My Life With The Movie Star

by Hoffmann, Meaghan

  “Sounds like an okay conference,” he said. “Are you working tonight?”

  I could not believe how unbelievably good looking he was. He did not belong at my conference. I was used to much older customers with beer guts. “We have a cocktail reception tonight,” I replied. “So technically I’m on the clock.” Just as, that came out of my mouth, I felt myself blush. He wasn’t asking you out, stupid, I thought to myself. I desperately needed to end this conversation on a more professional note. “My name is Abby,” I said as I handed him my card. “If you ever need an integrated sales system, give me a call.”

  “Okay, Abby, thanks.” He smiled a sweet, crooked smile. “My name is Gray. I have to apologize as I’m fresh out of business cards, but if I’m ever looking into a computer system, I will be sure to give you a call.”

  I watched him walk off and wondered how I had been able to hold a conversation with him for that long. He was way out of my league, but I had felt a connection. Just then I felt a hand on my arm and noticed that Melanie had joined me. She had put on a black sheath dress with a suit-coat over it.

  “Wow, who was the hottie?”

  “His name was Gray. I think he felt bad that I was down here by myself and decided to come over and talk to me. I can’t believe I gave him my card; he must think I’m silly.” I could feel my cheeks turning bright red. I was never this upfront with guys who I found attractive.

  “You gave him your card? That’s very good for you – getting outside your comfort zone.”

  Melanie had been bugging me for a while to get back into the dating world. Part of me thought Melanie only wanted me to date so that she could re-live her twenties vicariously through me. She had been married for over twenty years and had three kids.

  “He was cute!” I chirped.

  “Let’s go,” Melanie said. “We have a big night ahead of us.”

  We walked in Tech Con Convention just as other vendors started to show up. Soon the convention center was busy with business people making small talk and drinking the complementary two drinks we received for the convention.

  All night long, I kept thinking about Gray. I kept peeking up to see if he might stop by again to say hello. I was a bit disappointed when the evening came to an end, and Melanie was bugging me to go out to dinner with her. Oh well, I thought to myself, I still have a few more days. Maybe he will show up again.

  Melanie was optimistic at dinner. “Didn’t you say he had to take clients out?” she pointed out. We had found a greasy-spoon diner just down the road from the hotel. I was starving by that point, so anything sounded okay to me. I ordered a cheeseburger and Melanie had a chicken-salad sandwich.

  “Yes,” I said, “But I was still hoping he might come by when he was done.”

  “Well, you don’t know what time that is,” Melanie stated.

  “Your right. He did say he was in sales so maybe he will pass along my card to one of his customers.”

  “Or maybe he will call or email you.” “Abby you need to be more positive. You are a beautiful girl with a great career and head on your shoulders. He would be stupid not to call you.”

  “Thanks Mel. I guess I have been down on myself. I just haven’t had a date since John.”

  “Well, I think that’s more because you weren’t ready to date anyone yet. Now time has passed you’re ready for a new romance in your life. Why not Gray?” Melanie asked. Melanie and I finished up dinner passing on dessert and quickly made our way back to the rental car.

  The drive back was more congested than on the way to the restaurant. We both noticed a ton of commotion around the movie theater down the road from the hotel.

  “Gosh, what’s opening tonight?” Melanie asked.

  All we could see in the parking lot was tons of teenage girls, all screaming and holding up signs. There was plenty of security around the place too, as well as news cameras. Whatever was going on was an enormous event. Then I remembered my conversation with Lisa. “Oh, it’s that horrible Texas High School movie,” I said. I laughed quietly to myself, imagining Lisa and Rachel at a movie theater in Milwaukee. I wondered how many girls had turned up there. They would have been the old maids in this crowd.

  It was quite late when we made it back to the hotel, and I had an unusually early day the next morning. We had to be at the convention center at 7 a.m., yuck! That meant I had to be up at 6 a.m. I’m not much of a morning person and value my sleep, but that night I could not get my brain to shut up; all I did was lie in bed and think about Gray. It had been a while since I had something of a crush on a guy. It felt nice to have someone to think about. Maybe I would have sweet dreams about him. Either way, I knew the alarm would go off much too early.

  Chapter 3

  The alarm went off with a loud unfamiliar beep promptly at 5:50am. I could have slept an extra 10 minutes, but this was my first convention with my boss and I wanted to get down to the convention floor promptly. I struggled out from under the covers and remembered where I was. I then noticed that my little Thor was not curled up next to my legs. I always felt guilty when I went on a business trip and had to board Thor. Hopefully he would forgive me when I picked him up with a brand new bone.

  I quickly got myself showered, and found my next outfit. I threw on some black slacks and a purple button-up shirt. Again, I struggled with my hair. In the end, I decided just to straighten and let it hit my shoulders. I was in desperate need of coffee, so I quickly made my way down to the hotel coffee shop. In the queue, I was fumbling with my things again, and barely noticed the guy in front me until he turned around.

  “Hello again, Abby,” Gray said in a smooth, calm voice.

  I could hardly believe that he had remembered my name! I fumbled with my purse as I tried to say something back. “Hi, good morning,” I said, trying to balance my laptop case, and purse to get out my money. I was doing an exceptionally poor job with the balancing act. Gray gave a quick chuckle and reached into his pocket.

  “Let me get that,” he said quickly and paid for my coffee. “You seem to have your hands full.”

  He looked much more casual today in jeans and a polo shirt. There was something about the way he smiled. I could imagine that he was the center of attention in his office. He was so polite and charming; he must have every woman eating out of the palm of his hand. I’m also sure that he had no idea how charming he truly was.

  “Thanks,” I said. I was still trying to balance everything in my arms, along with the hot cup of coffee.

  “Let me help you,” Gray offered and took my laptop case from me. “Are you heading back to your booth?”

  “Ya,” I said. “Should be a big turn out today. How was your dinner last night?”

  Gray chuckled softly to himself. I rearranged my purse and coffee, now free from my bulk laptop case. We started walking down the long corridors again. I was much too nervous for any kind of conversation other than small chit-chat.

  “Oh, I guess it went well,” he replied, looking down at his feet and then back up at me as if he had some sort of secret.

  “Where did you end up going?” I asked.

  “A steak house. Where else would you go in Texas?”

  I agreed with him, and we walked on. Before I knew it, we are back at my booth. Gray set my laptop down. “Would you like some help setting that up?” he offered.

  “Sure. Thanks!” I replied.

  Gray took the laptop out of my bag and searched around for the power cord. He then was struggling to find the outlet. I walked over and pointed it out to him, all the while wishing I had brought a camera. Lisa would never believe my story about this guy.

  “So where are you from?” Gray asked. He finished plugging in the computer and turned it on for me.

  “Oh, I’m from a small town in Wisconsin called Port Washington. It’s thirty miles north of Milwaukee.” I always feel the need to say how close to
Milwaukee I live. Somehow being thirty miles from a recognizable city makes me feel less like a small-town girl. I had always considered myself a city girl growing up in Atlanta, but now I wouldn’t move back to a big city for anything.

  “I have never been to Wisconsin,” Gray stated as he sat down in one of our chairs. “Isn’t that the dairy state with the happy cows?”

  “California has the happy, warm cows. We have the cold, miserable ones.” I thought it was funny that he brought up the happy cow commercials. I remember seeing them on TV a few years back and thought they were hilarious. A great depiction of cold Wisconsin winter.

  Gray had an accent, but I could not place where it was from. It could be British or Australian. He sounded almost American; as if he had spent a lot of time in the states it was barely noticeable anymore. “Where are you from,” I asked.

  “Well, I was born in England, but I have lived in New York City and LA most of my adult life,” he said.

  That explains why he lost his accent. New York was such a melting pot; I’m sure it would be hard to keep it for long.

  “Wow, NYC and LA! Where do you live now?” I asked.

  “My house is in LA, so I spend most of my time there, but I do like to go back to London when I can,” he replied.

  Great, I thought to myself. I finally meet a cute guy without having Lisa and Rachel around to charm the pants off of him, and he lives on the other side of the country.

  “I have never been to Europe.” I said. I walked over to the other chair and sat down. I had about twenty minutes until the conference started, so I might as well be comfortable. I knew the rest of the day I would be on my feet, demoing our new software.

  “Well, you should go sometime. It’s an incredible place to visit,” Gray stated.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.

  The convention hall was starting to get busy. Vendors were showing up at their booths and getting ready for the day. I know that Melanie would be down shortly. I also knew that she wouldn’t mind Gray keeping me company. She would probably be happy that I was talking to him again, even if I had to bring her down to reality and tell Melanie that he lived in LA.

  “I should be going,” he said. “Do you have any lunch plans today?” My heart skipped a tiny beat.

  “No,” I said. “We break for lunch between 11:30 and 1:30.”

  “Would you like to grab a bite with me?” He had a twinkle in his brown eyes.

  “Sure!” I said, hoping that I didn’t sound too desperate.

  “Would you mind if we ate at one of the restaurants here? I don’t want to keep you from your booth too long.”

  Gray got up and started to leave. Before he got out of our booth, he had turned around and shot me the most incredible smile. “OK, I will meet you at the booth at 11:30.”

  “OK, see you then,” I answered.

  I watched him walk off and did a celebration dance when he was finally out of sight. It had been ages since I had a date, and never with someone this fantastic looking. I would have to think about how to explain him to Lisa. She would want all the standard details. I would have to explain that he looked like a young James Dean, or a brown-haired Brad Pitt. I immediately whipped out my cell phone and texted her the news. She quickly replied that she was happy I was enjoying myself in Dallas, but she was still sleeping, since she had gone to the midnight showing of Texas High with Rachel. I texted her back that she was lucky she could sleep in.

  Melanie joined me shortly afterward, walking in caring a bagel from the coffee shop, and I told her my plans for lunch.

  “Wow, look at you. Only one day in Texas and you have to beat the boys off with a stick.” Melanie said proudly.

  “It’s just lunch. I’m not marrying him,” I stated.

  “Well, there is always a beginning.”

  The morning was a rush of excitement. We had many store owners at our booth looking at our program, so 11 a.m. came fast. Melanie quickly shooed me away from the booth to go and get ready for my date. She knew how long it had been for me. I quickly ran up to my room, fixed my hair and re-applied some lipstick. I looked as presentable as possible.

  I wondered how long Gray would be in Dallas? Maybe if, all went well with lunch, this would lead to a dinner date. No, I told myself; don’t get too excited; it was polite he offered to take you to lunch.

  When I got back to the booth, he was already waiting for me. I could see the Melanie was about to burst; he must have been there a while.

  “Hey there!” Gray said excitedly. “I thought you might have forgotten about our plans.” He smiled his cute crooked smile at me.

  “Oh, I asked Abby to run an errand for me,” Melanie chirped. Giving me a wink over Grays shoulder.

  “Sorry you had to wait for me,” I said.

  “I wasn’t waiting long. Shall we?” He motioned his hand towards the convention door.

  We walked to the hotel restaurant and were seated almost immediately. When the waitress came for our order, he ordered a grilled-chicken salad. I ordered the same. I thought it was kind of strange for a guy to order a salad. Back in Wisconsin, most men lived to grill red meat. In the city of beer and brats, salad was not on most menus. Once the waitress took our menus, I started to feel nervous. Gray was fidgeting with his napkin I could tell he was also nervous. I guess first dates aren’t easy for anyone despite how cute you may be.

  “How was the convention this morning?" Gray asked “It looked as if you had a sizeable list of leads.”

  “It was busy but good. Lots of potential prospects. I’m hoping to close a few deals I could really use the commission for some home repairs.”

  “You own your own home? Aren’t you a little young to be a home owner?”

  “Well I worked a lot of odd jobs in high school and was a receptionist all through college. I saved all my paychecks so that I could purchase a home right after I found a job.”

  “All work and no play?” Gray asked.

  “I guess you can say that. I did have fun in college I enjoyed going to football games, parties, the normal stuff. I just made sure I saved as much money as I could. Did you go to college?” I asked.

  “No I started working right out of high school.”

  “For the same company?”

  Gray looked at his hands again and then back up at me. “I change companies every year or so.”

  “That must be difficult having to work with new people all the time.” I stated. "It must be hard changing jobs every year."

  “You get used to it.” Gray said. “I’m sure you will have plenty of sales from this convention. It’s not fair when the sales girl is as fetching as you are.”

  I started to blush. He was flirting with me.

  “Well, thank you. Tell me about your company, you said you’re in marketing and sales?”

  Grays mood suddenly changed, and he started to play with his napkin again. The waitress interrupted his train of thought brining us our drinks.

  “Well, I have some bad news,” Gray said after the waitress left. “I have to leave today and go back to LA. There was a marketing problem that I need to go back and fix.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” I said trying to control my voice, so I didn’t sound too disappointed. ‘What type of marketing problem?”

  “Oh a long boring one. Some posters got printed incorrectly. Everything is an emergency when you’re dealing with newspaper ads, posters and such.”

  “That must be a stressful job.”

  “You have no idea how much pressure it can be.” Gray said.

  Gray slipped a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me. “This is my contact info. I would love for you to give me a call if you ever have a convention in LA. I also might be in the mood for a proper beer sometime and would like to call you if I’m ever in Milwaukee,” he said. “Or Chicago!” I chimed i
n. “I’m ninety minutes from Chicago.”

  Gray smiled his sweet smile again. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “You seem like a nice girl. I don’t meet many nice girls in LA.”

  “Thanks,” I said blushing. “You have my card, but let me jot down my cell phone number for you too.”

  Gray reached into his wallet and pulled out my card. I wrote my cell number and address on the back. Normally I was not this forward, but he seemed to like me and didn’t seem like the serial killer type, so I didn’t see anything wrong with him knowing where I lived.

  We finished our lunch, still making small talk; Gray walked me back to my booth.

  “Well,” I said awkwardly, “I guess this is good bye.”

  “It was very nice to meet you, Abby Smith.”

  “Thank you for lunch and for the coffee this morning.”

  “No problem,” he said as he looked at his watch. “Well, I have to run to catch my flight home. I’ll give you a call sometime.” He said.

  “OK, have a nice flight.” I wasn’t sure what to do, so I awkwardly stuck out my hand for him to shake.

  He laughed a little and shook my hand before he walked off.

  Melanie could tell that my face had slightly fallen. “Lunch didn’t go well?” She carefully asked me.

  “Lunch was fine,” I said with a sigh. “He has to leave today to go back to LA.”

  “That’s too bad honey.” Melanie said as she gently rubbed my arm.

  “It’s not all bad.” I said. “He gave me his contact info and wants me to call him if I’m ever in LA.”

  “That’s great!”

  “I don’t know how much good it will do me when I’m in Wisconsin, and he’s in LA. It’s not like we can date or anything.” I said, frustrated.

  “Maybe his family has money.” Melanie joked. “You said he’s from England; maybe he’s a prince. Did he tell you what he does for work?”