There were framed posters and awards, much of which would have seemed normal in a movie production company, if the people in the posters had clothes on. I tried not to gawk as we walked, but I couldn’t help myself.
Jack’s office was nothing like the hall and nothing like I expected. If was big and clean and there were no signs of either p**n or his personal life. “Did you clean out your office for my visit, or does it always look so empty and sterile?”
Jack laughed. “Nope, this is how it always is. I take it you expected something different?”
I shook my head embarrassed.
“Like I told you Syd. This started out as nothing more than something to embarrass my father. Then it turned into a profitable business. It’s a business to me.
One I actually like running, unlike the hotels which scream of my father at every turn. I don’t keep pictures on the wall or films all over, because I keep it strictly business in here. And you’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted to look at while I was working, so I guess I’ll have to break the sterility and get a framed picture of you for my desk soon.” I rolled my eyes at him, but the thought of him only having a picture of me in his stark office did warm my heart. “So am I going to get a day in the life of Jack Cole Heston view today?”
“We should talk about that before I start the day babe. There are shoots going on here and I usually go check them out. I can go check in and you can hang out in here if that makes you feel more comfortable.” His offer was thoughtful, but I wanted to see it all, the good, the bad, the ugly. “I want the full tour, you don’t need to leave me behind.”
Jack eyed me tentatively and I could tell he was considering his response carefully. His eyes caught mine, searching for something. He blew out a deep breath.
“Okay.”
Our first business of the day was script approval. We met with two men and a woman that I came to find out were the writing team for the multi partner movies. I was surprised to find a woman writer and even more surprised at how business like and professional the meeting was. They skipped over the sex scenes and just spoke about the storyline.
I wasn’t a virgin to X rated movies, but I must have watched the wrong ones, because none of the movies that I watched seemed to have had an actual story that was realistic, like the ones we reviewed that day.
After script approval we moved onto covers. We met with a photographer, who showed Jack and I a bunch of glossy photos for a movie called Triple Double, which apparently referred to Triplets that starred in movies together that all have double D br**sts. The photographer was a nice older man, maybe in his late sixties. It was odd to hear the man talk about his grandchildren, while they looked at glossies of women while holding themselves open with one hand and inserting a vibrator with the other. But the way that they all seemed to work together, it really did seem like a business instead of the wild orgy that I had imagined.
Our last stop of the morning was a visit to the set, to check in on the progress of two movies. I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I was when we first arrived, after seeing how professional things were run. Jack’s assistant came by and took our lunch order and then we headed down to what Jack called
“the hanger”. The hanger was the entire basement of the building that was split into two extremely large wide open spaces that were each set up to accommodate many sets.
Jenna met us at the door and I cringed when she put her hand on Jack’s arm as she spoke.
“Set 2 is vanilla, it might be the better one for you to take your friend on her tour.”
God I hated that woman. She needed to get her f**king hands off of Jack and stop speaking about me as if I wasn’t standing right there. I didn’t want to come across as a jealous crazy person, but I couldn’t let her get away with it. “Since we had vanilla at home this morning, why don’t we try Set 1 honey?”
Jack’s eyebrows shot up, then I saw a glimmer of a smirk. He looked proud of my response. Before Jack could respond, the door to Set 1 opened and a man walked out.
“Hey, Mr. Cole, I’m glad you made it, we’re just taking a ten minute break while they change into leathers. I have a few chairs set up to the left of my cameras whenever you are ready.”
“Perfect, I actually need five minutes to make a call, so I’ll see you inside in a few Frank.” Jack turned to face me.
“I’m going to run upstairs for a few minutes to make a quick call, we can’t get service down here. You want to come or wait down here babe?”
“Actually I saw a ladies room down the hall, why don’t I meet you back here after your call?”
Jack nodded and planted a quick kiss on my lips before disappearing down the hall.
I didn’t give any thought to the sound of the door opening in the ladies room. I used the bathroom and exited the stall, to find Jenna leaning with her back against the sinks, waiting for me. I pretended her presence didn’t faze me and stood next to her in silence as I washed my hands, looking at her back in the mirror.
“A word of advice, woman to woman. Don’t get too attached, Jack will get bored of you soon, he always does. He’ll wine you and dine you and take you to his love nest in that fancy hotel of his for a week or two, then he’ll move on to the next plaything.”
I felt bile burning my throat. I had suspected that Jenna wanted something from Jack, I just hadn’t been sure if it was business or personal. Her words confirmed that she wanted more from him than he had given her, but the thought of her being in Jack’s love nest room made me physically sick. I had to grip the sides of the sink to hold myself steady. It took everything I had to plaster a smile on my face, but I knew I needed to deliver my message strong.
Ready, aim, fire…“He told me he used to take his concubines to a room on the 13th floor.
I’ve never seen it though, we spend most nights in his penthouse or my apartment.” Score! I watched her vicious smile fade and went in for the kill. “And, by the way, he’s giving his girlfriend a tour, not his friend.” I stressed the word girlfriend to get my point across. Then I dried my hands and held my head high as I walked out of the bathroom leaving the bitch no chance to respond.
Jack was waiting for me outside the set, when I got back. He had become so good at reading me so quickly. “Everything okay?” He looked at me concerned.
Just as I opened my mouth to respond, Jenna passed without a word and went into the set. “Yes, everything is fine.” I knew I didn’t sound that convincing, because I wasn’t convinced I was fine either.