Chapter 146

Adam was juggling five sno-cones and talking to the woman beside him as he walked back to the group. He was, as usual, completely oblivious to what was awaiting him.

Shelly was just getting ready to pounce when Veronica spoke.

"Hey, I Know You," she said.

The young woman beside Adam, carrying a yipping dog, smiled slightly.

"I shot a scene for that site last month in Miami," she said. "Hi, I'm Emily Proper. Well, not really. But that is my screen name. I'm really Lucy Miller. Uh, aren't you Kristi Clear?"

"Not today, I'm not," Veronica said. "But sometimes I am. Shelly, I think Adam has a good explanation."

"For what?" Adam wondered as he passed out the goodies.

"For 'macking on a shorty'," Shelly quoted.

"For what?" Adam asked, glancing from face to face. "OK, what did I miss?"

"Oh, my God, it's not an act!" Emily said brightly. "I thought Derrick Driller had to be the best method actor in the industry because he always looks so confused that women would find him attractive. But it's just his everyday demeanor!"

Adam looked to Mike for help but got only a shrug. Mike was no more up to date on street slang that Adam was.

"'Macking on a shorty' means they thought you were trying to pick me up," Emily said because everyone else was laughing too hard to speak.

"I wasn't," Adam said, although no one was listening.

"Yes, Lucy, he really is like that," Celina said. "But he is ever so sweet so we keep him around. I'm Celina Gomez. This is Shelly Smith. You've met Veronica and Doofus. That is Mike Cunningham manning the cooking station. The rest we'll introduce when they wander over."

"Oh, I don't want to intrude," Lucy said quickly. Adam could see why her porn name was Emily Proper. She was exceedingly polite, well-mannered and well-dressed. Even the little dog she carried just screamed "Rich Girl."

"You're welcome to stay," Veronica said. "We have enough food to feed a battalion. So, you're in L.A. now."

"I arrived this week," Lucy said. "The guys in Miami said I should look you up when I got here. I was telling Adam that I planned to call you tomorrow. I was really shocked when I saw, uh, well, everyone playing softball today. Is this like a company picnic or something?"

"It's something we do a lot," Shelly said, warming to the girl since she was willing to pick on Adam as much as everyone else did. "We did a bunch of shoots yesterday and we're relaxing. So, what have you shot?"

"Oh, the usual I suppose," Lucy answered. "I did the normal Miami route. A couple of them were pretty awful. 'Hey, I Know You' was OK. I did the internal and hand sites last. They are the ones who suggested Los Angeles and you guys."

"I saw you Friday on 'Hey, I Know You'," Veronica said. "That's part of my job. I scour those sites looking for talent that might find its way out here. I'm pretty sure I have you on my 'Watch List'."

"Is that good or bad?" Lucy asked.

"Good," Veronica assured her. "It means you're a performer that with the right grooming could work out well. Hey, they're taking a drink break. Do you want to meet some of the rest of the group?"

"Well, if you think it's OK," Lucy said.

Shelly gently took the woman's arm – mostly because she wasn't sure if the yippy dog had sharp teeth.

"One thing you need to know," Shelly said. "We will never lie to you. If we invite you somewhere, it is because we would like for you to go with us. If we didn't want you to stay and visit with us, we would have told you to call us tomorrow to discuss business. All we ask is that you are honest with us in return. That goes for whether you come to Five Friends as your agency or you just hang out with us as buddies. Deal?"

Lucy smiled.

"Deal," she said. "But I will do my best not to wear out my welcome."

"If you do, we'll just send Sean and Walt over to visit with you," Celina said with a laugh. "Those two are enough to drive anyone away."

Adam decided Lucy was in good hands so he stayed to help Mike at the grill.

"Macking on a shorty?" he asked in an incredulous voice when the others were out of earshot.

"Don't ask me," Mike said with a good-natured laugh. "I didn't know it was something bad until Shelly told me to make room for your genitalia on the grill."

"Still, do I really appear to be a man who would 'mack on a shorty' even if I knew what it was?" Adam wondered.

Mike craned his head to look behind Adam.

"You have to admit, she's cute," Mike said.

"Yeah, and she doesn't seem like the type to be doing porn," Adam said, pursing his lips. "I wonder if this is her 'I hate my rich parents' phase?"

"Adam, think about what you just said," Mike advised. "Then take a look at the giggling group over there. If you didn't know them, could you pick out the porn stars?"

"Leslie," Adam said with a smile. "I'd probably hope that Meredith and Sarah were. Once I talked to Trinity for a minute I'd be convinced she was. The others, I guess not."

"Thank you for saying Trinity and not Rachelle," Mike said laughing. "Another thing you might think about. Perhaps it is an act. She said she was at the dog park. Maybe she was looking to 'mack on a shorty' herself so she put up the image of a rich girl. Hell, Adam, you never know who is going to do what these days."

"Good point," Adam said. "I hope it's not an act. I mean, if she's pretending to be someone she's not just to attract attention then..."

"She'd be Leslie," Mike answered.

"Well, yeah, that's true," Adam admitted. "But Leslie is genuine around her friends. It's not an act. She likes attention whether it is on camera or off. Karlie is sort of the same way. Anyway, on a serious topic... ,"

"This wasn't a serious topic?" Mike asked.

"Not entirely serious," Adam said. "But I need an honest answer for you on this next one."

"I hope I've always been honest with you," Mike countered.

"Would you be if it hurt my feelings?" Adam asked.

"I don't think there is anything you could ask me that would require an answer that would hurt your feelings," Mike said. "But I will answer you honestly even if I think it is something you don't want to hear."

Adam nodded, that would good enough.

"Do I really come off like an idiot?" he asked.

Mike had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. Of all the questions he thought Adam might ask, this was not one of them.

"Short answer, no," Mike said. "I've been around you so I can't say what first impression you offer to anyone but me. I saw you as a very polite, well-mannered young man who, when I first met you, was struggling to figure out his life. I see you differently now. What you are, Adam, is a person who doesn't waste time shielding his thoughts. If something is perplexing to you, you aren't afraid to show it. If you don't understand something, you say so.

"Most people hide that from others. They try to never admit they don't see, hear or know everything. You don't hide it and it throws some people. But what the girl said just now does have merit on one level. You have always struck me as the type who was too sincere to place value on your looks. You know you are a handsome man but it doesn't change who you are underneath. I think that is the perception you give on-screen – that you are absolutely amazed that something like being with a gorgeous woman is happening to you."

"Mostly because I am," Adam said, causing Mike to laugh again.

"Then don't change," Mike urged. "I know for a fact that I like the man you are and so does everyone I've met who knows you. Yes, at first blush you can appear to be naïve or backward. But anyone who takes two minutes to get to know you is soon disabused of that notion. People think the same thing about Jason because of his accent. The same with Leslie. Neither of those young people is anything less than brilliant. Cameron and Tyanna get the same treatment because of their skin tone. People see African-American and they think 'gangsta'."

"Or in Ekaterina's case, they think actual gangster," Adam said with a slight smile. Mike's explanation made a sort of sad sense to him. There were times he didn't catch things on the first pass. But after a moment's reflection, he usually understood. If he didn't – and he cared about the subject – he continued to ask questions until he did understand.

"She thought he was a thug?" Mike asked, again laughing aloud.

"It seems her only introduction to people of color is through the criminal elements in Russia," Adam said. "I guess she's right. I mean, can you really think of anyone from Central or Eastern Europe who is not Caucasian?"

"You do realize where the term originates?" Mike asked. Adam nodded. He had gotten a crash course on Russian and Eastern European geography in the past couple of weeks. Before that, though, he'd had no clue.

"So it makes sense, a little, I guess," Adam said. "Anyway, once she got to know him, she didn't think that."

"And once Miss Proper gets to know you, she'll see how badly she underestimated your intellect," Mike assured him. "Now, let them know it's time to eat unless they want briquettes."

Lucy accepted the invitation to join the festivities. Even Snuggles got an all-beef hot dog to gnaw on.

"Emily Proper," Rebecca said, "That is an interesting moniker."

"So ... are you rich or something?" Adam asked. This time Rebecca, sitting beside him, didn't refrain from smacking his arm.

"I swear to God, Adam," she said, "Is there anything you won't ask?"

Adam glanced around at the group that surrounded him. His friends wore varying expressions – stifled laughter graced a few faces; others appeared to be looking at either him or Lucy for an answer to the question.

"What?" Adam said. "Everyone wants to know. I mean, you don't see many porn stars dressed like she is and I can't think of a one who totes a live animal around."

Rebecca was about to say something else when Lucy laughed.

"It's OK," she said. "I'm sure he isn't the only one who wants an answer to that question. The short version is no. I'm not rich. But I used to be. Well, my family used to be."

She gestured across the table.

"Katey, right?" she asked. Katey nodded. "Katey probably knows about my family. If the database is right, she grew up about 15 miles from where I did. I lived in Rainville, Ohio, until I was 16."

"Then you were rich," Katey said. "My dad is an accountant. He had some clients there. It's a rich suburb not far from the far-less-rich suburb where I lived."

"Well, if your dad is an accountant, you can have my whole life story with a simple phone call," Lucy said. She didn't appear embarrassed, for which at least Rebecca was thankful. She would have flayed Adam alive if he had hurt the poor girl with his insensitivity. "My father is Warren Miller. He ran a brokerage house."