for you.He’s young and hungry, which is what you need. And he has great contacts in advertising—you’ll see. He’ll get you a commercial in no time.”
And now it was early April, and Trip Gregory was keeping her waiting. Well, what did she expect. She had gone on more than a dozen auditions, and so far nothing had panned out. The shampoo company had decided they wanted someone younger. The pain-reliever company chose someone older. The pet-food people thought she was a little too glamorous, and the perfume people found her not quite glamorous enough.
At last the receptionist waved her into Trip’s office.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said. “But I have some great news.” A chain of luxury hotels was looking for a spokesperson to appear in all their television and print ads. Auditions were scheduled for June, and shooting would begin in September.
“You would be perfect,” Trip said. The intercom buzzed. He held up two fingers and picked up the phone.
Anne knew what that meant, too: being the kind of client you don’t hold calls for. He was talking to another client—from his tone of voice, Anne guessed it was an attractive woman—and after a couple of minutes she tuned him out. She looked at her watch, thinking of her train schedule, trying to guess when their appointment would be over. If she was lucky, she’d have time to walk to Penn Station and would get to save five dollars in cabfare.
It was unbelievable, how tight the money was now. She had made a budget when she left Lyon, figured out how they had just enough to squeak by, but there were always expenses she hadn’t counted on. When she was rich, she had never paid attention to how much the little things cost. Now it was all she thought about. When she woke up in the morning, she tried to figure out if she had enough cash to get through the day. When the telephone rang,she hesitated before picking it up, wondering if it were a credit-card company calling about a late payment.
It was as if she were divorcing Lyon only to marry this other person, this constant presence, this financial anxiety that now colored everything she did.
Trip hung up and folded his hands. “Like I said, someone like you would be perfect.”
“Someone like me? Or me?” Anne asked.
“You know what I mean. They want to target the business executive with a big-time expense account, the kind of guy who is on his way to the top but not quite there yet. They’re looking for someone with a lot of class, but not too sexy. Class, because the guy has to feel like he’s staying at the best place in town, the kind of hotel that says he’s at the top of his game. And not too sexy, because he’s sitting at home watching this commercial with his wife, and if he’s spending a lot of time out of town, she’s probably wondering about whether there’s any hanky-panky on the road.”
Anne smiled. “Attractive, but not threatening.”
“Exactly,” Trip said.
She laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry. You wouldn’t have any way of knowing this, but that’s almost word for word what they told me when they hired me to be the Gillian Girl. Anyway, it sounds wonderful.”
“There’d be quite a bit of travel in September and October. Sure you can handle it?”
Jenn would just be starting at a new school. Anne didn’t even have a baby-sitter out in Southampton, let alone someone who could be trusted to stay overnight with Jenn. “I’ll think of something. September is a long way off.”
“Okay, then,” Trip said. “I’ll get something scheduled.” He stood up, her cue that their appointment was over. “You look great, by the way. Let’s talk next week.”
“But … what about between now and then? I mean, September is months away. There must be some other work I can do in the meantime.”
Trip sighed and sat back down. “It’s dead right now. There’s nothing out there. It’s practically summer, and you know how it is in the summer.
And now it was early April, and Trip Gregory was keeping her waiting. Well, what did she expect. She had gone on more than a dozen auditions, and so far nothing had panned out. The shampoo company had decided they wanted someone younger. The pain-reliever company chose someone older. The pet-food people thought she was a little too glamorous, and the perfume people found her not quite glamorous enough.
At last the receptionist waved her into Trip’s office.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said. “But I have some great news.” A chain of luxury hotels was looking for a spokesperson to appear in all their television and print ads. Auditions were scheduled for June, and shooting would begin in September.
“You would be perfect,” Trip said. The intercom buzzed. He held up two fingers and picked up the phone.
Anne knew what that meant, too: being the kind of client you don’t hold calls for. He was talking to another client—from his tone of voice, Anne guessed it was an attractive woman—and after a couple of minutes she tuned him out. She looked at her watch, thinking of her train schedule, trying to guess when their appointment would be over. If she was lucky, she’d have time to walk to Penn Station and would get to save five dollars in cabfare.
It was unbelievable, how tight the money was now. She had made a budget when she left Lyon, figured out how they had just enough to squeak by, but there were always expenses she hadn’t counted on. When she was rich, she had never paid attention to how much the little things cost. Now it was all she thought about. When she woke up in the morning, she tried to figure out if she had enough cash to get through the day. When the telephone rang,she hesitated before picking it up, wondering if it were a credit-card company calling about a late payment.
It was as if she were divorcing Lyon only to marry this other person, this constant presence, this financial anxiety that now colored everything she did.
Trip hung up and folded his hands. “Like I said, someone like you would be perfect.”
“Someone like me? Or me?” Anne asked.
“You know what I mean. They want to target the business executive with a big-time expense account, the kind of guy who is on his way to the top but not quite there yet. They’re looking for someone with a lot of class, but not too sexy. Class, because the guy has to feel like he’s staying at the best place in town, the kind of hotel that says he’s at the top of his game. And not too sexy, because he’s sitting at home watching this commercial with his wife, and if he’s spending a lot of time out of town, she’s probably wondering about whether there’s any hanky-panky on the road.”
Anne smiled. “Attractive, but not threatening.”
“Exactly,” Trip said.
She laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry. You wouldn’t have any way of knowing this, but that’s almost word for word what they told me when they hired me to be the Gillian Girl. Anyway, it sounds wonderful.”
“There’d be quite a bit of travel in September and October. Sure you can handle it?”
Jenn would just be starting at a new school. Anne didn’t even have a baby-sitter out in Southampton, let alone someone who could be trusted to stay overnight with Jenn. “I’ll think of something. September is a long way off.”
“Okay, then,” Trip said. “I’ll get something scheduled.” He stood up, her cue that their appointment was over. “You look great, by the way. Let’s talk next week.”
“But … what about between now and then? I mean, September is months away. There must be some other work I can do in the meantime.”
Trip sighed and sat back down. “It’s dead right now. There’s nothing out there. It’s practically summer, and you know how it is in the summer.
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