Insanely Wealthy
Before the film crew packed up, Owen Bowen handed Avery Hayes a cash bonus and saw her out.
Watching her walk away with twenty-five thousand dollars in hand, no strings attached, he felt a strange pang of envy.
He wished he could make that kind of money for doing nothing, but the big boss wasn't looking to replace *him* anytime soon.
Avery, on the other hand, didn't spare another thought for the film crew. She took a car from Hollywood straight to the California Tech Park, checked into the first hotel she saw, and pulled up the contact information for the real estate agent her uncle had given her.
She'd already called him before leaving New York, making it clear she wanted to reclaim the apartment at 12A, The Polaris Residences.
The agent had explained that the current tenant had been there for four years.
Since it was a long-term lease that hadn't been renewed, getting the apartment back would be easy, but they'd have to give the tenant time to move out.
Enough time had passed now that she figured they must be gone.
This particular agent had worked with the Hayes family for over a decade and was as reliable as they come. When Avery got him on the phone, he confirmed the apartment was vacant but said it needed a serious cleaning. He asked if she wanted to handle it herself or have the agency hire a service.
Avery didn't have time for that. She was still planning to head back to Hollywood and try her hand at being an extra for a few days. If she was going to break into the industry, she needed to understand it from the ground up, even if it meant starting at the very bottom.
Seeing that it was still early, she told the agent she'd decide on the cleaning later and asked him to meet her at her hotel.
She wanted to see the apartment and finally get the keys.
The family had four properties in California, all managed by this agent since they were purchased years ago.
Avery had never seen any of them, and even her uncle had only glanced at them once right after the initial renovations.
Avery met the agent outside The Polaris. He was a thin, middle-aged man in a crisp suit, his hair combed perfectly. He looked professional and full of energy. After a few pleasantries, they headed upstairs.
The apartment was a three-bedroom, about thirteen hundred square feet, more spacious than she'd expected. The previous tenant had done a quick, half-hearted tidying up before they left; you could still see a layer of grime on the kitchen's range hood.
As Avery walked through the rooms, a plan was already forming in her mind.
The furniture was over a decade old. Fine for a renter, but not for her.
She wasn't just looking for a place to sleep.
She wanted a home, a place where she could completely unwind after a long day.
That meant a full renovation. And she was definitely getting a walk-in closet.
After the walkthrough, Avery took the keys, went back to her hotel, and immediately found a renovation company to handle the entire project.
She spent the next two hours on the phone coordinating with them and paying the deposit before leaving it all in their hands.
The Polaris management office had a spare set of keys, so all she needed to do was call them later to let the work crew in.
By the time she was done, the sky was dark. Starving, Avery ordered takeout. She sat by the bay window in her hotel room, watching the city lights glitter below as she quietly ate, bite by bite.
It was Monday. Before she'd left New York, Dexter Reed had said Stellar Media Group would have her evaluation ready today.
But night had fallen, and he hadn't called.
She started to wonder if the deal had fallen through.
If she'd known Owen Bowen's brother was this unreliable, she would have stayed in New York for a few more days to get a straight answer before coming all the way out to California.
She had just finished eating and was debating whether to text Dexter when her phone rang with an unknown number. The area code was from New York. Avery stared at it for a couple of seconds before answering.
"Miss Hayes, hello. This is Veronica Warner. May I ask where you are in California right now?" a clear, pleasant voice said.
The second Avery heard the name, she knew. Things were happening.
A smile curved her lips as she tossed her takeout container into the trash. "Hello. I'm in the California Tech Park."
"Would you be free to come to The Olympian Tower Hotel? The company has finished your evaluation. As it happens, Mr. Shaw is in California today and would like to discuss the contract with you in person."
During their last dinner, Avery's one condition for signing was that the contract had to be a negotiation. Stellar Media had an A-level contract ready, but they figured someone who made that a key demand probably wouldn't be satisfied with a standard offer. A face-to-face meeting was better.
"The Olympian, huh," Avery murmured, quickly running through the top hotels in California.
A man of Mr. Shaw's stature wouldn't be staying just anywhere.
The city was huge, but there were only a handful of truly top-tier hotels.
Within seconds, Avery knew exactly where it was.
And as luck would have it, it was also in the Tech Park, only a ten or fifteen-minute drive from the cheap little hotel she was in.
"Alright," she said. "I'll be there in half an hour."
After hanging up, Avery moved fast. She took a quick shower, changed into a sharply tailored black dress, applied a little makeup, slipped on her heels, and left the hotel with a brisk, confident stride.
Twenty-five minutes later, she arrived at The Olympian Tower Hotel.
The scale of the place was on another level entirely.
Stepping through the golden revolving doors, she was met with the cool, luxurious scent of the lobby.
Avery gave the doorman Veronica Warner's name, and he led her straight to the elevator for the top floor.
Avery had assumed the top floor would just be a bigger, more luxurious suite, but she was wrong.
This wasn't just part of the hotel; it was more like a high-end private club for a very select few.
The elevator doors opened onto a private meeting area, with a top-of-the-line gym on one side and a minimalist bar on the other.
Behind the bar stood a floor-to-ceiling cabinet filled with an incredible collection of rare and expensive wines.
Avery had always considered herself worldly, but in that moment, she felt like a country kid seeing the big city for the first time. The only reason was simple: she recognized maybe two or three of the labels in that entire cabinet.
She kept her expression calm, but her mind was racing.
Just who *was* Julian Shaw?
This was an insane display of wealth. That wall of priceless wine could probably buy a whole company.
How had she never heard of someone this extravagant?
And what was he doing messing around with an entertainment company like Stellar Media?
Or letting a guy like Dexter Reed run around making short-form web series?
She couldn't figure him out. Not at all.