Page 2 of Love: Take Two

Chapter two

Noah

Present Day

The cork gives with a satisfying pop, releasing a small stream of pale, fizzy liquid. Jim and Brent laugh good-naturedly when I hastily slurp the excess off my knuckles.

Six months. This deal has been in the works for six fucking months. Six months of back-and-forth emails with the studio. Of last-minute flights to Toronto of all places to sweet-talk the casting director. A nationwide talent search. Three rounds of auditions. Two rounds of call-backs. A chemistry read. And thensix monthsof painstaking negotiations to ensure that Kim Yong-rae is the star of Edward Ash's next blockbuster. I think I earned a small lapse in my table manners.

"How's it feel, son?" Brent asks as he claps Yong-rae on the back. Yong-rae nearly spills the too-full flute I just handedhim, but returns Brent's smarmy smile with a practiced one of his own.

"It feels like I'm still dreaming, sir," he answers.

I try not to bristle. All this "son" and "sir" shit pisses me off, mostly because I've never seen the partners do it with any other clients but mine.

Yong-rae immigrated to the US just four years ago after graduating from Dongguk University's film program. In that time, he studied with a diction specialist to be able to speak English without a Korean accent. He built impressive followings on both Instagram and TikTok for his fitness content. He waited tables and worked as a spin instructor, all while going on countless auditions. And now he's set to star in what the studio thinks will become a billion-dollar franchise.

He's nobody's son.

I clink my glass against his, drawing his attention away from Jim and Brent's phony congratulations. I know it's killing them that one of my so-called "diversity clients" snagged the deal of a lifetime. And he didn't even have to change his name.

"What are you doing to celebrate, Yong-rae? Are you buying a Rolex with your bonus? Hitting the clubs? Meeting some friends for drinks?" I elbow him with a knowing grin. "Whatever you do, just keep it out of the tabloids. Pinnacle takes their conduct clauses very seriously."

Yong-rae worries his lip between his teeth.

"Honestly? I have no idea. None of this has really hit me yet." He's silent for a moment, considering. "Maybe order double what I usually get from Calexico and then go for a run along the Brooklyn Promenade? It'll be too cold for it soon."

Jim, Brent, and I exchange bewildered looks.

"You're going to celebrate landing the lead in 'Forced Proximity', a role that could very well turn you into the next Tom Cruise, with takeout and a run?" Jim asks incredulously. Yong-rae's smile frays a bit at the edges.

"Of course not!" I jump in, coming to my client's rescue. Given the size and stakes of this contract, I'm sure I'll be doing that quite a lot.

"Yong-rae, I can't believe we both forgot," I say, making a big show of remembering plans I'm only just now putting together. "I'm taking you out for a night on the town. We're starting with SILO and hitting every stop on the L train." It's going to be a long night.

Jim and Brent chuckle, and I see Yong-rae's shoulders slump with relief. Poor guy's been so focused on "making it", he didn't leave room for an actual life. Luckily, I'm an expert in that area. Going out and socializing are at least fifty percent of my job.

"That's more like it," Brent says, his grin approving. "Just don't forget that conduct clause."

The rest of the meal is full of laughter, rich food, and way too much champagne. Jim, Brent and I drink most of it, while Yong-rae nurses his one glass.

I'll make sure he loosens up once the other partners aren't around. This is a momentous occasion. Yong-rae achieved what most actors would kill for; now it's time to reap the rewards.

"Oh my God!" Yong-rae shouts over the music. "Why have I never been here before?!"

Despite a disgusting amount of drinks between three clubs, two bars, a hole-in-the-wall falafel joint, and a hookah lounge, his words are barely slurring.Oh, to have the metabolism of a twenty-six-year-old.I, on the other hand, had to switch to club soda three stops ago. It was around the time I started to worry I might have opened Pandora's box.

After lunch, Yong-rae waited for Jim and Brent to get into their cars uptown, then turned to me, expression uncertain.

"Thanks for the save in there,"he'd said,"but we don't really need to have some crazy night on the town. I'm not much of a drinker; it's hard to run a CrossFit class hung over."Behind his worried eyes, I'd seen my brother.

But I have class tomorrowhad been Henry's excuse for bailing on many a night out freshman year in college, but I'd persisted. He was wound so tight and missing out on the best part of college: the parties.

Well, thesecond-best part. Hooking up with girls definitely held the top spot. But despite looking like he starched hisboxers and signing up for so many extra classes I worried he'd grind his teeth to dust by second semester, my brother never had any trouble in that department. A fact I learned against my will, since dorm room walls are about as soundproof as tissue paper.

So when Yong-rae stood on that sidewalk and looked at me like a scared baby bird, I took it as my duty, as a seasoned veteran, to show him the ropes of a city that plays just as hard as it works. Now I feel like I gave this kid a driving lesson without explaining the brakes.

"Probably because you were busy signing big Hollywood deals," I answer with a smirk.