Chapter 118

It was while the group was milling around after the meeting that Adam remembered something he had wanted to ask people for a few days.

"Do any of you guys know Sadie Strutt?" he asked.

Adam got blank stares from some of the people and head shakes from the rest.

"I think Katey has worked with her," Leslie said. "I'm sure Veronica has. Why?"

"I have a class with her," Adam told them. "She walked with me to the library Wednesday. I had things scheduled on Thursday and Friday, and she tried to catch up with me both days."

"Do you want to work with her?" Allie asked.

Adam tilted his head and then gave it a slight shake.

"I don't think so," he decided. "She, I... , I don't think I like her. She asked a bunch of questions and made an impolite comment about 'Bountiful Assets.' It's like, well, it's like she thought we were friends just because we worked in the same business. Maybe it was how she introduced herself. I don't know. There is just something about her I don't really care for."

"I've heard she can be cut-throat," Leslie said. "You say she's following you?"

"I don't think she's stalking me or anything," Adam said with a smile. "I'm sure you would have said something since that's your job. She has just tried to catch up with me both days."

Leslie gave Adam the finger over the stalker comment.

"Let me call Katey," she suggested.

"It's no big deal," Adam replied. "I just don't really have a reason to avoid her tomorrow."

As was typical with all females, Leslie ignored Adam and did as she wanted. She talked for a couple of minutes with Katey then passed her phone over to Adam.

"So, all those girls aren't enough for you?" Katey began. "Geez, Adam, you could have kept things in the family. You didn't have to go chasing down Sadie."

"I didn't chase... ," Adam replied before Katey started to laugh.

"Leslie gave me a little low-down and I thought I'd yank your chain," Katey said. "So you have class with Sadie. How did you find that out?"

Adam explained how Hannah had caught up with him after class and then peppered him with a dozen questions in the five minutes they walked together.

"Yeah, she can be annoying," Katey said with resignation. Her voice went softer. "Honestly, I'm not sure it isn't a medical condition, ADHD or something or maybe manic depression. But I've been on set with her twice. Both times she wouldn't shut up. The first time she was all over the place. The second time she was more focused but still annoying. Plus, she's a user."

"Coke does that, I hear," Adam asked.

Katey surprised him by laughing.

"Well, now that you mention it, maybe," she said. "What I meant is that – this is all second-hand – what I've heard is that she has no trouble going behind your back. Say she and Allie were being considered for the same part. She would do her best to work with Allie as soon as she could and do her best to make sure Allie gave a crappy performance or got angry or was late to the shoot. I don't know that this has really happened but rumors usually have at least a slight basis in truth."

"I was confused when she introduced herself," Adam said. "She seemed put out that I didn't know who she was. But she's like 23 or 24 isn't she?"

"Something like that," Katey replied. "She's been in the business for a while. Veronica would know better. I think they've done a half-dozen things together."

"I'll try that route," Adam said as he hung up Leslie's phone. The diminutive girl was right beside him holding another phone in her outstretched hand.

"Veronica, Your Highness," she said with a regal tone.

"Begone, wench," Adam replied. Leslie gave him a mock stare and narrowed her eyes. Adam smiled and blew her a kiss.

"Hi, Veronica," Adam said into the phone. "I'm sorry they bothered you. I just remembered something I wanted to ask and it got pushed off to you."

"Leslie told me," Veronica replied with a chuckle. "Yeah, I know Hateful Hannah. I don't much care for her. I think she dicked me out of a couple of parts. Watch your back with her."

"I will," Adam said. "Why do you think she dicked you over?"

"Just stuff that got back to me," Veronica answered. "It's nothing concrete or I'd stomp a mud hole in her ass. But you hear things, you know. I would guess Hannah and I used to be friends or something. Not friends like you and your group, but we would e-mail each other. I went through a bad patch a couple of years ago. I guess you know about it. My world view got a little screwed up and I did some things I'm not proud of. I got busted for DUI and possession of marijuana. They let me off on probation, but I violated that and did 12 days in jail. I told all that to Sarah and I figure she passed it on to you."

"She didn't, but it doesn't matter," Adam said. "I do know generically what you went through. I mean, I can't know for certain. You know what I mean, I hope."

"I do," Veronica said. "I missed a couple of shoots while I was in jail. It's not like they give you warning when they pick you up for violating your probation. The thing is - someone tipped probation off. I went to Las Vegas for a weekend. If you're on probation, you can't leave the county without notifying the office. I didn't. I left Friday morning and came back Sunday night. It wasn't much and I didn't think anyone would notice. I wasn't exactly a high-profile felon. I did a shoot for a site up there. But Monday morning, I get called into probation. I had to meet with them once a month, you know. I wasn't scheduled to visit for two more weeks. I got there; the woman asked me if I'd left town without notifying her; I admitted to it; she cuffed me and took me to jail."

"Damn," Adam said.

"Yeah," Veronica intoned. "Do you know much about the legal system?"

"Nothing," Adam admitted.

"Good for you," Veronica said. "I know more about it than I want to. When they put you in jail for violating your probation, you have no recourse. You've already been sentenced and you basically sit in jail until the probation department lets you out. They kept me there for 12 days. From Monday of the first week into Friday of the second week. To put into perspective, the usual sentence for DUI and possession of the amount of weed I had is 24 hours. They put you in jail at 10 a.m. one morning and let you out at 10 a.m. the next. And they let you do it on a weekend if you work.

"There were only a couple of people who knew I was in Vegas. The producer who hired me, but he swore he didn't tell anyone and I believe him. There are too many girls on some sort of restriction for him to start telling tales. One of three others I can name was Hannah. I ran into her there. She knew I was on probation. I mean, hell, I wasn't a big star or anything, but that web site, uh, 'Celebrity Cons' posted my mug shot from the arrest. Anyway, I don't think the other two people said anything. First off, they were still in Vegas when I left and I don't think they called down just to fuck with me. That left Hannah. I got a part she wanted in a feature set to shoot later in the week.

"Of course, being in jail, I didn't get a chance to call and cancel. The phone system at the jail is screwed. You can make two calls before you have to pay for them. I made mine to my attorney. I wound up mailing letters to my agency. It really sucked. I missed two jobs the first week without anyone even being notified. My letter went out on Wednesday and was delivered on Friday. Of course, Sadie was more than happy to step in when I flaked. It was a decent part, too. It was the very first of the XXX parodies. I was set to play the youngest daughter. That went to Sadie and she became a 'name' star because of it."

"And you became our assistant and agent-in-training instead," Adam said with remorse. "Sorry about how it worked out for you. I really am."

"Don't be," Veronica said. "This is a cool job. Hanging out at the beach yesterday was awesome. Plus, I don't know, I feel like I'm part of something decent for once. Even the good shoots I got left me feeling dirty. I can actually look at myself in the mirror now without being ashamed of who I am and what I do. I wish something like this had been around when I first started."

"I wish it were, too," Adam said. He had only met Veronica in person three times, but had spoken to her daily. She was always so upbeat and chipper on the phone and she had been a smile a minute the times he'd seen her. It pissed him off that someone or a group of someones had conspired to take that happiness/cheer away from her for so long.

"Yeah, well, you were probably 12 or something," Veronica laughed.

"I forget sometimes that you're an old lady," Adam rejoined. "I was probably 15 or so, at least. You're what, 23?"

"I'll be 24 in July," Veronica said.

"What day?" Adam wondered.

"The 30th," she answered.

"Mine is the 31st," he told her. "So I was 14 when you started. I'll be 20. Hey, did they tell you what is in the works out here?"

"Maybe the first dozen things or so but I doubt I know them all," Veronica said.

Adam explained about the office complex that was planned.

"You mean I won't have all your shit spread out on my kitchen table anymore?" she joked.

Adam wondered if there was a note of truth in her humor. He'd found that with some people, they joked about things they are somewhat serious about.

"You know, we discussed the possibility of having you work from here a few times each week," he mentioned. It wasn't a lie. They had discussed it briefly for about 30 seconds one day. "Would that work out better for you?"

"Either way is fine," Veronica answered. This was too good a job with a steady income that was about to grow larger to piss anyone off.

"Well, either way is fine with us, too," Adam countered. "If you're happy working from home in your bathrobe and slippers, that's cool. But if it would work better for you to be out here, where at least one of us is around at almost all times, it's good with us. Do you want to try that for a few days?"

"I wouldn't mind it," Veronica admitted. "My place is really small. It's basically just a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom. My dining room is part of the living room and it sucks to have to put everything away when I want to eat."

"We're paying you enough to eat?" Adam said. "I'll have to bring that up with my bosses."

Veronica chuckled. She had been amazed at the salary that had been offered to answer the phones for this group – $3,000 a month, plus they paid for her cable internet connection. She'd hate to lose that, but it would be nice to be out of the house some and around people more.

"Anyway, I'll set up a work area before I go to bed," Adam said. He knew he should probably discuss this with everyone else but he was – allegedly – an equal partner in Five Friends, so he thought he could make this decision on his own, particularly since the dining room of the second house was completely unused. "Do you remember how to get here?"

"It's like 20 minutes from my apartment," Veronica said. "If I get lost, I have GPS in my car. Are you sure it's cool?"

She wondered if Adam had the authority to make this decision. Any decision that affected the whole group was usually left for someone else to decide.

"It will be fine," Adam assured her. "I'll explain the situation. It was actually Karlie and Shelly who suggested it in the first place. Besides, they all think you're the Queen of the Prom. You may have to chase them away. We'll include you on the 724 meal plan, too."

"The what?" Veronica asked. The name Sarah had given to the concept of everyone eating together hadn't changed when they moved.

"We'll feed you lunch," Adam said. He gave a brief explanation of what went on at lunchtime.

"Sounds like a hockey shift change," Veronica joked. "Do you have walls for everyone to go over when it's their time to eat?"

Adam was clueless about hockey so Veronica explained the concept to him.

"We'll go to a Kings game next fall," she promised. "I mentioned it to Katey yesterday. She is a sports nut and she said a bunch of you went to a Dodgers game last month."

"It's too bad they don't have an NFL team in L.A.," Adam lamented. The only sport he'd ever played – and the only sport he really understood – was football. He'd gone to a few USC games, but the student section was more than he had been willing to put up with. He didn't mind the noise of cheering fans, but the band and sitting around a bunch of drunks really lessened his enjoyment.

"It is," Veronica said. "But you bastards in St. Louis stole it. So people in Los Angeles go without."

"I'm not from St. Louis," Adam pointed out. "Actually, Corinth is about 250 miles south of St. Louis. Besides, Phoenix stole the Cardinals, at least from what I've heard. I wasn't born yet. I was only three or so when the Rams moved."

He paused.

"I really don't know much about sports," he admitted. "Or cars, now that I think of it. Or guns or plumbing. I might be a woman."

Veronica laughed.

"No, you don't know enough about women to be one of us," she said. "We'll get you up to speed on sports. I think you've surrounded yourself with enough fans that we'll bring you along. Anyway, I'll be out at your place at nine in the morning. Please let everyone know."

"I think it should be a surprise," Adam joked. "Oh, hell, I won't be back until afternoon so I'd miss all the fun anyway."

He explained the parking situation and went inside to set up a place for Veronica to work until a permanent spot could be found.

The girls jumped right in and helped Adam set up a small office in the downstairs bedroom. Rebecca had used it for a couple of nights, but she only had a few items in there. A desk was dragged down from the room that Erin had thought to use. There was already an internet connection in the room – because Mary had decided the whole house had to be set up on a network. Adam was sent packing to find an appropriate desk chair at a store that was still open at 7 p.m. on a Sunday. Shelly went with him to make sure he didn't fuck up the task.

He was almost to the store when Shelly's cell phone rang. After a couple of "uh-huhs" she closed it.

"We need to look for a bigger desk for her, too," she said. Adam rolled his eyes. "The drawers in that one are broken."