Chapter 11

“That was fucking awesome,” Jim said after greeting me from behind his desk and indicating I should take the same seat as earlier. “I mean ... Seriously, it was unbelievable. Most guys freeze on their first time in front of a camera. Their first few times, actually. They lose their erection. They come too early. All sorts. It’s the cameras. They put people off. My guys are good and they try to be as unintrusive as they can, but they’ve still got to get the right shots, you know? That’s their job and they are fucking good at it.

“But you ... You’re a fucking machine. No stiffy problems. Didn’t come until we got plenty of footage. And, to top it off, you actually got a fucking performance out of Amber. Okay, in all truth, I don’t think she was acting in any way, shape or form, but so fucking what, right? Neither does your stepdaughter. She was into it, and from what I saw on the monitors just now while you were getting changed, you can really, really tell.”

“Thanks. I guess.”

“No. Thank you.” He opened a drawer in his desk and took an envelope from it, which he slid across the desk. “Two-fifty. Going rate. Like I said earlier, the girls typically get twice that for a standard one-on-one scene although they can get a lot more depending on what they do. I’m paying Dom two grand for her scene tomorrow, but then she is taking on five guys. I’m only telling you that because you’re related, so to speak. Look, I don’t normally pay guys for auditions because we don’t get good enough footage to use, you know? But I tell you what, I’m actually excited about what Daisy is going to be able to cut together from today.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. Now—” He looked up as the door opened and Amber entered. “Amber! Come in. Come in.” I really didn’t know quite how he was able to switch on the campness as soon as one of the girls was around. Or keep it up for any length of time. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do it.

Amber entered and slowly approached the desk while Jim took another envelope from the drawer. She glanced at me and smiled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. All the porn star makeup had been washed away and she looked much more normal instead of glammed up. And she was very pretty in that girl-next-door kind of way.

“Here you go, Sweetie,” Jim said, holding out the envelope. “The usual, plus a little bonus. You really earned that today. This could be the best scene you have ever done.”

“Really?” she said, sounding more than a little shocked. “But, I ... I mean...” She blushed. Then shrugged. “I wasn’t really acting. I kind of ... Kind of got a bit carried away. I thought you’d be mad at me, to be honest.” She was very softly spoken. Timid even. Certainly, she lacked any confidence, that much was clear.

“Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?”

She shrugged again. “Dunno.”

“Amber, Sweetie, what am I always telling you, huh? If you let go and enjoy what you’re doing, it’ll come across in your performance and we end up with a better scene. Really, there’s no need to be shy about liking what you do on set.”

She glanced at me again. And blushed. “Yeah,” she said to Jim. “I did enjoy it today. I don’t usually. But I did today.” She looked at me. “Thank you.”

“What for?” I asked.

She shrugged. Again. “Dunno. I just ... I mean ... I guess you’re the reason I enjoyed it.” She blushed again—and her cheeks were much, much brighter than before.

“Amber, it was my pleasure. I hope we can work together in the future.”

Her smile widened. “Yeah. Me too. I’d like that.”

“I’m hoping that Daisy can cut the scene together this evening and have it ready sometime tomorrow afternoon if you want to drop by and see it before it goes live,” Jim said.

“I don’t know.” She looked at the floor then up at Jim then back at the floor. “You know I don’t normally like ... it feels weird seeing myself do ... that.”

“Trust me, Sweetie. You’ll want to see this. It was hot, hot, hot out there. The video is going to be A-Maze-Ing.”

“You think?”

“Sweetie, I know. Pop back tomorrow afternoon and see for yourself.”

She nodded. “Okay.” She turned and gestured to the door then turned back. “I better go. I don’t want to miss the bus.”

“Bus?” I said. “You came on the bus? Well, wait until I’ve finished here and I’ll give you a lift. In fact, if you’re not busy, Dom, Mel and I were going to the pub for lunch. You could join us.”

“I don’t know...”

“Amber’s trying to stay away from places that serve alcohol,” Jim said, sounding stern. “That’s what we agreed if you want to keep working for me, right?”

She nodded and looked at the floor.

“Not a problem,” I said. “I know a nice little Italian restaurant just off the sea-front. We can go there instead. They do serve wine, but we don’t have to order any. We’ll just have soft drinks.”

She shook her head. “I still don’t know. I just...”

“Boyfriend?” I said. “I’m sure he won’t mind you having lunch with some workmates.”

She shook her head again. “No. He’s ... I just—”

“So there’s nothing stopping you from having lunch with us then.”

“But I don’t know if I can afford—”

Now I shook my head. “My treat. No arguments. Wait with the girls and I’ll be out shortly.”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Jim and I watched her leave. I was watching her arse. I’m pretty sure Jim was too, although he’d probably never let her know that.

“You...” he said when she was gone. “You’re fucking amazing, you know that?”

I shrugged and shook my head. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.” He pointed at the door. “I don’t know what you did to her out there on set, but that girl that just walked out of here, I don’t recognise her. The snarky bitch from the start of the session—I’m having a wank, you old perv—remember that? That’s the Amber I know. That all of us here know. Argumentative, uncooperative and just generally very unpleasant. But you do a number on her and she turns into a meek little submissive—Yes, Sir. I mean, what? Do you have some sort of special formula spunk or something?”

I couldn’t think of anything to say, but I didn’t need to since Jim hadn’t finished.

“But it’s not just that. Dom singing your praises I can understand—she’s your stepdaughter, it’s not that unusual for her to have had a crush on you even if it is unusual for her to have acted on it—”

“There were special—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You explained. But even Mel doesn’t have a bad word to say about you and let me tell you this, that girl doesn’t bull-shit. She tells it like she sees it, that one. And today, you turn up and take everything in your stride like no-one I’ve ever seen before. Even Amber’s comment about how you’re the reason she enjoyed the shoot.

“Look, most guys in this business are full of shit—full of themselves. And why shouldn’t they be? I mean, they get to fuck hot women for a living. And a lot of them treat the girls they work with like shit—like something they scraped off their shoe or something. I don’t hire guys like that. I only hire guys who at least realise that the girls are the stars and they are nothing more than a living prop, but even so, if any of those had been sitting in that chair when Amber made that comment...”

“Trouble getting their heads out the door?” I said with a smirk.

“About sums it up, yeah.” He sat forward in his chair. “Bobby, you play your cards right and you could be the biggest male star in this business. Word gets around among the girls and you keep treating them the way you treated Amber ... They’ll be queuing up around the block to work with you. Hell, you’ll get girls crossing the Atlantic to work with you. And let me tell you, getting American girls to come here to work is nigh on impossible. Just think about it, okay?”