Chapter 32
An hour later, Teddy Fay was back at the Centurion Pictures house, all vestiges of his Billy Barnett persona gone, and in its place a brand-new disguise: that of Raymond Talbert, a Con Edison executive from New Jersey.
As he was doing a final check in the mirror, an alert appeared on his phone, informing him that his Uber was only minutes away.
Satisfied with his new look, he grabbed the small suitcase that held the items he might need and exited his room.
Ben and Tessa were in the living room, watching The Pitt, when he walked in.
Ben glanced over, then cocked his head. “Hi. Um, who are you?”
Teddy set his bag down and walked over briskly, extending a hand. “Good afternoon,” he said in a voice unlike any he’d used before in front of Ben. “I’m Raymond Talbert.”
Ben rose but didn’t take Teddy’s hand yet. “You aren’t with the press, are you?”
“Con Edison.”
“Con Edison?”
“The energy company.”
“Oh, okay. I guess you’re visiting someone here…?”
“I am indeed.” He leaned forward and whispered, “Teddy Fay.”
It took Ben a beat to realize what was going on. When he did, he snorted, while behind him Tessa began laughing.
He glanced at her. “Don’t tell me you recognized him.”
“He is carrying one of Billy’s bags,” she said. “Who else would it be? Excellent disguise, by the way.”
“One of your best, I’d say,” Ben said. “It didn’t even dawn on me it might be you.”
Teddy bowed dramatically, then checked his phone. “I’d love to chat, but my ride’s here.”
“Where are you going?” Ben asked.
Teddy raised an eyebrow.
“Right, sorry,” Ben said. “Stupid question.”
“I have a not-stupid question,” Tessa said.
“Fire away.”
“Will you be joining us for dinner tonight?”
“Sadly, no,” Teddy replied.
“You’ll be missed,” Tessa said. “Whatever you’re up to, please be careful.”
“I appreciate your concern. Have a lovely evening.”
Teddy grabbed his bag and headed for the door.
—
“Here you are, Mr. Talbert,” the receptionist at the Mountain View Spa & Resort said, holding out a key card. “You’re in room two-fifteen. The elevator is to the right.”
Teddy gave his thanks, followed her directions, and reached his room within minutes.
As he stepped inside and closed the door, his phone vibrated with a call.
“Good afternoon, Stacy,” he answered.
“Not from where I’m standing,” his assistant said. “Has Tina Martin called you yet?”
“No. Is she going to?”
“Definitely.”
His phone beeped with a new call. He checked the screen, then said to Stacy, “That’s her now. What does she want?”
“To let you know Pike Westin is requesting to halt production until his concerns are addressed.”
“Is that so? Thank you, Stacy. I’ll call you back.”
He switched lines.
“Hello, Tina.”
“Hi, Billy. Sorry to bother you while you’re away.”
“That ship sailed days ago.”
“Right. Sorry about that, too.” She took a deep breath. “We need to discuss Pike’s movie.”
“I believe you mean Regina Gideon’s movie.”
“Well, that’s the problem.”
“Not from where I’m standing.”
“Pike is still insisting that she be replaced.”
“On the movie she was specifically hired to direct, from the script she wrote?”
“Correct,” Tina said, without much enthusiasm.
“I believe I’ve already made it clear that’s not happening.”
“You did.”
“What happened to calming him down and getting him to behave?”
“I swear I spent the entire weekend trying to convince him to do just that, but he’s putting his foot down.”
“Understood. Then please pass on my thanks to Mr. Westin for his interest in the film and let him know that I’m sorry it didn’t work out. We’ll terminate his contract immediately.”
“Hold on. I totally understand your position, but that might be a bad idea.”
“And why would that be?”
“I’m worried Pike will go on the offensive. He has a lot of friends in the press.”
“Tina, is that a threat?”
“Not from me. I’m just passing on my concerns.”
“He’s your client.”
“A client who’s not listening to me.”
“The deal was for him to show up today with a better attitude or be released. Demanding Regina be replaced is not what I consider a better attitude.”
“Could you at least meet with him first?”
“I’ve already met with him.”
“I’m just asking for you to let him vent. Once he gets it out of his system, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Pike knew what was required to continue in the role but has decided to ignore those conditions. As far as I’m concerned, he’s fired himself from the production.”
Tina blew out a breath. “Off the record, I’m as pissed off at him as you are and am about a hair’s width away from dropping him myself.”
“Perhaps you should.”
“Perhaps I will. In the meantime, all I ask is that you meet with him.”
“He’s not getting the part back.”
“You know that, and I know that. He’ll eventually figure it out. I’m just hoping that if you talk to him, it’ll stop him from making a fool of himself in front of the media. I’m asking as a favor to me.”
Billy let her stew for a moment before saying, “All right, I’ll talk to him. But he’ll have to come to me.”
“You’re still in Palm Springs?”
“All week.”
“I’ll bring him tomorrow myself.”
“Dinner at eight,” he said. “I’ll make a reservation and text you the location. And, Tina?”
“Yes?”
“You owe me.”
“Yeah, I know.” She sighed and hung up.
Billy rang Stacy back. “Are you with Regina?”
“I am.”
“Is it just the two of you?”
“Yes.”
“Put me on speaker.”
After Stacy did so, he told them about his conversation with Tina.
When he finished, Regina asked, “Is he officially off? Or do we need to wait until you talk to him?”
“He’s off, but let’s try to keep it out of the news for a couple of days.”
“I’m more than fine with that,” Regina said, relieved. “I’m sorry about all this. If we hadn’t cast him in the first place…”
“Nothing for you to be sorry about. In my opinion, you’ve done the industry a service by exposing Pike’s limitations.”
Regina chuckled. “I guess I have.”
“Regina, I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Thanks, Billy,” Regina said, “for everything.”
“Just doing my job.”
Stacy took the call off speaker, knowing Billy wasn’t done with her.
“Make sure all the paperwork is dealt with this afternoon,” he said.
“Will do.”
“And I’d like you to be here tomorrow when I meet with Pike and Tina.”
“That doesn’t sound like fun.”
“Which is often the definition of being a producer.”
“If you say so.”
“Come midday to beat the traffic. I’ll get you a room for the night.”
“Someplace with a pool?”
“It would be harder to find someplace here that didn’t have one.”
“Okay, now I’m excited. To be clear, not about meeting with Pike.”
“And here I was considering letting you handle the meeting all by yourself.”
“Oh, dear God. Please don’t.”
“I don’t know. I think it might be good practice for you.”
“I respectfully disagree,” she argued.
“I think I’ll give it some thought.”
“Billy!”
He hung up.