Chapter 1
“Level with me here, Andrew.” That’s good old Gary, my agent and manager.
“Honestly, I applaud you, Gary. You find the most creative ways to use up my time.”
“What you call ‘using up my time’ is me doing my job.” I have to admit, he’s good at what he does. Of course, I’d need one of the best in the business to get this far.
My semi- hiatus, with the inclusion of a few commercials and modeling jobs from time to time, is still ongoing.
I try to withhold my irritation because despite all the hustling and bustling of the business, Gary was genuinely a cool dude. “Gary, I haven’t had a break since I made my debut, which, need I remind you, was a decade ago. I need this.”
His left eye started twitching a lot: this was one of his telltale signs of being insanely annoyed. I knew this because it happens quite often, to my surprise. I was the perfect gentleman. Or at least in front of the cameras.
“Andrew, you’ve been on this break for almost a year now,” And what a glorious eleven months it has been, “If you think you can wait longer to get back in then everything you’ve worked on these past ten years will pick itself up and get buried in the dirt hole you dug up!” Ah Gary, always had a couple of those rhetorical techniques up his sleeve.
I scoffed at his exaggeration, “Sometimes I forget which one of us here is into the drama stuff. If you weren’t my manager, I would have told you to audition for one of those melodramas.”
I didn’t notice it before, but Gary’s started growing some gray hairs. Huh. “I’m not asking you to move mountains, Andrew. You know what? This isn’t even for me, this is your career and if you want to sabotage it like this, go right ahead. I won’t be the one to stop you.” This kind of routine could get tiring, the wailing, the blaming, the resignation, the rebound, but it was a form of entertainment for me.
My manager turned to his back and started for the front door. “Actually,” Here we go, “I’ve worked just as hard as you to get to where we are now. You’re at the top, Andrew. We’re at the top, but this could all go down the drain if you let it. But I won’t go down with a fight.” Seriously, did this guy major in theatre? “I am not leaving until you give me a serious answer.”
I sighed. I was not in the mood for this today. “Look around you, Gary,” he pauses and does what I say, “look at this apartment, correction, penthouse, look at the showcase by the stairs, does it look like I’m lacking in any way, shape, or form?” He stubbornly refuses to shake his head.
I’m not usually this cocky, well actually that can be debatable, but the situation called for it. I continue my tangent, “If you looked up the name ‘Andrew Litkey,’ what would you find?” He opened his mouth to answer. “That was a rhetorical question, but I’ll answer for you anyway. You would find thousands of results of his awards and achievements that effectively show his ongoing popularity with the public. Not to mention the thousands of pages of praise by top critics about his acting skills.” God, I could really be a pompous asshole when I needed to be.
“Now I want you to know that I appreciate everything you do for me, Gary, but I am not some machine that can go years on end without a break. A month more is all I ask. After that I swear I’ll get back in the scene better than ever.”
I could tell I was getting to him but there was still hesitation. “I don’t ask that many favors from you, so please let me have this one.” I didn’t care to elaborate on that.
A hiccup of time went by before he released a small nod. “One month, kid.”
“Glad to know you have a heart in there, G.”
He had a defeated stance as I walked him to the front door, again he was all about the theatrics. Sometimes it felt as if I was the agent.
“Take care of yourself, Andrew.” He managed to gruff out. “Call me if you need anything, or when you decide to cut your month short.”
“Geez, you make it feel like we just attended a funeral service. My career isn’t going to die anytime soon, old man.” I chuckled in attempt to sober the mood. “I’ll talk to you later.” I slumped my body against the doorway after closing it. That was way more physically and emotionally exhausting than it should have been.
I need a good rest tonight. And by good rest I mean a good lay. And by good lay I mean finding a tango partner in one of the clubs. And by tango partner I mean a beautiful woman who can warm the sheets in my bed. And by- well, you get it.
