Chapter 72

Sarah hung up the phone with a feeling of loss. She could see no way that she could co-exist with Ellen Perry. Ellen wouldn't allow it. She was certain of that. Adam was beside her. He had come in from what he was doing when he heard Sarah's voice rise.

"It's not going to work," she said sadly.

"There will be other opportunities," Adam told her as he put his arm around her.

"Not like this," Sarah lamented. "I was looking forward to this. This was a big deal, you know. It just sucks that everyone is really hot for this except one person – and she is going to do her best to make sure it doesn't go through."

"So don't let her," Adam said with a shrug. "I mean, just work around her. Make it a part of your contract that you have no contact with her. You're the star here, not her. She can get over it or get buried. Jerry is her boss. Yeah, he is her father but in this case he's going to have to set that aside if he wants to keep his business growing. From what I've heard, the money people want you involved. Plus, we have a little something to hold over their heads. Ellen Perry is going to have problems with Subarctic. That means Subarctic is going to have trouble with Dazzle Video. We're not begging for scraps here, Sweetie. We can help each other or we can leave them behind."

"You really believe that?" Sarah asked.

"I think you're in the driver's seat," Adam said. "I think if this doesn't work out someone else will take Dazzle's place. There are other companies out there. We'll find them or they'll find us. And they'll find you. You're hot now. I mean you're always hot but right now, you're on the A-list. Directors are going to race to hire you as soon as you post your info on PornLife."

"How about you?" Sarah asked.

"I'd hire you in a minute," Adam said with a smile.

"I mean do you have anything in the works?" Sarah said, slapping his arm lightly.

"I'm not sure," Adam admitted. "I got a call yesterday on my voice mail. I wanted to talk to you guys before I call them back."

"Who was it?" Sarah wondered. "Anything nasty?"

"Not really but there might be other issues," Adam confessed. "I'll wait until everyone is back before we talk about it."

"You're killing me!" Sarah said. "I want to know everything. What issues are there?"

Adam sighed.

"I get the impression that you aren't a real big fan of who wants to work with me," Adam told her.

"That narrows it down to almost everyone," Sarah said with a laugh. "I'm just kidding. I can only think of a few people who I would absolutely be upset. Most of them you would never consider anyway. So I'm not worried. Who is it?"

"Can I just wait?" Adam asked.

Sarah's lips turned downward but she nodded.

"Who would you really hate for me to work with?" Adam queried.

"Just some of the skanks you see," Sarah told him. "You know, the rough types. But you're not really interested in working with Amber Weaves again, are you?"

"No," Adam said. "And it wouldn't be again. I never worked with her. Anyone specific you don't want me to deal with?"

Sarah sighed.

"Why are you asking this?" she parried. "I mean, if you aren't going to tell me for a while, why the third degree?"

"I just wonder," Adam said. "We're going to find situations for me a little different. I mean, I'd love to work with you and Allie only and with people like Karlie. But we know I'm going to have to go outside once in a while – particularly if I want to continue eating. As your profiles rise others are going to make it a point to see what the fuss is about me. Particularly when people understand that we're together."

Sarah laughed again.

"So who is it?" Sarah said. "You make it sound like someone is going to try to steal you away. I mean, you just heard a voice mail from a producer. How bad could it be?"

"It wasn't a producer," Adam told her. "It was a performer. She has her own site and she wants to make a big splash."

Sarah's eyes narrowed.

"Rita Looker?" she asked.

"And Cassie Charms together," Adam told her with a slight nod. "They want to do a two- or three-part deal. They want to release the first part on Cassie's new site. The second part on my site if I have one and the finale on Rita's site. At least that is what she said."

"That is really great!" Sarah said. "You'll get a lot of exposure."

"But I got the impression it was more using me to help reclaim their spot at the top of the heap," Adam told her. "Right now, they're second tier. You and Allie are at the top and they are looking up at you."

"What's the pay?" Sarah said with a blush at the compliment. "I mean, they are really particular about who they work with. Rita only works with her boyfriend. Cassie has one or two people she will perform with. She has done almost exclusively girl-girl and solo scenes in the past few months. Who called?"

"Both," Adam said. "Rita called first and then Cassie called a few minutes later. They both had the same message. I saved them and I'll play them for you when everyone gets home. They are talking small pay but a cut of the downloads. I get 20 cents of each one."

"You need to do this!" she said. "Jesus, Adam, there will be a hundred thousand downloads if Rita and Cassie do a scene together. Even a girl-girl scene would grab that much. I don't think Rita has worked with anyone but her boyfriend. If she is willing to do a full scene, it will be huge. I mean, you could make $30,000 or $40,000 off this. If you separate it into three parts it will be even bigger."

"How big would a scene with you and Allie net?" Adam wondered. "We could do it the same way."

"And we will," Sarah said. "In the movie. The Peaches shoot is really going to raise us up. The feature will be that much bigger because of it. Adam, this is really too good a deal to turn down. If they wanted me to do it, I would. I'm sure Allie will tell you the same thing. I've never worked with either of them and I've heard they can be pains in the ass. But so can we. The thing is, they do good work. At least they can do good work."

She smiled.

"When do they want to shoot?" Sarah asked.

"This week but they are flexible," Adam told her.

"Cassie is really flexible," Sarah joked. "That's her thing, you know. She can contort herself into all sort of different shapes: both legs behind her head; one leg against a wall; bent over backward. She is even smaller than Allie, if you can believe it."

"So you don't think they're using me to try to get back at you?" Adam wondered.

"Maybe, but so what?" Sarah replied. "Are you planning to dump us and move in with them?"

"Of course not!" Adam huffed. Sarah simply smiled.

"So we'll use them to raise your profile higher than it is already," Sarah said with a shrug. "You've got rave reviews but you're far from being a 'name' in this industry. Sure, Daystar and Dazzle will hire you as often as they can. So will Goldwall. But Rita Looker's site is huge. Cassie Charms probably had more success in her first year than anyone has in the past 10 or 15 years. This will do wonders for getting your face – and other parts of your body – into the general consciousness of the other producers. You say we'll find others to work with if Dazzle passes. This is how we have to do it. Man, I can't wait to see the look on Allie's face."

It turned out that neither Sarah nor Adam had to wait long to see the expression. Allie and Shelly came rolling into the apartment laughing and giggling a few minutes later.

"I did it!" Allie said. "I signed and I'm a Daystar girl."

"THE Daystar girl," Adam corrected as he hugged her tightly.

"Yep, the Daystar girl," Allie said. "And guess what? Daystar is going to pay us a cut of our downloads, Adam. I get a lot from what I do in the future but we get some from what we did in the past, too. It's really great."

"It is really great," Sarah offered as she gave Allie a hug, too. "This is really going well."

"And it's going to get better," Shelly said. "Ben said we can do the movie for what Adam says it will cost. He said anything more than $30,000 is overkill, particularly with what Walt and Mary can do. He said for more he could land the biggest stars in the business."

"He already has them," Adam said with a grin as he put his arms around Sarah and Allie. "By the first of July there will be no two names bigger in the business than Ashley Malibu and Sahara Rain. I'm positive of that."

"Unless it's Derrick Driller," Sarah said with raised eyebrows. "Tell them about it, Hon."

Adam shrugged and pulled out his phone. He hit the Speaker button and then played the first voice mail.

"Hi, I'm trying to reach Derrick Driller," a female voice said. "My name is Rita Looker. I host a web site and I'm interested in working with you. I have spoken to Cassie Charms. I'm sure you've heard of her. Here is what we have in mind. A girl-girl-guy scene with the three of us. We want to utilize our personal web sites – and yours too if you have one. We'll pay $250 an hour for the scenario which we suspect will take three or four hours. We want to split the scene into two or three parts. Cassie and I will take 40 cents of each download to offset our fees and you can have 20. I hope you'll give me a call and I really hope we can work together. We think it will be fantastic."

Allie's mouth had dropped before the second voice mail came out.

"Hello, this is Cassie Charms calling for Derrick Driller," another voice said. "I wanted to confirm what Rita Looker has told you. I agree completely with what she told you. This could be the biggest thing to hit in a while. Please give us a call when you get this."

Allie was smiling broadly when she looked up at Adam.

"This is huge for you!" she exclaimed. "Those two are big-time."

Adam shook his head in amazement.

"Let me say this again," he tried. "Rita Looker and Cassie Charms are no bigger names than Sahara Rain and Ashley Malibu. Maybe a month ago, they were. Now they are not. There is no one in the business generating more buzz than you two. Here is my take. First off, they have a reputation for being difficult. I do not enjoy difficult."

Allie seemed prepared to argue but Adam held up a hand.

"Let me finish, please," he said. His words were courteous but he tone was firm. "Secondly, are we certain we want me to help them regain a place atop the mountain with you two? I'm not certain of that. I don't think anyone in the business can compare to you. I don't think anyone has the potential of you two. But others will rely upon reputation and past achievements when looking for actresses instead of looking to potential and future accomplishments. I am not certain it is a good idea for me to assist their elevation back toward the top."

"Uh, can I say something?" Karlie asked. Adam wasn't even certain where she had gone but she seemed dressed for the pool in a conservative bikini.

"Sure," he answered.

"Well, I understand your points, Adam, I think," Karlie said shyly. "You're right about some things but you're wrong about the big ones. No one is bigger right now that Allie and Sarah. That's true. And no one is going to be bigger than they are even with your help. The more A-line actresses there are, the better the industry is as whole."

Adam pursed his lips but Shelly was already speaking.

"Exactly!" she said. "Look, for this to work out we have to have more people who think like we do. Allie and Sarah can't do every movie or web shoot. Neither can you. This is not just about making the projects we work on better. This is about changing the mindset of the adult industry as a whole. We'll need people like Rita Looker and Cassie Charms on board, if they aren't already. We'll need 50 or 60 actresses and 20 or 30 guys to think and act like we do before we make a dent in moving this business into a spot where women like Karlie don't get exploited by assholes like Frank Merks and Tony Armani. No offense, Karlie."

"None taken," Karlie answered instantly. "You're right. If we're only going to look out for ourselves, why start a talent agency?"

Adam had no answer for either of them. So he went to a different topic.

"What about them being difficult to work with?" he asked.

Allie laughed aloud and shook her head.

"Adam, Hon, you're difficult to work with according to a lot of people," she said. "I'm difficult to work with and so is Sarah. If Shelly were to do scenes, she would be difficult to work with. If Karlie stays in a while, she'll be difficult to work with. I would be willing to bet their reputation is because they refuse to put up with bullshit from people like Ellen Perry and Gloria Jackson."

"I didn't think of that," Sarah said thoughtfully. "But she's right, you know. I would be willing to bet it is because they show up on time and ready to work and they are unhappy if no one else arrives that way. Their reputation could have been generated the same way yours was."

Adam considered things for a moment.

"If you don't want to work with them, we won't pressure you," Shelly said. "If you have seen or heard something about them that makes you leery ... You don't need to do this for the sole purpose of generating buzz."

Adam shook his head.

"I don't know anything about either of them except for what other people say," he admitted. "I've never looked at their sites or even gone to their profiles on the adult database. Mostly I just don't want you guys to think that I would help someone else's career at the expense of yours."

Sarah and Allie smiled.

"You're not, Adam," Karlie said. "Look, no matter what you do or who you do it with, Allie and Sarah are going to excel. They're good performers and they're excellent people to work with. I have seen that in just the few days I've been with them. The more people like Tate Benedict and Jerry Goldsmith and Melody Schott praise them, the more work that is going to come their way. Peaches Magazine will hit the stands in June and their phone will be ringing off the hook. They'll need to hire a personal assistant to deal with the calls."

"Speaking of which," Allie said with a glance at Sarah, who nodded, "we'd like to offer you that job starting immediately. We'd like to hire you as the personal assistant to both of us – maybe all three or four of us for a while. Are you interested? The pay is not the best and the duties will sometimes suck. But we could use you."