early to try out for the role of Charles all to
ok notice of her radiant glow.

  “Good morning,” Brandon said as she walked past him.

  She sported a new pair of black high-heeled shoes. Her hair was straightened and slicked back, and her breasts looked about ready to fall out of her skimpy purple dress.

  “Good morning, Brandon,” she said in a low, sultry quality.

  He noticed the difference right away. “Oh my God!” Before she could respond, he jumped up from his desk and ran into her office, slamming the door behind him.

  “Oh my God! I can’t believe it!” He hugged her with so much power that Vivien struggled to breathe.

  “What? What is it?”

  “Don’t take me for an idiot. You got laid last night, didn’t you?”

  “What?”

  “Please tell me it wasn’t your husband. That would be so disappointing.”

  She grinned. “It wasn’t my husband.”

  “Oh my God, was it that hot guy from the second session?”

  She didn’t respond. She just took a step back and grinned.

  “Oh my God!” Brandon shouted. “This is amazing!”

  “I know. I can hardly believe it.”

  “Poor guy thinks you’re gonna put him in a movie now,” he said. “Oh well. He got to have sex with the mighty Vivien Slate. What’s more of a gift than that?”

  “You’re too kind,” she said as she sat down. She powered up her laptop. “How many people we have out there?”

  “Like fifteen or so. We have a full day today.”

  “Excellent.”

  “Do you even want to see actors today?” Brandon asked. “It sounds like you might’ve found your guy last night!”

  “Last night was a freakish one-time thing. I can’t imagine I’ll ever see him again.”

  Brandon laughed. “So you just used him. I like it.”

  “Last night, I got the fling,” she said. “Today, I want the boyfriend.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. My marriage is over. Today is our last session. It’s time to put at end to this, all of this, and move on with my life.”

  “I like the way you think.”

  He handed her the session sheet for the day’s round of auditions and walked out of her office.

  Brandon stepped into the waiting area and started counting heads. “Has everybody signed in? I need everybody to sign in.”

  She stayed in her office and started flipping through the session sheet. There were twenty-eight pages of names. She stood up from her desk and made her way into the audition room.