Hollywood's powerful women

Chapter 6

In Hollywood Star, there are three shifts: the morning shift covers breakfast and lunch, the noon shift covers lunch and dinner, and the evening shift covers dinner and late-night snacks. Since the likelihood of receiving tips is higher during lunch and dinner, Jenny usually chooses the noon shift. To have dinner with Dave, she switched to the morning shift the next day.

Perhaps due to his shyness, Dave didn’t show up at the café that day and was even two minutes late for their date. When he arrived, he apologized repeatedly but couldn’t provide a good explanation.

Jenny didn’t need his explanation. A glance at Dave’s ill-fitting suit and his obviously over-styled hair made it clear why he was late. As someone who had been working in casting for years, Jenny was surprised by how inexperienced Dave seemed.

“The restaurant you chose is impressive enough that you don’t need to apologize,” she said half-jokingly. “Booking a table at ‘Scarpetta’ is enough to earn you a kiss from me.”

‘Scarpetta’ is the name of the restaurant, derived from the Italian word meaning ‘little shoe.’ It was established by a renowned chef and located in Beverly Hills. A meal there could easily cost Jenny two days’ wages, and if good wine was ordered, even more. As a famous high-end restaurant, getting a reservation wasn’t easy, and getting a good table by the window was even harder without some connections.

Jenny’s praise clearly pleased Dave, who became more confident in his demeanor, though his character remained unchanged. He honestly told Jenny, “Actually, a good friend made the call for me.”

Jenny smiled and said, “Wow, your friend must be quite something—being able to have a friend like that means you’re impressive too.”

As she said this, she mentally cringed at how obvious the flattery was.

But as expected, for Dave, who was severely lacking in self-confidence and awkward in his mannerisms, such compliments were likely to help him build his confidence. After Jenny threw out two compliments, he relaxed enough to joke, “So, to have such an impressive person as myself treat you to dinner, it seems you’re the one at the top of the power chain.”

Jenny laughed immediately, and Dave joined in, and in the lighthearted atmosphere, they began to order.

Jenny hadn’t had a full meal in a long time. While the tempting aroma of the food around her was undeniable, considering the calories in dishes like foie gras, desserts, and sauces, and the exercise required to burn them off...

She ordered a salad and dessert, while Dave ordered more and also a glass of red wine.

“You should eat more. Even for someone who wants to be on camera, you’re a bit too thin,” Dave said, pushing the bread in front of Jenny.

“My budget only allows me to pay for this much,” Jenny gave herself an excuse.

Dave’s expression changed, but Jenny preempted him by saying, “I know you want to treat me, but this should be a decision we make together, shouldn’t it? If I think... I will let you treat me.”

She didn’t elaborate, but Dave’s face turned red. Jenny looked at him curiously and asked, “Do you rarely go out on dates?”

“The last time I went out frequently was seventeen years ago,” Dave said, and then she heard a common story of high school sweethearts going through ups and downs, eventually divorcing due to incompatibility. Dave and his ex-wife had no children, and the ex-wife got the dog. After the divorce, he spent three or four months healing and had recently started thinking about re-entering the dating scene.

It wasn’t particularly special, and Jenny had guessed most of the details from the mark on his ring finger. “Wow, so as your first date in seventeen years, I should feel honored.”

“You’re not my first date,” Dave said, looking at her kindly, “but you’re the first one who feels... really great.”

“What happened before?” Jenny asked, mentally noting: going out with auditioning actresses... didn’t end well.

“I might not have mentioned it before, but I’m a junior casting director,” Dave said. “When I was in New York, I went out with a few actresses who were auditioning, and it was all pretty terrible.”

Bingo, the perfect explanation for why he never mentioned his job. If she hadn’t insisted on splitting the bill, Dave might never have said.

Jenny smiled and said sympathetically, “It’s rare to find someone who separates their personal life from their work, isn’t it?”

Dave snorted, “Many people think sleeping with the director will get them the role, but in Hollywood, it’s not that simple. If you only know how to open doors for those who’ve served you, you won’t last long as a casting director.”

He had a bit of a nerdy feel, dedicated to his work after marriage, a good person who had never been tempted by the seductive women and took pride in his professionalism.

His character was decent.

“People always oversimplify Hollywood,” Jenny changed the subject. “Tell me about your dog. I’ve wanted a dog since I was young, but foster homes always had too many children and not enough space for a dog.”

Dave’s interest was clearly piqued, and he seemed a bit surprised. “I didn’t expect that—sorry, I mean, you seem like such a cheerful girl from a happy family.”

They talked about Dave’s dog, his childhood (middle-class, strict and distant parents, the third of many children in a large family, bullied), Jenny’s childhood (a failed family, a nomadic foster life), Dave’s marriage, and Jenny’s ideals and current situation.

Throughout the meal, Jenny didn’t ask about Dave’s job, but during dessert, Dave voluntarily shared his entire entry into the industry (interest in movies, studying at USC, discovering he didn’t have much talent, entering Warner Brothers for an internship through connections, performing well, staying on, and now being a senior casting director at Warner).

They had a great time talking, and Dave’s eyes sparkled throughout. — That’s why Jenny ordered dessert; dessert time is the most relaxed and casual chatting period of a meal.

When it came time to pay, Dave insisted on treating, and after considering for five seconds, Jenny smiled and nodded.

Dave almost cheered out loud—his excitement was very obvious.

After dinner, they walked back, discussing some of the films Dave had been involved in, some of which Jenny hadn’t seen. They agreed to watch some together if the opportunity arose.

Their walk took them all the way to Jenny’s apartment building, fifteen blocks away. When Dave said goodbye, he seemed quite reluctant, but Jenny told him with a smile, “I’m not the type to invite someone up for coffee on a first date.”

To be honest, not only would she never have invited someone up for coffee on a first date, but she had never even given other guys a chance to approach her. Chen Zhen used to live in China, where subtlety and elegance were highly valued. A girl just needed to dress nicely and wait. — If you were too proactive, others would think you were cheap. But in America, such taboos were nearly non-existent. If you were too reserved, no one would approach you, no matter how beautiful you were. Chen Zhen couldn’t change the environment, only herself, adapting silently to the social rules of the Western world.

“Yes, you’re not,” Dave said gently, reaching out his hand. Jenny shook it, and he took an unusually long time to slowly let go. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Jenny said, waving to him as she turned to go upstairs, calculating how much time she had wasted that could have been used for exercise.

When she reached the second-floor stairwell, she noticed Dave still standing downstairs, looking up at her figure.

His smile was so genuine, filled with hope—something that would never have been on his face before this dinner.

Jenny suddenly felt a pang of guilt but still smiled and waved back at him.

The next day, Dave didn’t show up at Hollywood Star. Johnny commented on it, and Jenny just laughed it off.

She continued with her diet, waiting without anxiety or high expectations—after all, even if there was no follow-up, she had enjoyed two nice evenings, good dinners, fine wine, pleasant conversations, and a good date. In fact, apart from not having a glamorous appearance, Dave was not much worse than those boastful actors, and Jenny had moved beyond judging by appearances.

A month later, Jenny fit into size 2 clothes and began researching major theaters and drama troupes in Los Angeles—since the previous Jenny Shan hadn’t considered starting from theater, she was quite lacking in knowledge in this area.

A month and a half later, her phone rang. Jenny fished her phone out of her apron.

Dave was on the other end, panting, “Listen, Jenny, I need your resume and photos right now. Do you have an email? Send me an email immediately.”

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