CHAPTER ONE

 

 

“Las Vegas?” I asked the question slowly. This could be an amazing career move, but I loved New York City. I rubbed my hands over the soft leather of the office couch on which I perched at the edge. I was delaying my response. Las Vegas? It was hard to imagine that people actually lived there.

“Catherine. Don’t overthink it. What does your gut say? Do you want to establish the West Coast arm of the Peterson Talent Agency in Las Vegas?” Sidney Peterson asked again, green eyes watching me analyze the opportunity in my head. He knew, despite his directive to the contrary, I was absolutely a think-before-I-speak kind of woman.

I stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows of Sidney’s office. The spectacular view of the city never failed to mesmerize. My mind whirled with possibilities and my stomach tightened with anxiety. Or maybe exhilaration? If Sidney was right, and he believed he was, this would be an incredible opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

With the proposed increase in tax incentives provided by the state of Nevada, many in the entertainment world believed that significantly more production companies would start filming in the state, and that the existing talent agencies might not quite be ready to handle the influx of larger projects. If PTA opened a branch now, well, we’d be able to sign the most promising acting prospects. And I could live in Sin City, where it was a heck of a lot warmer than in the Big Apple.

“Why me?” I finally asked. “You have more senior agents.” Although admittedly, I was repping our biggest client: Gracie Corsini, recently married and newest star of one of the remaining soap operas shooting in NYC, “Heart’s Home”.

“I do,” he agreed, running a hand through his buzz cut brown hair. “However, you’re extremely creative. You’ve demonstrated considerable management skills of the organizational challenges of this business and the sometimes difficult personalities. And you’ve done so while always remaining calm. I imagine we’ll need a lot of all of that in Vegas.”

I thought for a few more moments while watching Sidney’s body language. He projected the air of calm expectation that I’d say yes. His steepled fingers on his desk and the tightness in his jaw betrayed his doubt. He believed I could do it. I guess he wasn’t sure if I believed I could do it. He should have more faith in his instincts.

“I’ll do it,” I declared and Sidney smiled.

“My realtor, John, has a hold on some office space; I’ll want you to check it out and okay it.”

“Sure, no problem. Anything else I need to know?”

“I’d like to have you up and running by the end of the month. Can you do that?”

Gulp and a breath. “Absolutely.”

“And, John sent me an article; the biggest entertainment story right now is the death of a young twenty-something actress of a heart attack.”

“Oh my gosh, that’s terrible! Though we clearly need to give them a bigger story to care about.”

Sidney laughed. “Yes, we do.”

“And we will by the end of the month,” I said with a smile.

“You know what caught my eye about the story?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“How much she looked like you, with her blond hair and blue eyes.”

“Okay, that’s creepy, Sidney. Besides, I am not a young twenty-something.”

“You could pass for it, though.”

“Moving on.”

Sidney laughed again. “I trust you, Catherine, and I know you’ll make us proud.”

Only thirty years old and I was about to head up the West Coast branch of one of the top New York City talent agencies.

Nice.