Hollywood's powerful women

Chapter 5

Dave Jensen, as Jennie James noticed him, had been visiting Hollywood Star for three days straight. Every afternoon at two, he would come in, have a coffee, make a few phone calls, sometimes pull out a few documents to glance at, and then disappear into the building across the street from Hollywood Star.

He was in his early thirties, starting to bald, a bit chubby, and dressed rather casually, always in a jacket and different styles of flannel pants. He looked like one of those down-and-out agents in Hollywood who couldn’t even afford a decent suit. Jessica, another head waitress at Hollywood Star, had a poor impression of him because Dave had clumsily tried to hit on her, only to be unceremoniously rejected.

Jennie James had talked about him with Jessica once.

It was during their break time. Jessica was smoking in an alley, and Jennie followed her. Jessica handed her a cigarette, which Jennie held in her hand but did not smoke.

“He’s probably a small-time agent trying to get roles for his actors,” Jessica said, exhaling a smoke ring and nodding towards the six-story building across the street. Her tone carried a hint of envy, and of course, a bit of jealousy. “There’s been a lot of activity over there lately, with a lot of bitches coming and going.”

In Los Angeles, the entertainment industry was a major economic pillar. The office building across from Hollywood Star was leased by the TV production department of Time Warner. It was usually a normal flow of people, but during certain times of the year, it would get quite busy, and Hollywood Star would also experience a small peak in business.

The specific times referred to were usually the pre-production phases for new TV series. Typically, from May to June, preparations for fall TV series would take place. Once the script outline passed higher-level reviews, the production department would start assembling the crew. Besides the main actors, many minor roles would require auditions. The area around Hollywood Star was close to Hollywood but relatively affordable for renting office space for auditions, making it a cost-effective choice.

“It must be audition time,” Jennie said simply, putting the cigarette back in her pocket. “Aren’t you going to try your luck?”

Jessica settled for Hollywood Star because of its proximity to Time Warner’s audition site, seeing it as a stepping stone to her success. But after a year of working there, besides sleeping with a few security guards from across the street, she hadn’t managed to get any contact with the casting department heads.

Without contacts, it was impossible to get into the casting directors’ selection pool. Trying to submit a resume for an impromptu audition would only get her thrown out by security. After wasting a year, Jessica had to give up on breaking into the TV industry and had started actively applying for modeling jobs, contacting a modeling agent.

Jennie brought up her unpleasant past, causing Jessica’s face to darken. “Aren’t you going to smoke?”

“I’m about to start my shift,” Jennie explained—though Jennie James occasionally smoked, Chen Zhen did not.

Jessica ignored her explanation. “If you’re not going to smoke, give it back to me.”

Jennie shrugged, handing the cigarette back to Jessica. “I have to go back in. Hey, Jessica?”

Jessica raised an eyebrow at her, still with a cold expression.

“I know you have an audition next week. Good luck,” Jennie said, raising her fist. Jessica’s face softened, and she reached out to bump fists with her.

“Same to you, sister.”

Jennie smiled, turned, and went back into the restaurant. About five minutes later, she saw Dave come in and took over serving him from Jessica. “Hi.”

Dave was clearly looking for Jessica. His response was somewhat distracted. “Hi.”

Jennie handed him the menu, and Dave glanced through it absentmindedly several times. Jennie didn’t mind. The longer she stood by him, the more clearly she could read the text on the folder he carried. Though it was upside-down and only partially pulled out of his briefcase, Jennie—or Chen Zhen—had a remarkable skill for reading upside-down text.

This skill came from her ex-husband. To break or extend her ex’s cheating cycle, Chen Zhen had practiced this technique, eventually becoming so proficient that she could read text just by catching it in her peripheral vision.

She mainly used this skill to sneak peeks at her ex-husband’s phone.

It seemed Jessica had missed an opportunity this time. Jennie thought as she read the few lines of English text again: “May 13th audition schedule, Office 1, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer…’”

Without needing to read the entire document, she knew it was about auditions for the new season of WB’s hit show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” According to the shooting schedule, Buffy should start filming in July, with auditions for some recurring roles taking place in May, followed by script adjustments before filming begins.

Given that Dave was handling such documents and coming in daily, he was likely more than just an actor’s agent; he might be a casting director for Buffy, or even a writer or producer for the show. Connecting with him could make landing a cameo role in the TV series relatively easy.

Although Jennie James was somewhat reluctant to pursue such a “touch-the-electric” approach, that was only because she had a lofty goal of dominating Hollywood. In reality, for a waitress like her, such opportunities were ones she could not afford to miss. Even if she wasn’t interested in TV series, she could ask him to introduce her to an agent or even get a small role in a Warner film…

This was how Jennie started paying attention to Dave. Over the next few days, she discreetly learned his full name and confirmed his identity through phone conversations—thanks to the 2012 release of “The Avengers,” she had a deep impression of Joss Whedon and did some research. One of Whedon’s representative works was indeed “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and Dave had mentioned Joss in several phone calls.

This was a valuable resource. Whether it was fate or Jennie’s efforts, being near Hollywood Star offered a chance. But recognizing and seizing it depended on her.

Jennie didn’t grovel to Dave but followed the casual chat route, which was common in all restaurants. To earn tips, waitstaff often engage in small talk with customers.

Dave was served by Jessica for the first three days. On the fourth day, Jennie just greeted him, and by the fifth day, they started chatting about the weather. On the sixth day, they talked about Dave’s dog, and on the seventh day, they discussed Jennie’s audition.

By now, Dave had gotten used to being served by her. On the eighth day, they talked about Jennie’s fictional audition, and Jennie told him it was a bust. “They’ve already found the kind of vase girl they want.”

“Oh!” Dave said sympathetically.

Jennie gave him a brave smile. “If you want to encourage me, just tell me I’d be a great vase.”

Dave laughed. “Darling, you’re far more than just a vase—”

Jennie put her hands on her hips and pretended to be angry. Dave raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, you’d be a great vase girl.”

Jennie lowered her hands and laughed with Dave. “Thank you. I feel much more confident now.”

That day, Dave left a 30% tip.

On the ninth day, Jennie asked Dave if he would be working there permanently. Dave told her he lived in New York and this was just a temporary job; he would be returning the following Wednesday.

But he still didn’t reveal his profession.

There were still six days until the following Wednesday.

Jennie’s smile remained, and she wasn’t desperate enough to cling to every opportunity.

After calculating the time, on the tenth day, she spoke to Johnny and took a day off from her accumulated two weeks of vacation.

On the eleventh day, Dave arrived half an hour earlier than usual. He looked restless until he saw Jennie and smiled.

“Hi.” Jennie greeted him with her usual smile. “The usual?”

Dave blurted out, “I was served by Jessica yesterday.”

His tone was somewhat accusatory, as if flirting with Jessica wasn’t his original purpose for coming here.

“I was off yesterday,” Jennie said with amusement. “I hope you weren’t mistreated.”

Dave made a noncommittal expression, and Jennie smiled as she went back to the bar, bringing an extra muffin along with the coffee.

“On the house, as compensation for yesterday,” she said, winking at Dave. “If you need anything, just call me.”

When it came time to pay, Dave still left a 30% tip. He seemed a bit nervous but bravely looked Jennie in the eyes. “You said I could call you for anything.”

“Yeah,” Jennie said.

“But I don’t have your number,” Dave said, stumbling a bit, then quickly added, “How can I call you without a number?”

Jennie had been tossing this double entendre at Dave for a while, and it seemed he had climbed the ladder very high only to be afraid of going down it.

This man was charmingly innocent, and Jennie couldn’t help but smile. Now, she genuinely liked Dave.

“Should I say ‘I’m glad you finally asked,’ or ‘Oh my, I never expected this’?” She pulled out a pen but then paused, deliberately making a thoughtful expression.

Dave stammered, “Definitely the former. Oh please, it has to be the former.”

“You really don’t need to be so nervous.” Jennie chuckled and wrote down her phone number on the receipt. “For anything—”

She made a ‘6’ sign and wiggled it by her ear.

Picking up her coffee and muffin, she started heading back. She noticed Dave watching her intently until she disappeared behind the bar.

“Did he ask you out?” Johnny asked curiously. “Tell me you turned him down—look at him, he’s a loser, he doesn’t deserve you.”

Jennie just smiled and said nothing.

That evening, Dave called to ask her out for dinner.